After all they?ve been through, Sense Field is still making blissful music. Following their independent exposure on Revelation Records, the band was picked up by Warner Bros. Records. The band spent five years recording new music, only to get stuck on the shelf at Warner Bros.

Sense Field has finally released a new album, “Tonight and Forever,” and it was well worth the wait. The band has had a rebirth, largely due to the helping hand of Nettwerk America Records.

The new album is a departure from their previous indie hit, “Building,” filled with strings and some drum machine fills on various songs. It is also more developed with an artistic, experimental approach. The music is refreshing with an uplifting, positive feel, keeping the listener interested with different sounds and tempos.

On Oct. 4, the Hornet interviewed the band as they made a stop at Sacramento?s Capitol Garage on their West Coast tour:

Q: Where are you guys from?

Rodney Sellars (guitar): We?re from L.A. and, Rob our drummer, is from New York.

Q: How long have you guys been together?

Rodney: 8 or 9 years.

Q: How do the music scenes differ in New York and L.A.?

Rob Pfeiffer (drums): They are equally jaded. I grew up in New York with the whole hardcore/punk scene. Its a much more tense vibe in New York. L.A. is more laid back punk rock, where everybody smokes pot.

Q: What bands do you enjoy playing with?

Rob: We had a good time playing with Guided by Voices. Those guys drink a lot of beer. We also like playing with Built to Spill, Granddaddy, Creeper Lagoon, At the Drive-Ins, Beck, and the Blue Man Group.

Q: How has this American tragedy affected your touring?

Rodney: It?s been such a dark thing, you forget about it for a day or so and then think about it again. It makes me feel like, “why are we touring, we should be doing something more serious.”

Rob: The vibe at the shows has definitely changed. We were just on the east coast and its much more tense. From the proximity of Ground Zero, even in place like Boston and New Jersey you feel really close. You know that there’s people that wanted to go out to shows and enjoy themselves. We weren’t even sure if we wanted to keep touring at that point because we were devastated as any American. We didn’t know what we were supposed to do. On the West Coast the shows have been much more relieving, a lot of great vibes and great atmospheres.

Q: What do you do on tour to cope?

Rob: The last couple of days we drove straight from Vancouver, there was a lot of times of just silence.

Rodney: We listened to the news a lot too.

Q: What is your relationship like with your new label Nettwerk?

Rodney: Its great, they?re doing all kinds of things for us. It?s amazing compared to other situations we?ve been in the past.

Rob: Considering the situation with Warner Bros. was almost catastrophe, Nettwerk has been the ultimate label for this band. Right from the start they have been all about the band having the artistic control that the band is capable of, in the forms of making this new record and producing and recording it ourselves. They?ve been 100 percent behind the artistic achievement and they?ve been very supportive with a lot of touring and promotion. They got this album out so fast, the ink is still drying from the label deal. It?s been a great experience.

Q: What are your thoughts on mainstream music vs. the independent scene?

John Stockberger (bass): I think both can be faulted pretty easily. Indie labels people can say your not selling out and making Coke commercial, but lets face it most of those bands aren?t making a dime. Major labels can be cheesy, but at least your getting paid.

Rob: There’s a change coming soon. I think there’s going to be a gravitational pull in another direction pretty soon. I personally stick with what you grew up with what you know best as independent bands because a lot of them you know the heart and motivation is all there in the music. When you pick up a record from a major label band you?re not really sure on how it got to that finished stage. You don’t know if that band really got twisted around so they sacrificed themselves. Of course everybody wants to be successful but you got to stick to your guns.

Q: Do you care if your band is categorized and/or how would you like it to be known as?

Rodney: I?d rather not be categorized. There’s so many styles of music now and they are all little sub-groups.

John: The categorizations are such a joke. I can think of like five or six different things we?ve been labeled, every time they come out with a new label.

Rob: Someone said to me, “I got two words for you: ?rock band.?” That is pretty much what you are. You might write one song one way and another song another way.

Rodney: Rock is like the most meaningless category and that what is so perfect about it. I just like to say we play “the music.” People ask you what you play and you say you know the music. I don?t know why labels are such a fad.

Q: How often are you guys on the road or how long is your current tour?

Rob: The record came out on Tuesday [Oct. 2]. We?ve been on the East Coast since the beginning of September. It?s been about a month and we have a couple of days left. We go out again to the East Coast in about three weeks from now. And from there it?s open but it?s going to keep coming. The single for the radio is going to be coming in January, and based on that we will be doing quite a bit of touring, Europe and everywhere once the new year comes around. 2002 will be big for us. We?re trying to hit every city.