In anticipation of their European tour, we sat down with The Dandy Warhols’ frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor for slightly chit-chat in regards to the band, the state of the world, all of the issues that drive the best neo-psychedelic band from Portland, Oregon and their subsequent steps. The Warhols will play the Boogaloo membership in Zagreb with Shadow of Your Sunshine Vapor as a gap act on the European leg of their tour on the 16th of July.
Balkanrock: Yeah, so what’s new with the Dandy Warhols in 2025? I imply, you guys are again in Europe after how lengthy?
Courtney: We will probably be in every week. I’m on trip with household proper now.
BR: The world’s been loopy for a few years, however it’s gotten even crazier over the past couple months. I feel that we may use extra of the Dandy Warhols’ hedonism. New music from you guys is all the time excellent news.
Courtney: Our subsequent file goes to be a “put it on, lay within the couch.” It’s not going to be something rowdy or, you realize, “do medication and neglect about how terrible the world is.” It will possibly’t be, as a result of we are able to’t do this.
Sadly, we are able to take a break from it, however I don’t need to have a hangover the following day as a result of I took a break from Donald Trump or Netanyahu or that little Russian fucktard Putin. I don’t need to take a break from that after which be hung over for it. I’d somewhat meditate and simply get away from it for an hour. I want there was one thing that may very well be carried out, however it looks as if the one strategy to change politics is to infiltrate it, after which discover your folks on the within that assume such as you, that perhaps don’t have the testosterone, the balls, the cojones, regardless of the fuck they name it, whether or not it’s a person, a lady, a baby or a they or them. It looks as if we want a hero at this level. And it doesn’t occur in a single day by violence so far as I can inform from finding out historical past. It looks as if it occurs from only a particular person getting inside, being accepted, nodding and smiling, and all that stuff. So, that’s my tackle how politics work, and what we want proper now, actually badly. If we’re going to have issues change in order that candy and darling folks can really feel protected and associate with their lives, and the poisonous folks of the world of various ranges of energy might be manipulated into simply shutting down, shutting the fuck up, and simply letting good, candy folks operate.
And, you realize, there’s clearly a spot for each sort of particular person, even the worst loopy folks can implement change. And I’ve a band of three different egomaniacs, and we’ve stayed collectively for 31 years and carried out a quite simple factor that’s making music. And it’s not working nations with nuclear energy talents. It’s one thing easy, however attempt placing a band collectively and conserving it collectively and making songs, and never getting in fights and yelling at one another, and being gross to one another. It’s not that simple. All of this shit is human interplay. So, simply from my seemingly petty and bourgeois expertise in making an attempt to make folks joyful and comfy working collectively to attain one thing, I feel that the time is coming, and we want it. We’re going to wish a hero that may infiltrate the shit.
BR: We additionally want that within the music trade. There’s been information of the Spotify man investing within the army. I imply, he was an asshole even earlier than the investments, however like… Wow. And as we speak with the rise of AI, I imply, you guys had been utilizing it for the video – and it was an ideal video, by the best way – however when it comes to music, its use these days is creepy.
Courtney: I’ve been engaged on AI movies for 2 years. I’ve carried out a number of of them. The one with Slash was the largest one, however I’ve carried out a ton of them. And I feel it’s an ideal instrument for artwork. It’s a scary, scary instrument in case you’re interested by banking or international banking or nuclear codes or issues like that. Clearly, everyone knows that that’s the place we’re afraid of it. However the backhoe, the ditch digger changed the shovel.
BR: The place does that put a rock’n’roll band, as we speak?
Courtney: I feel it’s good for individuals who play devices as a result of the primary style that’s going to get changed by AI is pop. It’s simply business pop. That’ll be very simple. The easier the music and the much less human feeling concerned, the better it’s going to be for AI. AI shouldn’t be going to idiot anybody when making an attempt to mimic The Beatles, The Strokes, The Dandy Warhols, The White Stripes or The Conflict or anybody who I like. So I’m superb with it. I would really like it to exchange that shit. However that would simply be my resentment about one thing that I most likely shouldn’t resent, which is leisure on the most affordable, lowest mentality degree.
