Pitchfork

Albert Hammond, Jr. probably wasn't the first Stroke you expected to go solo. And guess what? Albert Hammond, Jr. wasn't the first Stroke Albert Hammond, Jr. expected to go solo either. And yet, tomorrow, March 6, the Strokes guitarist treats U.S. audiences to his debut, Yours to Keep, via Scratchie/New Line Records.

The ten-track set-- outfitted with two bonus covers for the American edition-- features music played by Hammond and bandmates Steve Schiltz (Longwave) and Marc Eskenazi (The Sexy Magazines). It originally dropped overseas last fall on Rough Trade.

Yours to Keep almost didn't happen, however. "I wasn't going to put it out at all," Hammond revealed to Pitchfork in a recent interview. "When I was doing it, I wasn't really making a record, [but] by the time I was done, I realized I was. So I thought maybe it would be fun to put it out quietly, you know? I never thought I would be playing shows or anything like that."

Thanks to a little prodding from his bandmates and label, Hammond agreed to play a few gigs-- and things just took off from there. He recently wrapped up a North American tour with Incubus, and after a stretch of headlining dates, Albert will provide support for another monster act with a slightly different fanbase, Bloc Party.

"I don't think anyone knew who the hell I was at all," Albert revealed about his stint opening for Incubus. Nonetheless, the tour was an apparent success. "I think we got a lot of people who wouldn't have known about us otherwise, which was kind of the purpose of the tour, you know? So it was fun; it went well. It was very intense...Things are moving fast, and you can't stop it or slow it down. But we got through it."

Hammond, who admits "my favorite place in the world is probably the studio," already has a sizable cache of new tunes cooked up. But between his rigorous tour schedule and his duties in that other band, however, don't expect any new material coming out soon. "I've got a whole bunch...[but] you don't really get that much time on the road to work it out."

So what about that other band, the Strokes? "I think all the guys are just hanging out and doing life things," said Hammond. The guitarist also couldn't say when we'll see a follow-up to last year's First Impressions of Earth. "I have no idea. I always get in trouble when I speculate about stuff. So I have zero clue. If I did know I would tell you, though."

According to Hammond, you won't find a Strokes influence on his own material-- at least, not a conscious one. "I never really thought about the Strokes when I was in the studio doing stuff. It would be silly to think about the Strokes, or to think, 'Am I trying something different?'...I was just kind of feeling it out and being in the moment."

While Hammond cites the influence of a few staples-- Lennon, Marley, and Reed, as well as the artists he covers on Yours to Keep, Buddy Holly and Guided by Voices-- the Stroke finds most of his musical inspiration in life's simple joys. "There's not one thing I can pinpoint-- a movie could do it, a conversation, falling in love with a girl can do it more than a song. You can probably write an album from a good date and a kiss. Just in general, laughing with your friends and you just feel happy, and you play your guitar and it's just there."

When he's not hamming it up solo-style or with the Strokes, Hammond shifts focus to his secondary love and field of study, film. Serious cinematic meddling from Hammond, Jr. may be a while off, however. "I wrote a script with a friend based on a book...but a lot of what I see in my head isn't on paper, so we're trying to figure that out-- but once again, there's no time!"

Hammond, Jr.:

03-05 Solana Beach, CA - The Belly Up *
03-06 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre *
03-08 San Francisco, CA - Popscene @ 330 Ritch St.
03-10 Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre *
03-13 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room
03-14 Houston, TX - Meridian *
03-15 Austin, TX - Blender Bar at the Ritz (New Line Records SXSW Showcase)
03-17 Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre *
03-18 Nashville, TN - Exit/In *
03-20 Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's
03-21 Columbus, OH - The Basement
03-23 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre ^
03-24 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ^
03-25 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus ^
03-27 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis ^
03-28 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre ^
03-30 New York, NY - United Palace Theatre ^
03-31 New York, NY - United Palace Theatre ^
04-02 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-03 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
04-05 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

* with the Mooney Suzuki
^ with Bloc Party, Sebastien Grainger