HT Interview: The War on Drugs, Peeling Back the Layers of Slave Ambient

HT: You know, everybody tells themselves that they don’t care about the critics, but it must be pretty cool seeing all these rave reviews come in like on Mojo, the AV Club, Pitchfork, and stuff like that?

AG: Oh year, it’s great. I mean, I don’t really obsess over it or actively Google it everyday or anything, but over the last couple months when publications I read growing up or that I’m a fan of anyway give us a good review, that’s the best thing. Mojo and Uncut, those are two magazines that if I was in a Barnes & Noble or at an airport, I’d buy those. I love those magazines, so to get reviews like we got in those, that was mind-blowing. It was really flattering. I really respect the writers and their tastes. Yeah, the AV Club, we all love reading that, so it’s been awesome.

Obviously, some people will dislike anything, so you can’t worry too much about it. At the end of the day, I just want as many people as possible to hear it and hopefully enjoy it, get something out of it, come see us play, and experience it on that level. It’s all super flattering, but I like reading the ones that are bad too [laughs].

HT: One last question, did you ever have any people in your life growing up that really influenced you musically like a teacher, the guy at your record store, a sibling, or someone like that?

AG: One of my good friends when I was a kid who I hung out with all the time, his dad was a musician – not by trade, I think he worked at a hospital or something, but he was a huge music fan and guitar guy – so when I started going over there in the 5th or 6th grade, that’s where I first played the guitar and he’d play with a couple times a week and teach me. So we had a ton of stuff at our disposal. His son, who was one of my good friends, played drums, so right away I had somebody to play with.

In school, we had a couple of friends that played together too, but for the most part it was my friend Jeff’s dad, because he was the one who turned me on to guitar and music at the time that nobody else’s parents were listening to. He had a bunch of electric guitars and effects and four tracks. It was really cool to be exposed to that at a young age.

The War On Drugs: Tour Dates

12/07/11 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
12/08/11 Toledo, OH – Mickey Finn’s Pub
12/09/11 Toronto, ON – The Horseshoe Tavern
12/10/11 Ithaca, NY – Castaways
12/11/11 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
12/12/11 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre w/ The National
12/17/11 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer w/ Sun Airway