A couple of questions with Dirk Darmstaedter of Jeremy Days
04/16/2007
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ALSO: Jeremy Days was featured in our The Best Albums You've (Probably) Never Heard feature.
Bullz-Eye: For those just learning about The Jeremy Days now, can you give a nutshell summary of your career prior to its release?
Dirk Darmstaedter: Grew up in Teaneck, NJ, and moved to Hamburg, Germany, when I was 12. Went thru agonizing months practicing “House of the Rising Sun” on acoustic guitar. Saw Mick Jagger on TV with 2 blondes and a private jet. Formed my first band at the age of 12, played nothing but doo-wop music for 4 years, then heard Paul Weller & the Jam.
BE: Do you have any anecdotes about the recording of the album?
DD: Many. We recorded at Westside Studios, in London, with Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, David Bowie, etc.) producing. They had just gotten in a 32-Track Digital Sony Tape machine…and, with that, about 5 young Japanese Tape Ops, constantly taking notes when not making tea. After about 4 weeks, I asked one of them what he thought of the album so far. “It’s fucking blilliant!”
BE: Did you expect it to have a better commercial reception than it did?
DD: I remember Geffen Records wanted to license the record off our European label. There were some people there who really loved it. The US part of “our” record company got wind of this and then decided to release the record themselves. (Of course, they held an option.) Not because they had heard it or liked it. Just to piss Elektra off, really. We weren’t really surprised when the album didn’t make a big impression in the States, then. Hello, record biz!
BE: Are you pleased to find that it still maintains enough of a following to make its way into this piece?
DD: Yeah, a little justice remains in this cold, cold world.
BE: What are you doing now?
DD: Making records. My new album, Our Favorite City, is out on Tapete Records in March. Oh, that’s my label, too; I’m sick of majors. Come check us out here: http://www.tapeterecords.com.
Check out Jeremy Days' official site for more info.