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Depreciation Guild, Band

Jen Carlson

Published Jan 28, 2009

Modified Jan 28, 2009

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Jen Carlson

Published Jan 28, 2009

Modified Jan 28, 2009

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There's a lot of ink spilled about The Depreciation Guild's good looks and unofficial member: a Nintendo gaming system—but they're much more than all that. Live, their lush, textural sounds will make you gaze at your shoes, but their synth-pop side will leave you a bit more alert. See what way they sway you while catching the Brooklyn band tonight at Fontana's (and at Mercury Lounge on the 7th) before they head out on tour.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band? The band started in 2005 kind of as a hobby. I really wanted an outlet for creating the two types of music I was (and still am) into, which was lush-sounding guitar pop and melody-driven simple electronic music music. So i started creating a few compositions and recorded a few songs as demos, and within a short amount of time, those songs were released on the netlabel 8bitpeoples and I decided to involve my friend Akira in the process so we could start playing shows.

Since then, Akira left the band to pursue his career in engineering, and I've been joined by college friends (and twin brothers) Christoph and Anton Hochheim on guitar and drums, respectively. We put out a full length at the end of 2007 and have played mostly in New York (but we did get to play in Mexico and LA recently!), and we're getting ready to do our first serious tour of the east coast in the next couple weeks with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

What would you be doing if you weren't making music? Hard to say, I went to school for childhood education, but teaching has always been a fallback plan. I teach now at a music school, but I'd much rather be playing music professionally.

What's the story with the Nintendo—how did that come about? I've always loved the sound and wanted to learn how to make music for the system, so in 2003 i discovered a program through the internet that you could use to sequence songs for the Famicom (NES) and export the code to an actual cart using the proper hardware. The Famicom that we actually use live was something we bought on eBay and the special game cart we use was given to me by a friend in Japan.

Do you think Nintendo has the best sound over any other gaming system? Yes. Also, i have the most personal attachment to that system, since i've grown up playing the games and humming the tunes in my head.

What local bands are you into right now? Knight School, Wyldlife (featuring my little 'bro on vocals!), Chairlift, Soren Well, Zaza, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.

Please share your strangest "only in New York" story. I was followed by this guy one time, from the subway almost all the way to my apartment and he wasn't very slick about it either. when he finally stopped me, he said he had some weird connection to me and basically asked me for my number. I politely declined.

Which New Yorker do you most admire? My mom probably.

Given the opportunity, how would you change New York? New York City schools are still segregated - we need to do something about that.

Under what circumstance have you thought about leaving New York? Zombie apocalypse maybe?

Do you have a favorite New York celebrity sighting or encounter? I saw Jessica Simpson on the street once. She was way shorter than I expected.

What's your current soundtrack? Some CDs/Vinyl I rececently purchased and have been loving are:

Boat Club -- "Caught The Breeze"
Devine & Statton - "Cardiffians"
Air France -- "No Way Down" and "On Trade Winds"
Scritti Politti -- "Cupid & Psyche '85"
Darling Buds -- "Pop said..."
Pale Fountains -- "Pacific Street"
School Of Seven Bells - "Alpinisms"

Best cheap eat in the city. We totally have to plug Dosa Man because not only are the other two guys in the band pretty much bro's with that guy, but also the food is great. He's a food cart guy and he won the 2007 Vendy Award. You can usually find him in Washington Square Park.

Best venue to play/see music. Cakeshop.

Tagged

band

Depreciation Guild

interview

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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