A Conversation With Chris Walla

Christopher Walla is a very busy man. When he is not playing guitar and producing records for this little band that he plays in called Death Cab for Cutie, he’s producing other peoples records in his studio, being nominated for Grammy’s or chilling with Pearl Jam, Neil Young, and Elvis Costello. Recently, he was kind enough to do the same with me. Chris is one of my favorite guitarists and he has produced some of my favorite artists outside of Death Cab (Hot Hot Heat, The Decemberists, Velvet Teen, The Thermals) so this was a real treat. We talked about His solo record, which is scheduled to be released in September on Barsuk, the next Death Cab for Cutie record, what he’s been doing in his offtime and Barack Obama. I hope you enjoy, I sure did.

[mp3] Chris Walla – Radio
[mp3] Chris Walla – London’s Favorite Son
[mp3] Chris Walla – Doubts
[mp3] Death Cab for Cutie – Little Fury Bugs
[mp3] Death Cab for Cutie – Passenger Seat

Caleb (HTFAF): Hey, Chris

Walla: Hello, Sir!

Caleb (HTFAF): How is the solo record coming?

Walla: It’s on hold right now; I’m mixing the new Tegan and Sara record at the moment. I’ll start back in on the solo album mid-March, for delivery the first week of May, to be released the first week of September, I think.

Caleb (HTFAF): On Barsuk, correct?

Walla: That’s right.

Caleb (HTFAF): How’s that Tegan and Sara record coming?

Walla: The Tegan and Sara record is unbelievable – more than I could have ever asked for. It’s really different from So Jealous, much looser and more organic. The songs are pretty powerful, I think people will be surprised a little, but I’d be shocked if the world didn’t receive it well.

Caleb (HTFAF): You recently moved from Seattle to Portland and built a permanent home for your once nomadic studio, The Hall of Justice, which I understand has been renamed The Alberta Court. How are things coming along with that?

Walla: Yes! It’s good…There have been some glitches in the last week or so. My automation system caught fire, and it’s out of commission right now.

Caleb (HTFAF): That’s always a treat

Walla: Yeah, it Should be back up by tomorrow though.

Caleb (HTFAF): Has it been weird for you guys to be playing arena shows? I remember looking at your tour dates back in December and seeing “Death Cab for Cutie with Jenny Lewis – Key Arena, Seattle, WA” and thinking “WHAT?” That’s where the Sonics play, how could Death Cab possibly be playing there?

Walla: [Laughter] Well – It’s gotten to be more the norm than the exception, it seems, and so it’s been less awkward than it was a year or two ago.

Caleb (HTFAF): Do you ever wish you could go back to the days of playing The croc, and smaller places like that, again?

Walla: I certainly do and I think we will, at some point, for some good and right occasion, you know? I may play there for the solo tour actually.

Caleb (HTFAF): Are you planning a full tour solo, or just some one-off shows?

Walla: Hard to say right now. It could go either way. Depends a lot on the DCfC schedule, I think.

Caleb (HTFAF): Do you have any idea what that will look like, in terms of who will be playing with you?

Walla: I did, for a while, but I don’t know if anyone will still be able to play come August / September. I may have to rethink the whole thing. I’d rather not say names until it’s completely hammered out.

Caleb (HTFAF): So you mentioned “The DCFC schedule” what is on that right now? When do you guys plan on being back in the studio or on the road?

Walla: It’s hard to say, actually. We’re in the process of sorting out the details right now. There will be a Death Cab for Cutie record in 2008 – that’s about all that is certain right now.

Caleb (HTFAF): Do you guys still hang out in between tours and records? I mean I know you you spend a LOT of time on the road with Ben, Nick, and Jason.

Walla: Yeah, a fair bit, even considering I moved to Portland. Jason played the drums on the [Tegan & Sara] record, so he was down here for a few weeks. Ben and Nick have both been down for weekends to say hello, since they’re on much more flexible schedules than I am at the moment.

Caleb (HTFAF): Jason drums on the whole record?

Walla: That’s true, yes.

Caleb (HTFAF): What great news.

Walla: Totally. It’s Tegan and Sara; their guitar player Ted; Jason and myself; Hunter from AFI and Matt Sharp [Weezer, The Rentals.]

Caleb (HTFAF): You said after Plans was completed that you won’t be producing the next Death Cab album, is that still the case?

Walla: Well, it’s actually kinda up in the air at this point. Chances are good that I will, in fact, be producing the next [Death Cab for Cutie] album.

Caleb (HTFAF): What changed your mind?

Walla: I was hoping to find the perfect partner, but I think that my role in the band is such that I’d feel left out somehow if I wasn’t in charge of assembly, performances and conceptual management, if that makes any sense at all.

