Protomartyr’s blend of rock is a little bit dance-y and a lot of bit deranged. Their most recent LP, Under Color of Official Right, sounds like Parquet Courts stranded in Detroit for a month, and it should come with a complimentary “hair of the dog that bit me” beverage but unfortunately doesn’t. Quite simply, it’s a wonderful record.
As a part of their first long-lasting national tour, the four-piece is stopping by the High Noon Saloon this Friday night where they’ll be opening for Cloud Nothings. Last week I had the opportunity to throw the bull with Protomartyr’s oft bleak but always witty front-man Joe Casey in anticipation of their visit.
How did Protomartyr come into existence?
“It’s funny; I went to an all-boys catholic school in Detroit. I was working with Greg [Ahee, the band’s guitarist] at an old theatre in downtown Detroit, a place for weddings and things. I was a doorman. We bonded over the fact that we went to that same high school and kind of had a similar worldview. I found out that he was playing in a band.
“It just kind of gave us something to do. It was a cheap hobby. It gave us a reason to go to bars and drink. And that’s fairly easy to do in Detroit because everyone’s got basements and places to practice; it seemed like the thing to do.”
How did you settle on the name?
“Protomartyr was a name that I had been kicking around. One of those, ‘If I ever started a band, I’d call it Protomartyr’ deals. I like the way it looks, the way it sounds. I have found that people mispronounce it — or misspell it. We get ‘Protomurder’ quite a bit, but that’s just fine.”
You’re in the midst of your first large-scale national tour. How are you guys holding up?
“Uh, we hate each other.” (laughs) “No it’s been great; we’re fairly healthy right now. We’re a little bit sad because we’ve been touring with a band called Whatever Brains and this is gonna be our last show with them… But next we hook up with Cloud Nothings, and then we go home for about a week to sober up — and then we’re going back out.”
Have you developed any pre-show rituals on the road?
“Since I don’t have any gear, I work on the set list and then I make sure that the band’s got beer to drink, ’cause they’re busy setting up. Then I usually go and try to smoke as many cigarettes before I have to be up stage as I can.”
You’re touring to promote your latest record, Under Color of Official Right. How did the record come to fruition?
“Half of the album we’ve had for almost two years prior, and the other half is new songs that were written just before we were ready to record. That’s kind of the way we like to do it: we already have eight songs ready to go for our next album. We work pretty fast.
“We got Hardly Art to put out our record, and they were nice enough to want to pay for it. So, we were able to get three days recording at a place called The Key Club on the west side of Michigan. Having three days to record was like a new luxury for us.”
What were some of the inspirations behind the record?
“In Detroit, the bands that we hang out with are all a little rawer sounding, definitely kind of like a thing that we draw from. The first song, ‘Maidenhead,’ is about the book Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton. I kind of liked the tone that he had in that. I wanted things on the record to be realistic but try to have a little darker edge, without being too heavy handed. I like writers like that, where it’s not just a horror show the whole time. Life is rough, but what else can we do?”
Most of the tracks on Under Color of Official Right clock in at around two minutes. Was it a conscious decision for the band to write shorter songs?
“We kind of like to cut the fat on things. Yesterday was Greg’s birthday, and so he was able to do a guitar solo at the show. And he really brought it, but you have to draw the line somewhere.” (laughs) “I’m sure as we experiment, longer songs will probably be in our future. I don’t like songs that just repeat verse/chorus, verse/chorus, verse/chorus, really repetitive songs. But you know, we’re getting better so maybe we’ll branch out and do other stuff.”