OMG! Exclusive - Death Cab for Cutie

In case you've been living under a rock, indie rock darlings Death Cab for Cutie will be hitting Philippine shores very soon.

The band, led by singer Ben Gibbard, guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Jason McGerr, will hold a one night-only show at the NBC Tent in Taguig on March 5, 2012. 

While the band has been around since the late 90s, it was their landmark release “Transatlanticism” that caught the ears (and hearts) of a wider audience, partly because its tracks appeared in such shows as “Six Feet Under,” “CSI: Miami” and “The O.C.” (where Adam Brody's character was written as a rabid fan of the band).

Their introspective and melancholic sound struck a chord with hipsters and music lovers worldwide, and led to them signing a long-term record deal with Atlantic Records. More hits like “When Soul Meets Body,” “I Will Possess Your Heart,” and “Meet Me on the Equinox” (from the “New Moon” OST) followed. 


From sensitive to eclectic

Their latest album, “Codes and Keys,” was released in May 2011, featuring a notably  eclectic approach, akin to that of such artists as New Order, Explosions in the Sky, and Randy Newman.

That must have been nerve-wracking for a band whose artistry was all about a sensitive approach to their sound.

“Not at all,” says McGerr in a recently-held phone interview with Y! Rocks.  “We've learned to trust each other, and trust Chris' directions as far as production is concerned.”

“If we did 'Codes and Keys' the way we did 'Narrow Stairs,' we would have gotten really bored.”


If anything, it was the fact that the last album took almost 10 months to make that really shocked his system. “There were points along the way that I couldn't remember what I did six months ago.”

The band has an interesting internal dynamic. Gibbard may be the chief songwriter, but in the studio it is Walla (as producer) that steers the band's sound into what it is.  What about the rhythm section?

“Nick has always been kind of the business guy in the band,” explains the drummer. “For five years he was the de facto manager.  Me, I just try to be the glue that holds everybody together.  Band members don't always get along, so I try to bring that stability in our day-to-day situations.”

The Zooey D. thing

Such as their personal lives. After all, Gibbard and actress Zooey Deschanel divorced recently, which oddly made a lot of music fans happy (with comments like “Maybe now Death Cab will write sad songs again”).

“We've all been in this band longer than any of us had personal relationships,” says McGerr.  “What we  do: in the band, onstage, on the tour, the music business...we don't bring anything else that ruins that.”

“Sure, everyone goes through something in life here and there and it forms what we do onstage. But it's not going to change, in the way people think.”

‘Free music now means less music in future’

Just the same the Death Cab guys are very excited to perform in Manila.  “We've never been anywhere in the Philippines.  None of us have, so it's going to be a really huge adventure for us.”

The interesting thing is that Pinoy fans first got to know the band through not-so-legal means (read: downloads).  Is he comfortable with that thought?

“What people fail to realize is that the more you take music for free, the less you're going to hear of it in the future.  [It affects] our operating costs: the ability to go to you and play shows for you,” he asserts.

“But I appreciate those who buy tickets to our shows, because somebody introduced them to our music through whatever means.  I just hope that future will be about supporting the artist. It is what it is.”