David Condos

Features • Wednesday November 12th, 2008 • 12:00 am

You may not have heard of David Condos. And if you haven’t, you’re missing out. His soulful yet haunting voice, his well-crafted songs, and his band’s thoughtful indie-rock arrangements are some of Nashville’s best-kept secrets. But honestly, it’s not really your fault if you are unaware of his music; he faces the daunting task of making a name for himself as an indie artist in the current music industry wherein the talented individual has about as much chance at success and notoriety as he/she does at purchasing a winning lottery ticket.

But never fear, music fan: now is a good time to start listening to David Condos. He just followed up his 2006 debut album Smoking City with the release of a new EP Like Wolves in August. And while the EP contains only three songs, the trio are worth consistent, consecutive listens.

We caught up with David in Nashville to talk about the new EP, his struggles as an independent, unsigned artist in the musical climate of 2008, and what he thinks about the fact that Paris Hilton is possibly aware of his existence.

SSv: I noticed on your Myspace that there is a picture of your whole band. Are you trying to go for a band thing? Is there some kind of tension between David Condos the singer-songwriter and the fact that you play in a band?

Condos: [Laughs] Well, I hope there’s not tension. Here’s the deal with that: When we recorded Smoking City, there basically was no “David Condos”—there was no band—before that. And so at that point we didn’t come up with a band name because we didn’t know who was going to be around after that for the long term or whatever, so we went with “David Condos” for the time being. And over the last two years, it’s gotten more and more solidified to where from the inside it really feels like a band, and I would say it is a band. And I think that they (Koral Michaels on organ, glockenspiel, percussion, and vocals, Ian Leach on guitars, Noah Denney on drums, Michael Ford on bass, and Hailee Hendricks on cello) would agree with that.

SSv: If I said that you fit into the broad category of “indie rock,” how would you feel about that?

Condos: Sure, yeah.

SSv: You’re not afraid of being categorized?

Condos: No, I mean I think that’s up to whoever. I would say that I listen to a lot of music that I consider indie rock music.

SSv: Indie rock in general has its roots in the punk and post punk movement. Do you identify with that at all?

Condos: [Laughs] Uh, this probably doesn’t count, but I grew up listening to Christian punk … ah yikes! No, that doesn’t count at all. I don’t know, I mean I think there’s a certain amount of passion in that kind of music, you know, just kind of leaving it all out on the stage. Whether people love listening to it or not, you can’t deny that. So yeah, I’d say that would be one thing.

SSv: Do you listen to soul music at all?

Condos: You know, I do. Well, I used to listen to Stevie Wonder a lot—like a lot a lot. I have a record player, and I have a bunch of his old LP’s. I mean, I listen to him a lot, and I like Billie Holliday a lot and stuff like that.

SSv: Well, the reason I ask is that I feel like on this record, (the song) “Like Wolves” has a lot of soul behind it. I think it’s in your voice definitely, but also in the music.

Condos: Yeah man.

SSv: Was that intentional?

Condos: No, I don’t think it was necessarily intentional. I guess when I started playing guitar, I guess it was more soulful acoustic stuff. I mean, it wasn’t that great, but that was kind of where I started off as a guitar singer-songwriter. So that’s probably a little bit of that carrying over. [Laughs] Like from my Stevie Wonder phase.

SSv: [Laughs] Well I guess that’s a good phase to have.

Condos: Yeah, it’s not bad.

SSv: If you had to pick maybe two or three musical heroes of all time, who would they be?

Condos: I guess I would say Nick Cave. And Matt Berninger, who’s the singer from the National; I really get into his lyrics a lot. I just feel like he has a unique way of capturing really mundane, middle-class American life in a way that no one else does. And then I would say Finn Andrews, the lead singer for The Veils. He’s just got crazy passion when he’s playing. It’s unbelievable.

SSv: How do they shape the way you think about your music?

