One of this year’s brightest successes for Matador Records was the release of The New Romance from Pretty Girls Make Graves. Existing almost as an indie super-group, their debut album Good Health had already created musical ripples in the underground rock communities of the United States during 2002, particularly around their home area of Seattle. It was no surprise really, coming from musical backgrounds such as, Murder City Devils, Death Wish Kids, Sharks Keep Moving, and The Beehive Vaults; all bands that has achieved relative success at indie level, and some deserving of much more. As circumstance would have it, though, those bands weren’t to be, leaving the Pretty Girls Make Graves musical partnership to evolve out of both friendship and trust.
Like many others, I still hadn’t heard of them a just year ago, but that’s the price of the indie life, and there are always going to be times when you aren’t going to reach the audience you desire unless you seek out bigger things. So the band moved upwards and onwards from their previous homes of Dimmak Records and Lookout Records, and having received interest from Matador, they couldn’t really turn down the option of maintaining those roots of independent music, whilst also being associated with one of the coolest labels in the world and having their new album distributed to a completely new market: A business opportunity that any band would kill for, and it has propelled the careers of Pretty Girls Make Graves just as they hoped.
It was this chain of events that first brought the band into my life, earlier in 2003, just as the Matador promotion machine was starting to get underway. All it took was one song to catch my attention and make the band part of my life, and that was ‘Something Bigger, Something Brighter’, which as far as opening tracks go, it was one of the most exhilarating songs of the year. In fact of its style, it’s one of the most effective openers since ‘Start Together’ from Sleater-Kinney almost four years earlier.
Thankfully the rest of The New Romance is just as effective, and when they stopped over briefly in Amsterdam during their summer tour, I was able to chat to drummer, Nick DeWitt, who was first keen to point out Dutch origins of his family name, though, also a little a disappointed about the lack of time to see anywhere beyond the venue. Where I really wanted to begin was trying to get a feel for what it’s like to be in a band on the brink of something much bigger, though, and having people/the press wanting something from them at every turn.
“It’s pretty weird really,” started DeWitt. “We’ve had a lot more attention on this tour, but it doesn`t really bother us. It just comes with the territory, and it’s something that’s got to be done. Mainly, we should just be grateful that anyone wants to talk to us. Having to take the time out for interviews isn’t always what you want to do, but it’s not the end of the world.”
It was a level-headed answer, which at least made me feel a bit better for taking up his time when he could have been outside exploring a new city. The glutton for punishment inside of me couldn’t help but ask, “but do you ever get tired of the interview process and just make up the answers?” It really wasn’t a surprise when he affirmed the concept so heartily. I know if the roles were reversed and I was being asked the same questions everyday, I’d be playing the random answer lottery. I was just hoping that today was going to be a day of simplicity and honesty.
So what do you ask the band facing up to increased media focus to keep them interested? Or rather, what don’t you? “Nothing much springs to mind,” DeWitt responded after some brief pondering. “Probably if anything, it’s just being asked about how the band formed. You know, it’s all been documented and it’s easy enough to find out, so it’s a bit lazy and unnecessary to be asking it in an interview.” At least the question wasn’t on my list, so there was no embarrassing ‘throwing question cards away’ moment.
After gauging that the band had been juggling two or three interviews a night, I wanted to find out more about the audience reaction, and the increasing number of people showing up for the concerts. “Yeah, it’s been great. It has really helped being on Matador as they carry a lot of respect and just being associated with them has gotten our music that added attention. It’s meant a lot more people have been anticipating the release rather than it hitting the stores and no-one caring.”
He carried on enthusiastically, “I’m glad because we worked so hard on this record. So much blood was spilled focussing on getting everything as perfect as could be, and we really had to battle to achieve that, as a band, and against each other at times. We’re really proud of this one because we couldn’t have done anything else to make it better.”
As part of Matador’s support for The New Romance, they also released a digital single ‘This Is Our Emergency’, the first of what has become a chain of digital releases by the Beggars Group. I had wondered if the band felt any additional achievement from this but the answer was simpler than I would have predicted. “Well, the support is great again. We didn’t have much say in the matter, though. It was their business decision, and it’s cool they’re taking that route, but they didn’t come to us with plans for us to be the first band. It was just good timing in our case more than anything.”
As the conversation turned every so slightly towards digital media, I decided to ask if he was bothered that along with the anticipation for The New Romance comes the fact that thousands of people were able to download and listen to the record before the release date; a controversial topic at the best of times. The response of DeWitt was more casual than expected, though, “Well, if I let it bother me, I probably wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else I do. I’ve downloaded stuff at home. I know how easy it is and why people do it, so it’s not for me to crucify anyone else. Making a living from the music is important, but downloading happens.”
With that outside of the band’s control, it was time to talk about something they do still have power over – their live shows. “The tour has been great so far. Busy shows, and on the whole, the reception in most places we play has been really good.” I did confess to finding it strange they were in a ‘supporting’ role to The Blood Brothers, though. “Well, it’s really just better suited for this tour. They’re really good friends of ours and we’ve toured together before. At times they’ll be trying to get us to headline instead, but it’s just for the best if they do. We have a different style in a way. They’re obviously more full-on and get the audience whipped into a mosh pit. That doesn’t happen as much with our music, and we don’t really want to be seen as a come down after a Blood Brothers show, so yeah, us playing before them just feels better, more natural.”
Finally, it was time to seek confirmation that they would be returning on their own to promote The New Romance. “Of course. We’ll be touring pretty much non-stop for a while. We’re heading back to American right after this, but we will be back over here in the winter, and it should a solo headlining tour.”
All said and done, it seemed a good place to bid farewell and let the band get on with dinner and the rest of their gig preparations. As always, it was pleasing to talk to a musician so grounded, yet enthusiastic about the work they have produced, and as has previously been documented, the band did all they could to rock the Melkweg later on that evening with The Locust and The Blood Brothers. For the fans needing another Pretty Girls Make Graves fix, new dates in the Netherlands are already scheduled for February 2004.
Steven McCarron
Photo: Public Pressure
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