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Interview with Crystal Stilts
Interviewed By: Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips
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Crystal Stilts earned a fervent following with the 2008 release of their debut album, Alight of Night. Two of those fans, Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean & Britta) and Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean & Britta), even called them their favorite band of 2008. Veterans of the Kevchino.com interview themselves, Dean & Britta agreed to let us shirk our duties and talk to the band for us. |
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Britta: Do you think that growing up in a place that is not a magnet for bands and hipsters is more conducive to creativity and finding your own voice/sound?
Brad: I think when you grow up in a place where there are so few others that have similar interests, it can create a kind of vacuum that is very conducive to dreaming and hence creativity. I would imagine one of the main motivations for creation of any kind is feeling removed from your immediate environment, and we certainly felt that in Florida. That said, I even feel like, in New York, we developed in a void because we played out so sparingly and wrote those songs without any consideration of an audience.
JB: I agree. It can help produce something peerless or unintentionally removed from a scene, and therefore, creatively, you can find yourself somewhat isolated from like-minded people. That can simultaneously make you more inward, give room for uniqueness (or what you might think is unique), and on the other hand shelter you from having too many contemporary influences around you to open your eyes to new ideas. I guess there are ups and downs either way.
Andy: I grew up just outside Boston, though within range of Boston/Cambridge college radio stations, BC, Harvard, MIT, etc., in those pre-blog/Internet days (well, the early Internet in high school). So I wasn't as magnet-free as Brad and JB in south Florida and was lucky to be in a place with clubs that had no problem letting in 15-year-olds as long as they didn't drink, so I was able to go to shows and see the Pastels, the Cannanes, the Mekons, the Raincoats, all sorts of mid-'90s indie rock, etc., etc. I mention college radio as, in those days, it was something of a blessing and quite exciting to my high-school self. Between the high quality of area college radio and the world of fanzines and digging in the stacks in record stores, I was able to discover all sorts of records in a more circuitous way than for today's youth, a way that is probably lost now, when one can look up and download the canonized "essentials" of a genre in an hour. I guess all that stuff seeps in and has an influence on one's own way and instincts in making music.
Britta: Do you go out and see other bands often? What were your favorite shows in '08?
Andy: Not as often as I used to, though still yes. I find myself these days going to see friends’ bands more than anything else. Not to say I don't go to shows anymore, as it still may be more than many, but not with the same passion as I did as a younger lad. Best shows? Randy Newman, Psychedelic Horseshit, Love Is All, caUSE co-MOTION!, Eric Copeland, others as well, but Randy Newman at Carnegie Hall was the absolute favorite.
JB: Not '08, but one of the best shows I've seen in the past fourteen months was the Mad Scene.
Brad: All those Andy mentioned, sans Randy Newman. Though I have seen Dylan four times in the past couple years. And the Vaselines were spectacular the night we opened for them at Southpaw.
Britta: Every time I write a song, I feel like I've forgotten how and have to start from scratch. Do you have a method?
Andy: Well, I can only speak to newer songs regarding Crystal Stilts, but it often goes JB has some chords or a guitar part and we jam on them for a while, feeling our way around, perhaps modifying things here or there, finding other things that work and don't work, Brad finding lyrics that fit, the song adapting and developing, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Occasionally someone starts playing something in the practice space, and it just falls in place and goes from there, voila. Other times it can be a long process. I guess there is a mystery to it that is best not to explore and poke at repeatedly for fear of pulling back the curtain and finding oneself entranced by the mechanisms (that is quite the mixed metaphor). In my attempts at writing songs on my own, I find a) writing lyrics to be impossible, outside the Mekons style of pulling quotes and sections from books and b) it easier to leave everything as a work in progress and not have to face the unfortunately inevitable situation in the question posed.
Brad: My problem is more topical than methodical. In order to write a song, there has to be an idea or association that is particularly fascinating me at the time. If I'm happy with a song, that means I've expressed myself in what I think is a thorough way, making revisiting that idea unnecessary. I'm always worried that, at some point, my mind will dull and I'll fail to become dazzled enough by an idea to write anything interesting.
Britta: I feel excited by the fact that the music business is going down the toilet and hope that it will lead to fewer and better bands. Do you think or hope that the recession will affect music culture?
