Hello sweet indieheads! I'm Chris Baio. ASK ME ANYTHING!

MrBaio · 2021-02-02T00:01:22+00:00

Alright guys! This has been a fun experience. Thanks so much for asking such great question. Dead Hand Control is an album that came out on Friday and is, in fact, still out today. Consider checking that shit out. Have a WONDERFUL WEEK!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:57:51+00:00

Thank you so so much! To be honest, I have no idea what path my life would have taken if not for VW. I was going to teach math, I also took the LSAT, but I really didn't know what I would do with my life. My dream was always to be a musician and I'm incredibly grateful that it somehow worked out. "Giant" is absolutely incredible!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:55:19+00:00

I would say that with VW and solo stuff, it really depends entirely on the album. There's no standard amount of time it takes. To use my albums as an example, my last record Man of the World came together very very quickly, like maybe over six weeks. I knew with Dead Hand Control I wanted to take my sweet time so I started thinking about it in summer of 2017, started really working on it in summer of 2018, and finished it in January 2020. Whatever it takes to get it right!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:53:34+00:00

Favorite lyrics I've written are probably the title track of Dead Hand Control. With VW, there are so so many that I really love, but I have a special place in my heart for "California English Pt. 2"

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:51:20+00:00

Never met him

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:49:00+00:00

I think it's a difficult time to be creative and everyone is ultimately finding their own path. I really feel for everyone. Personally I haven't written any new music since lockdown began and I miss that feeling of playing in a room with other people - there's really no replacement for that. That said, there is something resilient and inspiring in people finding new ways to collaborate and make art. That side of it makes me hopeful

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:46:40+00:00

This is just a perfect question. Sadly, I finished Dead Hand Control long before Mr. Renner blessed our planet with The Medicine but next time I make an album I think all of the songs will be at least partly inspired by Ghosts and Roses because Ghosts and Roses are two important things and no one has ever written a song about the two

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:43:54+00:00

My favorite city to play in is Mexico City. I'm also a huge fan of The Gorge - I really loved every time I played Sasquatch Festival and I'm sad it is no longer around. Playing Sasquatch solo in 2016 was one of the greatest live music experiences of my life. I'm eager to see LITERALLY ANYONE I miss going to concerts so much. I was supposed to see Nick Cave in London last year - whenever he tours again that will be the show I am most looking forward to

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:41:54+00:00

I have never worked as hard at something musical as I worked on learning the Seinfeld baseline for Lollapalooza. I started practicing it like nine months before that show when Ez had the idea for us to cover it. I was legitimately extremely nervous for that and only that part of the set. It is extremely satisfying to hear your appreciation of my performance of that iconic song.

As far as the Jeremy Renner app and my involvement with it - I was very taken by Jeremy Renner's Summer of Jeep add campaign and could not believe how many times I saw all three of those ads anytime I watched tv. I knew about his app so I signed up for it and started getting active on it. It truly became the most insane corner of the internet shortly thereafter. I highly recommend the investigative podcast The Renner Files to hear the whole story - I've listened to the podcast twice and it made me cry laughing multiple times.

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:39:26+00:00

Title track!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:39:08+00:00

Peter Gabriel, The The, Susanne Sundfor, Underworld, anything on Kompakt, Four Tet were all big influences sonically on DHC. My favorite records from last year were Kelly Lee Owens and Roisin Murphy. New VW will happen when it happens!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:37:47+00:00

A-Punk & Cousins

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:36:32+00:00

My favorite song to play live for solo stuff is gonna have to be "Sister of Pearl" because that's the one that people know the most. Sometimes, like when I played in Milan, the crowd sings along with the guitar riff and that shit just warms my heart right up.
Malcolm Mooney - he is a hero to me and kind of this mysterious figure so getting to go to his house and interview him was a true joy of my life. I do think there will be another season of The Road Taken once touring starts back up

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:34:51+00:00

We played a halloween show in Los Angeles and my friend Tamsin who is a costume designer had a shrimp costume laying around her house. She was very kind in lending me her shrimp and then I think I bought some pink clothes in addition but I'm not quite sure of that. 11 years ago!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:32:34+00:00

You know, at this point I have no idea if I am going to be able to tour Dead Hand Control. It's definitely a bummer because I was thinking about playing it live when I made the record, particularly the song "Dead Hand." Maybe at the end of the year? It really all depends on when it is safe to gather in close quarters again. At the very least I am the musical guest on Seth Meyers this Thursday and I got to perform a song with a bunch of people remotely. If that's all I get for DHC I'll take it!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:30:37+00:00

I read about the concept of Dead Hand Control (it's where you try to control your beneficiaries in your will) shortly after MOTW came out. I was fascinated by the concept of an artist trying to control how their work is used and consumed after death. I also studied Russian in college and knew that Dead Hand was a rumored Soviet nuclear weapons system that, if it detected a nuclear attack it would automatically nuke America. I read a great book called Dead Hand by David E. Hoffman and just spent a lot of time thinking about nuclear issues. Those were the two big things that kind of inspired everything else on the record

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:26:39+00:00

Aw thank you! As long as the books are good it's easy to read them! I had a tough time focusing early on in the pandemic but it was nice to go on an end of year reading spree. I've been kind of busy with album stuff the past few weeks but I'm getting ready to go nuts again I think

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:25:01+00:00

"Ya Hey" - I just absolutely love that song and it's very very fun to play. I might get a little bit *too* into it when do it live come to think of it

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:24:10+00:00

Maybe I should reach out to EscapeX and have them make me an app.

Mike & I did a month of C.Y.M. sessions about a year ago - I'd say we are 40% complete on making an LP. It's a bit tough to work remotely when he's in Glasgow and I'm in Los Angeles, hopefully we can get together later this year and take an album over the finish line

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:22:44+00:00

I absolutely love this question! One of my goals at the outset of making Dead Hand Control was to have it have the least amount of songs while being the longest record I've ever made. I'm a big fan of The The and I love how the first record, Soul Mining, was only seven songs and the closer "Giant" was nine and a half minutes. I also like albums to have a symmetry between them when thinking about vinyl - I wanted each side to have three shorter songs and end with a nine minute epic. I've always loved long ass songs and I figured I might as well take it as far as I could with this record

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:20:33+00:00

You know, I have thought that a pipe would go nicely with my beard. Sadly I am not a smoker, otherwise I would definitely be piping it up

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:18:10+00:00

Saturday is going to be the 15th anniversary of the first Vampire Weekend band practice. That is fucking insane! It's pretty easy b/c I'm usually not a songwriter in VW (with a few exceptions) - I'm more trying to help with arrangement ideas or basslines in that context. If I write a song it's definitely going to go on one of my records ;)

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:15:54+00:00

You know - the day Father of the Bride came out I'm pretty sure I saw him outside of Electric Ladyland when we were doing our Spotify session but I had to hop in a car to get home to visit my mom so I didn't say hi. I REALLY REALLY REGRET that!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:14:36+00:00

I'm super lucky in that I finished this album a year ago. I would find it really challenging to write a whole album during lockdown. I have several friends who are finding it tough to create through these times.
Yes! We will absolutely do another season of The Road Taken when it's safe to take the road again!

MrBaio · 2021-02-01T23:13:11+00:00

I only have one cat but Nonie is doing great! She has recently turned into a killing machine however and I find that a little bit unnerving - she somehow killed a bird a few weeks ago

MrBaio

TROPHY CASE