Diff’rent Stroke

>> Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.
steps into the spotlight

FOOL US ONCE: Albert Hammond Jr. (centre) and band

by ERIK LEIJON

As the immaculately tailored lead guitarist of the Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr. had no qualms about letting frontman Julian Casablancas soak up the spotlight. With his primary meal ticket on an indeterminate sabbatical, Hammond has emerged from the shadows of his famous group with his first solo album, the sunny and poppy Yours to Keep. Last March, he opened for the Bloc Party here in Montreal, and the Mirror spoke to the axeman-turned-band leader before his first Montreal headlining show.

Mirror: Why do a solo album when you’re still a member of the Strokes?

Albert Hammond Jr.: I was recording it while I was doing [the last Strokes album] First Impressions of Earth and touring, and when I was happy with it, we decided to release it. I guess I started working on it in the first place because I wanted to see if I could capture the songs outside of the demos I was doing in my house. I felt like if I could complete this, that it would teach me to become a better songwriter. Now that I’m writing for a second record, I feel like it worked, like I proved myself.

M: Is it strange being the frontman?

AH: I’ve always felt like I was a star (laughs). It can be weird, but right now I’m just playing music with my friends and—I know it sounds clichéd but it’s true—it wouldn’t have gone this far had things not felt so comfortable. I think both [being in the Strokes and being a solo artist] exist well together.

M: You covered Buddy Holly and Guided by Voices on the new record. What were your other influences during the making of Yours to Keep?

AH: I think major influences are always what you soak up when you first start listening to music. It’s always a lot of things and it’s constantly changing. For instance, I’m writing for the second record, and on two songs the big influences are the Clash’s “Janie Jones” and Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.” For some reason, when I heard those two songs, it made me want to get up and write something different. And maybe when I record it, then you’ll think it sounds like Queen or David Bowie (laughs). There are people that are constantly revolving in my life. Lou Reed’s Street Hassle is huge for me.

M: Are the songs’ lyrical content very personal to you?

AH: Some are, but some are because I’m still going through songwriting 101. When I was writing “Cartoon Music for Superheroes,” I wrote it for myself to help me fall asleep. Sometimes I come up with a cool line, and the song will come from that, like when you’re playing and you discover a cool rhythm. There’s a new song where all I had was the line, “You won’t be fooled by this,” and I started repeating it and it started to mean more in my random interpretations.

M: Did you learn anything about songwriting from Julian Casablancas?

AH: For sure, I lived with him for seven years, he’s a close friend and I’ve seen him go through songs in their rawest stage. I imagine everyone in the band has influenced each other. Eventually, you start to pick up their traits, like how you eat and how you talk.

With the Dead Trees at La Tulipe
on Tuesday, June 12, 8 p.m., $20, all ages