For months I have been listening to The Antlers latest record
Hospice and couldn't share it with anyone as the band shopped it around before ultimately deciding to self release it. On Tuesday the record was finally released and at long last I can chat about it and share my thoughts with everyone about how great
Hospice is. Last week
NPR totally agreed with me naming it the best album of the year (so far), and tomorrow night when the band performs the album live at Union Hall I think we'll have even more people ready to jump on The Antlers bandwagon. I know
Prefix just interviewed the band as well, but I think I got to go a little more in depth about the album and then let all hell break loose later in the interview. Read what Peter has to say about The Antlers,
Hospice, and more below. Enjoy!
PTST: I just read on your web site that you are hand assembling each copy of
Hospice! How's that going? Are your fingers bleeding yet?
The Antlers: Well we’ve worked out a pretty good division of labor with it. So I think we’re all a little exhausted, but none of us are dead yet. I really like repetitive tasks like this, but it’ll be much harder to do once we leave for tour.
PTST: The record has obviously been your baby for a while now, do you feel you're ready to set it free in the world and see what people think of it?
The Antlers: To be honest, I’m not totally ready for it. I’ve been holding on to it for a very long time, and I’m sort of in disbelief that other people are hearing it now. But it’s really time now. Everything feels right and I’m (more or less) ready for it to be out there. It’s just a bit scary to make something personal and feel like people are getting inside your head.
PTST: This is the first record you've done where people other then Peter Silberman have played on it. How did it feel to bring in a band to try and translate what you'd written? Were there ever any moments where you thought you'd made a mistake and wished you had continued to record alone?
The Antlers: It definitely changed whatever “The Antlers” is/was. I grew up playing in bands with close friends, and never thought of going off on my own until I suddenly was on my own. I got very used to that for a few years, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment getting other people involved. But it’s never felt like a mistake. I was sick of working alone and I got really lucky with the people I found.
PTST: Aside from the regular players from The Antlers there are a couple of guest spots, most notably by Sharon Van Etten. How did those collaborations come to be?
The Antlers: With the exception of Sharon, everyone was already in the band. It’s funny because now Justin’s left, and Darby’s completely changed roles, so since the album’s been finished, it’s felt like a new band, but one we’re taking much more seriously. As for Sharon, I don’t remember exactly how we met, but at some point we started going to each others’ shows, and I knew immediately that I wanted her to sing on
Hospice. Michael and Darby are incredible and constantly surprising musicians and I love playing with them (if you’re reading this: hey guys.)
PTST: Last summer you released the
New York Hospitals EP as a kind of prelude to
Hospice. Do you feel it still works as an appropriate opener to what you've wound up with? Does the song "Sylvia" represent the bed ridden patient that is so prominent on
Hospice?
The Antlers: Well I recorded
New York Hospitals toward the end of recording
Hospice. "Sylvia (An Introduction)" is still a song I think of as Sylvia’s first appearance, or some sort of back story, though the sound of the EP is pretty different than
Hospice. I was trying out some stuff, sunnier sounds and haziness. I was still sort of obsessed with the same subject matter, so it’s related in my head.
PTST: Your albums always seem to focus on a story. How did this story come about? Do you find it easier to focus your music on some kind of story? Was there ever an inner struggle to piece this together into music?
The Antlers: I have a hard time writing songs and albums without a story in mind. My favorite albums tend to be stories, so I’ve ended up writing that way myself. This story was the hardest to put together, even though I knew it so well. I think if I were a better writer, then writing
Hospice as a book would have been an easier task. But I don’t have the attention span for writing books and I wish I did.
PTST: In case someone doesn't pick up on the whole story found on the album, would you care to sum up what's going on through
Hospice?
The Antlers: I think the story’s in the hands of the person listening to it. It came from something very specific in my life, something I try not to talk about so much anymore, but I don’t think that has to be what the album is to someone else.
PTST: Compared with
In the Attic... this one definitely has a totally different sonic palate. Where did the change in sound stem from? Was it more a result of having a full backing band or did your writing just take you in that direction?
