Spring Break
Indie community bitten by 'Vampire'
Brandon Weiss
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
When a parent sends their child off to an ivy-league university, their intentions are generally to see their child develop into professional. Perhaps a lawyer, a doctor, or a mathematician; but most likely not a rock star.
For the four guys in Vampire Weekend, the latest trendy Indie-Rock band to surface in the scene, the latter is the case. The four Columbia University graduates, which classify themselves as a "classic-pops" band, formed from a combination of music class buddies and weekend-party chums. Since then, Vampire Weekend, fondly referred to by fans online as "VMPRWKND" (the real name, minus the vowels), has become an underground Indie sensation.
Essentially, the members of Vampire Weekend are just a few guys that decided to test their luck with the music scene.
"We figured it'd be better to take the risk and leave our jobs to tour full time rather than spend the rest of our lives wondering 'what if'," bass player Chris Balo, who quit his new job as a math teacher to become a full-time musician said. However, Balo believes that becoming full-time musicians was inevitable for the guys in Vampire Weekend.
"We all grew up learning instruments, listening to a ton of music, and playing in bands," says Balo. "I think it makes sense for all of us to be playing music right now."
Not only does it make sense, but apparently it's their calling.
Vampire Weekend is creating quite a stir in the Indie music scene. Google the band and you're bound to find feature articles about Vampire Weekend by some of the leading Indie-pop publications such as Stereogum, Pitchfork, and Music For Robots. After an impressive stint at CMJ, the band has been labeled as "infectious," by MTV's John Norris, and even grown the attention of The New York Times.
This is probably attributable to the band's unique sound.
"We all listen to a lot of music, and a lot of different music at that," Balo said. "Whether it's pop, classical, new wave, country, punk, or whatever, someone in the band probably likes it. I think a lot of very different things come through in our sound, so it's difficult to boil all that down into a single classification."
As of late, with the exception of CMJ week, Vampire Weekend has been cooped up in the studio getting ready to release their debut, self-titled, full-length album on XL-Recordings.
According to Balo, so far the recording process has been "long, varied, and rewarding." Since they began working on the album in April 2006, the band's recording sessions have been scattered between different schools, apartments, and house studios.
"We're excited to share the results of our work," Balo said. The band has high-hopes for the release of their album.
Balo exclaimsed, "Long beach sounds like a nice place!"
For the four guys in Vampire Weekend, the latest trendy Indie-Rock band to surface in the scene, the latter is the case. The four Columbia University graduates, which classify themselves as a "classic-pops" band, formed from a combination of music class buddies and weekend-party chums. Since then, Vampire Weekend, fondly referred to by fans online as "VMPRWKND" (the real name, minus the vowels), has become an underground Indie sensation.
Essentially, the members of Vampire Weekend are just a few guys that decided to test their luck with the music scene.
"We figured it'd be better to take the risk and leave our jobs to tour full time rather than spend the rest of our lives wondering 'what if'," bass player Chris Balo, who quit his new job as a math teacher to become a full-time musician said. However, Balo believes that becoming full-time musicians was inevitable for the guys in Vampire Weekend.
"We all grew up learning instruments, listening to a ton of music, and playing in bands," says Balo. "I think it makes sense for all of us to be playing music right now."
Not only does it make sense, but apparently it's their calling.
Vampire Weekend is creating quite a stir in the Indie music scene. Google the band and you're bound to find feature articles about Vampire Weekend by some of the leading Indie-pop publications such as Stereogum, Pitchfork, and Music For Robots. After an impressive stint at CMJ, the band has been labeled as "infectious," by MTV's John Norris, and even grown the attention of The New York Times.
This is probably attributable to the band's unique sound.
"We all listen to a lot of music, and a lot of different music at that," Balo said. "Whether it's pop, classical, new wave, country, punk, or whatever, someone in the band probably likes it. I think a lot of very different things come through in our sound, so it's difficult to boil all that down into a single classification."
As of late, with the exception of CMJ week, Vampire Weekend has been cooped up in the studio getting ready to release their debut, self-titled, full-length album on XL-Recordings.
According to Balo, so far the recording process has been "long, varied, and rewarding." Since they began working on the album in April 2006, the band's recording sessions have been scattered between different schools, apartments, and house studios.
"We're excited to share the results of our work," Balo said. The band has high-hopes for the release of their album.
Balo exclaimsed, "Long beach sounds like a nice place!"
Be the first to comment on this story