Talkhouse Podcast

This week’s Talkhouse episode is a special deep dive for me, as it features two bands whose records from the ‘90s I was super into, talking about a really important record label, their various successes and failures, the steamroller of a bigger band called Oasis, and much more. It’s Mark Gardener and Pete Fij. Mark Gardener was—and is, in fact—one of the two singer-guitarists for the band Ride, whose legendary status was cemented in the early 1990s with the advent of shoegaze. Their first two albums, Nowhere and Going Blank Again, are rightfully considered masterpieces of the genre. Things got a bit messy for Ride for a while after those records, though, as Gardener and his musical partner Andy Bell drifted apart, making a pair of wildly different records before eventually splitting up in the mid-'90s. But the Ride story has a happy ending: The increased interest in shoegaze led to a reunion tour in 2014, which led to some great new Ride records. Oh and not for nothing, but Bell actually joined Oasis on bass in 1999, and he’s been on tour with them playing massive shows recently. Here's a Ride classic, in case you're not familiar. The other half of today’s conversation, Pete Fij, was also the singer of a highly touted band that signed to the legendary Creation Records label in the ‘90s and looked ready to conquer the world… but then didn’t. But despite the fact that things didn’t work out commercially for Adorable, their records are absolutely amazing—some of my favorite of that entire era, like a poppier Jesus and Mary Chain. It just goes to show that sometimes the best songs can get left behind when circumstances aren’t right. After Adorable’s breakup, Fij went on to release more great music with the band Polak, then entered a musical partnership with another Creation Records alumnus, Terry Bickers of House of Love. Now, 30-ish years later, Fij has just released his first proper solo album, called Up’s The New Down. It comes after a lot of downcast music in various guises, and feels like a reaction to it: It’s much more guitar-centered, upbeat, and positive. Those sentiments are reflected in this song: Check out “Love’s Coming Back” right here, and the album is out now. This conversation starts with some catnip for Creation Records fans: Gardener and Fij talk about their experiences signing with the legendary label, specifically about their interactions with the notoriously enigmatic label head Alan McGee. And of course both bands were making records right when Creation Records signed Oasis, so that juggernaut changed things for everybody. Beyond that, these two chat about what they’ve been up to since—and how they feel differently about those times, even if they wouldn’t necessarily change a thing. Enjoy. 0:00 Intro 3:00 Start of conversation 3:19 On meeting Alan McGee and Creation Records 07:55 On developing trust with Alan 10:37 On Creation’s unique office 12:57 On Oasis’s impact 15:18 On feeling competitive with Oasis, and seeking guidance 19:13 On success and falling out with bandmates 23:05 On solo work vs. collaborative work 26:04 On 80s and 90s bands, making new music, and the creative process 30:41 On Shazaam, listening to each other’s new music, and younger generations finding their music 33:22 On the first songs they learned, music that influenced them, and band roles 36:48 On seeing gigs and playing with their heroes 39:20 On songwriting and emotion 41:53 On Adorable reuniting 48:33 On Ride’s comeback and what comes next 51:35 On rediscovering chemistry, and reflecting on why they love music 54:11 On defining success 56:53 On bands being nice to audiences 58:00 On Pete’s first solo album, and the experience of solo tours 1:01:23 On vocals, feeling nostalgic in Oxford, and Pete’s Coventry days 1:04:23 On historic sites and DJing together Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Pete Fij and Mark Gardener for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the other great shows in our network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. ⁠Sign up for our newsletter⁠. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠, and ⁠Letterboxd⁠.

On the first episode of the new season of Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That, Nick Dawson sits down with the hugely gifted actress Vicky Krieps, who is currently starring in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix true crime series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. In a fascinating conversation largely focused on Krieps’ unique perspective on life and the world, she talk about the restorative value of time in the wilds with her guitar, what her shoes say about her, how she created her own version of Jesus as a child, her dream in which she and Johnny Flynn removed their heads, how a banana split changed the course of her life, and much more. Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That now has a Substack, so head there to check out all of our past episodes, plus subscribe to get access to exclusive audio and video content!

"Joe Perry is sitting down to listen to his favorite podcast series, and he's about to spit out his tea."

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two guys who stepped away from their bigger bands and made an incredible record together 10 years ago. The occasion for this conversation isn’t just that album’s anniversary, but also the announcement of the duo’s first real tour behind it later this year. It’s Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam. In 2016, when I Had A Dream That You Were Mine was released, Leithauser had already released one post-Walkmen solo album, and Rostam had just left Vampire Weekend. But the pair had known each other for quite a while before that: The Walkmen brought Vampire Weekend out as openers on one of their first tours, which you’ll hear about in this chat, back in 2008. Rostam, a guy well into production and songwriting in his own band, had even contributed to Leithauser’s first solo album, Black Hours. So it seemed natural for the two to link up for a whole album, and between 2014 and 2016 they wrote and recorded I Had A Dream That You Were Mine, sometimes linking up in their shared hometown of Washington DC—parts of the record, as you’ll hear, we recorded in Rostam’s childhood home. Freed at least partially from the expectations associated with their other bands, the duo crafted a gorgeous pastiche that ended up sounding timeless: Sometimes it’s got early rock and roll vibes, sometimes it’s the Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen energy Leithauser often hinted at, writ larger. It’s fantastic. But because these guys had busy separate lives, they never really toured these songs together. That will change this November, with a band featuring, as you’ll hear in this chat, Rostam’s young guys. It’s a brief tour hitting mostly bigger U.S. cities, and I imagine it’ll be one of your only chances to see these songs performed live. You can find dates below, but in the meantime, check out the big single from I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. This is “A 1000 Times.” In this delightful chat, Hamilton and Rostam talk about the few shows they played together—including an embarrassing flub that Rostam had forgotten. They also go through the writing process for most of the songs, which is fascinating, but not before a brief conversation about playing tennis. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam for chatting. Tour Dates: 5 Washington DC - 9:30 Club 6 Philadelphia PA - World Cafe Live - Music Hall 7 Woodstock NY - Bearsville Theater 9 Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg 10 Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg 11 Somerville MA - Somerville Theatre 13 Toronto ON - The Concert Hall 14 Detroit MI - Saint Andrew’s Hall 15 Chicago IL - Thalia Hall 18 San Francisco CA - Castro Theatre 19 Los Angeles CA - Pacific Electric If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Chapters: 0:00 Intro 02:44 Start of conversation 3:03 On hotels, visiting each other, and memories of recording 04:13 On writing “The Morning Stars”, and songs that didn’t make the record 6:00 On when they became friends, “the worst studio mates of all time,” and smoking 8:37 On the first Vampire Weekend tours, opening for The Walkmen, and Pepperjack 11:19 On The Walkmen running out of gas on tour, dependable tour vans, and driving in Europe 13:33 Their tour announcement, recent shows, and Rostam’s embarrassing moment 15:48 On their Williamsburg Music Hall shows being released on streaming, and “In a Black Out” 17:19 On the BBC and Brits, upcoming European dates, and Hamilton’s plans for September and October 19:37 On playing tennis and restringing rackets 21:04 Reflecting on all of their collaborative songs in order, their processes and recording sessions, and their favorite instruments 28:47 On the journey of “The Morning Stars, the Bruce Springsteen song they wanted it to sound like, “Peaceful Morning,” and looking forward to the tour Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Sign up for our newsletter. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Facebook, and Letterboxd.

"Dude, that shit is so genetic... You caught it!"