Condos: With Nick Cave, it would be—his songs are really, like you can tell he’s feeling really intensely about whatever it is whether it’s a little piano and vocal song or whether it’s a really loud, electric guitar, full band song. So I guess I try to bring that to my songs. How I work as a songwriter is I don’t write like a ton of songs and then consider, “Oh, well half of these are going to be throwaways.” As I’m writing songs, I try to pick out whether I think it’s going to be something I can actually use, and if it is I work really hard on it and try to get it exactly right, and if it’s not, I just focus on a song that I think it is. I try to bring a lot of a passion I guess to each song.

SSv: So do have a lot of like half-finished songs out there that you’ve given up on?

Condos: Yeah, man. It’s horrible. [Laughs]

SSv: I feel like the songs on Like Wolves are coming from a place of experience. I wouldn’t say that it’s jaded, but I’d say it sounds like you’ve definitely seen more of the world now. How would you say that your experience since putting out Smoking City or in life in general have shaped what you’ve done on Like Wolves?

Condos: I think that’s totally right. When we recorded Smoking City, that was like the first thing I had ever done. And you know, basically at that time I had like zero music business experience. And you know not everything I’ve experienced has been bad; I mean we’ve been really really fortunate. But just, you know, it’s just seeing everything, it’s just not … you become almost disillusioned in certain spots.

SSv: Like with what specifically?

Condos: Well I guess, I mean, with the song “Like Wolves,” that’s more becoming disenchanted with—you could say the industry, you could say society. Just kind of in general, seeing the world a little bit more.

SSv: This question may be a little weird to answer, but when I listen to your music, I’m thinking to myself, “Why isn’t this guy huge?”

Condos: I think my mom says that too. [Laughs]

SSv: Sure, yeah. [Laughs] But, you know, when I think of what’s out there, I feel like you’re voice is distinct, you’re arrangements are cool, you’re songs are great … do you have any thoughts about that?

Condos: I don’t know, I guess maybe part of it is that record labels—they’re not really stepping outside their comfort zones as much maybe you’d say. Or at least the feeling I get, which I’m sure isn’t like every A&R person, is that (A&R people) are kind of afraid for their jobs basically. And so they feel like, you know, if they can sign something that they feel like is going to be really immediate whether it’s on radio or with video or whatever, then they feel like that’s the way to go as opposed to stepping outside. And not that we’re, we don’t feel like we’re way out here, but I think that may be part of it. And, you know, I don’t know what else. I mean, we’re going to keep doing our thing and touring and making records and playing shows around town.

SSv: Is getting signed something that you want? I know there are a lot of (independent artists) who say, “Hey, I like what I’m doing now.”

Condos: No, I mean, I do like what we’re doing now. I mean, basically the policy that I’ve had is that I’ll meet with anyone. If they like the music and they’re willing to offer their time to meet with me, you know, why wouldn’t I meet with them? And I feel like that’s been really beneficial. Like, I’ve never met anyone where I’m sitting there thinking, “Oh gosh, this is a waste of my time.” No, you meet with people, and they’re, for the most part, really cool people.

As far as the entire label thing is concerned, I think that’s probably a smart thing to do. I mean, there are people who do it without one, and that’s awesome. But I think that if you can get a good fit where you’re still allowed to make your own decisions, especially musically but also with how you’re presented, why wouldn’t you want someone helping, you know, pay tour support and distribution and all that? I mean, I think those are necessary things.

SSv: So I have to ask … I heard that “I Should be Lost Without You” (a song from Smoking City) was on The Simple Life. Is that right?

Condos: Dude, that song has been all over the place. [Laughs]

SSv: Has it been on other TV shows too?

Condos: Yeah, The Simple Life was the first one, and so that was kind of a big deal even though it was over a montage of Paris Hilton, which was … very strange. But yeah, it’s been on The Hills on MTV and One Tree Hill on the CW. So we’ve got that, you know, kind of 15-25 suburban girl market locked in.

SSv: [Laughs]

Condos: No problem there.

Tagged as: indie pop, Indie Rock, Nashville, singer/songwriter