Dave Davison of Maps and Atlases

Liverpool O2 Academy
October 22, 2010

Interviewed by Albert Testani

Before his final show in England of the tour, lead singer and guitarist of Maps and Atlases Dave Davison sat back stage with me and talked about what it was like playing in the UK, the release of their new record, Perch Patchwork and what might be next for him and the band.

First off, thanks for taking time out before the show to have a chat.
No problem, thank you very much for the opportunity.

Do you find playing in the UK any different than playing the US or touring the UK after establishing yourself in the US?
I can see how it would be extraordinarily different for certain bands. I think, broadly speaking, that the shows don’t feel that much different. It’s a mellow, positive vibe everywhere we go. Obviously, we spend more time touring around the US, but the shows we started playing there were much smaller than our first in the UK. We developed a connection with the people, playing for our friends, but this is only our second tour here [in the UK]. Our first shows in the US were made up of friends and friends of friends.

Are the shows in the UK now a bit more intimate because of the size as compared to the shows you play in the US now?
In some ways, I feel like both sides feel that way which is really cool and interesting in a lot of ways because we don’t get to play in the UK as much.

How do you think your sound, as a band, has progressed from your first EP, Trees, Swallows, Houses, through You, Me, and the Mountain, to Perch Patchwork?
We spent a lot of time playing together and jamming as a band before we recorded anything and I think our first EP was the first time we had a clear idea of how to balance experiential and technical ideas with making meaningful and exciting pop songs.
The way that we have progressed is by getting better at packing more into shorter songs and making it more accessible, but not any less technical or experimental. I think one way we’ve done that is by getting better at layering things. When You, Me, and the Mountain first came out a lot of people thought it was much less technical than the first album, but I though that it was just as technical but much more subtle.

I found that You, Me, and the Mountain had an emphasis on being polyrhythmic, but much more structured for the listener and Perch Patchwork was meant to be very cohesive and very much an album experience.
Yeah, thank you very much. I think we could have turned either one of our EPs into a full LP but there was a specific energy with them when we finished and if we tacked on a few more songs it wouldn’t have felt right. This time I felt like we really set out to have a much more diverse sound and dynamic, to make all of these different things balance and be connected as well as maintain their diverseness.

What do you think the future holds for you guys, musically, touring, etc.?
Right after this we’re doing a three week tour of the US, specifically the South East, which is an area we haven’t really been in before. We’re always writing new stuff, but we each have a lot of songs written and demoed that are not specifically for Maps and Atlases or any particular thing. I’m kind of interested in seeing which path will illuminate itself because it’s easy for any band, at any level, to be the type that tours constantly and is always looking to what’s next.

Yeah, you don’t want to have one project you’re solely associated with. Recently, you were actually on tour in the US doing some of your solo stuff; do think that project helps you make the decision as to what to do next?
Yeah, I definitely credit it to that. There is a tendency in thinking about anything and trying to make a homogenised decision to say, ‘Oh it would be cool to do this or to do that and record this album!’ Once you do a lot of touring and have that drive to do something it becomes natural and fun and things arise as they should.

What are some of your main influences, or who was the band or singer that you first heard and made you think I want to do that?
It’s really tough to say because I listened to so much and started playing the guitar so early.

For example, when I was thirteen I remember hearing Everlong by the Foo Fighters and thinking, I want to do that!
Yeah! It’s funny you bring that up actually. I started playing guitar really young, before I even knew why and I went to this big radio day festival that had bands like the Foo Fighters, Harvey Danger, and all that. I think I was in 7th grade and my dad took me and a bunch of my friends and I remember the band Eve 6 was playing and they were really young and all of a sudden there was this massive connection with all these people playing and listening to music. I still get really excited to play outdoor festivals because of that.
Even though I still listen to a lot of that stuff I got really into my parents’ old record collection afterwards; stuff like David Bowie, Talking Heads, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, albums that I still listen to a lot today.

I just started listening to Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks again and I couldn’t believe how much there was to it and how much I hadn’t picked up on.
Yeah, I think that there is so much happening now in the music world and they’re a lot of great bands out there now, but there’s something about people like Bowie or Van Morrison - Dylan too obviously - where it seems to me that these works re-illuminate themselves over a period of time. You go back to them and there are all these new things about them. I could go on and on about them, but I’m trying to think of some new artists, too.

Last question, because I know you guys have to get ready to perform, if someone were to ask you, even though I hate the question, what would be the most recently played artists on your computer?
As far as new artists; I’ve been listening to a lot of Nick Cave and Kate Bush

Any last thing you want to add?
This is our last show in England and it’s really exciting that all the shows went well and were fun. Plus we learned that we can go somewhere like England or Germany or Amsterdam and play to a great crowd. It’s really amazing and something that we don’t take for granted.

www.mapsandatlases.org

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