I used to be simply watching a YouTube factor about Bob Dylan and the six bands he hates probably the most. And I simply thought, you realize, that’s mental condescension. However how will you get indignant about leisure? It’s not artwork. It’s not meant to assist folks perceive themselves extra. Leisure is supposed to entertain folks. And it’s low-cost. And it needs to be made by AI. Computer systems ought to simply crank it out free of charge. And nobody ought to actually receives a commission for that, as a result of it’s a fart. It’s nothing. It’s humorous. Everybody has a chuckle about it. And I feel that with music, and even movies, after they’re essential, after they actually do communicate to you about how you’re feeling about your self, and ask whether or not you okay with your self; lead you on a path to cleaning your self, redemption, salvation, no matter you need to name it – that’s artwork. That’s what folks make alone for themselves. After which plug their nostril and ship it out.
BR: I all the time thought it was inspirational. It was both on Wikipedia or wherever – it stated that you simply began the Dandy Warhols as a result of no one was enjoying the music you wished to hearken to. In the entire The Dandy Warhols’ catalogue, what’s the album or track that marked the second the place it turned, you realize, essential?
Courtney: The primary one, the primary track with Peter, he was my roommate, when he had moved again from receiving a Bachelor of Science in Artwork at New York College. And he lived there and stayed on, labored on St. Mark’s and managed a espresso store and was, you realize, a part of the scene. However he obtained sort of bored with it and moved again to Portland. I used to be all the time a drummer in each band. I’d file myself late at night time, after we’d get house from hanging out. And he would simply fall asleep.
And after being round it for, I don’t know, weeks, months, or no matter, he began studying issues. He had by no means performed in a band, and I had by no means performed guitar and sang in a band. I’d solely been a drummer. He simply began studying the easy shit I used to be recording, simply because I wished to listen to cool stuff, make cool stuff, looping the identical chords again and again with issues. “Lou Weed” was the primary one he discovered and “Experience”. So, these had been those, once I recorded these for myself in my bed room, and he discovered them. He got here again with the best file assortment. He was residing in New York, he was into cool music. So it was Slint, and My Bloody Valentine, the Stereolab and all of the shit that nobody had heard of, besides, you realize, the file collector, music nerd child. That is 1992-93. So, that he preferred what I used to be doing sufficient to sit down with a guitar that he barely knew how you can play, and plank it out, was flattering.
Then he was the man who talked me into it. Let’s hold going. Let’s get a drummer. Let’s get a bass participant. However that was the second. I imply, that was crucial. There’s been all types of different essential moments, however nothing just like the inception, beginning and making it occur. There’s by no means a second like that once more. I imply, being on stage, enjoying with David Bowie is perhaps the opposite second. It didn’t signify something besides that we had been very profitable and revered by our heroes, Robert Smith and Joe Strummer, and so forth. However David was, in fact, the best peak of cool and inventive purity and invention, and he was very particular.
BR: I imply, whenever you look again at bands that Bowie supported actively throughout his final, what, 20 or 30 years? No, it was 20 years. He helped Trent Reznor’s reputation skyrocket.
Courtney: No, he didn’t, really. Trent was the largest artist on the planet then. He was crucial artist on the planet. He was on the quilt of each journal. He was enormous. It wasn’t like when David discovered Grandaddy. Grandaddy had made a tremendous file, and David was the primary one to seek out it. He was nice. Trent was totally different. Everyone knew Trent was nice. He was fucking nice. He wasn’t obscure. He was a couple of 10-year distinction. He was fairly massive from d „Fairly Hate Machine“ (1994, Nothing Information) on.
