Feature

Look Like a Rock Star

PY: It’s amazing. We played together in Amsterdam, and it was my first R.E.M. show ever. I was talking to Michael before we went on, and I was like, “You guys are one of my favorite bands of all time. I know every song on every album.”

NY: So what kind of music have you guys been listening to lately?

JV: I’m all over the board—everything from jazz to classic rock to blues. We have music playing in the studio all day long. I’ve been listening to the new Steve Winwood album, in which he’s kind of reinvented himself for like the fifth time, and it sounds pretty fantastic.

PY: My favorite record of the last year was probably the Interpol record.

JV: That was on our most-played list.

PY: I like their sense of melody. It took me a while to get into it. I was kind of dismissing it. My friend took me to a show, and I remember thinking that they should have a smoke machine or something. And maybe three weeks later, I hear the first song on that record, “Untitled,” on TV, and I’m not even looking at it, but I hear the song, and I’m like, Wait a second! and it all just clicked right there.

NY: What inspires you?

JV: A lot of it comes from the street. Just watching people. Sometimes it comes from architecture. The simplicity of great clothes is that they’re not so in-your-face, and it’s about all the details. And when I look at great buildings, it’s the finesse of the little details that really makes them.

PY: For me, it’s kind of similar. I take inspiration from a lot of different places. Watching friends deal with things or talk about things or watching family members go through experiences. A lot of times, I’ll just put myself in their shoes and write about it. A lot of it comes from books or movies. A hint of somebody’s personality could inspire a whole number of songs. And, of course, there’s my own experiences; but I get bored with those pretty quick—someone else’s are much more interesting.

NY: Do you ever look back at other eras for ideas?

JV: I think there are certain clothes that never change. For example, every generation discovers military clothing. Every generation discovers Converse sneakers. But for me, that’s for new generations to discover. I never look back, because you get too locked into things or it becomes too costumey. The possibilities are to take the influences that you smell in the air and put them into something that feels new. It’s the same thing with music.

PY: John nailed it. There’s a difference between being completely derivative and trying to find some inspiration in something old and making it your own. Even if it’s just for the sake of making it different. Whether it’s better or worse, or whether it needed to be changed.

JV: There are influences in everybody’s life. The thing is to filter them and come out with your own vocabulary.

PY: It was really cool to talk to you. There were a lot of parallels I wasn’t expecting.

JV: Like I said, I’m a big fan.