Interview: Punk sensibility with Twin Peaks

I have a fantasy. When I see kids on skateboards or sucking on cigarettes in Washington Square Park, I retreat to my manufactured suburban paradise. Instead of living as a mousy follower who came into her own far too late in adolescence, I wear ripped skinny jeans and listen to The Dead Kennedys. In my fantasy life, I host pool parties and skate behind the football field. I am unabashed and I am fearless.

When I went to Mercury Lounge to catch Twin Peaks play on Wednesday night, bits and pieces of my fantasy life began to fit together. The boys I would have liked to date in high school walked on stage with understated edge and untamed hair. A row of young girls giggling with anticipation lined the front of the stage, ogling the brooding quartet. I smiled; Twin Peaks is better than the fixtures of my fantasy. They’re real.

The garage rock/punk/all-around badass guys from Twin Peaks, hailing from Chicago, are already making waves with Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, and NME, along with countless reviewers. The debut of their second album ‘Wild Onion’ introduced us to a group who developed a sound far beyond their years and never tempt boredom with homogenous sound. Their cohesive album translated flawlessly on stage. Although Cadien Lake James (singer-guitarist) remained on a stool from a bum leg, he shook his head and stuck out his tongue furiously though the set, losing his glasses periodically. Drummer Conor Brodner finished out each song as if he had finished the Iron Man race – sweating, triumphant and laughing. I smiled and took a mental note when Jack Dolan (singer-bassist) scanned the room through the first few tracks and settled on performing for the girls up front, who began moshing to “Flavor”. Farthest from me, Clay Frankel (and the victim of our interview) swayed with a charming Paul McCartney sensibility. The show was dope, and I hope they call me up when they’re 21.

As a band out of Chicago, would you say that’s your favorite city to play? Do you have a gig you particularly enjoyed?

Yes, there used to be this downtown loft called Feeltrip with a twenty foot paper mâché cat head that blew smoke over everybody. That was a goddamn great place to see a band.

We heard you guys went to high school with Chance the Rapper. Will there be a collaboration with him in the near future?
We don’t make the same music. Maybe we’ll collaborate on a BBQ.

What albums are you guys listening to now?
All The Kinks, Ne-Hi, Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, Ram by Paul McCartney, Chelsea Girl by Nico is good after the sun goes down. Also Peace of Mind by The Bee Gees is one of my all time favorites.

How would you compare ‘Wild Onion’ to ‘Sunken’? Was the process any different for you?
It’s longer. We recorded it in a refrigerator on the thirtieth floor of the Hancock building. You’d wanna lay down your tracks fast, before the cold got to you. For a producer, we had an old aging cabbage. He kept saying, “this is no good.” He was a real downer. Wild Onion took us fifteen years to record. We started when we were five years old.

Are there any albums/films that you go back to when looking for inspiration?
I think it’s more about looking for new things that inspire us, but Exile on Main St is like a mothers lullaby. If that’s playing I know I’m doing alright.

Why the name Twin Peaks?
Because we like it.

And what can we expect from the band in the next couple of months?
Spiritual guidance.

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Interview by Eva Bandurowski. Follow her on Twitter @ewabando