Ben Gibbard
Issue #25
The Death Cab for Cutie frontman offers advice and wisdom on dodging criticism, looking at your future, and the best cure for a hangover
By Jenny Sabella
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 4:24pm
For nearly eight years, Death Cab for Cutie, led by Ben Gibbard, has mastered the art of self-deprecation. It’s getting more difficult for indie-rock kids to guard them as a best-kept secret, as the band starts to become a household name. Gibbard talks to Venus about the band’s move to a major label, exposure on The O.C., and their new album, Plans.
Death Cab recently switched labels, from Barsuk to Atlantic Records. What prompted this change and how has it been so far?
Years ago when the band first started, things were a little bit different, and major labels were actually signing bands that were similar [to each other]. We made up a list of things that [we wanted in a major label]. We almost signed to a major [label] a long time ago, or at least we considered it. It was a label that doesn’t exist anymore. We decided on not doing it because the list of things that we wanted from them, they just weren’t able to budge on almost any of it.
This time out, I think because the band has been doing so well the last couple years, it seems like they’re changing tides as far as how music is being perceived and how seemingly new cultural kind of things that are happening. We were able to go, “Well, let’s just dip our toe in the water and see if anybody is interested.” We were able to get everything we’ve ever wanted out of a record contract. We faced a crossroads where we either do this now and we can actually hold some cards and bargain for what we want or we never do and we never look back. We decided, “Let’s just take a risk, try something new, and see where this leads.” So far, Atlantic’s been really respectful.
Your fans are very critical of everything the band does. How have their reactions been to the label move? I’ve read you check up on Death Cab’s message boards sometimes.
Yeah, sometimes. In the last year, I’ve kind of ceased spending time seeking out criticism online because I found it better to not go looking for criticism — or praise, for that matter. Praise and criticism balance out as the same thing for me. I haven’t had anybody come up to me and cuss me out about [the move to Atlantic]. I’m sure there are people who are heartbroken that we’re not on Barsuk anymore, but, I mean, we wouldn’t have gone to a major label if we cared about people who [to them] the label is more important than the music itself. If we cared about that, we never would have left Barsuk. The impression I get is that people saw it coming for a while, especially over the last couple years — how well things have been going for us.
Speaking of the last couple years, you guys have blown up and gotten a lot of attention. How do you handle that?
It’s been fine, really. The only thing I see that changes is the fact that the shows get bigger, and I tend to get noticed in public a little more. That’s really about it. The one thing that has been keeping me kind of grounded is not trying to spend much time researching people’s opinions about me or the band. For better or worse, [I’m] just kind of putting my head down and trying to work on music. We could be on the cusp of selling millions of records or on the cusp of dwindling. Who knows? The audience is such a fickle thing. I don’t think any of us are spending too much time patting ourselves on the back or enjoying the fruits of our labor as much as just wanting to go out there, play more shows, and get the record out.
The O.C. made the band pretty much a household name. Were you aware of this before they started name-dropping on the show and did you think that the show would be so big and draw so much attention to the band?
One day, somebody just called me and told me “This show is gonna be on,” and they gave us a heads up that they were using and licensing a song. We [were] like “Oh, OK.” I watched the show and it was really surreal–– They were name-dropping the band. It’s hard for me to tell how much impact the show has had on the audiences. It seems like a lot of bands that were always doing well, but not doing well in the more mainstream sense, have been doing a lot better in the last couple years. I think that everything’s a factor. The O.C. is definitely a factor to a certain extent.
What was your inspiration for Death Cab’s new album, Plans?
I don’t think that question has a definitive answer, but I guess for me, maybe just coming to peace with some things in my life that I have struggled with in the past. I think the overall energy of the record is a little more positive, a little more lifted than the last one.
Was there any event in your personal life that made the record turn out that way? Have things been going well?
I mean, there are obvious things. My personal life is in a better situation than it was when I was writing for Transatlantasism, but there are so many things that are different in my life than three years ago that, to quantify those things, would take forever.
When on tour, what are some of your favorite cities to play?
Seattle, the hometown, is always the number one of course. San Francisco, Austin, and New York tend to be my three favorites. I also like playing in Minneapolis. This club, First Avenue, that we played the last couple years is really great. It’s nice to show up at the same club and see friendly faces.
Do you have any plans for the Postal Service?
Not really. Jimmy [Tamborello]’s working on his own stuff, and I think that when he gets his next Dntel record all finished up, we’re gonna start working on stuff. I don’t see any [point in] rushing it. Even if we get a record done tomorrow, we’re not going to be able to release it or play any shows for a long time. Eventually, I wouldn’t want to guess when that would be. Sooner than later, I think.
How has the Death Cab experience been for you thus far? Did you ever think the band would become so popular?
Of course not. We started playing in a living room in a little college town, and the biggest expectation you have is maybe getting a show in Seattle. You never can foresee anything, getting to this point. We’ve been a band for almost eight years now. It seems like every period in this band has been a small step up. It felt like more of a gradual build for me. Maybe not to people that have been watching the band, but to me it feels like just yesterday we were playing at the 3B Tavern in Bellingham, [Washington], or that we were traveling around in a broken-ass van playing to five people in Charlotte, North Carolina. I think that perspective is good for all of us. It’s kind of like, “Oh, this is great the band’s popular now and we’re doing well,” but I mean, we’ve done all the shitty tours and the broken vans and all-night drives before. So, if anything, I feel like we’re enjoying this more because of that.
You paid your dues?
Paying dues is always a weird kind of thing. I think it carries with it a weird sense of entitlement, which I don’t like. I feel like we’ve been a band for a long time and things have always had a way of working out for us. It’s not like we toiled in obscurity for years and now we’re finally getting our break. We’ve always done well, and the definition of “well” has changed over the years.
What do you see Death Cab doing five or 10 years from now?
I never look that far in advance. Right now, I know we have a lot of press and a lot of touring to do. I wouldn’t even want to guess where we’re gonna be in five or 10 years, if the band even makes it that long. … When we were first touring and working jobs, I was really only able to look four or five months in advance. “OK, I know I have a job until October, then we’re going on tour and I’ll have to find a job in November.” I still tend to look at my life in six-month to yearlong increments. I can definitely see in the next couple years doing so much touring that I don’t even want to think about right now. Looking any further than that is going to be more detrimental to my mental health.
What’s you favorite cure for a hangover?
Every time we’re in the U.K., you can get these pills over the counter at booth pharmacies called Paracetamol with codeine. It’s basically like Tylenol with codeine — the dose is like a take-two-aspirin kind of thing. But I find if you double the dose and take four, you’re good to go. I’m a big guy; I’m 6-foot-1. If I take two, I’m still feeling the headache and nausea. But these pills are fucking amazing. Every time we’re in Heathrow, I’ll go to one booth and get four boxes. They’ll only sell you four boxes at a time. They’ll always [say], “Why do you need four boxes?” I make up some new excuse every time. Then I’ll go across the way to the other booth and buy four boxes and basically get as many as I can and partition them across my bags so that it doesn’t look like I’m trying to start a business back in the U.S. … Not that I need them every day. It’s one of those things that if you have a really wicked hangover, outside of prescription-grade pills, they’re really the best. That, obviously, and a lot of water.
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