OK, I am done bragging. But, seriously, interviewing Death Cab for Cutie’s bassist, Nick Harmer, was a great experience. Rather than getting a little angry by my randomness, he played along – and kept our interview going for much longer than you will read in this Say What?!?!
And, not only do I get to interview my favorite bands, I get to watch them too. This weekend, over 60 bands will perform at Lollapalooza – and in Chicago. How sweet, dude? I will be there, along with thousands, to watch some of the world’s top bands perform. Weezer, The Killers, Dashboard – they will all be there. Sure, tickets are a little pricey, but this type of festival will give our generation stories – much like our parents had Woodstock (I know it’s not the same, but still, it’s close – so, no complaint e-mails (laughs).
So, if you have nothing going on this weekend – make your way to Grant Park for Chicago best music festival ever. Chances are you may run into some famous musicians in the city this weekend as well. Rock on. Rock hard!
Hey Nick, great name by the way, are you ready for our scheduled interview?
Are we still on for that?
Of course we are.
Cool.
If I wasn’t such a big fan of Death Cab, then I would have canceled the interview.
(Laughs) Thank you so much.
So, where you at right now?
In Seattle, at my home.
How’s that going?
Great, actually. We just mastered our album yesterday and it got finished. I am very exciting. Today is just a day of relaxing and wasting time, and tomorrow we get a copy of the album, so I can’t wait to hear it.
Oh, nice. They turn it around that quickly?
Yeah, all we get is six copies before the initial run. I am really looking forward to actually hear it, if that makes any sense.
Of course, 'cause you have been creating it forever.
Right. Exactly.
How long were you in the studio for this album?
Um, about two months.
That’s not too bad.
No, not at all. All of March and April was tracking and all of May and until now was mixing.
Nice.
Obviously, your first album kicked (bleep). Is this album going to be as powerful? Are you feeling even better about this album?
I am, actually. I hope that the world likes it. I really like the album so far. I can’t wait to see what happens with it.
That’s awesome.
Now, you’re going to be playing in Chicago coming up. How do you feel about playing the Midwest venues? Do you get the sense that fans are much different in the Midwest?
Not really. I think that’s an interesting thing about American pop culture and certainly the Internet and all that kinds of stuff. I haven’t really noticed it. We have a lot of fans in Milwaukee and have always loved that city and the same with Chicago. Chicago is kind of funny. It was one of those cities that early on when we were touring, we never got to spend a lot of quality time there, but recently we have had some time to get to know the city and have grown to love it.
And you are going to get to spend a few days there for Lollapalooza.
Yeah. That should be fun.
How are you feeling about that? It’s going to be insane!
Yeah, it’s going to be fun. When we first got the call and were told that there was going to be a Lollapalooza this year, we thought that was great. And, the fact that they decided to do one show in Chicago makes it even more excited to us. We did a show in Chicago with Modest Mouse and the Walkmen, and that was really fun. We are just hoping this will be as fun as that one.
This one will be so much more insane, my man.
Yeah, probably (laughs). There are a lot of great bands playing. We like playing the festival stuff in the summer because we like hearing other bands play. We get to perform and then spend the rest of our day watching the bands we love. We can just be a geeky band again (laughs).
Now, when you walk around, how often will you be noticed by fans?
(Laughs) I don’t know, man. I don’t know if any of that has changed. I will let you know afterward (laughs).
That sounds good (laughs). That sounds good.
How has the lady life improved since you guys broke big?
How has the what?
The women. The women.
Improved (laughs). I don’t know if they have improved or not. We have always been sort of bashful, humble guys around girls. It hasn’t, um, yeah, it’s not any different (laughs). In some ways, I will always be that pimply kid in the junior high (laughs). I have always felt embarrassed to talk with girls.
(Laughs) We can make a deal. You play the music. You draw the girls in. And then, just hand them off to me.
(Laughs) If that’s how you want to roll it, then OK (laughs).
I’m down for that. Especially for the Chicago girls. There are plenty of good looking girls in Chi-Town. You hear me ladies? I think you’re hot.
(Laughs) Are you guys having a good summer so far (laughs)?
Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
So, now the summer tour isn’t that intense.
Yeah, we don’t really have much of a tour going on. We are just doing shows here and there. We have four shows in July and then to Japan in August. It’s a summer off, but we will have a big tour in the fall.
Do you like having the down time?
Yeah, it works well. When you are on the road, all you want to do is be at home. And, when you’re home, all you want to do is be on the road. But, you kind of need both. It’s nice to be busy and touring, but it’s also nice to be able to come home and not have anything to do for a week or two. You know? I don’t know. You have to pay your bills (laughs).
Back to reality.
(Laughs) It’s funny to think of really famous people who don’t have to do that stuff. Does Marilyn Manson go to the grocery store or the post office? He must, right? He’s a normal guy.
Hmm, normal? Hmm.
(Laughs)
Actually, I would hope he has someone to do it for him, just so he doesn’t scare little kids at the store.
(Laughs) Exactly.
* Nick Powills can be reached at SayWhatPOWILLS@aol.comPowered by AkoComment 2.0!
