Albert Hammond Jr.
Retro Rock In The Modern Age
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NATN: For those who don't know, could you talk a bit about how the band formed?
Albert Hammond Jr.: We all went to school with Julian at one point or another, and we all met up in New York. The other four guys were playing already when I met Julian on the street. He was like, "hey, you know, come play music." I was like, "wow, cool!" We started playing, and we spent 1998-99 just writing songs, throwing them away, and just practicing really. This was going on at the Music Building at 38th and 8th. Our first show was September 1999 at Spiral on Avenue A and Houston. I remember every show. [in the background: Unsweetened ice tea, please. Can I get two eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon extra crispy? Toast sounds good. Rye.] All right, sorry man. We were walking around New Orleans for the past half-an-hour trying to find some place to eat breakfast. I'm tired of eating lunch for breakfast. It's getting to my stomach and giving me severe diarrhea!
NATN: How many songs did you guys have when you began playing live?
AH: I think we had seven, none of which we play to this day. We don't play any of those songs. It could have been eight. We went from the Spiral to Acme. We never actually sold it out but we brought maybe 30 people one time, and we wanted to just keep moving up. It was all weird baby steps. The actual detailed story could take me forever. Essentially, we went to the lower east side and just pretty much did the circuit, trying to move up to venues slowly without going back down to the other ones. Eventually, we reached the Mercury Lounge, which, ironically enough is across the street from where we played our first show.
NATN: Did the band give any thought to recording an album during this time?
AH: No, no. This whole beginning, we were just trying to progress. We weren't thinking any of these songs would be anything. We spent a year with the songs and they were pretty good, but we wanted to grow from them.
NATN: So, at what point did things really begin to go to the next level?
AH: April 2000 was the first time we had songs from this record. In April 2001, we went in to make the record, and we went in there before we got signed. We own this first record; we just licensed it to RCA. We own the masters.
NATN: Was there any consideration of signing with an indie label as opposed to RCA?
AH: We tried everyone. I guess indie labels may have gotten scared when they saw all these big major labels. But it wasn't that at all. It was more about the people we were going to have to work with, you know what I mean? Like meeting the president and the guy who works for radio. If there's a few duds, it's okay, but it was about liking the majority of the people and having them understand what you're trying to do.
NATN: When you went into to record the album, is it accurate to say that all of the material was pre-existing?
AH: Except for "Is This It," which was finished lyrically as Julian was recording. He pretty much just got wasted and the song came out. Gordon Raphael produced it but we chimed in. We have a lot of say on the record. Going back to August 2000, when we first played Mercury Lounge, he was invited by a girl who booked some shows for us. He saw us and really liked us, and at this point we had never actually been able to record anything that sounded cool. We went with him into the studio and recorded "The Modern Age" EP. It was a demo that got released, really. We thought when we finished that it was what would get us signed. We never thought it was going to be released. We just decided to keep the same team, with the guru as well, for the record. The record took a month and two weeks. It was recorded on Avenue A and 2nd Street, right under the Sidewalk.
NATN: So are "The Modern Age" EP versions the same as the ones that are on the album?
AH: No. We re-did them because we felt we grew as a band. I never liked the way "Barely Legal" had sounded. We never thought about that being released, and we thought if we're going to make a record, it's nicer when it has the same vibe, you know?
NATN: What's the story behind how Rough Trade acquired U.K. rights to the EP and eventual album?
AH: That's always a good one. I like that one. It's become like a myth within the band. Just even thinking about back then, my mindframe is so different. Ryan, our now manager, was working at the Mercury Lounge, and someone told him that [Rough Trade head] Geoff Travis might like it. He was sent the demo, and Geoff was the first person who called back, supposedly a minute-and-a-half into the first song. Legend has it he called back and asked, "when are we making a record?" [laughs] This was about November 2000. The EP came out January 29. We had a residency in New York in December and that pretty much got New York. It was really cool. We had gone from playing shows to like 80 people, which was amazing, but by the end of the Mercury Lounge run, we were turning people away before doors opened. It was very thrilling. It was like, "no way! We've sold it out?"
NATN: How did you engineer these licensing deals? That gives the band an awful lot of bargaining power that most bands do not have.
AH: It's not arrogance. It's the way we've always thought. We work really hard on the music and people will let us do what we want. Rough Trade has two records, and RCA has two firm, and the option to pick up for two more.
NATN: Were there any leftovers from the sessions for the album?
AH: No, no. Our set list is pretty much the album, you know? Until now, where we have a new song and another one coming. Our set list at the time was our record.
NATN: So the band does have some new songs brewing?
AH: Oh yeah, of course. Constantly. The one on the record is "When It Started," which was new for the American release. The other one we're working on, and this is not for sure yet, is called "Meet Me In The Bathroom." We haven't debuted it but I think we'll do it for the Hammerstein show. I always like doing that. It's really nerve-wracking but it's fun.
NATN: Can you talk a bit about the removal of "New York City Cops" from the American edition of the album? Did the group actually receive suggestions that this should be done, or was it your own decision?
