The Walkmen |
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Tue. March 18.2003 6:05 PM EST |
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The Walkmen: Born to RambleNew York buzz band disses Carson Daly, denies ties to Joy Division. by Gil Kaufman |
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The Walkmen (Publicity) |
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If you run into the members of The Walkmen, go ahead and tell them you like their Radiohead/U2-inspired sound. Tell them you think their trippy keyboard rock is cooly retro and ultra modern. Hell, tell them you love the turn-of-the-century
But, whatever you do, don't tell them you think their music is dark. "We're not dark!" says singer Hamilton Leithauser. "I think the record title steers people toward thinking that, and I guess some of the songs [could be heard that way], but I hate that serious, somber description." The thing is, the Walkmen's music is dark, but not in the ways you might think. The band makes a richly layered pop that's reliant on droning guitars and lethargic vocals. It's sneaky, creaky, and definitely a bit ... off. Both "Wake Up" and "We've Been Had" pulse with a distinct combination of passion, experimentation, and conviction. The Walkmen come by their righteous indignation honestly. Leithauser and bassist Peter Bauer spent a few years in Manhattan with their band, the Recoys. Paul Maroon (guitar, piano), Matt Barrick (drums) and Walter Martin (organ, tapes), were part of Jonathan Fire*Eater, a mega-hyped outfit that never panned-out commercially. After the Fire*Eaters were dismissed by the industry, they went into creative retreat, building an analog studio (Marcata Recording) and forming their own label (StarTime International). They were determined to give it another shot without any outside interference. More shambling than the Strokes, and a bit more joyful than Joy Division, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me has generated offers from a handful of major labels. Leithauser says the New York band is insisting on total creative control. Leithauser has plenty of scars to show for his rock 'n' roll lifestyle, as well as some choice words for Carson Daly and the perfect name for a potential Walkmen reality series. VH1: What's it feel like to step into a band where half the guys have already been working together and already have a kind of unspoken musical telepathy? Hamilton Leithauser: It was weird. It was my idea to join the band. They had been playing with a different singer and I didn't know what they wanted or expected. Peter and I had been playing in bands since we were 14. The other guys had, too. So there were two camps at first. VH1: Were you a fan of Jonathan Fire*Eater? Leithauser: I loved them. I was at their first show. They were great when they were really young. They were really fun, good showmen. Then, when they got older and got more exposure, they lost it and they knew it. VH1: The New York Times described the sentiment of your music as "the party's over." Leithauser: I don't know. We're not dark at all! The new music's not ... I can see [what they mean] in some of those songs. The title of the record sets people off on that and Jonathan Fire*Eater was kind of dark ... I hate the dark, serious, somber [description] ... Or the slickly dressed, skinny-tie hipster thing. Those are descriptions people give when they haven't heard or seen us. VH1: What about the Joy Division comparisons? Leithauser: I don't mind the Joy Division/Radiohead comparisons because I like those bands. But when people hear Joy Division they think you will be a dark band. I don't like how serious they are. We're just up there playing the songs. VH1: What's the strangest thing you've had to do to promote the band? Leithauser: Play on Carson Daly's show. It was really weird and everyone hated it. We were there all day doing these camera checks and sound-checks. They told us we could play any song we wanted. Then, at the last minute, they told us we couldn't [play the song we chose]. They told us that if we didn't play the song they wanted us to play, we couldn't perform. VH1: What did they want you to play? Leithauser: "We've Been Had." We wanted to play anything else. We had a cover we wanted to do, "The Old Triangle" by the Pogues. We did a great version of it and they didn't like it because they didn't know it. VH1: You guys have an indie mind-set, but you sold a song to Saturn for a car commercial. Leithauser: Yeah. An email was sent to us with an amount of money and the finished ad. We said, 'Where do we sign?' VH1: So, what did you spend the money on? Leithauser: I blew it on extraneous stuff, but I have nothing to show for it. The money's gone, and I have nothing except sweet hangovers and some good meals. We just don't think about it. A car commercial is a pretty tacky thing to do, we all know that. But when you don't have much money ... We saw the ad and talked about it and it's not offensive, so what the hell? VH1: No word yet from Sony about snatching the name Walkman? Leithauser: No. We're just waiting. Pete tried to convince me that it's a word in the dictionary. It's not. VH1: You guys have your own studio, silkscreen your album covers, and put the record out on your own label. Was being so independent about the band a reaction to being burned by a major label? Leithauser: Maybe. When we started the band, one thing we agreed on was that we needed full creative control. Now we're talking to record labels, and we've insisted on that. We can't compromise at all. The way we made our record ... we had to do it ourselves because we had no money. We want to do this for the rest of our lives and if we do a gimmick or a joke thing people will lose interest. VH1: Your album sells a million copies tomorrow, what's the first thing you buy? Leithauser: A '73 Corvette Stingray. I've never had a car. VH1: Do you still have a day job? Leithauser: Barely. I went in yesterday for three hours. I work at the Metropolitan Art Museum on the Timeline of Art History. It's a project that's kind of like an art history greatest hits. My dad is a painter and I got this internship there when I was in college and I've been there ever since. VH1: Your songs are, sorry to say, mostly dark and minor key, but "Revenge Wears No Wristwatch," is kind of a rocker. How'd you break out of your funk for that one? Leithauser: We wrote that in ten minutes and it's probably the best song on the record. We kept it really loose and then didn't play it until we recorded it live two days later. I think the next record will all be like that. VH1: What's the first album you ever bought? Leithauser: Thriller. I remember buying the cassette of it with my allowance money when I was four or five. I was really excited about the idea of owning a tape. Then, I started buying the Rolling Stones, because [keyboardist] Walter [Martin] was really into them. I got High Tide and Green Grass, then London's Newest Hitmakers. VH1: What's the best rock show you've ever seen? Leithauser: The most excited I've ever been was when I saw Jonathan Fire*Eater play Tramps - they were fantastic. The first time I ever saw Jon Spencer play at the old 9:30 Club [in Washington, D.C.], when I was 15 also stands out. VH1: If someone followed the Walkmen around and made a reality show of your lives, what would it be called? Leithauser: Five Sarcastic F*cks. VH1: What's a record you enjoy that might surprise people? Leithauser: Randy Newman's Sail Away. I just listened to it this morning. He's just a great, funny songwriter. I'd love to make a record like that someday. We've tried a thousand times and it never really works. It just ends up being awful. VH1: When you were a kid singing in your room, what band did you dream about being in? Leithauser: I really wanted to sound like Jonathan Richman, Iggy Pop and the Cramps. Richman is perfect for a high school/college kid, because he's always singing simple songs about girls. I liked Iggy because he was tough and the Cramps because they were cool. I tried to be like all three of them in my first band [The Latebreakers] and we sucked. We were so horrible. VH1: Why do you think New York is undergoing this rock band renaissance? Leithauser: Because of the Strokes. The scene has definitely changed, though. When we got here in 1998, the only other band that I knew of in town was Jonathan Fire*Eater, and they were on their way out. There was one band to go see. It was kind of bleak. |
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