The Antlers: I was definitely listening to different music, and more of it. I started listening to more atmospheric things, less to bands incorporating ambient sounds into their recordings and more to ambient musicians themselves. I spent a lot of time listening to drones and swells and things like that, music that couldn’t possibly seems as though it’s going somewhere, but really, all good music is moving forward, it just may not seem to at first. There’s a reason a song is 6 minutes versus 30 seconds. It ought to need 6 minutes to get there if it takes that long, right?
PTST: Prior to this record you released a couple of EP's that featured some pretty prominent cover songs, and it seems like the artists you covered could definitely be considered influences on
Hospice. Do you think covering artists like Beach House and The Magnetic Fields had an effect on the sound on
Hospice? Are there any other bands or artists that you feel lent some influence or direction in you crafting this sound for this album?
The Antlers: Covering songs is a good way for me to work out new ideas. Sometimes I get so obsessed with a song that I feel like I have to do something with it. So in that way, I think I got to experiment with some ideas I had that I used later when making
Hospice. There were a few bands that had a big impact on me making this album, bands I hadn’t listened to much before. My Bloody Valentine and Godspeed You! Black Emperor were among those. With bands like Godspeed or Dirty Three, they wouldn’t be who they are if they had vocals, and don’t even need them because they’re already so powerful. But sometimes I start imagining them with vocals, or start imagining My Bloody Valentine if they had focused on lyrics and vocals instead of using them as another instrument.
PTST: Since we're on the topic of other bands and covers - you've often covered other bands whether in your live sets or on your various EP's, what leads you to the covers you do? Do you feel your choice of bands to cover has progressed along with The Antlers sound?
The Antlers: I think a lot of the covers I’ve recorded and a lot of those we’ve done live have been on a whim. It’s not all that predetermined, but sometimes songs feel like they should be covered. That being said, you always run the risk of butchering a beloved song.
PTST: I know you were in talks a while ago with a label to release
Hospice, what made you decide to self release the record once again? With your mixed history with record labels can you imagine yourself recording for a label at any point now? Or do you think you'd rather keep it to yourself for now?
The Antlers: The decision to self-release happened quickly. The record was finished in August and then we went on tour in the fall. We came back from tour in late October and didn’t know what we were going to do with it, and we realized the record could very well sit around for a long time without being released. We decided to get the gears in motion and not wait any longer. I don’t have anything against labels, I really don’t. Right now I’m just happy to be in complete control as long as I can manage that. That being said, I don’t think self-release is a forever thing. It’s become a much bigger undertaking than it used to be when I was recording free EPs and putting them on the website.
PTST: Thursday's the big record release show at Union Hall. Got anything secret planned for the show? Can you give us a little hint? Please!
The Antlers: We’ll see. It’s a different kind of show than we’ve done before, and we’re working on rounding up a lot of people to perform. But needless to say, we’re really excited for it.
PTST: The first time I met you, you were just an underage dude playing songs by yourself at a bar in Staten Island, how does it feel to be playing with a full band, headlining a venue like Union Hall? Would you ever do the Neutral Milk Hotel cover (I believe it was "Oh Comely", I may be wrong) you did that night in Staten Island again? Please!
The Antlers: Oh man. It’s hard to believe how much everything’s have changed since then. I’m happier now, happier than I was starting up in New York and playing by myself. BUT that was a fun show. If you ask really nicely I might play that song but I’ll probably mess up the words, and you have to be okay with that.
PTST: After that you're on tour for a month hitting a good portion of the country. Anywhere you're particularly excited to play? Where are you playing during SXSW?
The Antlers: We’re playing with Asobi Seksu in Denton, TX. I’m really looking forward to that. Also stoked to play a bunch of shows with Motel Motel. We’re still finalizing our SXSW plans. Definitely playing the Soundcheck Magazine show on Friday 3/20. More to be announced soon.
PTST: Do you have any plans beyond this tour?
The Antlers: The next tour! Other than that, we’re really playing it by ear and seeing what happens with
Hospice. I’m not ready to record another album yet, but we’ll be doing some recordings in the near future for some compilations, and Darby’s been working on his own record as Diplomat which is going to be great.
