The Dandy Warhols hardly need any introduction.

Releasing the critically acclaimed The Dandy Warhols Come Down in 1997, following this up with the smash hit of Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia in 2000 and starring in the controversial 2004 documentary DiG! with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, which chronicled the two bands’ love-hate relationship over a seven year period.

Shannon Carlson caught up with Brent De Boer to discuss the merits of an independent release, the band’s creative process and why he thinks Brian Jonestown Massacre is the most perfect band there is.

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SC: You come from Portland, Oregon, a city that is renowned for its thriving art and music scene. Did you think that influenced you at all when you made this particular album?

BDB: Oh yeah, sure. I mean you can’t help that. I think all of the Dandy Warhols records are very Portland, Oregon.

SC: The new album is called Earth to the Dandy Warhols. What inspired this title?

BDB: I think we just kind of liked the double meaning, you know Earth to the Dandy Warhols, like ”whoa, we’re in outer space, man.” Also, as in this is earth to the Dandy Warhols. The title works, it rolls off the tongue nicely.

SC: Were there any specific influences behind this album? For instance, cultural influences such as movies etc.

BDB: I think part of the creative influences are each other, the four of us together influencing one another. Second to that would probably be all of our experiences around the world. Most people don’t have the amazing opportunity that we have and that’s the opportunity to play concerts and meet people all over the world.

It’s the music that we hear in hotel rooms and night clubs and the deepest, darkest corners of the world that influence us. Local bands here in Portland who are just as talented just don’t have that changed perspective. I think that travelling being one thing and the four of us influencing one another.

SC: As Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s cousin and the drummer of the band, did you all have creative input into the process of making the album?

BDB:  Most definitely. Courtney comes up with the lyrics, the chorus and the melodies, the basic structure and then we all refine the basic structure and create a concrete structure, decorating the sounds. Then we get together and we play them, we play ‘em loud and try to make it come off naturally live and then record.

SC: You joined the band after Come Down, right?

BDB: Yeah, when Come Down was coming out, which was ten years ago. When they were doing shows for Come Down. I took off with them on their first major European tour.

SC: So did you feel extra pressure to perform, considering Eric Hedford, the drummer who had made that album had just left the band?

BDB: I think it was just about as nerve-wracking an experience for a musician as it gets. I only had seven days to learn all the songs with only a couple of rehearsals. Next thing you know we were playing the Reading festival and I had never played shows quite that big and neither had they. We were all in the same boat except I had only just learned the songs.

SC: The new album is obviously quite different to Come Down. Do you think Earth to the Dandy Warhols is a big departure from Come Down?

BDB: I suppose it is a bit of a departure, I mean it’s three records ago, eleven years ago. We’ve recorded at different studios, played at many different venues.  Many things change and shape the course of your artistic endeavours.

SC:  Earth To… has been released independently, it’s not on Capitol Records as opposed to some of your other releases. Aside from giving the band more freedom, what else motivated this move?

BDB: Usually when people ask if it gave you more freedom, they are asking whether you were able to make the kind of music that you wanted to make. We’ve always been that way, the way we make our records has always been our call. No one from the label has come into the recording studio to check on us or to look after us or anything like that. We’ve always been able to make our own music and nothing has changed on that level.

The only thing that has changed is that we can go ahead with a creative idea right away without having to call up the label to get it approved. We have all of our own equipment at our studio, including cameras to make music videos and we can start creating immediately and our process isn’t slowed down.
 
SC: So you believe that Earth to the Dandy Warhols is one of the best albums that the band has made?

BDB: We are pretty much sitting on the best record I think we’ve made yet.

SC: Has it changed the ethos of the Dandy Warhols now that you are completely independent?

BDB: We’ve never relied on anyone to grab our wrists, or teach us how to present ourselves or design album covers or anything like that. You can’t rely on anyone but yourselves. Capitol gave us a loan for us to do our art and now we are away from them we just have to pool our money and continue to make music that makes people feel really cool and have some fun.

SC: Earth To… was released in a digital format before the physical release, was this a deliberate statement on the changing nature of the music industry? Maybe it was just cheaper. What was the main reason for this?

BDB: We thought it would be cool when people were looking at our website if they could also check out the music. People who mainly bought the records, were people who would seek it out and who were fans already.

They may have read somewhere in an interview or an obscure piece of news that we had a new album out and they would go and get it. But this has only been in America, the rest of the world is different. Australia has always been good to us, we always get radio play and recognition in Australia. But in general in America, you never would’ve picked up the album unless you were already a fan. Now you can hear it on our website and buy it straight away.

SC: Who is your favourite band right now, absolutely anywhere in the world?

BDB: Brian Jonestown Massacre.

SC: Really? We weren’t going to go there. We weren’t going to talk about the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

BDB: They’re the most perfect band there is. They have like, fourteen records out and every single song, every lyric, every chorus, every album is perfect.

SC: Like you said before, you’ve always been popular in Australia and have always sold out your shows here and you get a lot of radio exposure. Are there any up and coming Australian bands that you would recommend?

BDB: Even has a new record coming out and they are always great. We’re also friends with The Vines and Jet and love all that stuff and are always looking forward to any new release from either of them. I think the Mint Chicks are really cool and most people I know think the Mint Chicks kick out.

SC: Is there an Australian tour on the cards?

BDB: Toward the end of October and early November. It will be throughout five or six cities nationwide.

 

 

 

 

EARTH TH THE DANDY WARHOLD IS OUT NOW THROUGH INERTIA