Interpol singer Paul Banks describes ex-bassist Carlos D as a “genius” and an “a-hole”.
Sitting down for a chat with Undercover, Banks spoke about how the departure of founding bassist Carlos D last year, before the release of their self-titled fourth album (on which Carlos did appear).
“It’s a funny thing. Being in a band is somewhere between a marriage with multiple partners and a brotherhood, a fraternity,” Banks muses. “When it’s like a fraternity, there isn’t anything someone could do that would break up the brothers. You could come to blows and you’re still brothers. A marriage, there is a line where you think, ‘Ah, we gotta split up, this is not working’.”
Banks reiterated that the band still has an enormous amount of respect for Carlos but he admits he didn’t necessarily relish the creative tension.
“I’m the kind of person where, if I think someone is a genius, I’ll put up with tonnes of crap from them,” Banks says, “Not because I believe they’re better or they deserve more but because life is sorta boring and if you’re in the presence of someone who you think is genius then you think, ‘I’d rather deal with them being an a-hole than not’. It’s a more rare treat, a more rare treasure, their ability.”
“So,” he sums up, “Carlos is that.”
Banks also chatted about the significance (or not) of an eponymous album, whether they will enlist touring bassist David Pajo, and their recent sonic shift.
Check out the whole interview below.