PTST: Considering you are a bearded, slim fellow, who wears skinny jeans how can people tell that they are at an Antlers show as opposed to practically any other Brooklyn based band?
The Antlers: If the singer starts talking and eventually realizes he has no idea what he’s talking about, you’re watching The Antlers. I’m trying to talk less.
PTST: Out of all the states you've visited so far, and excluding your hometown of New York, where is the biggest population of Antlers fans?
The Antlers: Seems like Boston, Indiana, and random places in the south.
PTST: What happened to the toy piano? Can I have it?
The Antlers: It’s currently on my bedroom floor with an empty typewriter case on top of it. Nobody could ever hear that thing so we gave it up. Unfortunately you cannot have it because, as previously stated, it is holding up a very important empty typewriter case.
PTST: There are stories that your sister (Lucy Silberman) and Christina Da Costa (ex-Man In Gray front woman) were in a band together. Do you care to substantiate these rumors? Were they any good?
The Antlers: It’s true. They were called La Rue and wrote one song about 8 or 9 years ago about how all of my sister’s high school boyfriends were named Dan. It was called “Saga of the Dans”. It was a big hit in Somers. I asked my sister about it when I saw this question. She had this to say: “"Saga of the Dans" was pretty amazing.”
PTST: What have you been listening to lately?
The Antlers: Paul Simon’s
Paul Simon and the Belle & Sebastian song “Lazy Line Painter Jane” over and over and over and over again. Also, a bunch of droney ambient stuff, but I won’t name names.
PTST: If you were to tour with any other New York band who would it be?
The Antlers: I seriously couldn’t choose. There’s an absurd amount of amazing bands here.
PTST: Got any plans for the summer of 2009?
The Antlers: All of my friends have been moving to the west coast lately, so I’m going to figure out a way to get out there and see them.
PTST: What is your preferred drink before a show? What about after one?
The Antlers: Beer before, whiskey after.
PTST: Why don't you make band t-shirts in XXL? Do you hate fat people?
The Antlers: We’re gonna have shirts soon. All shapes and sizes. Well, mostly just shirt-shaped.
PTST: You are on the road and absolutely starving. The only choices are the standard road side fast food joints. Which one do you opt for?
The Antlers: So, so much Waffle House.
PTST: Boxers or briefs?
The Antlers: A boxer would definitely win in a fight against a news brief.
PTST: What would have been your second choice as your band name?
The Antlers: TH NTLRS
PTST: What state has the best groupies?
The Antlers: The state of the Union.
PTST: Are you single?
The Antlers: You bet.
PTST: Do you judge the record collections of significant others?
The Antlers: Caring about music is more important than having the same taste. But some things are deal-breakers.
PTST: Five things you can't live without are....
The Antlers: 1. driving
2. gigantic trees
3. gigantic dogs
4. gigantic pizza
5. music
PTST: Is this interview long enough for you yet?
The Antlers: Not yet.
PTST: I think that's it. Would you care to add anything else?
The Antlers: Now it’s too long.
Listen:
The Antlers - "Kettering"The Antlers - "Sylvia (An Introduction)"The Antlers - "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Tour Dates:
3/5 - ‘HOSPICE’ RELEASE SHOW at UNION HALL - Brooklyn, NY
3/9 - M ROOM - Philadelphia, PA
3/10 - METRO GALLERY - Baltimore, MD
3/11 - BLACK CAT (BACKSTAGE) - Washington DC
3/12 - NIGHT LIGHT - Chapel Hill, NC
3/13 - TIN ROOF - Charleston , SC
3/14 - tba
3/15 - ALABAMA MUSIC BOX - Mobile, AL
3/16 - SATURN BAR - New Orleans, LA
3/17 - BOONDOCKS - Houston, TX
3/18 - 3/22 - SXSW - Austin, TX
3/24 - tba
3/25 - NORTHSIDE TAVERN - Cincinatti , OH
3/26 - CAFE BOURBON ST - Columbus, OH
3/27 - BRILLOBOX - Pittsburgh , PA
