The first time I interviewed Casey Wescott of the Fleet Foxes, he poured too much Jameson's and we both got shit-faced. The second time, right after his band blew up and I had moved to Portland, it was like seeing an old friend. We did a silly video interview with Blitzen Trapper but didn't drink. Third time is the charm.
Wescott poured the whiskey and my questions got more and more ridiculous. I discovered a secret double life of jet-setting with rock stars and wrangling with the cops. And I even dared to ask him about his clothing.
It is always a pleasure to talk to Casey Wescott and the rest of the Fleet Foxes. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.
So what's up with the new sweater? You're not wearing the same sweater you wear every other time I've seen you.
It's funny that you would mention that because I did pack it with me. I generally don't keep track of what I wear but it is one of those things where I've been accused of wearing the same thing. Having grown up in a Catholic school I got used to wearing a uniform, so when I find an outfit I like I generally wear it like a uniform. I sort of switched it up today. It is a little bit different.
Every time I see in you a magazine, it's the same sweater with a hole in it.
With the hole in it. I know! It's terrible because my mother hates it. She'll look online or see a picture of me and she'll always be so upset that I actually have a hole in my sweater. She's like, "You're a Wescott! It's so unbecoming."
Is there a safety blanket aspect to it at all?
Absolutely. I'm very binky oriented, not necessarily from a superstitious way, but from a comfort way. I definitely have a pillow that I bring. I'm not a stuffed animal person but I'm trying to think of some of these comfort items that I have in my room. Mittens that are fingerless where you can flip the thing over. There's some comfort items I do rely on.
How about a beard trimmer?
It's so funny because I thought about whether I should do that. When I was at soundcheck my beard got stuck in the mic and sometimes when you pull it out, your lip will kind of stick. I probably should have but there's a part of me that doesn't want to. It's like going to get a haircut on the first day of school or something like that. I opted not to this time.
From one bearded man to another, isn't there something satisfying after trimming your beard and your face looks thinner?
You know, honestly, I generally use my beard for more concealing activities. If anything, shaving my beard might make me more self-conscious. I might start thinking about my weight more if I actually am clean-shaven.
Is that something you worry about?
Do I worry about my weight? Well, I do worry about my health, but this doesn't have a large influence on my behavior. For instance, I was snacking pretty heavily in the van on the last European tour and, boy, right before I would fall asleep at night. I would get a really acidic stomach and an acidic throat. I actually haven't eaten candy in quite a while, which is good. I'm still trying to stay off pop, but Rome wasn't built in a day.
That's worse than candy.
I know. I know. I know. Now I'm convicted. Nothing healthy today.
Well, you exert a lot of your energy on-stage.
Yeah, I guess that's one way of burning calories. I have gotten over it now, but there was this period where you go from being pretty much anonymous and in your bedroom all day to people taking pictures of you and you having to be in these social environments where you will be observed by people. So there are times where I will look at a video of me and be like, "Oh my gosh. I cannot believe I said that, I did that, I look like that."
Hence, the first time we met and alcohol.
Exactly. I don't know, anytime you see yourself in those situations, it's the equivalent of looking at yourself in the mirror except it's animated and you're distanced enough to observe it with a little more objectivity. I cringe most of them. I have gotten less self-conscious. I've gotten over this hump where you're seeing yourself more and more and you're like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe other people have to see me in such a terrible state." Then you realize there's something therapeutic about not being able to really manage your presentation. It is what it is and people are going to see me for the idiot and the asshole that I am and there's something liberating about that. There's nothing to be ashamed of if it's out in the open.
Do you get recognized on the street often?
No. Unless I'm hanging out with my buddy Leonardo DiCaprio in the Viper Room. In that sort of situation, yes. Generally when I'm hanging out with the Lohans, yeah. When I'm busy hanging out with all my new celebrity friends, you have to be a little incognito. We generally give the paparazzi a 15 minute lead whenever we tell them where we're actually going so they can take photos of us. Usually people give an hour but we're like, "Honestly, you guys kind of gotta earn it."
How about that car chase last month in Seattle where the paparazzi came after you? You went over the floating bridge but on the other side of the street.
That was a tough one and honestly, as it was happening, I thought about Princess Di. This madness has to stop. The madness has to stop.
Princess Di, that was a long time ago.
Speaking of car chases, there actually was one that went through my neighborhood a while ago. It was interesting because there was some bank robbery, and there's cops with guns that turned Wallingford into marshal law looking for these bank robbers.
You stopped them, didn't you?
No, one got away, but it was really funny because...I lived in that neighborhood my entire life. You sort of view it as your neighborhood, especially as an indigenous person to the neighborhood, indigenous if you take the last 70 years. It's really funny when all these cops are rolling through with all these guns. "What right do they have to do this?" They pointed the gun at my brother and yelled, "Get in your house! Get in your house!" I think that clarified the situation. I try to refrain from cars chases and in fact, I don't like velocity in general. I don't like amusement rides at all. I don't like elevation. I'm generally not a high risk taker.