JB: I'm ecstatic about that too. I think hopefully it will make for less "money" bands or bands that are cookie-cutter-for-success type groups that make quadruple-regurgitated slime pop. That stuff makes me hurt. I mean, I think maybe, with the recession part in tow, it’s almost natural that the music industry should take a seat. I mean, the role of a musician has steadily been getting blown out of proportion since Elvis and the Beatles. The whole pop star multi-million phenomenon is a polarity in the justified balance of what quality music and a musician’s deserved wages and credibility should be. Too many blues, soul, traditional R&B singers and jazz-band leaders died penniless, and their music is pretty much the basis of what we're all doing here. So it’s deserved that money isn't there as much for the labels that made the whole infrastructure. It’s not all corrupt, obviously, but I think the "Music Business" isn't music—it's thoroughly a cold hard cash business machine. My grandfather worked for Columbia in the '50s and '60s, and he said the industry was going to money sharks by the late '60s, when people like Clive Davis stepped in.
Andy: JB answered this well. There is certainly a ton of shit out there that could well be flushed. Hopefully it negates bands that aren't genuine, that think they're going to cash in on something and have no style, substance, or soul of their own.
Britta: If I had a bigger apartment, I'd buy a cello. What would you buy if you had more space and money?
Brad: My winter coat is a disgrace. It's in tatters. I sadly dream of new coats.
Andy: Probably just end up buying more and more books, which in turn would require more shelving (already a need). I've noticed a change in myself in that I used to seek out used record stores in new cities, whereas now, while on tour or trips, my first question is about where the used bookstores are. I might also want one of those fancy, big new TV's.
JB: I'd probably get a bigger apartment and a place to write and record when I felt inspired instead of having a set time every week to practice. My inspiration is not always aligned with when I have the opportunity to write (as I'm sure most people are the same way), so that can be frustrating. I sometimes figure out a song idea on an acoustic guitar at home and think I'm burning it to my memory, but then I forget it by the time I bring it to the others.
Dean: Hey guys. I picked up that four-track EP of yours last year and loved it immediately—it reminded me that if you do something truly special as a band (but this is not easy), people will notice. We met briefly outside the Cake Shop over the summer; you were playing that benefit for Yeti, and we were trying to make it to your show in time, but were in fact coming from seeing the Flight of the Conchords show at Town Hall. Anyway, by the time we got to Ludlow Street, you were all finished. I'm supposed to ask a question now. I've never been inside the Cake Shop—what's it like?
JB: Hey Dean. Yeah, it really blew our minds that you came to see us. It’s an honor that you guys are asking us questions. The Cake Shop is probably the coolest venue in Manhattan. There's a cafe record store by day on the street level and then a venue downstairs by night. It’s not a huge room, but it’s usually fun, and they book decent bands there consistently. The staff is also pretty down to earth.
Andy: I can fault no one for choosing the Flight of the Conchords over ourselves. Given the choice, I would do the same. I think we're all pretty big fans of that band/show, and I wouldn't hesitate to assume they are far more entertaining than us (and I must agree with JB, was a pleasure meeting you that night and seems crazy to be even in the position of being interviewed by you all). As for Cake Shop, slanted floor and all, it’s great. A rarity to have a space/bar/club/whatever that is run by people who care more about bands, music, community than making a quick buck (not to say they don't deserve your money—they surely do—but that they are focused on putting on great shows and being nothing but excellent to the people who play, work, and visit).
Dean: Do one of you spend all day long answering questions and approving friend requests on MySpace?
JB: Ha. We usually spread it out. I take less and less stock in the whole MySpace thing. But not having a website yet, it’s really the only way people can hear us for the first time and see what shows we're playing. We've also made some good acquaintances on there.
Andy: I think JB unfortunately gets hit with the brunt of that, though we do all try and pitch in. It can be a tad much to deal with at times. There seems to have been a rise in people using the phrase "I dig your sound" of late. It can be nice to hear positive feedback, but it does seem that ease of contact can at times make for more waste. Curmudgeonly me can bemoan at times the difference of fanzines vs. blogs, letters and packages vs. MySpace messages. Though I am guilty of giving in to the ease of e-mail myself, so there ya go, a hypocrite to the end.
