Distance can easily create a sense of comfort and security, but it can also overwhelm, causing feelings of isolation and despair. So when Ben Gibbard, singer-guitarist for Death Cab For Cutie was developing a title for the band’s fourth, full-length album, he searched for a word that would effectively convey the vast distances often felt both geographically and emotionally. Unable to locate the proper emphasis he desired, he inevitably penned a word of his own, and called the record Transatlanticism, reflecting the massive physical and cultural separation created by the Atlantic Ocean. Regardless of the fact that the word actually already existed in obscure science publications, it’s profound message was clear, and the album’s eleven powerful tracks tell the whole sorted story.
It’s been two years since Death Cab released an album, but the band has been far from idle. With sold-out shows, solo projects, an archival EP reissue, rave reviews in the New York Times, the cover of CMJ and a prolonged recording process, Seattle’s latest sons have not only continued their musical progression, but taken the Death Cab sound to an entirely new level. Oh yeah, and they got another drummer, and then another. This time, and hopefully the last, longtime friend Jason McGerr jumped onboard and added the necessary element of balance to the newly constructed songs and to the band itself.
Only together since 1998, Gibbard, McGerr, bassist Nick Harmer and guitarist/keys/producer Chris Walla have garnered an accelerated rise to an influential rock band and well-respected artists that is truly rather astounding. Thoroughly solidified in indie-pop, and with constant comparisons to underground legends Built To Spill, their latest release has brought the band even wider recognition as pioneers, not only in Chuck Taylor swarmed coffee shops and college radio booths, but, well as the album states, about as far, wide and deep as the Atlantic.
In the midst of their cross-country tour, Jason let us in on their recent successes, the new album and life as the new, new guy.
n the past, Ben has mentioned that he didn’t think Death Cab really had any mainstream crossover potential. But over the past couple of years, in the post-9/11 world, music sensibilities have really changed, and what constitutes mainstream is not necessarily what we’re used to categorizing in that context. So now that Transatlanticism has received such high praise, and is getting heavy college radio play, do you feel that still applies?
Well, the qualification for mainstream is kind of up to the mainstream. I think the record could be heard in different formats, but it’s not like we’re shooting for mainstream. I think you have to make the music you want to make, [and you shouldn’t] think about how it’s going to be accepted or where it will be placed. And hopefully you’re not going to be making music specifically for McDonald’s commercials. I guess if you eat at McDonalds everyday you’d be excited about that, but we don’t make music for Abercrombie and Fitch, and they’re not asking us. And we’re really excited that college radio has really taken to the record, and it’s been #1 on CMJ, but the Billboard Top 100 charts need to be reserved for a different thing. So until your music redefines the music industry choices, it’s not really mainstream. Mainstream music would be if every song on the record was 3 ˝ minutes long and had incredible pop hooks and catchy lyrics. And there are a few songs like that on the record, without a doubt, but we just try to mix it up as much as possible. Ben wanted to make a record, well we all wanted to make a record, that was adventurous, but in some ways safe too. So some songs are very pop and short and catchy, and to the point. A lot of people ask us if we want to move to a major label, or if that’s what we’re going for, but everyone seems to enjoy the record, and we’re really happy where we are. Well what do you think, do you think it’s a mainstream record?
Well, the word “mainstream” could be defined in a lot of different ways. McDonald’s commercials can certianly be mainstream, but Kid A can be mainstream too.
Yeah, Hail To The Thief has been used all over television, and that’s a really dark record (laughs).
Right, and over the last few years, boy-bands and bubblegum pop seem to be dropping more and more out of site. The world has changed a lot over the past couple of years and people are having a harder time digesting that plastic music, and I think the majors are having a harder time selling it.
I think you’re right. I think that music without as much integrity, that’s sort of built for success – people are spending so much money trying to get their bands out in front of your face – that they’re one-hit wonders, or one album and that’s all you hear from them and they’re done. And I think it is an important time, as you say, post-9/11, for intelligent lyrics, songwriting, and less glitz and glamour. It’s nice to see some of that coming around. [With the new record], some people say they like our older stuff better, because it seems to be more gritty, and DIY, and more of the basement approach that seems to preserve indie-rock in America – Chris Walla made Something About Airplanes on his first 8-track in the bedroom of a house – but this new record sounds more polished, because we were able to do it in a little nicer studio with a little nicer tools, and take a little bit more time making it. And that’s another thing about the commercial industry or making commercial records…there’s a lot of time and money behind it, when really the record was made for little or no money compared to what people spend on albums. But just having both greater facilities and abilities, stepped us up into a feasible market when it comes to a little more mainstream [accessibility]. But we definitely put more time and energy into this one than anything the band has done before.
Is it difficult for Walla to be objective of his own work, acting as both guitarist and the band’s producer?
He’s got it down to two brains, and he can wear both hats. I’ve made records with people and done a lot of different session work where the engineer also happens to be the songwriter, or in the band, and it’s really difficult to be that close to the music and not lose yourself in it. But the way we recorded this record, and I’ve heard Chris say this, that this is the closest he’s ever come to doing the right thing. The way we did it was, we recorded in like five-day stints, and we had four or five of those sessions [between November ‘02 and March ’03]. The fact that we took our time and were able to hit it really hard and then step away from it, it allowed us to see things more clearly, especially for Chris. He would just lock himself in the studio, pull out every instrument he had, and put like eighteen guitar parts in a song only to come back the next morning and say, ‘that sucks, what was I thinking?’ And then take everything away and play three notes on a piano and that’s it. So it’s a push-pull process for him.
