Dandy Warhols Discuss Dropping

11/05/08 4:12pm

by Jen Zoratti (CHARTattack)

When Portland, Ore. alt.rockers The Dandy Warhols unveiled their latest outing, Earth To The Dandy Warhols, this summer, the record was met with a flurry of criticism and confusion.

The album comes as the self-released follow-up to 2005's critical and commercial flop, Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars, and sees the band moving even further away from the smart, near-perfect pop of 2000's breakout, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia. The album has polarized critics — some rock scribes say the Dandys' spacey psych-rock is an interesting departure, while others say the quartet's sound has grown increasingly unfocused.

ChartAttack caught up with guitarist Peter Holmstrom to talk about the adventurous new record, what it's like being in an indie band again and how a certain 2004 documentary forever changed the public's perception of The Dandy Warhols.

ChartAttack: Earth To The Dandy Warhols is the Dandys' first record after being let go from Capitol. [The band were dropped during Capitol's merger with Virgin in 2007.] What was it like making this record?
Peter Holmstrom: The interesting thing is that it was intended to be our last record for Capitol. We were thinking, "We got to make this really good because it's the last record we'll have push on." Then Capitol went away. We were upset at first, but it worked out good. We sort of remembered that we had been trying to get off Capitol for a long time.

I understand that most of it was finished before you learned you were dropped from Capitol's roster.
Mostly, yeah. We did additional recording and mixing for about eight months after — which is part of our process because we have our own studio. The part that would have been affected, initial recording, was already done.

Do you think that Earth To The Dandy Warhols would have been a different record had the band not been dropped?
I don't know if there would have been a difference either way. We do what we do, no matter what. That's what we get off on most anyway, is trying to make up new tricks and sounds.

Speaking of tricks and sounds, what direction did you want to take this album in musically?
Since the last record was this free-flowing experimental jam thing, we wanted this record to be really focused. All the songs were pretty much written before we started recording. We recorded two songs per week every other week, and on the week we weren't recording, we'd rehearse the next two songs. Then we spent the rest of the year adding bits and pieces.

In other words, you spent some serious time on this one.
This is the first record we mixed on our own, which took time, but we also wanted to take the time to make sure all the little things got heard.

Earlier, you mentioned that you wanted this record to be really focused, and yet it's still a pretty eclectic affair.
That's another thing. We don't seem able to make a record that's all one style. A lot of times we'll record a song one way and it'll change as soon as we figure out how to play it live. We've always approached those things differently, so it can get very different.

Are you happy with how the record turned out?
Yeah, absolutely. We wouldn't be putting it out if we weren't happy.

A lot of critics don't seem to share your enthusiasm about the album. The reviews are really mixed. People love it or they hate it. Does that surprise you?
I'm never surprised by that. Pretty much ever since DiG! [the 2004 documentary that chronicled the relationship between the Dandys and the Brian Jonestown Massacre] came out, the reviews have gone extreme.

Why?
I'm not super-sure why. I felt like a lot of the reviews for the last one [2005's Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars] were really harsh, and they weren't even reviewing the record. They were just talking about DiG!

Were you upset by the way the band were portrayed in the documentary?
Initially, no. I was just happy we came out looking sort of positive. After it sunk in, I was really bummed. We thought it was going to be a film about music. Don't get me wrong — it's a great film. We just wish we weren't in it. I think it gave away too much of the mystery. There's stuff about us that's better left unknown.

How much of the rivalry between The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre was exaggerated in the film?
It was mostly made up. I mean, you hang around with some loudmouth drunks long enough and they'll say some smarty-pants stuff and you can edit that into a movie. It's all silly. We still see Anton [Newcombe, Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman] when our paths cross. I still play with [Brian Jonestown Massacre guitarist] Matt Hollywood's band when I'm in Portland. I don't know. There were a lot of things going on at that time. The whole story is just different parts exaggerated.

Let's talk about the bigger picture. The Dandy Warhols have been around for well over a decade. How has the band evolved in that time?
I think we're all better at what we do. I feel like I've improved musically and it seems like everyone else has. I feel like we've become a tighter live band. Our shows are consistent now. Before, I think they were really hit 'n' miss.

We also know how to deal with each other better. If someone needs to go be a baby about something, it's OK. It'll blow over. It's like family — you're stuck with them. That's the reason we've survived for this long.