Kevin & Bean Morning Show Interview with Death Cab For Cutie

Last week we gave you a transcript of the Kellan Lutz interview from the Kevin & Bean morning show on 106.7 KROQ.  The same morning Kellan was on, Death Cab For Cutie was in the studio for an interview and live performance as well.  You can view a full transcript of the interview below or listen to the Death Cab for Cutie interview.  And as a special treat we have an MP3 of their in studio acoustic performance of Meet Me On The Equinox.

I am using the same abbreviations I used in the Kellan interview, so K&B represents Kevin or Bean from the Kevin & Bean morning show. DC will represent Death Cab for Cutie, and Lisa is of course Kevin & Bean morning show co-host Lisa May.

K&B: We just had Kellan Lutz on from Twilight and speaking of Twilight, Kellan is going to be appearing at Hollywood and Highland tomorrow afternoon starting at around 5:30 with a couple of the guys who are in the studio with us right now ladies and gentleman. Ben and Nick from Death Cab For Cutie are here they of course are on the New Moon Soundtrack; how are you boys? Great to see you again.

DC: You too.

Yep good to see you too

K&B: What U2 is here? (Laughs) This Twilight is out of control and these Twilight fans have got to be stopped. What are you getting yourselves into?

DC: Uhhh

K&B: How did you get dragged into the New Moon world?

DC: It kind of was a big surprise actually. They asked us to submit for a soundtrack and we gave them a song and kind of thought we’d end up just being a part of a really fantastic soundtrack, and then we got a call, you’re the first single and get ready to strap on the rocket ride. So, it caught us all by surprise.

Yeah I think I’m outside the demographic for this thing so I’m not really aware of what a big deal it is, but apparently it is. I didn’t find out until like after we were like, we dove in.

K&B: Oh is that right? They said you guys are going to be in it and blah blah blah and then you realized it was a huge deal.

DC: And I don’t say that in the sense that like, guys, it’s kind of a big deal for me. It’s more in the sense like wow no this is actually a really, you know I just, I was aware of the first film and saw it and…

K&B: But it’s legit

DC: Yeah, it’s like a really big franchise, so you know, it’s exciting.

K&B: Forgive me for not having this information at my fingertips, have you contributed songs to soundtracks before?

DC: Yeah, I mean this is the first time we’ve had a song on a soundtrack that was not, was not kind of, somewhere else. Like it wasn’t just a song from an album that ended up getting used on a soundtrack, so.  We didn’t write this song specifically for the movie, but it was a song we had written and submitted and they liked it and you know, became a part of the soundtrack record.

K&B: This Stephenie Meyers (This is how they said it, this isn’t a typo on Stephenie’s name.) whose the author of these Twilight books, apparently she’s a huge rock fan. And I guess, you know, Muse is the one that has gotten the most press because she apparently listened to a lot of Muse while she was writing the books and stuff, but apparently she just is all over the radio listening for songs and they inspire her.  She may have heard Death Cab songs before and said, “Oh my god I love this band I need to figure out a way to include them.”

DC: I wonder, you know, there’s probably some kind of connection to that.  She is a big fan.  You can go to her website and she’s always got some link, or some kind mention of some up and comer.  I know at one point someone, long before I was even aware of the books, someone was like hey there is this author and she linked to you on her site, she really likes you. And I as like, oh that’s interesting. Fantastic. And then, then you know, now I know.

Yeah you’re like big deal.

Yeah. Oh. Her. That Stephenie Meyer.

K&B: The Killers are on the soundtrack, OK Go, a band I love Seawolf, who’s going to be with you tomorrow night, they’re on the soundtrack with a great song. Band of Skulls who’s also very good. There’s also this Thom Yorke song called Hearing Damage. He’s really been going in a super interesting direction lately with this solo stuff and I think this is one of the coolest songs he’s done in a while, that’s on the soundtrack too.

DC: I agree.

Yeah, it’s good company for sure.

K&B: How did they contact you at first? She was interested and then they said just get a hold of them? How did it start?

