We don’t use much drugs and when we drink too much we just get sleepy. It’s sad, I know.
We don’t use much drugs and when we drink too much we just get sleepy. It’s sad, I know.
It must be at least thirty degrees in Amsterdam in the middle of July, but of all bands we’ve met in our time, I can’t think of a less appropriate band name for a day like this one than The Decemberists. Even their music, (think melancholy popsongs for winter nights), feels unseasonal. Still, their new album Picaresque has been released in Holland this month. Singer Colin Meloy sat himself down with a cup of espresso and told us all about it.
CM: I’ve been doing interviews all day long, getting a bit tired of it now. But it’s all part of the game, of course. I knew that when I started, hahaha. No, I’m not really someone who likes getting all the attention. No, not even secretly I think.
Meloy looks pretty sharp today, cleansing his Jarvis-style glasses and relaxing in the lobby of the Vondel hotel. He seems glad Incendiary has arrived for a decent chat, after a tiresome day of hopeless interviews about music and the Decemberists’ rather odd taste for bizarre musical instruments, (what’s a Hurdy Gurdy, anyway?). There are some things that you, the reader, should know before we progress further: Picaresque is the second album for the band from Portland, Oregon. It’s a release filled to the brim with sweet pop ballads and designed almost like a poster for a musical of some sort.
IN: Tell me about Picaresque.
CM: Well, it’s a very good record, hahaha! I think it’s typical for the style of The Decemberists. The concept of the layout is a musical, and at the same time a shout-out to the creative community in Portland. To all the small, amateur theatre-companies and the writers there. There wasn’t a concept for the record itself, if that’s what you mean, although each song is basically a little story about some magical character.
IN: Who writes the songs?
CM: I write all the songs, basically. Of course, when you start playing them together everybody in the band adds something to it and it changes over time. The songs aren’t very autobiographical, however. I’m glad they aren’t; (laughs), most of the characters aren’t doing so well.
The character on this album that I feel connected with most is probably the kid from The Sporting Life. He’s lying in the middle of a playing field after a game and watches how things go by, you know, after all the madness ended. No, I’m not a big fan of sports anymore. I tried, though, during high-school I tried to be something of sportsman, but it didn’t work out at all. Instead I hung around the library with friends, and ended up in the theatre and musical scene.
IN: Couldn’t make it as a musical star?
CM: Well, I did that for a bit, being an actor. I even played one big part in a very arty play, can’t remember which part that was, (laughs). But when The Decemberists started becoming more popular it was an easy choice for me. I like theatre and music equally, so I might go back some day. It’s not that different as well, I’m still telling stories. That’s what The Decemberists are about, anyway.
IN: Ambitions?
CM: I’m happy with where I am right now, I already felt that with the first album (Her Majesty, red). I wanted to make a living with my music, and that went fairly well I guess.
IN: And artistic ambitions?
CM: Oh, I don’t know… I think it’ll grow, there’s still things to do. We have complete artistic freedom at Rough Trade, so I think we’ll just have to see the way things develop. Since you mentioned theatre, I would like to do a musical, maybe. If I can find the right people. You need financers, people with experience in organizing plays, that kind of stuff. It’s far too much trouble for me as I’m not organised at all.
IN: So now the album is done are you off on holiday?
CM: Ehm, basically, these are my holidays. Hahaha, no, not really. I just been in Ireland for two weeks with my girlfriend. No interviews, no concerts, just hanging about. Well, I brought my guitar, so I ended up writing some songs in the end, but that’s not really working, is it?
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The moment I first listened to Picaresque, I was reminded of the early Belle & Sebastian, or Of Montreal. Sweet, innocent and with a solid education to boot. That’s about the feeling I get when talking to Colin Meloy, too. There’s something absolutely sweet and nice about this guy, to the extent even where it’s slightly uncomfortable. There must be something about him. He has no serious ambitions of taking over the world, just wants to play guitar for a bit on a grassy slope in Ireland. But how about the dark side of the Decemberists?
CM: Not that I know of, actually. We don’t use much drugs and when we drink too much we just get sleepy. It’s sad, I know.
Well, I don’t have many friends left from before The Decemberists. Oh well, it just happens I guess, your lives are too different and then you kind of lose contact with them. My fellow band-mates are the people I see most often now, they’re my best friends I’d say. The rest of them are just supportive, they like what I’m doing. I still feel very connected to Portland and the community there, so that’s not an issue.
IN: Tell us about your woes with equipment
CM: Oh yeah, the stolen equipment. Hahaha, everybody asks about that. It’s not that interesting a story, I’m afraid. The equipment was stolen after a concert, but a lot has been returned to us, they didn’t know what to do with it anyway. We had some pretty uncommon instruments among the clutter, you know. Luckily, Nate Query had his Hurdy Gurdy with him, so that didn’t get stolen.
Colin finishes his coffee, starts checking his haircut for the photographs. So, Colin, I try as casually as I can, what’s the question that we should’ve asked but didn’t? It’s a psychological trick most people in the music business fall for. Not Colin Meloy.
Ehm, lemme think… My favorite colour is greeeeeen. (In a slow, whining sort of voice.)
He’s still laughing when I take the pictures. In the garden. The Decemberists are bound to be allright I guess.