Student Conversation Interview - 2000
Student.com
Student Conversation: The Dandy Warhols
By Jon Vena

Three years ago, the Dandy Warhols' "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth" gained tons of attention, mostly from its resounding chorus of "Heroin is so passe..." Add some extra exposure with a song on the " There's Something About Mary" soundtrack, and you have all the makings of a smash success.
However, the Dandy Warhols haven't really impacted in America. In Europe, though, the Dandys are one of the most popular bands in the land. We called guitarist Peter Holmstrom on his cellie and asked him a few questions about life.

Student.Com: So, where are you right now?

Peter I'm actually in Minneapolis, sitting in a place called Bryant Lake Bowl. It's a restaurant, a bar and a bowling alley, all mixed in one.

Student.Com: Aside from the critical press for your new album Thirteen Tales From Bohemia, you've been getting a ton of coverage because some guy named David Bowie seems to have taken a fancy for you. What's it like count him as a fan?

Peter: That's pretty much the ultimate validation. Anybody who walks up to us and says, 'well, you're record's kinda good, it's okay' -it's like, "It doesn't matter what you think… David Bowie likes us!" I've been a fan forever, so to count him in as a fan is really the best honor I can imagine.

Student.Com: A lot of critics have labeled the Dandy Warhols sound as "drug rock" or "stoner rock." If you could label the band's brand of noise, what would you call it?

Peter: My girlfriend actually came up with a name that sounds pretty appropriate — 'cult rock.' We're not pop, we're not any one form of music, I think. But there needs to be a name for this retro sound all of these bands are doing — bands like us or the Brian Jonestown Massacre. We've all got this 'retro' sound, yet we're really not retro. I'd say 'cult rock' is good, because then we have a genre all our own.

Student.Com: I got to catch you guys when you were on tour with Blur about two and a half years ago. "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth" was huge at alternative radio — yet you guys didn't play it! What happened?

Peter: The funny thing is… we were always forgetting to play it! We don't write a set-list. We have our live show, and at that point, we had two albums' worth of material to go through. Most of the time, we simply forgot that song — which probably wasn't a good thing, considering it was probably the only song most of the audiences knew!

Student.Com: It's really rare for an American band to be bigger overseas than they are here in the States. How do the Dandy Warhols handle this?

Peter: Well, when you look at the numbers, we've actually sold just as many records here as we have in the UK. The only difference, of course, is that our singles all went Top 40 over there, and the percentages of record buyers and everything are completely different. I think the problem in America is that people don't listen to the radio much anymore, and it's harder then to try and attract an audience.

Student.Com: So, I know all of you guys are huge Rolling Stones fans… does that mean you have a lot of British influences?

Peter: Oh, definitely - but there's a lot of American influence, too… like Nirvana, the Pixies, the Velvet Underground. Even CSN [Crosby, Stills and Nash] — wait... N... [Graham] Nash? He's British, right? Well, two out of three ain't bad.

Student.Com: Were you listening to these artists when you went into the studio for Thirteen Tales Of Urban Bohemia?

Peter: We went into the studio with the mindset of making the best possible record we could. The stuff we were listening to — Dylan, late 60s-early 70s Stones — it's all warmer, folkier stuff. And I think that shows on the album. There's acoustic guitars all over the place. But aside from that, we really didn't try to do anything different.

Student.Com: Were there any favorite moments from recording the album?

Peter: Actually, the first month of recording was just simply amazing. We basically tracked a song per day, so every day was something new for us. We had this huge space to record in, so there were all sorts of different rooms, each with its own size, decorations, stuff on the walls. Mic-ing each room was always interesting. Depending on what room we were in, there would could create totally different sounds. I mean, we'd toss the guitar amps in the shower and create some amazing feedback. We put a bunch of weird instruments on the record and gave ourselves as many options with the sound as possible.

But my favorite moment was when we recorded the lead to "Big Indian." I turned my amp all the way up. Every single knob was on 10. I've never really done that before.

Student.Com: The Dandy Warhols formed in Portland just as grunge music was at its apex. What was it like trying to put together a sound when there was such a gigantic buzz coming from pretty much your backyard?

Peter: It was a little difficult at first. No one was taking us seriously at first, which was okay, because we were having a great time, and we really weren't taking ourselves seriously. But look who's laughing now! (laughs). Seriously, though… there was definitely a market for what we were doing, because we started selling the clubs out and people were coming to see us.

Student.Com: Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia is your third album, and your second on a major record label. Does that affect anything with the band? Is Capitol Records pretty much good to you?

Peter: It doesn't affect anything, really. Capitol has been supportive for the most part. I mean, there's been a few problems with some people - people who don't seem to think we're a real rock and roll band. But our A&R guy is great, and most of the people we work with are supportive.

Student.Com: A lot of critics are calling your new record one of the best releases of the year. What would you like to happen in the lives of the Dandy Warhols this year?

Peter: You know… I'd like to sell just enough records to justify a decent tour of the U.S., with us playing mid-size theaters, with a couple of thousand people at each show, high ceilings so we could do our projections, a good monitor set-up. Those sort of things.

And you know, I wouldn't mind winning a Grammy either — just as long as it isn't "Best New Artist."

The Dandy Warhols' new album, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, hit stores on Aug. 1.

Jon Vena's not a junkie, either.