Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen) with Rostam (Vampire Weekend)

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two guys who stepped away from their bigger bands and made an incredible record together 10 years ago. The occasion for this conversation isn’t just that album’s anniversary, but also the announcement of the duo’s first real tour behind it later this year. It’s Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam.

In 2016, when I Had A Dream That You Were Mine was released, Leithauser had already released one post-Walkmen solo album, and Rostam had just left Vampire Weekend. But the pair had known each other for quite a while before that: The Walkmen brought Vampire Weekend out as openers on one of their first tours, which you’ll hear about in this chat, back in 2008. Rostam, a guy well into production and songwriting in his own band, had even contributed to Leithauser’s first solo album, Black Hours.

So it seemed natural for the two to link up for a whole album, and between 2014 and 2016 they wrote and recorded I Had A Dream That You Were Mine, sometimes linking up in their shared hometown of Washington DC—parts of the record, as you’ll hear, we recorded in Rostam’s childhood home. Freed at least partially from the expectations associated with their other bands, the duo crafted a gorgeous pastiche that ended up sounding timeless: Sometimes it’s got early rock and roll vibes, sometimes it’s the Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen energy Leithauser often hinted at, writ larger. It’s fantastic.

But because these guys had busy separate lives, they never really toured these songs together. That will change this November, with a band featuring, as you’ll hear in this chat, Rostam’s young guys. It’s a brief tour hitting mostly bigger U.S. cities, and I imagine it’ll be one of your only chances to see these songs performed live. You can find dates below, but in the meantime, check out the big single from I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. This is “A 1000 Times.”

In this delightful chat, Hamilton and Rostam talk about the few shows they played together—including an embarrassing flub that Rostam had forgotten. They also go through the writing process for most of the songs, which is fascinating, but not before a brief conversation about playing tennis. Enjoy.

Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam for chatting.

Tour Dates:

5 Washington DC - 9:30 Club

6 Philadelphia PA - World Cafe Live - Music Hall

7 Woodstock NY - Bearsville Theater

9 Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

10 Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

11 Somerville MA - Somerville Theatre

13 Toronto ON - The Concert Hall

14 Detroit MI - Saint Andrew’s Hall

15 Chicago IL - Thalia Hall

18 San Francisco CA - Castro Theatre

19 Los Angeles CA - Pacific Electric

If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

02:44 Start of conversation

3:03 On hotels, visiting each other, and memories of recording

04:13 On writing “The Morning Stars”, and songs that didn’t make the record

6:00 On when they became friends, “the worst studio mates of all time,” and smoking

8:37 On the first Vampire Weekend tours, opening for The Walkmen, and Pepperjack

11:19 On The Walkmen running out of gas on tour, dependable tour vans, and driving in Europe

13:33 Their tour announcement, recent shows, and Rostam’s embarrassing moment

15:48 On their Williamsburg Music Hall shows being released on streaming, and “In a Black Out”

17:19 On the BBC and Brits, upcoming European dates, and Hamilton’s plans for September and October

19:37 On playing tennis and restringing rackets

21:04 Reflecting on all of their collaborative songs in order, their processes and recording sessions, and their favorite instruments

28:47 On the journey of “The Morning Stars, the Bruce Springsteen song they wanted it to sound like, “Peaceful Morning,” and looking forward to the tour

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