Eulogies Frontman Peter Walker Talks About His New Album: Here Anonymous

Photo: Brantley Gutierrez

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Photo: Brantley Gutierrez
Three years ago Peter Walker decided he was tired of the solo life and wanted to settle down...musically. He asked the musicians who were touring with him if they wanted something more permanent. They did and Eulogies was born. Last month, Eulogies released their promising sophomore disk, Here Anonymous, on Dangerbird Records. The album in question is full of the kind of pretty introspective pop that would make Ben Gibbard green with envy. Front man Peter Walker was kind enough to talk with us last night from his home in Los Angeles about his brand new album.

Do you still write all the songs, or do you let your band mates have some say. Is your band a dictatorship or a democracy?
(laughs) It’s a monarchy.I’m the songwriter for sure, but everyone brings something to the table. Part of the band is having a collaborative effort, not just me. That is part of the beauty of a band and of music really is that it's a collective thing.

Where did you get the name the Eulogies? You're not a morbid band at all.
I like seeing the word in a different way. Not as something you say when someone has died, but something you should say right now. You should tell people how you feel about them when they're alive. Eulogies always struck me as heartfelt things.

Yeah, but you can never say anything bad about the person in a eulogy.
I never thought about it that way, but you’re right. I kind of like that.

Eulogies - One Man

Was this second album easier to do than the first?
It was easier. Starting with the writing we focused on a foundation for the songs. There was definitely a little more guidance than last time around.

What's your writing style? Do you write constantly or do you lock yourself in a cabin somewhere?
I lock myself in a cabin somewhere. Definitely. I lock myself in a bedroom somewhere and just write. I'll write ideas and stuff down on the road sometimes, but I like having that time and space to let things come out. I wrote this album on the bass guitar which I've never done before. It was just bass and vocals. It was really cool. It boiled the sound down to what is that song really doing. The bass really set the stage for the record. The mantra through out the whole thing was keep it simple.

Do you think you'll stick to writing on the bass for the next album?
I might do it again. I dunno. When it comes, it comes, but I really want to try a new instrument.

How about a banjo?
Yeah, maybe I'll write the whole album on the banjo next time.

What are you most proud of on this album?
The one that I really like is "Eyes on the Prize." It’s a really a good recording of it. I feel really good about the album as a collection, though. It’s just one of the those things were it sounds simple and feels good.

What is the prize on "Eyes on the Prize"?
I think it should be different for everybody. I think it’s just getting through struggle. A lot of these songs are really positive. "Eyes on the Prize" is really a fighting song.

Do you have a personal prize?
I think if you are surrounded by people who respect you, and people who you can communicate with, well then your doing pretty good.

Eulogies - Eyes On The Prize

What is the weirdest thing you ever saw at a show in the audience?
Honestly for me playing before a sold out room is the weirdest thing I’ve seen. I wish I could say that it was the most mundane normal thing, but it's not. When we’re in front of a boatload of people it's just like, "Oh fuck, this is awesome!"

If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be?
I guess that a clear path of medium. Currently no one's sure if music should be digital or physical or what. I personally think that mp3s sound terrible. Everything is up in the air right now, but people still love see music and that's what's important. I suppose it should probably should go digital, but they should find a digital medium that was simple and sounded really good.

What is your favorite thing about LA?
I like that there’s a lot of creative people around. Oh, and you can have big dogs. You can’d have big dogs in New York.

Do you have one?
Yes, he's a rescue mutt. He's part Lab, part Shepherd, and part bear.

Aw, he sounds adorable. I suppose you can't take him with you on tour.
No, you can't. That's the hardest part about touring is being away from your loved ones.

What's the best thing about touring?
(laughs) Leaving home! Strange how that works. Also I think just moving and bonding with the band is great too.

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Photo: Brantley Gutierrez

Do you have any strange promoter stories?
Yeah, a couple nights ago these people went backstage and stole a bunch of stuff while we were watching the Dears play. Someone came and told us that some stuff was stolen, so we ran back there, but all of the guitars and laptops were still there. All the people took was the booze. We were just like, "Whew, okay." It was weird. We were attacked by booze pirates. Did you suspect the other bands?
That did come into play at an earlier show. One of the bands we were playing with were booze pirates, but we didn't mind. We are the peacemakers on tour. We don’t even really drink that much.

Do you have a favorite local band at the moment?
I work with bands in town, so it’s probably going to be one of them. Hm. Oh, One Am Radio is really good. I like them a lot. He wrote some really cool songs.

If you were booking a party in Heaven and one in Hell who would headline?
Well I think for Heaven it would have to be the Jonas Brothers. They would fit perfectly up there. And for Hell I think maybe Nickelback. (laughs) Wait, both parties would really suck. I don’t know if you would want me as your promoter.

Um, probably not. Who would you book for Limbo?
Limbo I think would have to be Sonic Youth. I think they would provide some good Limbo music. (laughs) Everybody would just want to stay in limbo and not go to Heaven. That would be a problem.

It would! Well, thank you so much for talking with us, Peter.
Thank you!

Check out the Eulogies tonight at the Echoplex with Great Northern and The Dears. Doors open 8:30pm. Tickets are $15.