*Noise Pop Special
Hamilton Leithhauser: Guitar and Vocals
Walter Martin: Keyboards
Paul Maroon: Guitar and Keyboards
Matt Barick: Drums
Peter Bauer: Bass
I used to see members of Jonathan Fire Eater walking around Williamsburg back
in the mid-1990s. They were a big band back then. I think that Walter lived
on my street. A few years later I hear that they have formed a new group called
The Walkmen. Months ago I started hearing their song "We've Been Had" in a
Saturn car commercial. Things have picked up for them. It all started when they
created a studio in Harlem and met up with Hamilton and Peter from The Recoys.
Walter and Hamilton are cousins, so it makes sense that they create something
together and make it a family matter. The music is direct and forceful.
There is a matter of fact quality about the Walkmen's music. Here we are,
entertain us. They combine dark noise and simple tunes to create something
original and with depth. I spoke to guitarist Paul and drummer Matt before a few
shows in LA with Hot Hot Heat and other bands. We spoke in the lobby of The
Troubadour before two sold out shows. The Walkmen are a band from Washington, DC.
They mostly live in New York City today. I spoke to them at the beginning of
2003. Since then, they have released a second album. They will be playing at
Noise Pop this year. They will perform the final day at BimboÕs on SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 27th.
The Walkmen, Film School / Feb 27th
Bimbo's 365 Club, 6:30/ 7:30 PM, $18/ $20 day of show, 18+
* * * * * *
SFB: You have done a lot of tours?
Matt: The record came out in March 2002. We don't go on long tours. We
usually do tours that last two or three weeks. We don't enjoy it when they go on for
too long. We still have jobs in New York City, so we can't stay away for too
long. We have been in the studio recently working on the new album.
Paul: We refuse to do long tours. We don't want to get used to touring. We
want to complain about it.
SFB: What did you do after Jonathan Fire Eater broke up?
Matt: We started going back to college and building a studio in Harlem. There
was just the three of us. Once we got the studio going, we started this band.
We worked with another singer but that didn't pan out. We did a few shows.
She was in another band. We gave up on that.
Paul: She's in Flux Information Sciences. She also got a degree to be a
registered nurse.
SFB: You went to Columbia. What did you major in?
Paul: Matt did a degree in American History. I did Russian History. I studied
mostly the 19th century.
SFB: In 2000, what were the first recordings like?
Paul: The first thing that we recorded was "Wake Up." We got help with the
recording from Greg Talenfeld who had worked with Pavement and Beck. What
happened was that he was so nervous at the time. He walked us through the recording
process. He recorded "Wake Up" and "Rue The Day" but we took over after that.
SFB: Did Hamilton have ideas for songs?
Matt: We had already been practicing before the studio was ready. We had some
songs done by then. We had four songs finished by then. When we wrote a song,
we all pitched in a little bit. Hamilton writes all the lyrics.
SFB: What did you think of Hamilton as a performer?
Matt: We had already seen him play with The Recoys. We always wanted to steal
him from that band anyway.
SFB: What is Stewart Lupton up to?
Matt: He lives in Washington DC. I think he went back to college also. His
other band fell apart.
SFB: What were the first Walkmen shows like?
Paul: The first shows were great. We thought that we were onto something. The
first show we thought we were great, but it turned out that it was just our
friends being enthusiastic. We then entered a long dark tunnel, concert-wise,
where we played to fewer and fewer people every time. It sucked. We realized
thing weren't good. We went through this period of self-doubt. Then about nine
months ago we became "goodish" again. Now we have gotten a lot better.
SFB: Why did that happen?
Paul: We were trying really hard to be different. So Walter had his tape
loops. We brought out a piano. Then we just got lazy. We stopped caring about any
of that stuff.
Matt: We just stopped trying to be different.
SFB: What are some of the bands that you have toured with this past year that
you have liked?
Paul: Neil Michael Hagerty. We hated it at the time but we grown to realize
how wrong we were. We opened for him. We opened for "The Hagg."
Matt: We only did a few shows with him. His live show wasn't quite so good.