DC: Alex Patsavas, who’s supervising the project, we had known her for some years and she kind of reached out to us and was like, “Hey would you guys want to contribute a song for this thing” and we’re like, yea sure, totally.

K&B: Doesn’t it come down to the people who are in charge of the music and kind of who they know and like?

DC: You know, I don’t know if I can necessarily comment on that.  I think there’s probably people whose job it is to kind of curate these kind of things and they have some level of influence.  But, I’m sure probably at the end of the day it comes down to the people who created the thing in the first place that get to say yes or no.

K&B: I’d like to do that if that job’s available at any movie, I’d like to be that person.

That’s an awesome job.

DC: I’d like to be that, I’d like to have that job too.

K&B: I’d like to pick the music if you don’t mind. I’d do it for free probably.

I have some friends who do that and they say it’s the greatest job in the world until you find out that every song you fell in love with is too expensive to put in the movie.  Because you’ve got a budget and a lot of times it’s a pretty small budget to get the songs, you know?

Where was Death Cab in the spiral of Death Cab-ness?  Were you guys taking a break or were you out there on the road? Or writing for a new record, or what were you in the middle of doing when they contacted you?

DC: Well you know we were just kind of finishing touring our last record that came out in Spring of 2008. So I guess in early Summer, like June, July, we kinda got contacted about it and we were just kind of  getting off the road and went in the studio in the last week or so that we were kind of active on a daily basis and you know. I had written a song and we all kind of worked on it and put it together and submitted it at that point. So you know, this is kind of a nice thing for us to have, kind of floating off into the world.

K&B: Your next CD has to be titled The Spiral of Death Cabness. (Laughs)

DC: Yeah I think so. It’s catchy. It’s got a ring to it. That’s the first suggestion, you know, sometimes that’s the best one. It just gets drilled into your brain and that’s the title.

K&B: Now forever when people here Meet Me On The Equinox they’re going to think of whatever’s happening in the move New Moon. But, what did it mean to you before Twilight was involved? What was the song originally about?

DC: I don’t know. To me it’s just, at its very base it’s really a love song. It’s just something about, you know you have meeting someone on the equinox, it’s just about meeting someone, you know, kind of leaving a large part of your baggage behind and meeting somebody halfway. And that the tag line “everything ends” is just about realizing that we have to kind of be here now and our time here is fleeting and to make the most of it.

K&B: See Lisa he’s sweet and sensitive.

Lisa: I know, he’s the best kind of boy. (Laughs) You should try and be like him.

K&B: Not gonna happen.

DC: Is it possible to be sweet and not sensitive or sensitive and not sweet?  Is that an archetype that I’m not aware of?

Lisa: Yes you can. And that’s just a weenie.

DC: But how can somebody be sweet and not sensitive? Like what would somebody say if they were sweet and not sensitive?

Lisa: I think you can be sensitive and not sweet. I don’t think you can be sweet and not sensitive.

DC: Oh so sensitive and not sweet would be like a James Dean type.

Lisa: Exactly

DC: You’re sensitive, but you’re also kind of like a tough guy.

Lisa: Exactly. Easily injured, but yet.

Kevin: Hey Bean?

Bean: What’s going on? How’d we end up on Oprah radio? Is that what you’re asking?

Kevin: What’s happening right now and how do we get out?

Lisa: We’re having a conversation.

Kevin: How do we get out?

K&B: It’s the spiral of Death Cab, that’s what’s happening. (Laughs)  Alright New Moon Original Soundtrack is in stores now the movie doesn’t come out til the 20th, but the band is going to be at Hollywood and Highland performing the song that they’ll do for us next tomorrow afternoon at 5:30. I’m very excited to here a little acoustic version at this hour of the day with Death Cab for Cutie and that will happen right after this!

There was a bit more to the interview, but it all revolved around a parody song the station did of the Death Cab For Cutie song I Will Follow You Into The Dark. The talk of the parody was followed by the live acoustic performance of Meet Me On The Equinox.