AH: Everything we do is our choice like that. Our label said they'd back us either way. It's a really great song. It really has nothing bad [to say]. Good song, bad timing. America as a mass is usually pretty sensitive when it comes to certain stuff, and we didn't want to have to deal with explaining it. There was more integrity in being able to go into the studio for two days and come out with a brand new song and have it on the record. Fans will be like, "wow, that's so cool, so fast!" We have no problem playing it live. People actually call for it. It's so funny. It was left on all versions besides North America, which was the last version to be put out. It was the only one we could change.
NATN: Often, different release dates throughout the world can mess with the momentum of an album, but it seems to have worked in the Strokes' favor. The album debuted so high in England.
AH: We just kind of went with the punches. I always wanted it to come out first in America because I'm from here. I'm an American. I like this country. Our manager had a certain mindset and just went with it.
NATN: I take it the band saw the story in NME where they disagreed with the choice of singles?
AH: Oh, yeah. They wanted "Someday." They had people go in and vote if it was a good decision or bad decision. We did "Last Nite" because we wanted to get the whole world in sync. It had come out on the EP but it hadn't really been listened to. Plus, all the fans voted for "Last Nite," so I guess they had to close their little mouths.
NATN: You must find this kind of thing a bit humorous.
AH: I know. It's hilarious, man. I laugh at everything I read about us. I think it's funny they're even talking about us.
NATN: Seriously, the level of hype with this band is huge. Are you guys really looking at this as writers clamoring to find next big thing, or do you feel it's all warranted?
AH: All I ever really wanted was that if you heard about the band, you checked them out and thought they were good. I'm not complaining, because I think the stuff we are making is good. Do I think they went a little extreme? Sure, but that's their fault.
NATN: Reviewers have often compared the Strokes to older New York bands like the Velvet Underground and Television. How much of that do you think is a fair assessment?
AH: Everyone talks about that because we're from New York, but I've never heard Television. We all really like Lou Reed. We think Lou Reed is great. But that's just one of them. I don't know. There's jazz, blues, `50s stuff. It's not just New York. That's the problem I have. They have to compare us to something, I guess.
NATN: Do you feel there is a different attitude between audience here and in the U.K.?
AH: Um, yeah. It's hard to tell. In England right now, we're a little bigger and the people are more familiar with the songs. Some of these towns here in America we've never been to. Funny enough, we've either sold out or come very close to it at all of our American shows.
NATN: Tell me about the "Last Nite" video. I seem to recall the band saying at one point that it didn't want to make videos.
AH: The thing is, we just said that so when we signed, we weren't forced to make a video if we didn't want to. I don't like certain videos that are made today, because they're such bad songs that you have to make the video so entertaining so you actually like the song. I liked MTV when it was more about the song, and the videos were so you could see the band. Now it's all about visuals and nothing about the song. You can put it on mute and it's still entertaining. We worked with Roman Coppola, who got it the best of anyone else. It has been deemed "buzzworthy" on MTV. I always thought it was funny; you start off playing songs, you just want to get better at doing it because you really like doing it, and then it becomes all politics and nothing about music anymore.
NATN: What about promoting the band to rock radio? It hasn't exactly been too receptive to this kind of rock for awhile.
AH: I think we've been added to K-ROCK New York and places in Chicago and Seattle. 50 out of the 80 major rock stations, our manager says. Everyone's always like, you can't get onto that station because it's cheesy. It's cheesy because you're not trying anymore. If you make it there doing what you want to do, then I think it's fine. We haven't done any on-air promotions or anything.
NATN: So this big homecoming Halloween show is coming up, your first since the album came out in the U.S. It must be a thrill to play this kind of show.
AH: It's great! We're going to play in front of our hometown crowd, which is nice. We just sold out the Hammerstein Ballroom, you know? It's a lot of people. It's just really great. We don't know if we should dress up or not. I don't really know. We'll play the same as always. It won't be any different. 45 or 50 minutes; it depends on how much Julian says. Because it's New York it might be a lot. The Moldy Peaches and the Papaya Kings are also playing. The Papaya Kings are a surf band. The guru on the record, J.P. Bowersock, it's his band. He's my guitar teacher and Julian's as well. That's really his name.
NATN: I can't think of many bands that have a guru these days.
AH: Well, we couldn't think of a name for what he did, and guru is exactly what he does. He's our musical guru though, not a spiritual guru.
NATN: After this, what happens? When do you think you may start working on another album?
AH: We take a two week break and then we do another two, two-and-a-half week tour of the inner workings of America. Yeah, um, our goal has been to make a record every year or year and a half, so I wouldn't see why we wouldn't start doing it sometime in 2002. It will definitely be sometime in April or May but not before then, because we're going to be in Europe in March. We went to Australia and we're going to Japan and Europe. We'll do America again, the south and over toward San Diego, that whole little crescent moon. We'll do Japan, some parts of Asia, and Europe.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"