People were curious about him, but they would head home after a few songs.
SFB: How did you get together with this record label, Startime?
Matt: We were friends with French Kicks. They were already on that label.
Paul: Startime is realistic. They are good for us. They can sell the amount
of records it is conceivable for us to sell. It doesn't matter if we have
creative control. It is a reasonable sized label for a reasonable sized band.
SFB: What do you think about these people who want everything to be "indie?"
They really have a problem when a band supposedly "sells out" and signs with a
bigger label. I asked this because you have had experience on a big label and
on a label like Startime.
Paul: People who think like that are 99% idiots. They are mostly teenagers. I
used to read Maximum Rock and Roll when I was younger and I used to believe
it. Fugazi is great. They did things that actually helped people. Doing shows
for six dollars doesn't help anyone. But all the benefits they do really helps
people. But when I think of people who complain about bands selling out, all I
think of are people who worry about how the bands they like reflect them.
They think rock music is more important than it is.
SFB: You have toured a while now. What sort of person likes The Walkmen? Can
you describe this person?
Matt: From what I have seen they are in their twenties. They are mostly white.
Paul: Actually they are 28 years old and drive Saturns.
SFB: They played "We've Been Had" during the playoffs. How did that work out?
Paul: Great. We made a lot of money. They play our music more on commercials
than they do on the radio. They played our music during the divisional
playoffs. That was fun because I like sports and then our song came on. I knew my
brother was watching and that made me happy.
SFB: Do you like sports?
Matt: No.
Paul: Matt was a fencer in college. Then he speared someone. It was a 19 year
old girl. It was all for the sports requirement. It was like a kabob. I like
basketball. I am obsessed with it.
SFB: I like the Indiana Pacers.
Paul: Really? Why?
SFB: I have always liked Reggie Miller. He played at UCLA. I am from Los
Angeles but I have always hated the Lakers.
Paul: Lakers are the worst! Sacramento is going to beat the Lakers this year.
You can't fuck with Vlade. He's a beast. He smokes a pack of cigarettes a
day. He's seven foot one. He's still kicking ass.
SFB: Do you smoke cigarettes?
Matt: We all quit and some of us started again.
SFB: Do you have any other hobbies?
Matt: We don't have much free time. We are either working or playing in the
band.
SFB: Do you have a regular job?
Matt: Yeah, I work at the Museum of Sex in New York City. I have worked there
for a year. It's on 27th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Paul: I work at Pfizer, the huge pharmaceutical company. My degree in history
has nothing to do with my job: it's a vanity degree. It's of no use to
anyone, even in an emergency. It made me and my parents feel good about spending all
that money for a vanity degree.
SFB: Do you have any outstanding college loans?
Matt: I do. My degree helped me get a job, but my job won't really help me
paying back my student loans.
SFB: Do you have another album of songs written?
Matt: We have about five or six songs right now.
Paul: We were just talking about that in the car. We want to record half of
the songs in our studio and half in a separate studio. We want to do that as
soon as we can. It will be the first chink of the new album. We were offered a
lucrative deal with CVS records.
Matt: We don't know what label it will be on. We haven't decided. It will be
a full-length CD.
SFB: Have you read any good books?
Matt: We have all been reading a lot of Hemingway.
Paul: We should start a book club. What did you guys think of "Possession?"
It just sounds like a book club sort of book.
SFB: Are there any movies that you have liked recently?
Paul: I saw About Schmidt.
Matt: I saw that. I saw all the usual ones. I saw Adaptation. Lord of The
Rings.
SFB: I heard that Hamilton plays a lot of internet chess?
Paul: He plays it a lot. He's the top player on Yahoo or Instant Chess.
Matt: He was the player of the month on one of those things.
SFB: Do you have any advice to any hipster who is sitting at the L Cafe right
now? One of those cafes on Bedford Avenue has an internet connection.
Paul: The most important thing if you want to be in a band is to acquire
interesting equipment so you don't sound like the other bands. Don't spend too
much time on how you dress.
