The phoner was supposed to be with the Black Angels lead singer Alex Maas. An avowedly obsessed Brian Jonestown Massacre fan, Maas is an acolyte of the Massacre's notoriously mercurial - and possibly schizophrenic - indie-music savant, Anton Newcombe. My intentions were to inquire why Maas sought out such a mentor, considering Newcombe's volatile behavior and destructive drug abuse as chronicled in the documentary film Dig. 

But Maas never made the phoner.

"There was a crazy night in L.A. where someone had to sleep under a bridge," drummer Stephanie Bailey recalled, subbing in Maas' place. "They lost their phone so now they are going to get it." 

It was unnecessary to ask exactly to whom Bailey was referring with the word "they," the subtle pronoun answering the Anton Newcombe question.

These types of distractions seem appropriate for a band named after the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song" and practiced in the mind-bending antics of their Austin, Texas psychedelic predecessors, The 13th Floor Elevators. With Maas' soaring vocals over fuzzed-out feedback, droning organs, and primal beats, the band's intentions to aurally simulate lysergic acid diethylamide are more than obvious. Indeed, many of the Black Angels' shows enhance their music with LED lights, strobes, and image projections. 

Yet, it's a rock 'n' roll clichÈ to think there is a tripped-out audience looking to drop out and enhance their journey through the Black Angels' music . . . sort of.

"People do come up to us and say, 'I haven't done drugs in years and seeing your show is like being on a fucking hit of acid!'" Bailey says. "They don't have to do drugs. Maybe the music is its own drug for them." 

"But, that being said," she pauses to recall the statistic, "I think about 80 of our audience members are on something."

The projections, like their Velvet Underground connection, sprang from the group's intentions to alter the hardwiring of its listeners.

"The projections are definitely a big part of the show," says Bailey. "Christian Bland organs, drone machine does a lot of that. He'll see films, order them, splice them together, and make a reel that will fit with the mood of the song that will stimulate other senses. Not just your ears but your eyes too." 

She adds, "sometimes the images are completely random and people are like, 'what the fuck?'"

When a band establishes psychedelia as its milieu, an appropriate question is, how does this effect their political prism? Hallucinogenic consumption in the 1960s represented more than mere "bathtub gin" for baby boomers. It was a symbol of the counterculture; a denial of 1950s conservatism, and the perfect position from which to launch an anti-war stance. With songs like "Vietnam War" and "Vikings" (a track that reflects Maas' comments to this publication that "Americans are modern day vikings"), the Black Angels keep their songs deliberately anachronistic - a throwback to the Free Love era - when expressing a political view.

"Obviously, we have a song titled 'Vietnam War,'" Bailey explains. "But it's comparing past wars - in general - to what is going on right now. We've done this before and people need to open their and eyes to see that it's happening again."

While Maas' political viewpoints are more in line with the polemic Newcombe (who is a staunch opponent of the Iraq War and uses his Myspace page to verbally harangue the Bush administration), Bailey sees the Black Angels' liberalism being depicted in broad brush strokes.

"I think politics, and government in general, is such an important thing in our society," she explains. "It influences so many people. And so many people are brought up thinking just one way. Music is something you can use as a podium, not to shove down people's throats, but to throw ideas out there so people can see the other side of things. I see music as an outlet that opens other people's minds to see other views, whether it's religion, a war, or foreign policy."

A much more tempered quote than I envisioned Maas giving. But, then again, Bailey didn't lose her phone under a Los Angeles bridge. Sometimes tempered can be more effective when communicating a point of view.

The Black Angels join psyche-noise peers The Warlocks for shows at Gainesville's Common Grounds July 10, Orlando's Social July 11, and Tampa's Crowbar July 12.

myspace.com/theblackangels