Versus Magazine: How does it feel to be back on tour again?
Julian Casablancas: Feels great, we were on tour before ... It’s not like it just started; I toured about a year ago.
VM: Oh … Well, I meant like, after you hadn’t for awhile?
JC: (Laughs) No, I figured that’s what you meant. It’s basically been the most fun I’ve ever had on the road, to be honest.
VM: What’s been the most memorable performance you’ve done so far?
JC: Actually, probably the one we had recently. We played Madison Square Garden. This town used to be really tough. I have played this venue many times; I’ve always thought the crowds were really tough. I was expecting the worst but it was just the best show of the tour. Everyone was going nuts; it was awesome.
VM: Did it felt good to go solo? Exciting? Scary? Did you like doing your own thing?
JC: It was fun and challenging. It’s akin to the early days of the Strokes. I felt like I’m starting up again … It’s actually my favorite kind of show — you have to charm the crowd. A lot of people come, but they don’t really know what to expect. They come and are like, “How is this going to work?”
VM: Do you mean they come with more of an open mind, then?
JC: No, it’s the difference between the beginning of the show — when [the crowd] is just standing and watching, ready to judge — and the end, when they are going nuts. It’s been really awesome. I just feel like with all of this [new music] going on, people don’t know what to expect live. It was a challenge to work that out, but we did. To experience everyone playing all these interlocking sounds live is pretty exciting.
VM: Did you have any musical influences — bands, genres — that impacted you while you were making “Phrazes?”
JC: Definitely. Like Hot Chip. I dig their rhythmic vibe.
VM: Hot Chip is really cool. Their new stuff is great.
JC: Yeah they’re rad. And in terms of production stuff — ‘80s. Late ‘70s, like Queen, Michael Jackson. Big production — I wanted some of that clarity.
VM: Yeah. I have been listening to “11th Dimension;” I like that track. It’s really cool and catchy. I was really intrigued by it because it’s a song you can dance and rock out to but once you listen to the lyrics, there’s a heavy sentimentality there. I was wondering if this is more of an emotional record? At least more than people may think … Perhaps because people are so drawn to the sound that they don’t catch the sentimentality behind it.
JC: That’s cool you say that. The main point is that you want to work on both levels. You listen to a song lightly — you want something fun and catchy; you don’t want to think too much. There’s that, and, well, if you like paying attention to the lyrics, trying to get some sort of a deeper meaning, there’s that too.
VM: Yeah. I picked that up from “Ludlow St.” I could sense that there is this desire to move forward and progress. Is the song talking about change? Like how things were back with the Strokes and how they are now? Overall, does this song reflect your outlook right now? (Laughing). Sorry. I’m a Philosophy Major.
JC: What aspect of it are you asking about? If you don’t mind. I thought the lyrics got really greedy, meaning-wise. And I wanted to work on like three different levels (laughing).
VM: (Still laughing). Here it goes. I might be completely wrong. What I got out of it was this desire to progress, like there’s the New York City party scene but also there’s another aspect to it — trying to enjoy that, but also getting something deeper out of the music itself … I’m completely off, right?
JC: I mean, no. It’s anything you want to get out of it. If it’s enjoyable, inspiring, it’s right. What I think right now is maybe different from what I thought a year ago. One of the things I do think is that there’s always a fork in the road and I’m just a hopeful dude. It seems like things can go two ways — they can spiral out of control, or you can learn from the lessons of the past and try to make things work. That’s one of the general themes, perhaps.
VM: Are there any other tracks on album that mean something to you — that you feel really connected to?
JC: I don’t know about connected … I do have a lot of fun playing “River of Brakelights.” Definitely one of my faves. But I definitely have a deep connection with Glass, that's when my girlfriend was attacked by some guys down on the Lower West Side and I just felt so defenseless, you know?
Julian Casablancas: Feels great, we were on tour before ... It’s not like it just started; I toured about a year ago.
VM: Oh … Well, I meant like, after you hadn’t for awhile?
JC: (Laughs) No, I figured that’s what you meant. It’s basically been the most fun I’ve ever had on the road, to be honest.
VM: What’s been the most memorable performance you’ve done so far?
JC: Actually, probably the one we had recently. We played Madison Square Garden. This town used to be really tough. I have played this venue many times; I’ve always thought the crowds were really tough. I was expecting the worst but it was just the best show of the tour. Everyone was going nuts; it was awesome.
VM: Did it felt good to go solo? Exciting? Scary? Did you like doing your own thing?
JC: It was fun and challenging. It’s akin to the early days of the Strokes. I felt like I’m starting up again … It’s actually my favorite kind of show — you have to charm the crowd. A lot of people come, but they don’t really know what to expect. They come and are like, “How is this going to work?”
VM: Do you mean they come with more of an open mind, then?
JC: No, it’s the difference between the beginning of the show — when [the crowd] is just standing and watching, ready to judge — and the end, when they are going nuts. It’s been really awesome. I just feel like with all of this [new music] going on, people don’t know what to expect live. It was a challenge to work that out, but we did. To experience everyone playing all these interlocking sounds live is pretty exciting.
VM: Did you have any musical influences — bands, genres — that impacted you while you were making “Phrazes?”
JC: Definitely. Like Hot Chip. I dig their rhythmic vibe.
VM: Hot Chip is really cool. Their new stuff is great.
JC: Yeah they’re rad. And in terms of production stuff — ‘80s. Late ‘70s, like Queen, Michael Jackson. Big production — I wanted some of that clarity.
