Truly, deeply

"I started all this around '91," he says, referring to his move from Houston to Denton to attend college. "I started out with MK Ultra, but then my own thing kinda started as Vernilla Stump," he says, laughing. "Then we called it Marfa Lights. Then, for a while it was the Young Pioneers, until we found out some other band had that name."

The Young Pioneers, in fact, were perhaps the biggest and most inbred outfit ever attempted in Denton, boasting members from Mazinga Phaser, Comet, Mod Lang, Whitey, and more; a dozen or so musicians were in and out of a revolving door, with only a few live gigs to show for it. Logistically, the band was impossible to maintain, while musically it was brilliant: richly textured songs of unexpected instruments and voices weaving together with breathtaking instinct. It was the first sure sign of Plavidal's--acting as the point man--songwriting gifts, sonic ambition, and knack for collaboration.

By early '97, Plavidal had scaled his project back to the far more streamlined three-piece and rechristened it Stumptone. The band and various guests recorded a 7-inch vinyl release for 2 Ohm Hop. In the meantime, the college-graduated Plavidal worked as an aerial photographer and honed new songs that would, one by one, snake their way onto the tapes that would finally form the full-length album. This is the modern process of a guy with a decent day job, energy to burn, and a literally elevated perspective of life on this earth. And his apparent ambition is always tempered with plenty of patience.

"But there's always new stuff, always new material to work with," he says. "I've got all-new songs that I'll be ready to record soon enough."

But, he is asked, won't he have to go it alone now that he's in New York?
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's not such a big deal," he offers, sort of tossing out the remark. You can almost picture him waving off the thought with a flick of his hand. "I'll continue to go down and play shows in Denton sometimes, with Mike and Miguel if they're available. But, you know, this thing is constantly changing, loose-knit, always shifting and...it's nice to mix it up every once in a while."

Like moving 1,500 miles away to Brooklyn?
"Sure," he chimes, absently. He must be gazing out his window.