It’ll let you know that. We had been additionally enormous. He didn’t discover us as a small band. We had been all over the place. So, I feel Granddaddy was the one which I actually went, “Wow, David’s fucking cool that he discovered us!” As a result of he discovered them earlier than I did. And yeah, there was a band that was from Dallas, Texas, and so they all wore choir robes. However he took them on tour as nicely, and so they had been an ideal band that was touring and grinding it out and didn’t actually have any radio hits or any business success. They had been only a cool band that different cool bands knew about. You already know what I’m speaking about?
BR: Was it, perhaps, The Polyphonic Spree?
Courtney: The Polyphonic Spree. Spree, yeah. Yeah, nice band.
BR: Oh, yeah. So, I used to be pondering, you all the time gave the impression of yourselves, but none of your data sound comparable. Which ingredient contributes to their distinctive sound? Like, in case you take “Odditorium…” (2005, Capitol Information), “Why You So Loopy” (2019, Dine Alone Information), and “Rockmaker” (2024, Sundown Blvd Information) they’re totally different sounds, however with the identical magic behind it.
Courtney: Properly, it’s the identical feeling. The identical individuals are doing it, the identical 4 of us. I feel we’re most likely pretty immature folks, so we don’t develop that a lot. You already know, it’s the identical. I suppose we evolve. We evolve barely. So, it may have one thing to do with that. We like the identical issues. I put the band collectively. I imply, I didn’t put it collectively. Peter and I sort of put it collectively, after which we agreed on ourselves, however all of us agreed that we, with one another’s style in music – and style in music is a really cliche strategy to say it – that music is emotionally essential, and that’s extra essential than anything about music. Business success, it’s not one thing you may rely on, so why would you even attempt it? Properly, we’ve by no means tried to try this. We’ve got been involved completely with making music that we want, and want different folks would make for us, so we didn’t must do it. We may simply purchase it and play it and get on with our lives. So, that is what we do, and I feel so long as we proceed to try this, we’ll proceed to have a factor that’s simply inherent in our music, emotionally or psychologically.
BR: Do you see yourselves nonetheless having this “factor“ in like ten, twenty years from now?
Courtney: Uh, sure, perhaps. I’d guess so, however does anybody get that previous and nonetheless have “the fuck you” and “the artwork”? Artwork is a really, very passive-aggressive habits. It’s a extremely self-centered and petty little factor to do, and it may be so highly effective and so essential. Poetry even. Poetry is, you realize, the best type of it, seemingly easy. It’s solely phrases printed on paper, you realize. Music is that, with added melody. Films, work, pictures, all of this stuff, they’re such little desires that sure folks have of their heads, or perhaps everybody, however solely sure folks observe by means of with them, folks which might be determined sufficient, or fearless, or shameless.
So, I don’t know, it looks as if you may’t flip 70 years previous and make any good music anymore, so hopefully, we’ll cease earlier than then, or we’ll be the primary band ever to, you realize, be 73 years previous and make the perfect file we’ve ever made, the good. Scary cool, deeply revealing.
BR: I wouldn’t be shocked. No, actually. And there was additionally this Pulp album like a month in the past – two or three weeks in the past, one thing like that.
Courtney: Excellent, fairly good.
BR: How previous is Cocker? 65? One thing like that. It’s superb. And I can’t assist however assume that “Bohemian Like You” is the US model of “Frequent Folks”.
Courtney: Oh yeah, comparable story.
BR: Comparable story, yeah, and each based mostly on actual occasions…
Courtney: Wow, fascinating. That’s for sure my favourite Pulp track, and one among my favourite songs in historical past. Beautiful. Very cynical and intelligent, however true, and there’s positively a lesson to be discovered.
BR: Properly, rock’n’roll was cynical from the start. In case you return to The Rolling Stones and, say, “Mom’s Little Helper”, I imply, that’s a bitch-slap of a track if there ever was one. Or The Beatles after they already began bitching at one another on file, you realize – this one’s for Paul, this one for John – and I feel that what’s made you guys superior and in addition, I don’t need to say despised by the remainder of the trade, however somewhat that you simply guys had the balls to grow to be that within the time when all people was sucking as much as the person. You went and made “Welcome to the Monkey Home”, and you then did the “Taylor’s Model” earlier than Taylor – like a “Taylor-Taylor’s model”, if you’ll, with that file.
