We managed to catch up with the Cold War Kids for a few words before their much anticipated gig at Silverlake’s Spaceland next fortnight. An actual local band, hailing from Long Beach just south of Los Angeles, I was curious how these guys are getting the kind of buzz we usually reserve for bands that fly here from the UK, blithely ignoring our own.

I have unofficially renamed them Jack Gray, since Nathan Willett their lead singer is the epitome of Jack White meets Jack Black, with some Decemberists, and Sam Cooke thrown in! But since they didn’t have me around to coin a clever nickname for them when they had their press releases shot out, the Cold War Kids will have to do for a name. From the throngs shivering in the uncharacteristic freezing weather trying to squeeze into the Silverlake Lounge last week, word must be out about them. The Silverlake Lounge is the tiny divelike little brother of Spaceland, and we couldn’t even get near the front door. Brett, their manager, assured us we would clearly prefer their future show at the much more glamorous dive Spaceland, and he would secure our entrance to that. I will report next fortnight how that pans out! Left out in the cold for the show, we nonetheless got to ply them with nosy questions.

So, what do they think of the UK music scene?
All I know about the UK scene is the Rumble Strips and The Young Knives and I love ‘em both!

Being named after the last ‘war without end’, the Cold War, what do they think of our current Iraq war?
The war is ridiculous and very few people have known what was really going on from the start.

How do they like Long Beach?
There is an awful lot of crime in Long Beach but it’s cheap, diverse, with ocean breezes and cool for bike rides.

What made them get into music?
My brother got me into soul music like Sam Cooke. No other kids were into that kind of music, so I was a bit of a closet music fan.

How do they define ‘Art Rock’?
Fugazi and Les Savy Fav are my teenage idea of art rock. Come to think of it, I don't know now.
Being local, they know all the clubs around here. What is their favorite music venue in LA?
The Troubadour has the best sound!

How did they end up on the Downtown label, that only has a few bands, and they’re all eerily hot right now - sharing the label with such luminaries as Art Brut, Eagles of Death Metal, and Gnarls Barkley?
Downtown has an eclectic roster and we appreciate that. We didn't want to be on a label that has fifteen indie bands!

Where does a visiting out of town musician go to get a quick fix of guitar strings, or new equipment to replace something that was stolen or missing?
There's all the good shops on Sunset around Guitar Center.

What’s the next step for their music?
Our next step is more emphasis on lyrics.

Your brand new album, Robbers and Cowards…how did you come up with a name like that? Autobiograhpical?
The characters in the songs are robbers and cowards.

It’s always written about you that you got your name because of the period when you were born? That right?
The name Cold War Kids actually came from an American movie of the 60s.

What would they do in a world without music?
Join the theatre!

So, how did they get involved with Artrocker?
Playing art rock!



 

June Caldwell lives amidst drawers stuffed with an array of earplugs, clipped wristbands, and notes scrawled on ticket stubs… splitting her time between concert reviews, and doing radio airplay promotions for Indie bands at Bryan Farrish Radio Promotions. She covers the LA music scene for artrocker.com, the largest bi-weekly new music publication in the UK, and www.fly.co.uk with her shutterbug hubby Roger.

June’s always interested in Indie bands looking for promotion, and can be contacted at: junejer@gmail.com.