Pitchfork

We always knew the Walkmen were scholarly, what with their St. Alban's / Columbia University diplomas and snappy suit jackets. (Because schoolboy uniforms always signify superior intelligence, right, AC/DC?) But it seems that their brains just weren't getting enough exercise from merely being in a rock band, as guitarist Paul Maroon recently informed Pitchfork that he and his fellow Walkmen are currently writing a book. It's called John's Journey, it's a novel, and all of the band members are contributing. Yes, I thought he was bullshitting me, but he appeared to be quite serious.

"It's about a guy named John who goes on a trip" was the only hint Maroon will drop about the contents of the book, which they're aiming to publish by the time their third album is completed (more about that later.) "We basically know what John's trying to achieve on his journey and we're just trying to help him get there. We've got a bit of a distance to go, but it should be a full novel when we're finished with it. We have all the art figured out. It's just a question of writing the remaining 300 pages." Over 300 pages?! Good lord, is this the next Harry Potter book? The Decemberists better get crackin' on some kind of epic poem or something if they want to keep their Lords of Lit-Rock crown.

When asked if the story was at all autobiographical, Maroon replied, "We do a lot of driving around ourselves, so we definitely take some of those experiences and put it into John's Journey. I think you'll like it, it's going to be quite a ride." He then asked me who my favorite authors were, and I thought I'd sound like an idiot if I gave the honest answer (a bunch of rock critics), so I lied and said Pynchon and DeLillo.

As for that new record, the follow-up to Bows and Arrows, Pitchfork's 40th Favorite Album of 2004, is very early in the gestation period right now. Maroon said the Walkmen are heading back to their hometown of Washington, D.C. in late October, to record at the legendary Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara (check the credits on, like, any Dischord/harDCore album ever). "We're going to see how it goes and take it from there, and we hope to have it out in February or March of next year," is the only other information he'd cough up.

Maroon did mention that the Walkmen have been playing new songs on their current tour, which is winding through the South as we speak and will take the band to Japan and Mexico in October. The Walkmen's label, Record Collection, let it slip on their website that one new track is called "Water Hawk". Ooh, ominous.

Feel free to heckle them with "Your rising action blows!" and "In Medias Res is so played out!" here:

09-26 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom *
09-28 Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
09-29 W. Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern #
09-30 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle #
10-01 Morgantown, WV - 123 Pleasant Street
10-12 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro
10-16 Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya-Ax
10-29 Mexico City, Mexico - Salon 21 $

* with Built to Spill, Mike Johnson
# with Mazarin
$ with Tegan and Sara, Oliver Future