SXSW 2007 :: Interview: The Walkmen

The Walkmen are currently touring small clubs across the country, debuting songs from their untitled forthcoming album. Sunday night they played two intimate sets at Schuba's in Chicago, and by the second the band was just as comfortable with the new songs as the old. A couple of newbies, still untitled, boast wonderful horn arrangements, among other alterations to the band's formula. On one song, "I Lost You," singer Hamilton Leithauser delivers a soaring chorus over a euphoria-inducing chord progression. On another, the band plays a great waltz.

Bassists and keyboard players Peter Bauer and Walter Martin are now playing a wide-array of percussion while singer/guitarist Hamilton Leithauser is shredding more guitar than ever and is using the full range of his voice, crooning beautifully on the ballads and belting it out when it's time to sing "The Rat." Martin and guitarist Paul Maroon bring a new compelling sound to the band by setting up dueling pianos. Yes, a double-piano attack, and let me gush, because it's fantastic (double-piano songs include: "Wake Up," "Blizzard of '96," and nameless new one). The band also pulled out some vibrant, perhaps unexpected, renditions of "Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone," "What's In It For Me," and a second set encore of the first song from their first album, "They're Winning."

In between sets, I caught up with Leithauser for an interview. In an infectiously positive mood, he talked about the new record, touring in Australia, and why playing "The Rat" is still one heck of a good time.

*****

Hamilton Leithauser (HL): I really like the way we've been playing recently.

Andre Perry (CMG): Why's that?

HL: I think we've just got new songs and a new sound. As much as I loved our last record, it wasn't a real new sound for us. I thought it was great but I feel like it's way different now. And it's always more fun for the band when it's way different.

CMG: What do you think is different?

HL: I think that we've got a lot of songs with really individual sounds. You know, it's got dynamics instead of us getting up there and having me scream my fucking head off and everyone else just going all-out all the time. I mean that can be fun for a while, but now we've got more slow jams and dynamics. These are the best songs we've ever written. I'm psyched on it. Everyone is.

CMG: There was some crazy instrumentation with you all bringing out all of those horns in the first set.

HL: Yeah and the recordings have full strings but we just couldn't bring that many people out with us [on tour].

CMG: What are some of the names of the new songs?

HL: We have one called "I Lost You" and we've got one called "Today or Tomorrow" that's great with a calypso horn part. You know, we actually don't have that many names yet.

CMG: How many of the new songs are you playing on this tour?

HL: We're playing six right now but we have eight: two aren't just quite ready to play out for people yet. You know, we just haven't had practice in awhile. If we could just practice one time we'd be ready to play them. [Laughs.]

CMG: How's the recording going?

HL: It's slamming, man. I can't wait to play it for you. I'm so psyched on it. We're recording at a studio in Hoboken [New Jersey] called Water Music. It's got this vintage Neve board with all this great gear and this huge room that's exactly like our old studio, Marcata, that closed [last summer]. We haven't been in a room like that for awhile: huge concrete floors. We're getting the sound that we got on our first record. Everything [in Water Music studio] is just like better and more expensive stuff that we weren't ever able to afford but would've liked to have had in Marcata. It's just our old studio -- the way we dreamed it.

CMG: As I understand it they're going to be big arrangements on this album.

HL: Yeah, big strings. There are going to be a lot of horns. We got a lot of calypso stuff that I think is really great. We've got a really big sound, the biggest sound we've ever had.

CMG: When do you think the new record will be done?

HL: We'd love to have it out in September. That's kind of the game plan. But we're going to really make sure it's done before we put it out, which is something that we've never done before. [Laughs.] We've always thrown like two tracks on the records that you know, but we'll do a real thorough job this time.

CMG: If you look back at the original records, in retrospect, how do you feel about them?

HL: I love 'em all. I think they're great. I mean they're all perfect for me. I remember making them all and we were all in a sort of different place for each one but they're great.

CMG: How are things changing in your guys' lives? How are those changes affecting the band? People are getting older and some wedding rings are coming on.

HL: And kids are popping out too. I think we're in the best place we've been for a couple years. We got into a mode where we toured for too long and developed a sound that was great. But [that sound] aged and we didn't real feel like trying to make a new sound. We sort of felt like having a good time for awhile. Now I think we've gotten back home and gotten in the shit and tried to slam out some new stuff that is really different. And I think we've really got it now. I mean we've got some songs that we're really psyched on.

CMG: How have you guys gotten so creative so quickly (the band released a cover album last October and an original album last May)?

HL: It really just happens at the weirdest possible times. You wait and try and think it's gonna to happen, you know: today's gonna be the day, but it just never happens. Then you're not trying and all of a sudden you write a great song. And you don't know how it happened and it makes you so mad but you have a great song out of nowhere.

CMG: How did this album begin?

HL: The real great writing happened September through November of [2006]. Then we recorded that stuff. Then in January and February of this year we had some really good moments. And then we've been touring a bit, went to Australia, so we had to take some time off from writing. But we wanted to do this tour to get out and play the six songs that we have done. You just got 'em and you want to play them while they're fresh because you actually want to play for a change. It's usually like somebody says, you gotta tour, cause they're gonna cut off your dick if you don't and then your money's gonna be gone. But this tour was our decision, for like the first time in five years.

CMG: What are you looking forward to at South By Southwest this year?

HL: I think people think we're crazy. We're playing like eight times. We swore off ever going to South By Southwest again because we've done it like twice. But there will be a lot of people and we're playing really big shows and we're playing like nine times. Like three times on Friday. And then Saturday at 2PM, 4PM, then 8PM. I dunno. Then the next day we've gotta drive to New Orleans. But we'll get to play our new stuff, which is actually fun for us for a change. That's what we're looking forward to.

CMG: When do you actually have time to get home, sit back and eat a bagel in New York?

HL: Not until May 1st. It's mid-March now.

CMG: You seem very happy.

HL: We are. We're psyched. I think we wrote really good songs and I hope people want to come see them.

CMG: Are you listening to anything right now?

HL: I've been listening to a lot of '78-'83 Rolling Stones lately.

CMG: How was the tour in Australia?

HL: It was a blast. We were playing all these new songs there and all of these big festivals.

CMG: Do the people know who you are?

HL: [Laughing.] Yeah, because they all know "The Rat". Everybody knows the fucking "Rat." We played in Spain last year for like thirteen thousand people: you play all your songs and they politely applaud. You play "The Rat" and they're screaming their heads off, "Oh, it's that band!!! Yeah!!!" It's like you're playing in a fucking stadium and they go crazy. You know, why the fuck don't we sell more records? Everybody knows that song. I guess they're all stealing it online.

CMG: How do you feel about them just downloading the music?

HL: It's just fine. It's our song. If people want to hear it, go get it. I've got no problem, I mean, I do it!

CMG: Sounds like a fair trade.

HL: Yeah!