By DCist contributor Abby Lavin

On any given night, most bars in D.C. would be more fun if you got to pick the music, right? But to convince a bar to let you play iPod-commando (unless it’s Café Saint-Ex on iPod Jukebox night), you’d have to have some serious indie-rock street-cred. You’d practically have to be a member of experimental rock demigods Animal Collective.

Fancy that! A member of Animal Collective (Geologist) is going to be treating attendees to the sounds of his mp3 player at Rock and Roll Hotel’s DAM! Fest pre-party this Friday, along with live performances from Dirty on Purpose, The Dance Party (***), and Exit Clov (whose new album we reviewed earlier this week). DCist sat down with Geologist (sans scary headgear) to discuss Animal Collective and the fine art of iPod DJing.

How did you get involved with the DAM! Fest?

Eric [Boucher], one of the organizers, sent me an email. He’d heard that I sometimes do iPod DJing for Animal Collective release parties and other things. I don’t know how to use turntables to match beats. Sometimes I play techno, but I don’t mix songs together because I can’t.

What’s your role in Animal Collective?

I do samples and electronics.

So you are a DJ.

Sort of. The samples are made by us; I don’t sample other people’s music. They’re just weird sound sets that I make and then I load them on to a sampler. ‘Cause when we compose, they’re not always straight rock or pop songs. We like to play around with more abstract noises in the music. So that’s where I fit in.

What kind of music are you going to play on Friday night?

I have no idea. My fee for the event is just a bar tab. So once I drink a bunch of beers I’m sure I’ll just want to play music that I can bop around to. For me, DJing is a chance to go out for the evening, drink some beers, see some friends, and be in control of what I have to listen to in the background. Todd Hyman, who runs a record label and lives here in D.C. is actually going to partner up with me. Because with iPods you can’t blend the songs, so there’s always this silence and it really sucks. Todd’s actually going to bring vinyl, so that way we can keep it continuous. There was this article on pitchfork. They did a news story on the festival and wrote it as if I was performing. So now I’m thinking people are going to show up expecting me to play or something. I think maybe since it got unwarranted attention I should do something sort of “out there.”

What do you think about the inaugural DAM! Fest?

This is kind of embarrassing, but I really don’t know anything about the mission of the festival. I’m curious, though. This band Bishop Allen is playing DAM! Fest, and their practice space in Brooklyn is across the hall from ours, so I recognized their name. But I’ve been so wrapped up with my new pet kittens, taking them to the vet, that I haven’t really looked into the festival much.

Two of the members of Animal Collective live in New York, and one lives in Portugal. What brought you down to D.C.?

I’ve lived here for 2 1/2 years. Now that I do Animal Collective full time, I have to go up to New York more often than I used to. But originally I moved to D.C. for a job on the Hill. I have an environmental policy background. I worked for the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries.

That’s an interesting day job. Did your coworkers know about Animal Collective?

Only one guy knew who we were. I guess he thought it was cool. I tried not to talk about it too much, just ‘cause, it’s the Hill. There’s a lot of things in my lifestyle that don’t match up with the Hill. I don’t know how psyched they were that I used to often come in to work with hand stamps on from the night before.

Are you planning on touring with Animal Collective any time soon?

No. We did the summer tour, and now recording is our priority. We have a whole new record’s worth of songs to record. So right at the beginning of 2007, we hope to go into the studio and finish our record. I don’t know when we’ll tour again. One member has a baby and two of them are married, so…

You guys sound unlike any other band.

That’s a big compliment.

But a lot of more recent acts sound like you. Do you think you’ve influenced other indie bands like the Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?

I haven’t heard either of their stuff. Actually, I did hear one Arcade Fire song, and I can see why we get compared to them.

It’s great that you found fellow musicians to play with at a young age, and you all continue to jive together. You guys definitely have staying power.

Yeah. We released many, many records before anyone knew who we were. Sung Tongs (2004) was the one that blew up and made us able to do this for a living. That was our sixth record. At that point, the diehard fans were already with us. But I think they’re a little bummed that we’re getting more popular.