By Frances Reade

Local psych-rock heavies the Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound pilot a cavernous, abandoned spaceship, where the ponderous echoes of Black Sabbath, Neil Young, the Stooges, and the 13th Floor Elevators reverberate through empty chambers and recombine into mind-frying gamma rays. Equal parts brooding stoner sci-fi, choogling jam-along, thunderous riffage, and Californian-sunset melancholy, the Assemble Head plays the Hemlock tonight at 9 p.m. If the mood should strike, do stop by.

In the meantime, frontman Charles Saufley graciously answered a few questions for us:

The lyrics on Ekranoplan, your latest album, are frequently indecipherable. Would you care to tell us what sort of things you're howling about ?

At least one song is about a female version of Jimi Hendrix delivering mankind from the clutches of oppressive ogres. I suppose there's some lyrics about lust too. There's a lot people finding their humanity amid future shock meltdown. That's probably the most prevalent theme.

An Ekranoplan is some kind of monstrous Soviet hovership. You also namecheck the Gemini space program, and your first record had a painting of a dead cosmonaut, piloting a lunar rover. If you could replace your tour vehicle with any craft, real or imagined, what would it be?

Blimp—preferably something in kind of a sky anemone/jellyfish configuration. Dangling ganglia and tentacles are a must for vittles acquisition and general terrorization purposes. I would also require a bean bag-equipped gondola and one of those sky chairs hangin' outside…or maybe just a big bucket on line that you could hang out in when you need the alone time.

What was your favorite tour experience this year?

Our little west coast tour with Circle ruled. They know their Argento flicks, which is good stuff for breaking down the language barrier. They also move from backstage deep-chill to unhinged with an effortlessness and grace that is awe inspiring.

Do you have a new record in the works?

Oh yes. Summer 2008. A lot of white boy funk Skynrd stomps comin' out of the jam space right now though. I'm not sure whether or not to be worried about that. We may need some kind of self actualization retreat/workshop and a donut binge to get back on track. The mutant muse has yet to really barf up on us and kick us around in the way we require. I can smell it 'round the corner though. A very exciting sensation, that.

What do you like and dislike most about being a band in San Francisco?

All the folks I know 'round here that play music are really nice people and work really had at what they do. I think they take their music really seriously, regardless of career potential. That's really inspiring to me. SF isn't really up it's own kazoo the way some of the industry towns are.

The downside of SF is always the goof factor. You can't really keep the campy- campster, hokey joke rock suckers down around here. They're like weeds. I mean, I know rock n' roll is basically silly. But hiding behind ironic gimmicks just isn't really my thing.