PopFest Preview: Mission of Burma

In the earliest moments of the 1980s, post-punk was something of an anomaly - at least in the case of the Boston's Mission of Burma.

Formed in 1979, the band got something of a bland reception, despite its hard-driving, high-energy shows. By 1983, for one reason or another, the members had called it quits.

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Over the years, though, peers and younger bands alike praised Mission of Burma's innovation and aesthetic, and hugely influential bands like R.E.M., Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo cited Burma as an influence.

It wasn't so much the honor of being named an influence as it was the members' genuine love for music-making that spurred a three-show reunion in 2002.

And that's turned into an eight-years-and-counting second run (that's twice as many years as the band was together the first time).

Three founding members remain - bassist Clint Conley, drummer Peter Prescott and guitarist Roger Miller (who all share vocal duties) - joined by Bob Wescott, who in 2003 stepped in for original member Martin Swope in the role of tapes and loops guru.

And so the music continues.

On Saturday, Mission of Burma headlines PopFest at the 40 Watt Club, pretty much the first time the band has played Athens (Prescott isn't sure, though he does count seminal Athens band Pylon among Mission of Burma's pals, and a few years ago, they asked frontwoman Vanessa Briscoe Hay to step on stage for a Burma show in Atlanta).

Here's what Prescott had to say about the band's past, present and future:

You guys were kind of known the first time around to be a pretty loud band ...

Prescott: Right, the poster boys for deafness (laughs).

And now, bands are really loud; everything's louder. What's your philosophy of loud?

All the bands I've ever played in have been considered loud - even if it was "quiet." I think it's a textural thing, at least with us, where there's a lot of spiky, high-end sort of bludgeon-y quality about it. Dance music with the throbbing low end can be really loud but not feel that way, and I think our stuff seems to have lots of pins and needles sticking out of it sonically.

You know, I've gotta admit, I don't wear earplugs when we play live - the other guys do - and it's probably gonna be to my detriment, but it's part of my enjoyment of it, just hearing the sonic overload. And that's why I still play it: I love loud music.

What kind of music were you listening to in the late '70s that you think influenced you?

Aside from other post-punk bands ... before punk rock existed, we all listened to The Stooges and The New York Dolls, and The Velvets and Roxy Music, Bowie, stuff that sort of led up to punk. So when we met, we already had a common language.

Punk rock was an acquired taste, so you k

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