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Vampire Weekend
Who knew vampires loved African music?

By Dan Ochwat

Brooklyn band Vampire Weekend plays Schubas Dec. 11

The band is Vampire Weekend. The music is not death metal, despite the name conjuring up images of black-eye makeup and leather trenchcoats. Actually, laser in on the “Weekend” part, because this band is fun ... like a weekend. They’re a party, and they’re coming to Schubas Dec. 11.

All in over a year or so, Vampire Weekend has graduated from local Columbia campus shows in New York (they met and formed in college) to recently finishing their first global tour. They’ve risen fast, thanks to that fickle online word-of-mouth and recently more credible pubs like Fader and The New York Times. The band’s first official album (not counting EPs and what they self-burned and released) is hitting stores Jan. 29, off XL Recordings. When the self-titled album breaks, they’ll be playing larger venues than Schubas.

The band, made up of Ezra Koenig (vocals/guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards/vocals), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums), blends punk and pop music with worldly African sounds. Think Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album — it really is a nice comparison, but Vampire Weekend has more pep.

In all honesty, I wouldn’t even get too carried away with the African influences. It’s the point of interest, but Vampire Weekend’s music, first and foremost, is an original twist on a punkish sound. It isn’t a high-brow listen; it’s energetic and should be wonderful live (this is only the band’s second show in Chicago, a late stop on their pre-album U.S. tour).

I spoke with Chris Baio and tried to glean a little on what we can expect at the Schubas show and about their speedy rise. Also, how great is the band name L’Homme Run?

Q: Have you guys played Chicago before? If so, how’s the city compared to a lot of shows you play? If not, what are you looking forward to?
A: We played at the Empty Bottle with Walter Meego in July. It was a great show toward the end of our first U.S. tour, but we were all pretty exhausted and didn’t get to see much of the city itself. This time, I think we’re going to have an extra day there, so I’m looking forward to seeing more.

Q: Any of you have any good tales of your experiences in Chicago?
A: We visited a friend who was working in a mall where the escalators were surrounded by fountains. I had never seen something like that before. It took mall design to another level.

Q: I’ve noticed the press for you guys has been growing by the word count, from blurbs to profiles, even making the New York Times recently. Can you describe what it’s like to have this building popularity?
A: I don’t think we put too much thought into the press we’re getting. Some of it has definitely been flattering, but day to day, it’s way more important to focus on recording and playing good shows.

Q: Once the album drops in January, I expect the shows will get bigger, more crowded, maybe radio play? Is it surreal or scary to be wrestling with these expectations?
A: I think it’s dangerous to have those sort of expectations, since you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. We made an album that we’re proud of, and we’re ready to tour behind it. Anything else we’ll take as it comes.

Q: I love the sound of the band. How did you come across the idea to use African sounds?
A: We had all listened to artists from all over Africa, especially ones like Orchestra Baobab that used guitars in different, “non-rock” ways. It was a sound we liked and found inspiring.

Q: I read you loved hip-hop; it was all I listened to in the early ’90s. What acts did you like?
A: Ezra had a rap group called L’Homme Run that Chris T played in and Rostam produced. In college one semester, I did a radio show called “The Sound of the Funky Drummer” that focused on samples. So we’ve all been involved with rap one way or another. To name just a few specific artists, I’ve definitely listened to a lot of Nas and Jay-Z, and I feel like the first four Public Enemy records, especially “Nation” (“It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”) and “Fear” (“Fear of a Black Planet”), are unbeatable.

Q: What can we expect from the album that’s launching in January, and will it have mainly the singles you’ve released already, or will there be a lot of new music?
A: A lot of the album is taken from our “Blue CD-R” recordings from the beginning of this year. We made some changes on nine of the songs, used one as a B side, and recorded two more tracks and another B side in September. So the album is a mix of new and older stuff.

Q: Does your live show offer any surprises we should be prepared for?
A: If I prepared you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!

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