Thomas Erak, lead singer and guitarist for experimental rock group The Fall of Troy, recently sat down with Flavor to discuss how he defines his group’s music, the group’s future album plans and what he likes to do to in his spare time. The Fall of Troy will be playing at The House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, Saturday with Since By Man.

Flavor: How would you define your music?

Thomas Erak: Our music is pretty hard to define just because it’s progressive rock and there are a lot of elements. Instead of doing one thing, we try to do many things. It’s experimental.

FL: What was your original driving force behind wanting to be in a rock group?

TE: I just love music. I think it’s the coolest thing there is.

FL: What do you usually listen to in your free time?

TE: I listen to tons of music. I’ve been listening to a lot of hip-hop lately. We listen to a lot of indie rock, too. We also listen to a lot of older stuff like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. We listen to a lot of different music.

FL: You released your newest album last year, what are your plans for the future?

TE: We are actually working on two albums right now that are completely separate. We have one record that’s actually not going to be the next record. It’s going to be the record after the next record and that record is almost completely done. We’ve started writing and performing the songs for the next record. We have three new songs that are on that record that are in pretty heavy rotation in our sets.

FL: Is the new album following the general theme of the last album?

TE: I think the new album is more abrasive. It’s heavier stuff. It’s more technical. It’s more in your face. The next record is a little more metal influenced.

FL: Is it harder to come up with new ideas for new albums?

TE: We always write songs that we can’t play at the beginning. It’s a growth. Every time we write songs it’s a growth, so that’s why we try to write as many songs as possible all the time. That’s why we are working on two records right now instead of one. We are working on different things because we always want to do the different things. I think it’s one of those things where you try to challenge yourself as much as possible.

FL: What do you like to do to relax?

TE: We’re all best friends so we all hang out together. We write new songs. We chill with our friends. I don’t know … go see a movie. We’re never home, so we try to see as many people as possible when we’re at home.

FL: If you could meet anyone from the past or present, who would it be and why?

TE: I would have really liked to meet Hunter S. Thompson just because he was such an interesting person. I think he was one of the greatest writers of all time and I think he was brilliant, but he was also just completely out of his mind.