We racked up some long-distance minutes with Tilly and the Wall’s Nick White last week while he was travelling through Texas. The keyboardist talked to us about adolescent love rituals, the Tilly Texas Crawl and his band’s tap-dancing rhythm section.
I catch up with Tilly and the Wall’s keyboardist, Nick White, over the phone while he embarks on an upcoming gig in Austin. I imagine White and the fashionable five-some lounging on a tour bus, drinking a few beers and recounting late-night adventures. I picture them rehearsing new songs, covering old favorites, enjoying the open road…
In truth, their afternoon is more Griswald family than Stillwater. The group’s bags fall out the back of the bus after the door is left open and they are forced to make up for lost time.
But Tilly and the Wall have proven more than commonplace in the landscape of fledgling indie acts. The band’s spunky interpretation of the American rock ‘n’ roll fantasy has landed them international acclaim and a dedicated fan base at home.
What sets the Omaha, indie-pop team apart from the flood of up-and-comers? In short, the tap-dancing percussionist. However, White says that bandmate Jamie Pressnall’s role as the tap-dancing beat machine is more than a gimmick. He describes her footwork as an intrinsic and indispensable part of the Tilly sound.
The band recorded its debut album, Wild Like Children, with Team Love records in 2004, and went on to release two additional albums. Their performance credits include gigs with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Go! Team, and Of Montreal.
Tilly and the Wall are promoting their latest project, simply titled o, with a national tour that kicked off July 1 in Aspen, Colorado.
Sings Songs Along
So, you’re down in Texas for a show tonight. What are you up to right now? What is
your typical routine on the day of a show?
NW: Well, it was a pretty funny Tilly day. We didn’t quite close the trailer when we left this morning, when we left the hotel, so we lost some bags on the highway. So we’ve been circling around, trying to figure that out. And then going to the club!
I read that you got your band name from the children’s book Tillie and the Wall. How’d you settle on that name?
NW: I don’t know, we tried a few different names, and we were kind of slack about it cause we didn’t even have any plans as a band anyway. So it’s like, maybe we’ll play one night, open mic night, so it’s not, like, that big a deal to figure out a name (laughs). So I don’t know, we tried a few things, but nothing seemed quite right.
Is it a favorite childhood book?
NW: Well, I’d never seen the book until we got started on the name. I think it was a favorite book of Jamie and Neely’s. I think they really like the sound of the name, you know? And it was a nice book. And now, the longer we’ve been a band, the more connected to the story we feel.
Did Tilly and the Wall always have a tap dancer instead of a drummer? Who thought it up?
NW: I guess Jamie’s tap danced in other bands more as like additional percussion, like alongside a drummer. When we started as a five-piece, she was the only percussion that worked, so she became a full-time tap dancer.
When you were a kid, did you imagine yourself playing in a band or tackling another profession?
NW: I didn’t have a specific idea growing up. It’s so funny cause it’s so hard to put your finger on what you’re thinking, but then after the fact, it seems so obvious to you, you know?
I had a lot of trouble deciding what I liked in school and even just considering careers and stuff. And I went to college for a year and didn’t find quite the right fit and didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, but I knew I was looking for something else, you know?
Just around that time period I really started to get back into [playing music] and considering it as something, like — maybe not a lifelong career at that point, or even now, but just, like, something worth exploring, something I really needed to explore.
Beat Control
Dozens of bands come through Boston each week. What makes Tilly and the Wall stand out?
NW: One of our only goals when we started out as a band was to have an interesting live show, and I think now it’s kind of at the peak of what it’s ever been.
We’re traveling with a lighting person who’s super-duper great, and he’s got all of these fun lights and stuff and machines. We’ve got Jamie, the tap dancer, on this huge platform in the back, and there’s drums as well, and a bunch of us on stage. I think it will be a really good time.
You’ve played with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Go! Team, and Of Montreal. Have these shows influenced your new album?
NW: Everyone in those bands are such wonderful people. They’re so good at making being a musician work.
They’re so smart about it, they write awesome songs, and they’ve all worked their asses off to get where they are, and I think, especially with bands like Of Montreal and bands from Nebraska, we communicate a lot about ideas and past CDs and stuff, you know?
It’s funny because their drummer went to high school with me and Derek. I didn’t really know him, but I knew who he was. He was a couple of grades ahead of me and I knew who his band was. We booked the tour and it was super-fun, and they seemed really cool, you know? We instantly connected and we still talk to them all the time.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being on tour?
NW: I think the best part is still just playing, you know. That’s why we’re on the road. Just being able to go out and play our songs in front of people and see familiar faces and meet new ones all the time.
You feel so connected with these people that you don’t know. It’s so nice to think that people can help each other out in that way, you know? Music is such a big part of my life, and hopefully us making music will be nice in someone else’s life, whether it helps them through a hard time or helps them have a good time one day or whether, you know, it just passes the time.
I think the hardest part for me about the tour is just the organization – like, trying to keep track of our gas receipts and remember to get paid every night and, like, those kinds of things. And trying to find cheap hotels.
A lot of your songs touch on love — whether mutual, unrequited, or somewhere in between. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for love?
NW: The craziest thing? Oh, man. You know, when I was in middle school, every time I had a crush, I would write down the person’s name a bunch of times and then I would get a bunch of candles and incense and make all these, like, power circles to try to draw them in.
Speaking of crazy, have you had any strange or unusual experiences with fans or crowds?
NW: There’s a few kids in Texas who do this thing called the Tilly Texas Crawl. They come to a bunch of shows in Texas, and there are some kids who come up to the east coast. We’ll see them for like a week straight, which is fun, and I’ll bring balloons and confetti and stuff.
Do you think we’ll be seeing Tilly and the Wall in Boston again after this show?
NW: Boston is always, always super-nice, and I’m sure we’ll be back again after this show. I don’t know when, but for sure.
Boston is a feisty, sharp, and intelligent city in need of bands with the same traits. With a reputation for pushing the boundaries of live music, Tilly and the Wall may be what we’ve been looking for.
You can catch Tilly and the Wall at The Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Avenue, on July 31st.
Stay tuned for reviews, pics, and all the yummy goodness of the gig!
» Tilly and the Wall and the Rhythm of the Feet (NPR All Things Considered)