DeadJournalist.com Exclusive Interviews
The Postmarks
EXCLUSIVE Interview: The Postmarks
Chuck Norton, DeadJournalist.com
04.11.07
mp3: The Postmarks - Goodbye
mp3: The Postmarks - Goodbye (James Iha remix)
The pop sensibility and dedication to crafting the highest quality music is clear evidence that Tim Yehezkely, Christopher Moll and Jonathan Wilkins are on the verge of breaking through to the musical mainstream.
The national music press love The Postmarks. It's easy to understand why.
The band's self-described chamber-pop sound shines on the recently released album, The Postmarks, which was produced by Andy Chase. With a remix EP that feature remixes by James Iha, Tahiti 80 and Ladytron's Spooky Ruben, the band is also proving fodder for the hipper-than-thou dance nights. Dance all night, recover the next day - to the same band. Not a bad why to stay in someone's CD/MP3 player.
The band is touring North America in support of their album throughout April and May 2007. For tour dates or additional information about The Postmarks, visit their Web site: www.thepostmarks.com or their MySpace.com page: www.myspace.com/thepostmarks.
DeadJournalist.com brings you this exclusive interview with Jon Wilkins and Christopher Moll of The Postmarks.
With rave reviews of your new album, have you left all the praise go to your head?
Jon: Yes ... in fact, we've told NASA that we should be on the next Space Shuttle flight ... the first band in space. I think that is a reasonable
request for a band of our stature.
Christopher: For me, it hasn't been an overnight thing. I've been working at this for a long, long time. It can go away as quickly as it came. Living elsewhere might have gotten my work noticed quicker but I prefer to do things on my own terms. I'm a big fan of the underdog. Also, at 37, I can deal with things a lot more efficiently then at age 19. I could see how this could easily do ones head in.
How long did it take to record the album? Did you find that it evolved throughout the recording process?
Jon: Since we all had/have day jobs, it took two years of recording on weekends and days off. The recording was meticulously created in a studio and we knew from the get-go what we wanted to do. I've found that the music has evolved much more in the live setting once we had a full backing band and commenced rehearsals.
Christopher: Condensed I'm sure it would have been closer to a month to two months of solid consistent work. Early on I made a pact to myself that we would only use real instruments during the recording of this album. The upside to that was that it made a serious difference in the depth and sonic character of our end result. The downside was the amount of time it took to round up the individual instrumentalists and have them decide whether they wanted to climb onboard or not. Once they saw that we were attempting to go beyond what they would typically encounter during their session work most contributed without hesitation.
Although the band's new album was just released, have you begun working on material for a new album?
Jon: Chris is a prolific songwriter, so it wasn't long before he had a new album of songs in the works. We're close to adding some songs to the set list that may appear on a new record.
Christopher: I have around 25 to 30 nuggets that I have been working on since we first started working with Unfiltered Records. 'Let Go' was one of the first of the new batch of songs. “My Little Heart' was another. Originally I started writing knowing that we were going to need new material, whether they were b-sides or whatever…but then a couple started turning out really good so I guess I am writing technically for the second album…and the third…and the fourth.
Is the band excited to embark on a month-long North American tour?
Christopher: Very much so…it's a chance to get out there and hear the album in a slightly different context. Plus it's a chance for us to get out there and interact with our fans. We love having that opportunity.
Jon: We're looking forward to meeting fans and friends along the way.
Enter to win a copy of The Postmarks' limited edition remix CD featuring remixes by James Iha, Ladytron's Spooky Ruben and more! (*US/Canada residents only.) E-mail DeadJournalist.com with your name and mailing address to enter: here We'll announce a winner by the end of April 2007. |
When someone comes to see The Postmarks perform live, what should they expect?
Jon: Maximum Chamber Pop! They'll hear a live set that is very true to the album, but with slightly altered arrangements and a few surprises. I believe in a rock show, whether you're a rock band or not.
Christopher: The songs come across a lot more dynamic and in your face - I don't want to call it aggressive cause it's certainly not - but it's assertive and it moves along very demonstratively. And you have all of that swirling around Tim who comes across as a little girl lost … a cross between Astrud Gilberto meets Nico.
The most bizarre thing that has happened to the band while on tour is ...?
Jon: That would have to be when we saw a UFO over Austin on our way to SXSW. It followed our van for about 10 miles before disappearing.
Christopher: Jon and our keyboardist Jeff being out on an all night bender during our last night at CMJ this year … and throwing them both in the van still fairly buzzed.
Stopping at a rest stop off the Jersey turnpike … Jeff innocently, and still quite groggy, commented, “My, the pigeons are really big up here!”
No, Jeff … those are seagulls.
The first concert you went to was...?
Jon: Probably The Police on their Syncronicity tour.
Christopher: The Clancey Brothers, who were an Irish folk band. It was 1978.
What artists have influenced you the most throughout your career?
Jon: I don't consider myself just a drummer, even though I play the drums live. I write and record my own music under the name National Kid, so I love artists who do it all themselves. Like Jason Falkner, Stewart Copeland (Klark Kent) and Lewis Taylor.
Christopher: Well there are the obvious ones that we've talked about till we're blue in the face…Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, The Smiths … but it's also the ones I don't talk about that I had while growing up. Supertramp, Hall and Oates, early Hip Hop, 70's AM radio, disco.
I remember hearing Kraftwerk in a record store in New Jersey and being floored as it sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. That's a good thing.
What were you listening to in 1997?
Jon: Pavement, Apples In Stereo, The Posies, Sloan, The High llamas, Dismemberment Plan ...
Christopher: I remember going through a period where I was listening to a lot of power pop and all of its different offshoots. I'm sure there was a lot of Swedish pop out there I was listening to at the time as well. The Divine Comedy was someone else I had taken a fancy, too.
Ask me about 1987 sometime.
One Drink, One Movie, One Album:
Jon: Patron tequila, The Party, Sloan "One Chord To Another"
Christopher: Sorry to disappoint…but…Vodka and Tonic, Star Wars, Pet Sounds (Does the Box Set Count?)