How's the tour going so far?
It's been going great. We played in Toronto the other night to over 300 people. We'd never been there, so it was pretty cool.
You guys probably get asked this question a lot, but I'm going to ask it anyway: where did the band's name come from?
There's a band from the late O60s called The Bonzo Dog Band, and they were in the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour, and they played a lounge song called "Death Cab for Cutie."
On Photo Album, you guys do a cover of Bjork's "All is Full of Love," which doesn't really seem like an obvious step for you guys. Whose idea was it to cover that?
We're all Bjork fans, and it just kind of came about. Before tour, we always throw around ideas for covers because it's totally fun to do, and Ben suggested that one since structure-wise, it's a pretty easy song to learn. He learned the melodies, and it just kind of morphed into something really great.
What's your favorite song on Photo Album?
My favorite song? That's a good question.... Personally, I really like how "Movie Script Ending" turned out, and "Kaleidoscope" sounds great. I don't know.... This being the first record that I'm on as a drummer, I love the whole thing, and I'm pretty proud of everything that I did. I mean, I didn't screw up a whole bunch.
On the song "Why You'd Want to Live Here," it sounds like you guys really hate L.A. Did you have a bad experience there as a band?
That's not really anything that happened directly to us. I think it's just an overall flavor of Los Angeles. Whenever we go there, we have a great time; I mean, L.A. has some great qualities about it, and I think the song kind of explains itself in that way, but it's nothing personal--it's not like we all got mugged or something.
Who do you think is making really good indie rock right now?
Well, there's a band that we played with in Seattle called Aveo and they're really great. They kind of have a Smiths thing going on. I don't know.... That's a really good question. Clinic is amazing. I don't know if you'd call that indie, because indie doesn't really exist.
What's in your CD player right now?
I'm listening to the new Stereolab. I've also been listening to the new Shiner. I listen to that about once a day.
What's the best album ever?
Best album ever? Gosh, that's an almost impossible question. One of my all-time favorites is Charles Mingus "Mingus Mingus Mingus" because it kind of opened my eyes and ears to jazz and stuff. That's just one of hundreds of albums that I would probably say I can't live long without.
What are you going to be for Halloween?
I'm going to be a rock drummer playing a show in Baltimore.
Catch Michael and the rest of the boys at Cat's Cradle on Saturday, Nov. 3. Warning: Being the sensitive indie rock types that they are, there'll definitely be a few tearjerkers in the set. So bring some kleenex.
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