The Portland, Oregon-based Dandy Warhols have released their latest album, “The Dandy Warhols Are Sound,” adding to the library of grungy, electro-pop tunes they’ve been making since the early nineties. During his first summer home in 12 years, Peter Holmström (guitar) took some time out of his “break” to talk about the past, present and future of The Dandy Warhols.
Were you feeling pretty homesick not spending that much time in Portland over the past 12 years?
Sometimes, but I’ve been playing shows and traveling – two of my favorite things.
How did you get started making music?
My parents always kind of encouraged me even though they weren’t musical themselves. Our neighbor was a guitar maker and my dad wanted to learn how to play, so he had [our neighbor] pick him out a decent, inexpensive classical guitar. He taught me and I just ran with it. Eventually he stopped playing and I kept going.
Did they ever urge you to “get a real job”?
Not really, I mean, they wanted me to go to college which was probably very smart of them. I’m not sure what I got out of it.
When and how did the band get together?
I knew Courtney [Taylor – vocals, guitar] for years. He had always been the drummer of different bands. I was finished with school in New York and he came out with a band he was with then. They stayed with me while they did some performances and seemed like they were having a really good time – something I missed while living out there. So I moved back to Portland and by the time I got back he had been kicked out of the band he was in and we got together.
You guys have been around for a while – what’s the journey been like for you?
It’s been really great, but I honestly never expected it to go this far. The odds against a band are ridiculous – the chances of a band getting signed let alone putting out more than one record and having any success are slim. I just wanted to play music and thought it was great we were doing that. And now I don’t have to do anything else.
What was it like touring with David Bowie after the release of “Welcome to the Monkey House”? Did you get star-struck?
He’s one of those people that makes it very easy to talk to him and be around him, probably because everyone is start struck around him. The first time I met him he did all the talking, he was asking me questions… (laughing) he wasn’t the difficult one. I did meet some people who made me feel odd and awkward.
Like who?
The guys from The Cult. They were the first major stars I met that just didn’t really… I don’t know… I was a kid and they definitely treated me that way.
Describe your creative process.
For me it involves playing guitar and watching T.V. and not really paying attention to either. That’s when I stumble across things by accident. The trick is to recognize those accidents. It comes down to just doing it a lot and after I get through the normal repetitive process things just start to happen.
In one interview you mentioned that during a live show you’re limited to what the band members can do and your individual skill levels, which is different from the studio where you can “do anything.” On the new album there are a lot of computerized or electronic elements – how will you attack playing these newer tracks live?
We don’t really worry about that stuff live. In the studio it’s one thing and live it’s another. The songs should hold up on their own. It comes down to figuring out what the most necessary elements are and learning how to play them.
Naming your album “The Dandy Warhols Are Sound” is quite a strong statement to make. What was the idea behind that?
Well, it’s more a play on words than the obvious statement. “Are Sound” is Our healthy, sound minds and bodies, and I think throughout the album that rings through like, “We’re OK.”
What, if anything, do you think is different about this album than your previous releases?
This time we were kind of trying to make music without layering tons and tons of guitar tracks. Previously that’s how we would go about things. There are things that happen when you layer multiple tracks, these little ghost melodies and happy accidents and you can get away with doing things differently.
“Pete Int’l Spaceport” is very different from the rest of the album in that it’s over 4 minutes of ambient noise. Can you explain the point of that?
It was just me making noise with my pedal board and I think the sound was used in the song beforehand [“Insincere”] and the length of the recording kept going. It was another way to use that sound. I layered some keyboards and other effects. There’s always space at the end of an album and I just put that in there. It’s kind of art for art’s sake.
What about the inspiration for the rest of the album?
I was listening to music that has nothing to do with this record at all, like classic punk stuff. We’ve always been that way in that what we’re into and listening to is the exact opposite of what we’re making.
So what does the future look like for the band? Is there a tour in the works?
We’re gearing up for tour of the midwest and Texas for early September, but beyond that we’re not sure. We’re always recording and working on new songs. [Eric] Hedford’s [drums] got a solo thing going on. Courtney’s got his graphic novel – he started out writing a screen play and I think he had a hard time dealing with getting directors interested so he decided to do the novel first and then make it into a movie.
My solo album is essentially a lot of songs I’ve had kicking around for years, but they’re ideas that Courtney and the rest of the band didn’t connect with musically. I’ve tried to do them with other bands and projects and didn’t get anywhere with it. But I’m still convinced that they’re good songs and started doing everything myself – I’m happy with the results. I had Jason Adams from The Upside Down sing on everything and right now I’m in the mixing stage, so now I just have to figure out how to put it out. I started sending it to little record labels but I haven’t heard anything back yet. Considering I only started sending them earlier this week I’m not expecting anything yet.
Any last words?
Not off the top of my head. [Interviewer’s note: Since he didn’t see any point in saying it, fans of The Dandy Warhols, just imagine a nice “Thanks for listening for all these years,” or perhaps “See you on tour!”]