Courtney: Yeah, that was the one. I feel a part of that’s that we all the time stayed in a small city, by no means moved to Hollywood or New York or London or something, by no means Berlin – we simply didn’t transfer anyplace, we stayed there. Som the one factor that actually mattered to us was to make our music, and I feel that was the sort of the start and the top of what we cared about. Whenever you stay in a smaller city you reside manner exterior the trade. It’s simpler to be courageous, since you don’t really feel just like the trade is absolutely going to ever contact you, they’re not going that can assist you, they’re not going to harm you, they’re simply this massive dumb factor, fully dumb and ignorant, and it’s a must to do it your self, after which if it notices, it might probably assist you to, however it’ll damage you too, in equal.
For each motion, there’s an equal and reverse response. It’s like physics. The large dumb trade appears the identical to me, and perhaps there’s any individual wiser than that and I simply sound like a dumbass, saying that. In case you simply do it your self, generally you get it proper, or unintentionally it turns into one thing massive that it needs to succeed in in and take it. It will possibly make you, it might probably ship your stuff out to extra folks, however it’ll take one thing from you as nicely, damage you, after which it’s a must to take lots of day off, and nurse your wounds.
BR: I don’t assume you sound like a dumbass, as a result of this sounds just like what Prince instructed everybody within the 90s, when he turned himself into a logo, each actually and metaphorically. It’s nice to listen to that somebody is definitely nonetheless very a lot conscious of it, and also you gave each views – it provides, and it takes away.
Courtney: Yeah, it’s simply the trade, it’s not music. What they do shouldn’t be music, it’s not even movie, it’s not something. I imply, movie, music, all this stuff, pictures, portray, they’re so highly effective, and whenever you’re feeling it and experiencing it, you don’t fucking give a shit about anything, and hopefully you don’t even care about your personal issues. You really really feel like your personal issues that you simply don’t like about your self are completely dealable. If I may simply really feel like this on a regular basis, and I can, and I’ll – that’s what music ought to do, and that’s what all the humanities do. That’s not what leisure does. Leisure is like commiserating with a gossipy girl down the road. It’s low-cost, and skinny, and it comes and goes, however artwork, like Bob Dylan or the Beatles, it sticks with you as a result of it’s actual.
BR: Your track “Heavenly” does that for me, and I’m nonetheless damage you by no means play it stay.
Courtney: Yeah, proper, yeah, we by no means do, we’ve 165 songs, we get to play like 20 an evening, and that takes up two hours. It’s an fascinating conundrum that we’ve so many fucking songs, it’s tougher than ever to make it sound good.
BR: So, to spherical it out, what are the three songs that you simply by no means performed, however you desperately need to?
Courtney: “Love is the New Really feel Terrible!”
BR: Okay, however I feel you’ve performed that one.
Courtney: “Heavenly”… Oh, I don’t assume we’ve ever performed “Love is the New Really feel Terrible”. Possibly we’ve, I don’t know. It’s been a very lengthy profession. Oh boy, I’ve a tough time interested by it. I imply, the songs we actually need to play, if they arrive shortly and simply in rehearsal, we do play them. We don’t beat ourselves up and damage ourselves to attempt to be taught them, although we love them. We love all 165 youngsters equally. So, I don’t know, what else do you assume we must always have performed?
BR: “The Beast of All Saints”, however, really, I feel that you simply’ve carried out that.
Courtney: We do, we do, that’s an ideal one to deliver again. Most likely “Valerie Yum”, too.
BR: Yeah, that’s an excellent one. It was a pleasure speaking to you once more!
Courtney: Thanks, it was a pleasure seeing you once more, too. See you in Zagreb!
