The Photo Atlas
June 7, 2007
9:30 Club
Washington D.C.

Only a third of the sold out crowd had arrived by the time The Photo Atlas took the stage. They went on first before gloomy Glasgow pop band The Cinematics and the headliners, modern new wavers and major-label success story, The Bravery. The aggressive but danceable rockers from Denver embraced the opening slot, though. It was their first show ever in the nation’s capital, but they won the crowd over right away. Ripping through 7 of the 10 tracks on their debut album, No, Not Me, Never, they got most in attendance shaking, fist pumping, clapping along and screaming applause at all the right times. Undoubtedly the response was due to the fact that the vocals pierced, the guitars stuttered and the rhythms pounded with the same sharpness as they do on the record. It was a strong debut for some DC virgins playing in the land of one of their biggest influences, Fugazi.

Download/Stream The Photo Atlas “Handshake Heart Attack” MP3

I got a chance to catch up with three members of The Photo Atlas (Alan Andrews, vocals/guitar; Bill Threlkeld, guitar; Mark Hawkins, bass) just minutes before they took the stage:

New Music Nation: Your music is very amped up and danceable. Tonight, though, you’re in the opening slot of three bands. How hard is it to get the crowd moving when you’re in that position?

Alan Andrews: That’s a serious thing. It’s kinda weird. Some crowds respond really well and are real excited to be there and other crowds cross their arms and judge you before they’re really gonna get into it. It depends on the crowd. New York was really cool. People just got crazy right away. And the same thing with Portland, Oregon. Hopefully tonight they’ll just get right into it.

Bill Threlkeld: This tour’s a good match for us. People have been receptive. We get people clapping every night.

NMN: You’ll be playing your first Warped Tour in July. Do you like the idea of playing shows in the hot sun during the daytime or do you prefer indoors at night, like tonight?

AA: We’re definitely more of the nighttime kinda band. We’re bracing ourselves for those shows. We’re kinda trying to prepare, but there’s no real way to prepare for Arizona in mid-July at noon (laughs).

Mark Hawkins: We’re not used to being early (laughs). We’ve got be there early in the morning, so you have to drive late night shifts and we usually don’t do too good driving late night. But we’re gonna do it this time.

BT: It’s been a goal of ours to be on Warped Tour, something we’ve always wanted to do.

MH: It’s definitely a great opportunity.

AA: We don’t mind paying our dues. It’s not a problem to have to haul our equipment fucking miles and play in the hot sun. We’ll do it (laughs).

NMN: Did you guys go to Warped Tour as fans?

AA: Yeah, I’ve been a couple years.

BT: Yep.

MH: My first concert was a Warped Tour in San Francisco.

NMN: What year?

MH: ’97, I believe.

NMN: Kevin Lyman (owner of Warped Tour) said there will be a new feature on the tour this year - Luche Libre wrestlers. Are you connoisseurs of Luche Libre wrestling?

All: (laugh)

BT: I do enjoy it very much. I’ve never seen a live match, but I have seen ‘em televised. I look forward to the live match. I didn’t even know that was happening. Now I’m more excited than I was before.

NMN: Any of you guys seen the movie Nacho Libre? That’s pretty much the extent of my Luche Libre knowledge.

AA: Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too. There should be some cool masks at least.

NMN: One of your Warped Tour shows will be in Denver, your hometown. Can you count on a little extra love from the hometown crowd?

AA: Our hometown is very supportive and they always have been from the start. Especially now that we’re touring a lot, it will be interesting to see what happens. I know people are missing us there, so it will be cool to get back.

NMN: When I think Denver, I don’t exactly think Warped Tour and aggressive music. Was it an uphill battle playing the kind of music you play in Denver?

AA: When we first moved to Denver, there were some bands that were doing dancey, aggressive stuff already, so doors were kind of opening. I think when we moved there, we busted open the door and now there’s other bands doing it. Denver’s kind of a weird scene where there’s a lot of hardcore, but kids are very open-minded to dancin’ and gettin’crazy.

NMN: Fugazi is an influence of yours. You guys have said it before and I certainly hear it in your music, though your music’s more danceable and hooky. Is it exciting to get to play tonight in the land of Fugazi, Washington D.C., for the first time?

AA: It is. There’s certain bands you hear when you’re younger that make you say ‘Oh god, this is fucking exciting.’ When I heard them, I was just starting to play guitar. How they played off of each other guitar-wise, that’s the stuff that made our band. So it is fucking exciting to play here. I love that band.

NMN: Speaking of influences, At the Drive-In is another band whose sound finds its way into your music. For my money, they put out the greatest album of this decade so far, Relationship of Command. And I think they were the best band of the last 10 years. Do you put them on the same pedestal as I do?

AA: Absolutely.

MH: Definitely.

BT: I would agree with that statement about Relationship of Command. Best album of the last 10 years.

AA: That’s another one of those bands where you hear it (snaps fingers) and something inside you says ‘This is fucking amazing and smart.’

BT: Can’t get enough of it. Even after hearing the album a million times, still you throw it in, and when you hear the first track, I’m like ‘I want to listen to the whole thing.’

NMN: So were you sad to see At the Drive-In spilt up?

BT: Absolutely.

MH: It was a bummer.

AA: What a bunch of crap. A lot of bands I’ve liked have put out that awesome album and then broken up. Refused was the same way.

MH: Death From Above 1979, too. They should have at least put out a second album.

NMN: A few months ago, I saw an impromptu acoustic performance on your label’s Web site (Stolen Transmission). It was amazing.

AA: That is the only time we’ve ever played acoustic, ever. We didn’t practice. We were just like, ‘Let’s do this thing.’ But I have heard from a lot of people that it turned out well, which was surprising to us.

NMN: I thought it was amazing. Is there a future for that…live or on record?

AA: It would definitely be interesting to try out. We write everything electric, so it’s kind of a weird idea. I don’t even have an acoustic guitar. But it is weird, because people have said that it was good. So I was thinking that maybe on our next record we’ll try doing it.

BT: That’s the thing. You’re the second person in the last two days who’s brought that up to us. When we were in New York, someone told us the same thing.