June 2012
1 tag
Some updates:
Baio added more European tour dates. You can check the list here.
Pitchfork Music Festival is going to happen next month! How many of you got their tickets already? Vampire Weekend is performing on July 15, just in case you forgot.
I don’t know if Pitchfork is going to stream the festival this year (they did last year). I think it will be cool if we all tweet @pitchforkfest and ask them...
2 tags
May 2012
3 tags
3 tags
Will you have time off now from Vampire Weekend to...
BAIO: I mean we’ve been working and I can make the time to do both, whether the next thing is an EP or a single with the band … it is yet to be determined. Bands like Hot Chip inspire me — all the members do incredible stuff on their own and then they get back together and make really dope stuff. It blows my mind that Joe put out the Two Bears record and then there’s a Hot Chip record coming out...
3 tags
2 tags
Interview Magazine: Do you ever prank or surprise strangers?
BAIO: I'm not really much of a prankster, but I've definitely been pranked. I never really liked being pranked, so I generally try not to prank people.
IM: You've been pranked?
BAIO: I remember being like, 12 years old, and this was in the days before cell phones, or at least, having a cell phone. Some girls, I can't even remember who they said they were, called and said they had a crush on me. But it turned out to be a prank, and I thought that was just straight up nasty, you know what I'm saying?
2 tags
Interview Magazine: Do people recognize you on the street?
BAIO: Sometimes if I go to a show, someone will recognize me. But the neighborhood I live in, there's so many people who are in successful bands that it's really not a big deal. And I like that. I like the energy of going to lunch with a friend, seeing the three dudes from Yeasayer walking in, and saying hi to them. I think that's neat.
1 tag
Anonymous asked: MAYBE THERE IS NO LP3. MAYBE ALL OF THIS--TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, THE INTERVIEWS, CHILMARK, THE RABBITS--HAS ALL BEEN A RUSE. MAYBE THEY ARE IN CAHOOTS WITH COLUMBIA AND CONDUCTING A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT ON THE DEPTHS OF THE MIND OF FANDOM.
4 tags
1 tag
2 tags
youre-a-gift asked: Hey :) is there a downloadable version of the Low Times interview with Ezra?
2 tags
3 tags
2 tags
7 tags
2 tags
3 tags
3 tags
“I’m a very sweaty person. We were on the road once and we had this roadie we...”
– Chris Baio
3 tags
“I use CD-Js. I’ve been in other places where I’ve been in a club and someone was...”
– Chris Baio on his DJ method
3 tags
“I realized when it comes to dancing I’m a lot better dancing with my legs than I...”
– Chris Baio
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
4 tags
Baio's Sunburn EP reviewed by Pitchfork →
“Despite the brevity of Sunburn (just three tracks) it’s impressive how easily Baio puts down a marker. That he spends most of his time playing bass makes total sense in this context, too: each element on this record is consumed with rhythm and pacing. Even the big melody lines come from percussive instruments or sounds.”
“…It’s difficult to draw many...
3 tags
4 tags
2 tags
Preview Baio's Sunburn EP on Amazon →
Check out the link to listen to the track samples from Baio’s solo EP entitled ‘Sunburn’. The album will be available on Monday, May 21, 2012.
1 tag
Anonymous asked: Did Ezra write a book? Obviously unreleased, but did he write one? I was doing research on him and it gave me this article about how he sent it to this Stanford student for dissertation with a copy of a hard copy of Vampire Weekend's first CD before they toured and before they were big. Do you think its true?
4 tags
2 tags
“I’ve always had this theory a little bit, it’s not so simple, but part of the...”
– Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend defends New Jersey in an excellent interview conducted by Tom Scharpling for the Low Times podcast.
2 tags
LP3 Timeline
Six months ago, there was news that Vampire Weekend has already started to record LP3 at Excello Recording in NYC.
A month after, Rostam was interviewed by NME and he confirmed that he has been meeting up with Ezra in his studio to work on some materials. He also mentioned that he is playing the banjo in one of the tracks.
CT and Baio uploaded “The Lab” photos on their Instagram...
3 tags
“Sometimes I drive myself crazy with my standards for songwriting.”
– Ezra Koenig
4 tags
Is this an exciting period to be in? Or is this a...
Ezra Koenig: Well... it's stressful. Every time we made an album, even the first one, I find it very stressful just because we have very specific standards and until it's totally done, it is hard to totally relax. There are moments of being excited , there are moments of feeling depressed. I feel like every time we make an album, it's a real rollercoaster ride... up and down.
3 tags
“We’re definitely working on our next album. The last album feels like a...”
– Ezra Koenig (x)
4 tags
6 tags
1 tag
6 tags
2 tags
2 tags
Interviewer: Who was your favorite super-hero as a kid?
Chris Baio: I guess it’s boring to say now, but I did dig Spider Man. I had a crush on Mary Jane. Nowadays I feel like I relate more to Batman because bats scare me. When the sun goes down in Austin I try to keep a low profile.
Interviewer: If you had the power to travel in time and space, where would you go as a music lover?
Chris Baio: Probably to the studio while Bowie’s Low was being made, but I’d want to be invisible as well.
2 tags
Interviewer: If you had to give your own definition of DJing using a metaphor, what would it be?
Chris Baio: I’m a cat owner but I grew up with a dog. If you jump on top of a dog and aggressively pet it they tend to get into it. You do the same to a cat and it scares the shit out of them. You have to approach a cat with patience. My favorite DJ sets are ones that slowly unfold over the course of 90-plus minutes and eventually reach a big moment. Good DJ’ing is like chilling with a cat. Also: I’ve clearly been watching too much My Cat From Hell.
Interviewer: And how would you describe playing bass with a metaphor?
Chris Baio: I tend to favor fast and melodic bass playing in the op ivy tradition. Maybe it’s like pouring Sriracha all over already really spicy buffalo wings. Or the sixth cup of coffee you have in a day.
2 tags
4 tags
2 tags
2 tags
Can we expect a full-length album anytime soon?
Chris Baio: I would love to do a full-length of just my own material at some point, but right now there are no plans. I work on music every day, I work on tracks every day. I definitely want to put out more EPs and singles in the near future. But doing a full-length, I feel like I’m still developing as a producer, doing mostly instrumental and electronic stuff, and this EP, I feel, is my first step into that world.
2 tags
How would you describe the Sunburn sound?
Chris Baio: A lot of it is house-influenced. I’m kind of direct and innate about that, but I find it's really building blocks to make tracks on. There’s some element of tropical-ness in terms of the sound I’m using, but there's also a bit of somberness in its tone.
2 tags
If you absolutely had to choose, which do you...
Chris Baio: If I had to, you’re saying gun to my head? I would have to choose playing bass in the band. But I absolutely love both. That’s like a Sophie's Choice thing for me as far as music goes [laughs].
2 tags
How does (DJing) compare to playing bass with...
Chris Baio: It’s lonelier! [Laughs.] There’s a different pace and energy to it. I enjoy that a lot of it is just about sharing music that I'm excited about with other people, and trying to figure out a way to present it to make them excited about it. It’s very, very different from playing in the band. There’s an element of performance in both and I love both, but yeah, it’s absolutely different.
3 tags
“I’m going 2 meet them 4 coffee on Effie St 2 discuss collaborating”
– Ezra Koenig on One Direction
4 tags