Since you've lived in your neighborhood so long, would you rather have a cop or a Californian move in next day?
First I have to address my associations with each. I'll give you my most recent interaction with a Californian versus my most recent interaction with a cop. I was walking by and there were some homeless folks in the Belltown area where you stayed at the last time you were in Seattle and they were just chilling. They may have been drinking some forties or something like that. Just really not doing anyone harm. We're walking back maybe 10 minutes later and these cops are literally up in their face, shining a flashlight and this is almost a direct quote, "You know, right now motherfucker, I'm going to decide whether or not I'm going to take you in and whether or not I'm going to have to do two hours of motherfucking paperwork for your worthless ass." There was no evidence that I saw that these guys deserved this sort of candor and no cop has ever treated me like that. So that's my associate with a cop and that's Seattle which is generally a town that Bill O'Reilly would consider a town of secular progressives. You know what I'm saying. My last association with a Californian. Boy...We're going to go down to California so I may have to hold my tongue, but at this point...it's really a tough call. At this point, I would say...I can't make a judgment call. I don't have anything negative to say about Californians specifically right now. In fact, I can understand them wanting to move because it's definitely more dire economically down there than it is in Seattle which is fairly insulated due to some of the larger corporations around there. So, no real judgment value but I do have some baggage with cops which is based on observation.
If I'm going to go camping and I have to choose between Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park and Northern Cascades National Park. Where should I go and why?
I going to go with D, none of the above, and go with Snoqualmie National Forest because I've spent the most time there. I'm a little bit biased because my father has a cabin there. It is unusual to own property in the area. It was built for the railroad workers and has no electricity. I'm going to say Snoqualmie because the river is gorgeous, the Stillaguamish is gorgeous and it is by Stevens Pass. There's some dead industrial factories. There's the Iron Goat Trail, which I highly recommend and it's for people like me who not athletic but want to go on a trail. An interesting thing, I had heard rumors that in Snoqualmie National Forest that there are these lakes up in the mountains that aren't on the topological maps that you can buy for any given area. There are oasis places that aren't on maps that are quite Shangri-Laish, if you want to say that in Snoqualmie National Forest. I speak from experience that you can find undiscovered areas in there. I think with Google Earth you could probably do it a bit easier.
Cool! I'm going to ask you a couple of trivia questions now. Number one, what's the capital of Australia?
Oh god! Dude, there's a geography book around here.
No books.
Fuck! Dude, I just went to Australia, so you can't put this in!
Next question?
Yeah, yeah.
Who's on the $10 bill?
That's not Hamilton, is it? Okay, it's Hamilton.
Next question?
Um...Okay. Continue.
What's the capital of Washington state?
Olympia. Okay, is Melbourne the capital of Australia? No? Fuck! Brisbane? FUCK! What is it?
Canberra.
Dammit. That's really embarrassing.
Can I publish this?
Okay. Ah, fuck. Okay. That sucks. That sucks. Can I have a trivia question that I ask?
Sure.
How many golf balls are in space?
How many golf balls are in space? I would say three.
Close. Four.
Four? Shit. We can trade trivia questions.
Oh fuck.
Who directed the film Grizzly Man?
That's the one where the guy gets eaten? I can't watch the thing at the end.
They don't show it.
There's a lot of moments that I can't watch. The moment with the fox in that, I really can't watch. Believe me, I think that animals are sentient beings...no that's going in another direction. That movie was difficult to watch for some reason.
But the question is who directed it?
I have no idea.
Werner Herzog.
What? You're kidding. Let me think of one. I'm honestly still bummed out about that Australia one. That ruined my trivia mojo.
I'll ask you two more. Who killed Laura Palmer?
Well, in Fire Walk With Me it's the father kind of. It's the father but I'll put an asterisk by it and say there is a caveat by that asterisk. I don't think things are that simple.
Last question. What's the name of the Fleet Foxes next album?
Oh, Tillman! Should I tell him the name of the new album?
Tillman: Who's new album?
The Foxes' new album.
Tillman: Go for it.
Hey Robin! The new LP2 what's it called?
Robin: Baby on the Tire.
Baby on the Tire.
Robin: It's called Howard the Duck.
The EP is called Baby on the Tire.
Robin: The LP is called Look Who's Talking Too.
But the too is written in roman numerals.
How about Who Killed Laura Palmer?
We were think that was going to be a split 7" with DiCaprio or maybe like some early PowerViolence act.
If Lindsay Lohan is reading this, what do you want to tell her?
Stay strong, girl. Stay strong.
Do you think Britney can get it back?
She's be able to get it back if she hires Max Martin, who is the guy who produced anything she did of merit.
by David Harris