CHRIS WALKER VS. BANDS AND BOOZE, THE SECOND ROUND: SILVERSUN PICKUPS

It’s the final day, kids. Welcome to Thunderdome.

Depending on how long you’ve been reading, you might recall I found myself in a musical lull a few months ago and Silversun Pickups was the only band able to pull me from my dismal state therefore; it's my pleasure to bring them to you today.

I really like Silversun Pickups, they remind me of good 90s rock without necessarily sounding like 90s rock. I don’t know if that makes sense. They like feedback, they play loud, they take extended solos, and lead singer/guitarist Brian Aubert ever-so-slightly summons elements of Billy Corgan – and they manage to do all this while maintaining their own fresh sound, innovative and 100% kick ass. I highly recommend picking up their full-length debut, Carnavas, along with their fantastic EP, Pikul. You won’t be disappointed – unless you don’t like good music.

Not only are Silversun Pickups one of the best up-and-coming rock bands, they’re also some of the best drinkers in the business. According to Irish-indie-pop-rock four-pack La Rocca, Silversun Pickups is the only American band they haven’t been able to drink under the table. And if you know anything about the Irish (or La Rocca – a band named after a dive bar, for starters) that’s saying a lot. La Rocca and Silversun Pickups even have a drinking/golf tournament in the works to settle things, once and for all (side note: I would love to attend/cover/drink on the sidelines during this event. I’ll drive to LA, I don’t care. So, Silversun Pickups, La Rocca, if you’re reading this – let me know, sign me up. Someone has to take pictures, right?).

If that’s not rock and roll I don’t know what is.

Silversun Pickups are Brian Aubert (lead vocals, guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass, vocals), Joe Lester (keyboard), and Chris Guanlao (drums). Today, on the final installment of Bands and Booze: The Second Round, band member Joe Lester was cool enough to take a break from the Pickups busy schedule to talk about whiskey, late night food searches, and a fan they call “The Maestro”.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, we’ll start with the basics: What is your favorite alcoholic drink, whether on tour or in general?

Joe Lester: Well, Nikki’s mostly a beer drinker (Red Stripe), and Chris, Brian, and I mostly drink whiskey (Jameson’s). That being said, I don’t think any of us are going to turn down a drink if someone hands it to us…

That makes five of us. So, is there any alcohol you absolutely will not touch?

JL: I can’t really speak for the rest of the band but I try to stay away from brandy and cheap tequila. There’s no great story behind it, pretty much the run of the mill, “I’m a stupid 16 year old and don’t understand that I can’t drink a whole bottle of liquor with no repercussions and now even the smell of it makes me want to vomit” type of thing.

I can relate to that. Never fun. So, a month or so ago I posted on Chris Walker Versus your album and the new La Rocca album were the only two I thought were worth picking up at the time. Then I noticed you’re both on Dangerbird Records. Then I noticed the packaging of both albums was consistent in quality – not skimping on content – and it reminded me how Barsuk maintains their musician’s artistic vision, not watering it down. Is Dangerbird treating you well and how did you end up on their label?

JL: Dangerbird rules balls. They’ve been really great to us so far. We ended up with them in sort of strange roundabout way. We’ve known the guy who runs the label for quite a while and we originally met with him to ask his opinion on a couple of other labels we were talking to. He gave us some advice, but then the next morning, he called and said, “You know what, don’t take that advice, sign with us.” Basically, we totally lucked out.

Your video for “Well Thought Out Twinkles” is one of the coolest I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, the song and video are so great I had to stop what I was doing to immediately go out and buy Carnavas. What can we expect from you, artistically, in the near future?

JL: We actually just did a video for the song “Lazy Eye” right before we left for tour. Our friend Suzie Vlcek shot it and she did an awesome job. It’s sort of loosely based on parts of this Swedish movie from the 1970s. I don’t want to give away too much…it’ll be out soon.

Cool. So, your band has drawn some comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins – which I think is a good thing, regardless of whether or not it’s true. Would you say your sound is influenced by the Pumpkins at all?

JL: I think we’re all quite flattered by the comparison, whether we completely agree with it or not. We’ve all listened to the Pumpkins, and I’m sure it’s rubbed off to some extent, but I think we’re all influenced by a ton of stuff.

What other influences affect your sound?

JL: I couldn’t begin to give you a comprehensive list, it changes on an almost hourly basis but here’s what we’ve been listening to lately: NEU!, Can, The Beatles, Super Furry Animals, Tom Petty, Radiohead, Wilco, The Black Heart Procession, TV on the Radio, the Radar Bros… Actually, even that list is just a hazy shadow of how much stuff we really love.

Alright, back into the drinking questions: if I was a bartender and going to make a drink called “the Silversun Pickup” how would I make one; what would the ingredients be?

JL: We’re not really a “mixed drink” kind of band, unless you count ice in whiskey as a mixer.

Works for me.

JL: Nikki says, “Mix three parts Jameson’s with one part Red Stripe,” which sounds gross. And that about sums us up.

Ha. Ha. I might actually try that some time. What is your favorite bar in Los Angeles?

JL: It depends on what you’re looking for, if you just want to have a drink with friends and take it easy, the Edendale and Footsie’s are pretty great. If you’re looking for something a little more exciting, like say, some ultra-drunken foosball action… then you can’t really go wrong with the Cha Cha Lounge…

Everyone I’ve interviewed from LA seems to mention the Cha Cha Lounge. Sounds like a good place to go. So, who holds their liquor the best/worst in the band?

JL: I think we can all hold our own pretty well. Being in a band offers a plethora of opportunities for those looking to becoming an accomplished drunk.

That’s awesome. What’s your ultimate hangover remedy?

JL: Greasy food and lots of napping has always worked for me.

Silversun Pickups have toured extensively now. Which city have you had the rowdiest/drunkest time in?

JL: We’re open to getting drunk and silly pretty much anywhere. We’ve stumbled through the streets in New York, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, it often revolves around 3 AM searches for local food specialties: Cheesesteaks, Chicago dogs, and what have you. Trying to head the aforementioned hangover off at the pass, if you will.

What is the craziest thing a fan has done at a show to get your attention or in general?

JL: There’s this fellow in LA who comes to just about all of our shows. He gets right up front and starts dancing like some sort of dervish, waving his arms around like he’s conducting an orchestra. We’ve taken to calling him “The Maestro”. But I think that’s less “trying to get our attention”, and more just “getting into the zone”, or whatever crazy dancing people call it.

Being the only female in the band how many times would you say Nikki gets hit on a night?

JL: It depends on the show but, by my reckoning, she probably gets hit on somewhere between 10 and 1 billion times a night. And if not hit on then at least affectionately yelled at. At one show on this current tour, one super slippery gentleman decided to get on stage we when finished, grabbed Brian and asked, “Are you all in love with the bass player? ‘Cuz I am.” She has some ardent admirers.

Ha. Ha. All right, that about does it; thanks for playing along. Are there any other fun stories, tales, words of wisdom, imparting gifts you’d like to share before we conclude?

JL: My advice would be to never ask advice from the likes of us…

Fair enough. Finally, the last, most important question, which are better: ninjas, pirates, or Vikings?

JL: Pirates, my friend. Hand’s down. No contest. Don’t kid yourself.

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To stream music, get tour dates, see cool artwork, and immerse yourself into everything else Silversun Pickup related, follow the links:

Silversun Pickups Official Site.

Silversun Pickups on MySpace.

Dangerbird Records Official Site.

Final Note: the black and white pictures are from the video for “Well Thought Out Twinkles”, found on Silversun Pickups’ MySpace page. Watch the video, it’s fucking awesome.