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Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
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| Valentine's with a Cutie: Chris Walla, Coachella, and 'Gaycations' | |
| by Albert Rodriguez -
SGN A&E Writer What better Valentine's gift to offer you than a cutie - a real Cutie. Chris Walla, guitarist for Seattle-based quartet Death Cab for Cutie, made himself available for an exclusive chitchat via e-mail in the midst of the release of his first solo album, Field Manual, and an upcoming performance at the monstrous Coachella Festival. Ear-sample his stuff at www.barsuk.com. Once a resident of Seattle's Capitol Hill district and now living in Portland, Walla is that super-cool, pop-cultured, open-minded friend we'd call over to help put away a good bottle of Cab Sauv. He's a sweetheart, and we love him for that. From his personal laptop to wherever you're reading this now, here's a special Valentine's treat for you - it's Chris Walla in "The Music Lounge." Albert Rodriguez: Every album has a journey, what was the journey for Field Manual? How long had a solo project been in the works? Chris Walla: I suppose the journey for Field Manual was much like the journey of finding a therapist; like, lots of talking to oneself and wondering whether or not this is something I should really be doing and maybe I'm totally batshit crazy. Where am I, and this is a solo record... so who are these people working on it? And didn't I start this when I was, like, 19? That's all kind of true. Rodriguez: Did you write these songs at home or on the road? Where was the album recorded? Walla: Most of these songs were written away from home. Many in hotel rooms, many on the bus. One ["A Bird Is A Song"] was written in equal parts in New Orleans and Jönkopping, Sweden. "It's Unsustainable" was mostly written wandering around drunk in a bad part of Vancouver at night. And "Geometry...c." was written somewhere between Dawson City in the Yukon and Tok, Alaska. Rodriguez: Will you juggle both a solo career and Death Cab for Cutie duties, or is Field Manual a one-time solo adventure? Walla: Well... neither, exactly. There's not much juggling to be done, really; the solo record is just that: A document of my songs at a particular point in time, but hardly a second (third?) career. Certainly it's not something I'll be promoting much, given the coming DCfC schedule. That said, I'll certainly make another record (it's already half done) and I'd love to play some shows. Rodriguez: Death Cab for Cutie was just announced on the Coachella Festival lineup. Does this mean a possible band tour in 2008? Walla: I dunno, maybe... Okay, definitely. Rodriguez: It's Grammy weekend. Do you have any favorite nominees this year? Walla: Yes. Leslie Feist is deserving of the world. Two other things I'm really excited about: Craig Thompson's phenomenal package for the Menomena record has been nominated, and Tucker Martine, with whom I co-produced the Decemberists' Crane Wife and who mixed about half of Field Manual, is up for the reasonably-arcane-but-nonetheless-fucking-awesome Best Non-Classical Engineering for the Floratone record. Rodriguez: Death Cab for Cutie received Grammy nominations on back-to-back years. Do you have any red carpet or post-award show memories? Walla: Yes. My favorite thing about the Grammies is that they refuse to feed anyone. They also refuse to give you even the slightest opportunity to eat. When we were seated on the floor last year between KT Tunstall and The Dixie Chicks, twelve rows back from the Police's "Roxanne" rendering, Ben was smuggling red vines down the aisle to us under the Samsonite chairs so as to prevent hypoglycemic shock. I think we gave some to The Roots too. I also had the pleasure, that same year, of having a front row seat for Paris Hilton's brilliant, er, "performance" at the very open bar at the Warner after party. I can tell you with some authority that yes, she is like that. Exactly. Rodriguez: What did you do on your most recent trip to Seattle? Walla: Ugh... not that much. I mean, recording was great. But most of my spare time was spent either in the car or at the hotel watching C-Span. Rodriguez: Will you ever move back to the Emerald City? Walla: It's hard to say. I'd sure like to say yes, but at this point it seems unlikely. My life is measurably better in Portland; I don't have to drive, like, ever. Except when I come to Seattle. I mean, I sound like a total bummer about Seattle, you know? I do love it, but it just got complicated at some point. The monorail debacle was big for me, and I don't believe the plan for growth in the core amounts to much more than "let's get huge"; I don't sense much long-term thinking at City Hall. After my grandmother died in 2002, I found a book on one of her shelves called Plans For Seattle: 2000. It's a compilation of about three years of work by the Seattle 2000 committee - founded in 1968, if I remember - a think tank of hundreds of community leaders. There's all sorts of stuff about funding a monorail, about easing traffic, a busing plan to desegregate schools, putting in sidewalks in Rainier Beach and Arbor Heights and Highline, that kind of thing. It's hard to know what happened. Rodriguez: What's the last piece of music you downloaded to your MP3 player? Walla: There's a film student in Portland named Spencer Gentz who records under the name Bell Plaines. Last week I downloaded eight songs from his MySpace page (myspace.com/bellplaines) and it's all I've been listening to... it's in the Slowdive family, I suppose; a tiny feather of a record, but endlessly compelling. Rodriguez: You toured with Franz Ferdinand two years ago, in fact I covered your opening and closing shows at Portland and Vancouver BC. What was it like being on the road with those guys? Walla: Okay, so, here's the deal: Franz Ferdinand are the best band in rock 'n' roll today, and I did not relish the evenings when we had to play after them. They are unstoppable, always, without exception. They're also the sweetest group of people you could hope to tour with. So I guess, all in all, it was maybe my favorite tour we've ever done. Rodriguez: Artists are notorious for losing certain items on tour, like underwear and cell phone chargers. What do you often leave behind? Walla: A trail of yellow guitar picks follows me wherever I go. That's about it. Rodriguez: You coined the term "Gaycation" for us, referring to Death Cab For Cutie's fun-filled hangouts with Gay friends in NYC, so when's the last time you went on one? When can we plan a Seattle Gaycation? Walla: Ha! Wow, I dunno... my friend Rodney moved back to Seattle this last year, but I only saw him briefly at a show. He'd be a good excuse, I suppose. So, soon? Hello, Rodney! Rodriguez: Valentine's Day is upon us. Will you be sending flowers or making a phone call to your mom? Walla: A phone call for certain, but I don't know anything about flowers. Rodriguez: On the subject of Valentine's Day, what are some of your favorite cheesy love songs (Air Supply, Hall... Oats, etc.)? Walla: It was brought to my attention during the revision process of Autumn DeWilde's Elliott Smith book that "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago is pretty great, and that has turned into a real favorite. But nothing - really, nothing at all - can touch Kenny Rankin's "Lost Up In Loving You." I dare you to beat it. Rodriguez: Lastly, since we're on the cusp of Valentine's, do you have any words of encouragement for your Gay fans who dream of someday living in a country that accepts marriage for everyone? Walla: Yeah, certainly. I'm starting to think it's not as far off as it seems, or has seemed, or something like that. Maybe it's the way this election year is playing out thus far; I dunno, but it feels like we could make some progress in the next few years, like "progress" might actually become part of "progressive" again. Maybe it's just the People's Republic of Portland getting my hopes up. Hard to say. But it feels like we're headed in the right direction. |
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