Aaron Kamin is incapable of chilling out. You would be too if you were the
guitarist/co-songwriter for a band whose first single just went Top 10 and was the new darling of radio and TRL. His group, The Calling, is in that very quagmire, if , you could call it that. Their ubiquitous hit, "Wherever You Will Go," is, well ubiquitous, and their debut album, Camino Palmero, has broken into Billboard's Top 40. Virginmega.com caught up with Kamin last month in Los Angeles between gearing up for the road and recording songs for the new Showtime original series Jeremiah to grab his thoughts on "overnight" success and the road leading to it. Last I checked, the album is at #43 on Billboard and the single is #7 on the Singles Chart. Not bad for a band from the Valley. Kamin: (laughing) Yeah, yeah. Not bad. ?Does that seem weird? Do you ever get used to that kind of stuff Kamin: I don't. I think its super bizarre. I don't know. It's so weird. It's been so long for Alex [Band - vocalist] and I. We got signed in 1997. ?Yeah, it was just you two when you got signed to the RCA development deal, right Kamin: Yeah, the development deal was only a week long. Then it was the full- blown record deal. The old "record a record and be successful and famous in six months" thing. It turned into five years. ?Well, hey, come on. What do they want from you Kamin: (laughs) What do I want from them! Someone better ask that. No, I don't get used to it whatsoever. I'm getting used to hearing the song everywhere. I hate to say it, but it'll probably be six months to a year from now when I'll really sit back and say "Whoa. That was crazy." I read in your bio that the first band you and Alex were in, Generation Gap, had a 50- year old drummer. Kamin: Late fifties... I was at school at UCLA and Alex was in high school when we started to put something together. And, I was an academic nerd, so I didn't have too many friends at college and most of my high school friends were either away at other schools or burnouts running around here. The burnouts didn't really work [in the band]. And, so, [Alex and I] resorted to the Recycler and came upon some...elder statesman. ?How long did they last Kamin: Not too long. Actually, we were together for five months, maybe six at the most when Alex and I got signed. And we started heading down...the younger path. Fifty-year-olds don't sell too many magazines. Kamin: That was what we were told. We thought it was pretty funny. ?So have you guys had the rock star moment yet? How's fame creeping up on you Kamin: I think it hasn't crept up on me too much, except when we're at something for the band. I think LA is so star-laden, you know? Maybe Alex has dealt with it a couple times around here. But, the only people that have recognized me around here were like, "Oh, hey, you're in that band." And I'm like, "Yep. I'm in that band." And they're like "Cool." And I'm like "Cool. Goodbye." At the shows, it's pretty crazy. It's starting to get really hilarious too. It's so funny. You see these kids you remember from North Carolina...at Conan O'Brien in New York. And you're like "What are you doing here?" And they're like "We love you!" I guess I've never had anything like that, so I don't really get it yet. ?How much of that do you think is part of the TRL exposure Kamin: I don't know. Actually, the die-hard fans have been the ones that I've recognized from way before "Wherever You Will Go" came out last June at the rock stations. ?You guys played that song in Coyote Ugly right Kamin: Yeah, Alex and I were there with some incarnation of the band. We're like, playing the bar band playing the demo of "Wherever You Will Go." It was our first sort of big break. After a year and a half you stop thinking of your record deal as your big break. ?What part were you in Kamin: It's like in the first fifteen minutes. The chick shows up at some bar in New York. And she's trying to get her bearings. And we're in the background playing the song. Pretty funny. Going back to the TRL thing. I've seen you guys on there and the video's been on a couple times. Since you're a rock act, how do you feel about sharing a platform that's more associated with the NSYNCs and Backstreet Boys of the world? Do you guys ?mind it or do you enjoy the exposure Kamin: I think it's all weird - the whole state of radio and MTV. Even the Linkin Parks of the world - it's like the biggest selling record of last year, the rock smash. But now you turn on KISS-FM and all the pop stations and it's almost so rock that it's pop. So, I don't think badly of it. I think it's really goofy that the NSYNCs of the world are that popular. That's the bizarre part. But, we're standing with the basic premise of what MTV was built on, you know, which were little rock and roll bands. And I guess at the end of the day, whatever's gonna reach out to more people up to the point of losing credibility is all cool. I'm not interested in crossing that line. ?You guys don't think you're getting overexposed a little bit? Are you afraid of that Kamin: I'm afraid of it, but at the same time, not only is there nothing I can do about it, but if you don't get that, then it's a different road. And it's, I think, a shittier road. Personally I'd rather work with that than work with "Wow. Nobody cares and nobody can see us and we're never gonna get anywhere unless we tour from here to New York every day of the year for the next three years." ,So, your label, RCA, has hit the jackpot this year. You guys are all over the charts ?and then there's The Strokes. You guys ever gonna tour together .Kamin: Those guys are weird, man. I don't think they'd talk to us ?You ever met 'em .Kamin: We almost did. We shared a dressing room. But, the vibe was very different They were really into doing their old-time, rock star thing - drinking whiskey and bringing in chicks. And they were like, "Who are these fools?" It's funny. Even the .RCA executives are like, "Wow. I dunno if I should say hi or anything." I don't get it ,If you love The Velvet Underground, listen to them. But if you listen to The Strokes .listen to the Velvet Underground ?What are your influences Kamin: I listened to a lot of old R&B, like Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions, and The .Foundations. I like all that stuff a lot, but I dunno how much of it comes across ...If you wanted to interview one rock star .Kamin: Peter Gabriel ?And tour with .Kamin: Peter Gabriel. Or Pearl Jam. That would be the shit Quentin Tarantino once said the world could be divided between two people: Elvis .people and Beatles people. So pick your lot Kamin: I don't know. I tell you I like John Lennon better than The Beatles. Paul .McCartney is kind of goofy. I mean, he's the shit, but I connect with Lennon .[McCartney] took himself way too seriously. Paul McCartney was kind of a pop guy .John Lennon had more heart and soul .The Calling are on tour with Laura Dawn through March February 25, 2002 |