School of Seven Bells is in session

For the last few years, Ben Curtis' life was the musical version of a love triangle. While performing with his brother in a rock band that seemed to have it all—a major label deal, growing fan base and songs being played on several network TV shows and commercials—his heart belonged to another band. Cue the drama.

It all started during a 2004 tour with Curtis' now-former group, the Secret Machines. While the Machines played to increasingly larger crowds, Curtis found himself preferring the music of their little-known opening act, On! Air! Library! By 2007, the divorce was final and Curtis left TSM to form School of Seven Bells with Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, the ladies behind Library.

"With Secret Machines, we were doing T-Rex covers," says Curtis with dismay. "Ali and Claudia don't relate to that stuff at all."

Instead of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd as a root, School of Seven Bells' debut album, "Alpinisms," is influenced by more modern sounds, ranging from the shoegaze drone of My Bloody Valentine to world music to the dream pop of Cocteau Twins.

"Between the three of us, our palette is very big," Curtis says. "We're into all kinds of music from all over the place and are excited to explore that."

We called Curtis during a break in the band's European tour to talk about leaving the classic rock ghetto, sibling rivalry and why Secret Machines fans won't stop sending him hate mail.

OK, I'm going to ask this straight-up. Why did you leave Secret Machines for School of Seven Bells?
The short answer is that I just think this band is better. It's a better situation personally and musically. I guess what it boils down to is that I wasn't feeling it anymore.

Was there a falling out between you and your brother?
To be blunt, we were just on different trips. It's not personal. There's no grudge. I just think you can hear all the differences.

How do you feel about being described as a "shoegaze" band? Why is "shoegaze" all of a sudden popular again?
If people are saying it because they like shoegaze, then I guess we're cool with it. As for the rebirth of shoegaze, I guess everything comes in waves. Like all trends and words, music seems to be cyclical.

When did you know you would be in a band together with the Deheza twins?
I had never heard them before when they toured with Secret Machines. They didn't sing together often in On! Air! Library!, like they do in School of Seven Bells, but had one song they played live where they did, and it was like magic to me. I had a vision of how our collaboration could go. If I wasn't playing in a band with them, I'd probably be some weird fan following them around.

Doesn't the headliner usually steal members from the opening act, not the other way around?
It wasn't really theft. More like a defection. In Secret Machines, I was playing with guys seven years older than me. The cultural perspectives were a little different. Now in [School of Seven Bells] we're all the same age. A lot of Secret Machines fans have emailed me saying, "You should put aside your personal b.s. for the fans." Are you kidding me? It's about feeling at home and feeling right.

Electronics and effects are such a big part of your sound. How do you recreate your sound live?
When we made the record, we didn't do it where everyone records their parts and then puts it together. It was an open process, where everything was assembled and disassembled, so we didn't know how it would work when we played it live. But it turns out we sound a lot like we do on our record, which was a pleasant surprise.

How important is the visual element of a concert to you?
It's very important. If you're going to do a show that people are going to watch, you should consider that. Our attitude is that we pay attention to every aspect of the show. What you look at affects how you hear things, so we make sure what you're seeing enhances the music.