Quiet Color

by kevin diamond

We recently caught up with NYC’s The Walkmen to talk their latest album, a change in recording studios, as well as public perception of their music. The boys play their final show with Kings Of Leon tonight in San Francisco before venturing off on the festival circuit. They return with some regular concert dates featuring Cass McCombs in July and play Central Park Summer Stage on August 16th. In between shows they graciously took some time to answer a few of our questions.

Artist: The Walkmen Song: Red Moon

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Quiet Color: The Walkmen sound is such a unique and unmistakable one. I wonder how purposeful and specific your attention to style and mood is?

Walkmen: I think we have a lot of trouble getting songs going without a certain sound or mood, so hopefully it is very purposeful.

QC: Are there bands you can point to whose dedication to mood, atmosphere, and instrumentation, is an inspiration for you guys?

WM: We like early bob Marley records a bunch. Chuck berry too.

QC: It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot but I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to call the Walkmen sound timeless. How important is it to you to not to get mired down in the sounds of the moment?

WM: I don’t think we would know what they were if we tried. We are certainly not trying to sound traditional but it helps to draw on stuff from the past that you love.

QC: How important was it for the healing process of losing Marcata studios in Harlem to make Pussy Cat and A Hundred Miles Off?

WM: I don’t know if we needed healing. It was pretty great to get the hell out of there. It was turning into a real train wreck over time.

QC: ..And how did those releases open you up to make an album like You and Me?

WM: Some people seemed to really hate those records and hate us personally so we thought we would really show them. But I am not really sure those people ever heard the next one or not. Nonetheless, we were really happy with how it came together.

QC: You and Me almost seems like the thematic opposite of Bows and Arrows. The toughness of a song like “The Rat” or “Whats In It For Me” seems to place a distance between the listener and the narrator, where as on You And Me , songs like “Donde Esta La Playa” or “Four Provinces” are warmer, more immediate and inviting. Where does this shift stem from?

WM: That was really what we were going for. We wanted to have as much of a difference in the tone of the songs as possible. We didn’t want to do anything stand offish as we were really tired of that feeling.

QC: The Walkmen are such a recording process-oriented band, I wonder how that effects your approach to a live show and touring, and how that has changed since the bands inception.

WM: I don’t know. We put a lot more efforts into our records. Our shows are always a lot better when we have something we really want to present that is new.

QC: In regards to touring, you guys are about to set off on one. Are there any specific experiences that you continue to live with from tours past?

WM: I don’t know. We are always touring. Not sure how to answer that.

QC: And is there a date or two on the upcoming odyssey that you’re especially looking forward to?

WM: I always like the day between a show in San Francisco and the northwest because we go fishing, swimming, boating or some other watersport.

QC: Thanks for the time and best of luck in ‘09 and beyond …