Antics marked a turning point for Interpol – a dynamic, gutsy portrait of a band at the peak of their powers, and the perfect antidote to the mass of identikit indie bands that dominated in the year 2004.
Guitarist Daniel Kessler has already given us his side of the making of the landmark record – including the tragic loss of his favored Epiphone Casino – and now frontman Paul Banks is sharing his memories with us.
From goofing around in the studio to channeling Kurt Cobain's soloing style, this is how Antics came to be…
What might we have seen if we’d visited the studio when you were making Antics?
“What you might expect. People that are serious about their craft but also kinda goofing around. And then, a lot of peering over [producer] Peter Katis’ shoulder and wondering what the fuck he’s doing – but also liking how it sounds.”
Daniel told us you played most of the leads on Antics.
“I suppose that came from him being a songwriter on Antics and thereafter. He’d always bring in the chordal structure, so that’s sort of like him being the rhythm player, and that meant, by default, I was the second contributor.
“But I think I’ve always been somewhere between a rhythm and lead player. I’m pretty minimalist with the leads; it’s more about the interplay between us. There’s a kindred spirit in our guitar parts. Y’know, I speak that language. Like in Narc, there’s a great push-and-pull happening, a lot of interesting ways of filling in the gaps.”
What makes a good solo for you?
A lead has to contribute to and enhance the emotions of the moment. It has to do the job of the vocal.
“I don’t think I have the agility on the neck to do a traditional guitar solo. I’m more from the Kurt Cobain school. But I think a lead has to contribute to and enhance the emotions of the moment. It has to do the job of the vocal.
“A great example of both of those things happening is my favourite John Frusciante solo, I Could Have Lied, where he takes a solo, then the vocal comes back in and the solo continues – and it’s even more powerful with the vocal on top.”
Would you play your Antics guitar parts differently if you tracked them now?
“Not so much. I think it’s hard to really look at things through a revisionist lens like that because I wouldn’t change anybody else’s parts, and I feel like my parts fit in very nicely with theirs. I could always do things that are busier or harder to play – but they wouldn’t be necessary. There’s nothing that’s too overwrought there.”
What was your setup for Antics in 2004, and how faithful is your rig for this tour?
“It’s very similar. I’ve always had this ’86 Les Paul Custom, the same one I bought in high school. If it’s Interpol, that’s what I’m playing. I don’t mind bringing it on the road. At some point, the headstock broke and somebody fixed it. Now, it feels very sturdy. It’s like they say: sometimes a fixed guitar can end up stronger than an unbroken guitar because of the way the glue works on the wood fibres.
“In the studio, I was mostly using a Deluxe Reverb. In the early days, I had a Pro Reverb and I just went through different Reverb amps – all except the Twin, which I hate. But the Deluxe Reverb was the one I was using a lot on the early records, and on this tour I have a handwired reissue – and it’s fucking dope.”
How about your pedalboard, then and now?
“Back then, I had an amazing pedal called the Tube Works Real Tube, which had an actual tube in it. They’re hard to find, but it was a very cool, authentic, warm, fuzzy, woolly distortion pedal, with great EQ so you could make it cutting or whompy. I have one somewhere in my apartment, but it’s like an artefact, so I don’t use it now.
“I had digital delays like the Boss DD-5 – which is the same as today – but now I like using a tape replay emulating pedal [the Electro-Harmonix Mel9]. My best tone right now is an Electro-Harmonix Canyon delay, such a cool-sounding pedal.”
My best tone right now is an Electro-Harmonix Canyon delay, such a cool-sounding pedal
“I have various distortions, like the MXR Classic Overdrive and the Greer Amps Gorilla Warfare. There’s an MXR delay I like [Carbon Copy] and that’s always on, almost like a reverb. I also have an Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork. I used to use a Micro POG, but I like this more. So I use that for low-octave add-on in Public Pervert.
“I don’t know if this sounds douchey, but we have such a great guitar tech that I just kind of walk out, grab my guitar and it sounds great – and exactly like I expect it to sound!”
- Antics is out now via Matador.
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