VM: Yeah. I have been listening to “11th Dimension;” I like that track. It’s really cool and catchy. I was really intrigued by it because it’s a song you can dance and rock out to but once you listen to the lyrics, there’s a heavy sentimentality there. I was wondering if this is more of an emotional record? At least more than people may think … Perhaps because people are so drawn to the sound that they don’t catch the sentimentality behind it.
JC: That’s cool you say that. The main point is that you want to work on both levels. You listen to a song lightly — you want something fun and catchy; you don’t want to think too much. There’s that, and, well, if you like paying attention to the lyrics, trying to get some sort of a deeper meaning, there’s that too.
VM: Yeah. I picked that up from “Ludlow St.” I could sense that there is this desire to move forward and progress. Is the song talking about change? Like how things were back with the Strokes and how they are now? Overall, does this song reflect your outlook right now? (Laughing). Sorry. I’m a Philosophy Major.
JC: What aspect of it are you asking about? If you don’t mind. I thought the lyrics got really greedy, meaning-wise. And I wanted to work on like three different levels (laughing).
VM: (Still laughing). Here it goes. I might be completely wrong. What I got out of it was this desire to progress, like there’s the New York City party scene but also there’s another aspect to it — trying to enjoy that, but also getting something deeper out of the music itself … I’m completely off, right?
JC: I mean, no. It’s anything you want to get out of it. If it’s enjoyable, inspiring, it’s right. What I think right now is maybe different from what I thought a year ago. One of the things I do think is that there’s always a fork in the road and I’m just a hopeful dude. It seems like things can go two ways — they can spiral out of control, or you can learn from the lessons of the past and try to make things work. That’s one of the general themes, perhaps.
VM: Are there any other tracks on album that mean something to you — that you feel really connected to?
JC: I don’t know about connected … I do have a lot of fun playing “River of Brakelights.” Definitely one of my faves. But I definitely have a deep connection with Glass, that's when my girlfriend was attacked by some guys down on the Lower West Side and I just felt so defenseless, you know?
VM: I heard about that, is she okay now? It was all over the news.
JC: Yeah she's okay just really shook her up was all. But back to what you were saying, each song has a different theme. I mean, I hear them so much and I play them so much that it kind of becomes dead to me, melodically and meaning wise. I don’t think they are doing what they are intending to do, for me at least, anymore, because I have listened to [every song] like, 2,000 times.
VM: Has that become a problem, so far, with the album?
JC: Not a problem; it’s just like that with everything. When you first play music, it’s fun. You get that immediate enjoyment of playing something cool. But then when you go on the road and perform things that you write, you get sick of stuff. It’s the nature of it.
VM: Back to the album’s musicality: It has this kind of poppy, synth-pumped sound, which is very different from the Strokes. What made you go in this direction?
JC: I was actually talking to a producer a few years back — I hadn’t even really thought of a solo record at that point — and I was talking about Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” because I really wanted to capture that [in our music]. And he said if the Strokes played “Thriller” it would still sound like the Strokes. And that kind of bummed me out, actually … So I think the songwriting process was the same for me. I could have just used guitars, but I knew starting out that I wanted complex drum rhythms, like two drum beats. And I knew I wanted to go overboard with the dueling melodies. And I knew I would use some keyboard. It’s kind of a similar process, it’s just the arrangement of it. I really had a lot of freedom to do whatever so I’d go kind of left field, which was pretty fun.
VM: Cool. Did you enjoy that — in terms of going solo — the freedom to do what you want creatively and artistically?
JC: I have that freedom in the Strokes — I had. I mean, yeah, I had more of the freedom to work without having to convince or debate. That was the most pleasurable thing about it.
VM: But [The Strokes] are joining up again, right …
JC: Yeah.
VM: Are you excited about that? Have you guys been recording?
JC: Sure.
VM: Are you putting your solo career on hold or will you try to juggle both?
JC: No, kind of juggling both. I’ll be pretty much done by then, doing the solo touring for this record. It should be fine.
VM: When you guys broke up a few years back, did you know that you wanted to do the solo career or did that happen organically?
JC: I didn’t really want to. I was trying to figure out what to do. I had pulled back so far, just trying to invite happiness and collaboration within the band. It was tough. I think people just needed to get it out of their systems: To work outside of the Strokes, before they could bring songs back to the Strokes.
VM: Do you think it’s going to be difficult, now that some of the band members have done the solo thing, to re-collaborate?
JC: No, I think it’s finally time. Now that they have done their solo records, they are coming back with songs too. Back then, they didn’t do that; I was a little confused. You know, we share everything five ways. I wrote a lot of it back in the day, but I didn’t care — everything was cool with me. But, like I said, when they would write a song, they didn’t bring it to the Strokes — they made solo records. At this point, though, this is all stuff we have taken care of. Everything is cool now. I’m just stringing you along with a little history. Back then, we would get together and they didn’t seem very interested in working on songs. Meanwhile, they were doing solo records, and like I said, we share everything. I was like, I don’t feel like I really have a choice. The Strokes weren’t spiritually ready to do a record. But that was then. It was good for everyone to get that out of their system — to feel confidence, or whatever they needed. And then we worked on the record for five or sixth months; I’m arranging all the stuff. All is good!
VM: Are you excited to come to Nashville? Have you ever been here before?
JC: Yeah, I have been there quite a few times. I’m psyched. It’s a great music town. Hopefully they will enjoy.
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