Dean: I see you are about to embark on a European tour. We have played a few of the same clubs—Loppen in Copenhagen (they fed us rabbit stew), Gleis 22 in Münster (good soup), and the Theatre in St. Gallen, a really cool converted cinema. St. Gallen is a beautiful little town just outside of Zürich. You may think you have wandered onto the set of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Is anyone in the band a fan of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? That was the first film I ever saw (age 5), and it scared the shit out of me.
Andy: We are all quite excited about this jaunt through Europe, to say the least. Thanks for the delicacy tips. We will hopefully be able to put them to satisfying and nourishing use. Despite being a bit of a film nerd, I don't think I've ever seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in full, just scattered bits of it on TV over time. Though with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, I guess it isn't surprising it had that effect on a young you. I was an uneasy enough child that I remember being freaked out by Michael Jackson's “Thriller” video/film as a youngster. Perhaps there was born my appreciation and love of John Landis.
Dean: I don't see any studio credits for this on your album or EP, am wondering where you recorded these songs and how. Or maybe it's a secret.
JB: It’s not really a secret. The first single was recorded at Junkyard Studios with Sean Mafucci in '04. Sean played second guitar and produced that single with me closely over his shoulder. I played bass, guitar, drum, and organ. I later mastered another mix for the Woodsist release. We recorded the EP with our friend Scott Rosenthal at his now-defunct studio in Greenpoint in the fall of '05. I played everything but bass (our buddy Jonny T. played bass with us in '05-'06—thanks, Jonny!) and vocals. The first tracking for the LP was recorded at Seaside Lounge Studios in the summer of '06, and I did most of the music, save a couple bass lines (Jonny & later Andy), and Brad did all vocals and lyrics, obviously. Then we remixed it and did a few minor overdubs in June last year with Gary Olson at Marlborough Farms, the EP and 7" on an 8-track reel and the LP on 16-track reel. I basically half-mixed both records with much technical help from Gary and Scott. I always felt a little weird about giving myself too much credit, so I kind of left a lot of that info off the sleeves—the mystery part is also kind of cool. There it goes!
Andy: JB seems to have covered this one well. And blown our cover.
Dean: Your lyrics are full of alliteration, from "shine shattered shine" to "blank books and baby bastille" to "selling subtleties in cities"—which is, perhaps, an apt description of what the Crystal Stilts do. Who are your favorite lyricists?
Brad: Well, at the time I wrote most of the first album, I was very obsessed with Baudelaire. I had already written “Shattered Shine” when I stumbled upon “Seven Old Men,” whose first verse is nearly identical to “Shattered.” It was all downhill from there. As infatuated as I am with people like Dylan and Cohen, I spent a lot of time when I first started writing trying to come up with a different approach. Instead of telling a story, I was more interested in cogently describing these intense yet vague impressions that seemed almost like mental events. In terms of influences with similar writing style, a few names pop up, one of which happens to be yours. I feel like songs like “Tugboat,” “Strange,” “Hearing Voices” (“Sometimes a notion swells like the ocean”), or “Bewitched,” amongst others, are more about trying to wrap your head around these peculiar impressions than outlining an arbitrary tale. As much as the others would probably like me to avoid the mention of his name considering the overkill of comparisons we've received to Joy Division, Ian Curtis was another big influence. His lines are so sturdy rhythmically and are littered with assonance and internal rhymes. I realized that if you wrote lines that well, it presents you with so many more options in terms of melody (since the music and melody are written separately), as well making it sound inherently more musical even if you don't have the greatest pipes on the planet. As you may have noticed by the length of that response, I don't get to talk about my lyrics too often, so thanks for asking.
Andy: Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Jon Langford/Tom Greenhalgh, Van Dyke Parks, Bob Dylan, Walter Fagen/Donald Becker, Ghostface Killah, Richard Thompson, Raekwon, Townes Van Zandt, Irving Berlin, Peter Stampfel/Antonia/Steve Weber/Michael Hurley/Jeffrey Fredericks, Mark E Smith, Fred Neil, Jacques Brel, David Feck, end of rambling.
Brad: Other names that pop immediately into my head would be Dan Treacy, Mark E Smith (though I have no ability to do this sort of thing), Howard Devoto in his Magazine days (closer to what I try to do), Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Syd Barrett, and more recently Trish Keenan of Broadcast. Oh, and since Andy is mentioning Raekwon and Ghostface, I'd have to say Nas, particularly on “Illmatic” (“I drink Möet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell, from the spliff that I lift an inhale”). |
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