But he’s had a lot of practice with a lot of other bands, recording and producing. And he’s learned a lot of tricks, and some of those tricks work for Death Cab and some don’t. Just like any other job, the more experience you get doing something, the more practice you have, the more proficient you become. And [for me] being a new member too, pretty much jumping in two months, or a month before the recording process began, the whole thing is healthy…it’s just great. I was really impressed with how well he pulled it off. He pretty much played producer and engineer for the majority of the record until it was tracked, had vocals and everything. And then he’d call us in, and say, ‘look, here’s what I got.’ And some songs, we’d practically be in tears we loved what he did so much. And other songs we were really honest, and say, ‘it’s cool, but this doesn’t really need to be on there,’ or ‘I like just one guitar instead of two.’ And Death Cab has been a band for six years or whatever, so everyone’s learned how to communicate, and that helps a lot.
When Ben brought his cache of songs to the table, how democratic was the process of selection? Was there a balance or flow you were specifically looking for?
Ben wrote about twenty-five songs, [but during that time], he was busy doing other things. He did a Postal Service tour, and he wasn’t thinking 100% about Death Cab. So he wrote a lot of these songs and then forgot about them. And when he came back to them, some he wasn’t into anymore, but some he still wanted to be part of the record. So we all sat down in a living room and listened to all the demos. Some were very complete, some were just acoustics and a voice with a little percussion track or something. And we sat down, we listened to all the material, and some of it he’d be really excited about, and so would we. Or we’d say, ‘ok, we’ll see, we’ll try it out.’ But some songs, like “Title and Registration,” he was like, ‘I’m way over this song,’ and we said, ‘no fuckin’ way, we love this tune.’ And it was very barebones. “Lack of Color” was another one he wanted to throw out. So a lot of it we had to fight for.
And we talked about arrangements a lot at that time too. Chris is very much into arranging, and trying different ideas, being the producer he is. So this process was more collaborative and democratic than any other record. The Photo Album was played live, all the material was played live months and months before the songs were recorded. They were performed for at least a couple tours, so everything was set in stone when they went into record the record. So for this one, the approach was very different. And once we figured out a handful of songs we wanted to work on, we rehearsed them. And some songs felt really close to being done, some were left more open for interpretation for once we were in the studio environment. But the most important thing for the band was to keep the melodies intact. That’s how we approached the songwriting, the melodies first. So arrangements might change, we might add a bridge, extend a verse, we might even rewrite a song entirely. We might take a song that’s really mellow and take a rock approach to it, or vice versa. And Nick Harmer ends up playing guitar on one of the songs, and Chris Walla plays bass. And another song there are two basses, only Ben plays guitar. And another song people are jumping around from guitar to keyboards in the middle of the song, so it’s all totally new for the band. So the whole songwriting process really changed, opened up and allowed for a lot of input. And for me, being the new guy, I don’t have to be concerned with saying the wrong thing.
Well Death Cab has gone through a few drummers in its history, so how has the process gone for you personally, being the new, new guy?
Well they had asked me before Michael Schorr, and before Jason Tolstoy – after Nathan [Good, the first drummer] left – if I wanted to be involved, but I was busy doing other things, and it just wasn’t the right time. And finally, when The Photo Album cycle was over and they were getting ready to get to work again, I just said, ‘you know, we should make a record together’ (laughs). At that time I was playing in a side project with Nick, and he said ‘we should do it, I’ll talk to the band.’ And it was sort of , ‘of course we should do this, we’ve know this guy longer than we’ve been a band.’ I used to live with Ben and Nick for a short while, and I knew Chris, he had recorded projects I was in…so there was no audition process, no bullshit to get through. Basically I just invited them into my practice space, we got started, and dare I say, it was meant to be. I’ve watched their career as a close friend for years from the start. I knew the material, had the records…and it’s been great, there’s been no drama. I mean every band has drama at some point, but it’s been as solid as it can be, and I think it’s a testament that we’ve been able to do a record already so well received after only being a band for two months. And the live shows have been really great, really energetic…and I’ve just been working really hard to be the best player I can. I just basically wanted to be scooped up and taken on the road with some really great friends, and the opportunity presented itself and that’s what happened.
By taking a more patient approach to the recording process, do you see Transatlanticism as providing a wider, more panoramic view of your sound?
I think it’s more relaxed than past records, and set a new precedent, a new standard for how our future albums are going to be recorded. A lot of people favor artist’s first albums, for the reason, I think, that they take the most time to write the material. Songwriters could have songs that they’re packing around for years before they actually put them down, therefore first albums sort of have that larger view, and at the same time you can hear a potential. [So in that sense], it’s been two years since you’ve heard a Death Cab record, there’s been a lineup change, we took our time to record it, so you get a little bit more of a view of what’s to come.
If it’s any indication of what’s to come, music as a whole for that matter, it’s great to see labels being shed and music being taken simply for what it’s worth. Death Cab has had its share of emo branding in the past, but it seems we’re reaching a point past preconceived notions.
Yeah, we like all kinds of music. We all own Yes records and Rush records, we’re huge prog-rock fans, but we also own Dylan records and Simon and Garfunkel, Beatles albums. The super bands that have gone own to have super, amazing careers, like The Stones, The Beatles, the U2s and the REMs…bands that seem to transcend standard pop songs, keeping that in mind, but reaching out to people as much as they can musically. If you see our live show, we tend to stretch things out a little bit more.
