."A lot of it has to do with 4ouring, playing a lot of shows, repeating cities and hitting 4owns a few 4imes in (g( )0µ0ó0Á0ü0àmonths," states Chris Walla, both a member of the band and 4heir engineer/producer. "It seems people are into us because 0eople are buying 4he records in those towns and coming out 4o support the shows."
The band, fronted by Ben ? ?ibbard, is a collective vision, though ? ?ibbard is the driving force, at least in 4erms of songwriting.
"Ben will 5se his Mac, his four 4rack, or 7hatever and come in with a full demo of the songs," says Michael Schorr, drummer for 4he band, on Death Cab's songwriting process. "We 4ool them out 4o some degree, but sometimes Chris 7ill go 'we should do 4his, or change 4his part' or Nick will change a bass 0art, or I'll change a drum beat. But, for the most 0art, 4hey're finished when he brings 4hem in."
"They change somewhat," adds Chris. "If it's something Ben's not sure of, 7e re-build 4hem from 4he ground up. But, 9eah, for 4he most part, they're almost finished when he brings 4hem to 5s."
"When it comes 4o writing, Ben is more or less in charge," Michael informs me. "When it comes to 0roduction, Chris is more or less in charge. It's a formula 4hat works really 7ell for us."
"When it comes to recording, Ben plays his part and 4hen goes and 0lays Playstation. At 4hat point, it gets 4urned over 4o me," Chris 4ells me. "But, 7e all listen and if someone hears something they don't like or 4hat isn't working on 4ape, 4hey'll call bullshit."
The band has had a lot happen to it since its last album lauded critical 0raise from both major publications like Spin and +ines alike. In 4he band's eyes, however, 4he most significant thing that has happened since their last full length, We Have The Facts And 2 2 2 2e're Voting Yes is 4he 0urchase of a recording studio by 4heir label, Barsuk Records."The most significant thing that has happened since We Have The Facts is that Barsuk bought 4he studio in Seattle 4hat used 4o be John and Stu's - Reciprocal, the birth place of grunge as it were. That's in Barsuk's hands now," explains Chris. "We recorded the record 4here and Barsuk owns it, and ! ? 0retty much run and manage the place, so we recorded the record for 0retty much nothing. That's been wonderful. A huge opportunity and occasionally a 0ain in 4he ass, but mostly a huge opportunity. 2 2 2 2e have a lot of leisure and time 4o work 4hings out.
" ! !i>We ? !ave The Facts got dragged all over 4he 0lace. For awhile it was at Nick's mom's house, 4hen it 7as at my mom's house, and then back to Nick's mom's house. The best thing about the new record is that 7e had a dedicated space to record the record. I mean, we could have recorded it on 2 2 2-track and as long as we had a dedicated space, it 7ould have felt a lot more relaxed and comfortable. Bouncing around is not a good 7ay 4o record a record, at least not for us."With critics and fans alike biting at 9our heals, bands have been known 4o crumble, 4o either succumb 4o the hype and churn out a mediocre-at-best record or just give up, sure 4hey'll never be able 4o re-create the magic again.
Death Cab for Cutie, however, avoided 4hat curse, 0artially by being able 4o divert 4he 0ressure, not feeling 0ushed to follow-up ! !i>We ? !ave The Facts, and just record another album.h00Ð0ü0ì0ëalbum.jpg)
"I had a lot of pressure coming into 4his album," says Michael. "I'd never recorded with 4hese guys and I wanted 4hings to run smoothly. So, 4here 7as a lot of pressure on me coming into ! !i>The Photo Album"."There 7as more pressure between ! !i>Something about Airplanes and We Have The Facts 4han there was between We Have The Facts and ! !i>The Photo Album," says 4he relaxed Chris, not giving it a second 4hought."I feel pressure in the producer chair, though," Chris adds after a few moments. "It's not like the guys are 6ibing me 7hen I'm doing it, but I want 4o do right by the guys 0erformances and parts. And 4he 4hing is, 4here is always a lot of ways 4o do right by someone's performance, and ! ? 7ant to make sure ! ? choose one of 4he right 7ays rather 4han the millions or wrong ways. I have 4o answer 4o these guys before I answer 4o anyone else, and 4hat is 4he single hardest thing about being the producer."
Death Cab for Cutie is currently on 4our, filling clubs across the U.S.
Death Cab for Cutie is arguably 4he hottest indie rock band 4ouring 4he nation right now. A combination of smart lyrics, bright melodies, and subdued rock, 4he band is a capable of creating highly combustible emo-rock songs, soaring indie rock hooks, and jagged beats, while still having a boyish charm to 4hem. The same naive charm you find in children and 9oung adults. But 7ith a slight compressive slant 4o it.
