In the nation’s 33rd largest city (the ‘kirk, or Albuquerque to you techie-types), the band Beirut has quickly become the 1st largest musical draw. What’s hard to believe is that their tour rider lists brands like Ocean Spray, Capri Sun and Sunny D (not that purple stuff) instead of Amstel, Coors and Blatz. You see, Mr. Zach Condon, the prodigy, wunderkind and frontman for Beirut is a mere 20 years old. I’m not sure if that makes the depth and spectral beauty of their debut album, The Gulag Orkestar, and follow-up EP, Lon Gisland, more suprising or more expected, but it sure doesn’t make me feel any better about my lowly place in the world. ANYWAYS, I strongly urge you all to check out both records. Even better, check his answers to our 5 obsessive curiosities:
1. when historians listen to your most recent CD 1000 years from now, what will they say?
I don’t know what historians think…are’t they the wrong type of folks to be making musical judgements?Not much they could learn from it… “apparently the people of 2006 had a strange fascination with any other era than their own….”
2. if you could play a show with any band/musician living or dead, who would you pick and why?
I would just go to a jaques brel concert…not necessarily play with him…just watch and learn…the man was a genius, I can’t explain much more than that…he’s everything I wish I was on stage…
3. what is the strangest band-related dream you have had?
a few insane nightmares of being on stage, in complete darkness, with a cardboard box as a mic stand for my ukulele, and a couple people milling about the empty, gigantic venue ( in one version of the dream I’m playing to an empty mccarren pool in brooklyn), as a loud rock band plays obnoxiously next door….complete failures…I tend to take those pretty heavy…
4. what do your fans look like?
a slightly bobbing, black mass…silhoutted from the bright stage lights… or myspace photos….
5. what bullshit do you run into at most every show that makes you think “man, this bullshit again?”
strict underage drinking laws… I’ve been thrown (forcibly) out of clubs that I played on tour (Seattle) because the bouncers thought that was the best way to deal with the underage headliner of the night. I’ve never been treated more like a juvenile delinquent before in my entire life. I was left outside in the alleyway until showtime, and thrown out immediately afterwards… I hope I don’t have to go to seattle again anytime soon. And I embarrased myself pretty badly with my own temper when I finally got on stage that night…but I get that in alot of places in america. Its such a relief to play outside of the country sometimes (no offense to my home country’s audiences, I promise).
bonus question: why won’t you forget to tip your bartender?
You always tip in brooklyn…getting to know bartenders in brooklyn is a good thing. They always know whats going on.
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It comes out this coming Tuesday (the 30th), but I’m pretty sure you can get it now on iTunes. I’ve never heard A Hawk and A Handsaw, but I assume that they’re coming in highly recommended by one beanballs???
omg. after the curtain. i can’t stop.
I love jacques brel.
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Comment by beanballs — January 24, 2007 @ 8:05 pm
wait, is Lon Gisland out yet? and do you like A Hawk and A Handsaw?