Caleb (HTFAF): Perfect sense. Are you excited about your solo record?

Walla: I really am, yeah. I have lots of fuel from the T&S [Tegan and Sara] record left to burn – I feel like I’m really in record mode, like I’m done with touring for a while.

It’s dark; it spans a lot of turf, in terms of style. A few songs came out of the batch of instrumentals that spawned ‘Brothers On A Hotel Bed;’ one song is a re-working of a seven year old song that’s never seen the light of day; lots of drum machines that don’t sound like drum machines and drums that don’t sound like drums…and I’ve been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac.

Caleb (HTFAF): Is there one particular Death cab song that you enjoy more than others?

Walla: I’ve always been fond of ‘Little Fury Bugs’ from the second record [We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes]. That one and ‘Passenger Seat’ [From the album Transatlanticism] are big ones for me.

Caleb (HTFAF): We Have The Facts is one of my favorite records of all time.

Walla: Great news. Thanks! There’s so much between the lines in that album, a lot of desperation and friction, three of us against the world, in a way. But the songs are really my favorite of Ben’s. I miss the veil that he used to write under, that sort of obscurity; something he’s traded for unflagging literalism on the more recent records. He’s an excellent storyteller, but it’s nice to not have all the details on the page sometimes.

Caleb (HTFAF): I know what you mean, things are so cryptic on everything pre-Photo Album, and then they sort of clear up.

Walla: Yeah, that’s the beginning of the cleaner, straighter writing.

Caleb (HTFAF): If you quit making music in all ways, shapes, and sizes today, what would be your fondest memories?

Walla: Sharing the stage with Elvis Costello is one. Sharing the stage with Neil Young is another.

Many of them, though, aren’t quite that ‘big’, though no less dramatic – one of the things I love the most about recording is that union of voyeurism, documentary and steward that happens when a musician performs for a recording.

Some of the stuff I’ve been able to see go down is pretty staggering – Colin’s [Meloy of the Decemberists] performance of ‘Eli, the Barrowboy’; Petra and Jenny’s performances on that same record; Dante DeCaro’s fucking unstoppable guitar playing on that Hot Hot Heat stuff I worked on; Judah’s vocal for ‘Red Like Roses’ on the first Velvet Teen full length; pretty much all of Hutch’s vocals for the second Thermals record, ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ [From Death Cab for Cutie’s album, Plans] – all that stuff. It’s an incredible honor to be trusted with a performance, and even shocking when the best ones happen.

Caleb (HTFAF): Ok, let’s play fast money. What are you listening to?

Walla: The new Jarvis Cocker record. Also the new and as-yet-unreleased Laura Veirs record. She’s a genie.

Caleb (HTFAF): I celebrate her entire catalog

Walla: She’s my neighbor now! She’s like eight blocks away.

Caleb (HTFAF): What was the last book you read?

Walla: I just read ‘The Lion, the Witch And the Wardrobe’ [Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis] for the first time.

Caleb (HTFAF): Oh wow, did you enjoy it?

Walla: It’s perfect. My favorite part, honestly, is the dedication – I can’t think of a sweeter or humbler way to send off such a gorgeous labor of love.

Caleb (HTFAF): What was the last film you watched?

Walla: ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I had never seen it before. It’s clearly the blueprint for ‘Friends’, and strangely, for ‘Seinfeld’, I think. Full of people who shouldn’t get along, characters you love to hate.

Caleb (HTFAF): What is your favorite guitar?

Walla: I do love the black Gibson J-180, the Everly Brothers guitar that Liz at American Music in Seattle suggested I check out. She was right; it’s a good one.

Caleb (HTFAF): Who is the best band I haven’t heard of yet?

Walla: Have you heard of So Many Dynamos?

Caleb (HTFAF): Oh, yes.

Walla: Via Audio?

Caleb (HTFAF): Yes! Great band. Nice people.

Walla: Yeah, They’re really good. Um…Ever heard of Komeda?

Caleb (HTFAF): No, should I?

Walla: Yes, they’re defunct now, sadly, but great nonetheless.

Caleb (HTFAF): What are you excited about these days, Chris?

Walla: A few things, right now – The Tegan and Sara record. Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever been so excited about an album I’m working on. Barack Obama has me pretty thrilled at the moment.

Caleb (HTFAF): Me too.

Walla: And my coming vacation to Alaska – three weeks in May.

Caleb (HTFAF): What will you be doing in Alaska?

Walla: Drilling for oil and clubbing baby harbor seals…not really.

Caleb (HTFAF): [Laughter], There goes your PETA endorsement.

Walla: Probably true, that!

Caleb (HTFAF): Thank you for allowing me to jeopardize your incredibly limited free time, Chris. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Walla: Thanks, you as well. Take care, Caleb.