These Songs With Chords

Hall & Oates: "Private Eyes" (1981) from Private Eyes (RCA)

Gibbard: Ah! [Immediately starts playing air drums.] The best part about this song is that it's just [stomps foot, mimes hitting snare] the whole songno fills, I don't think any cymbals, just the straightest drumbeat there is.

Death Cab for Cutie gets back(drop) to nature: from left, Nick Harmer, Christopher Walla, Michael Schnorr, and Ben Gibbard.

Details

Ive said it once, Ill say it againDaryl Hall is the greatest vocal ad-libber. Hes amazing. I love how they play the chorus out and he just goes.

Related Content

• Death Cab For Cutie
  May 9, 2012
• Ben Gibbard Explains How Touring With an 8-Piece String Orchestra Could Influence the Next Death Cab for Cutie Record
  May 9, 2012
• Rolling Stone Celebrates Opening Day With Memories From Rock Fans, Including Death Cab Frontman/Mariners Fan Ben Gibbard
  April 5, 2012
• This Week On Seattle Sounds: Death Cab's Ben Gibbard Bumbershoot's Chris Porter, 3 p.m. Sunday on 97.3 KIRO FM
  May 11, 2012
• Duff McKagan: Where Are the Local Hits?!?!?
  April 4, 2012

More About

• Ben Gibbard
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Christopher Walla
• Jad Fair
• Celebrity News

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Walla: I love the way this record sounds. The drum sounds are so awesome.

SW: You can tell it's not a drum machine, it's a live drummer. Ben, you wrote a piece about your Hall & Oates fandom for Pitchforkmedia.com.

Gibbard: Yeah. I love this song. I've said it once, I'll say it again[Daryl Hall] is the greatest vocal ad-libber. He's amazing. I love how they play the chorus out and he just goes. I'd love to be in the studio and hear the songs that didn't make it [onto the albums]. I love this bridge; it's modulating up and into the guitar solo. It's a lot more complicated than anybody can really imagine. I played a solo show a year or so ago and said, "I'm gonna try and cover "One on One," and I sat down with a guitar for hours and couldn't figure out what the chord changes were. I've been doing this for some time; the more you do it, the easier to figure out, but I couldn't. It was so subtle. There's some music that's really complicated, and you know it's complicated when you put it on. It's rare when something can be so complicated and sound so natural.

Death Cab for Cutie play the Showbox at 8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 21; 6 p.m. Sat., Nov. 22 (all ages); and 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 23 (all ages). $13 adv./$15.

mmatos@seattleweekly.com