The fact that L.A. folksters Lavender Diamond were able to land a national tour alongside Music Marathon headliners the Decemberists, without ever releasing a full-length record, is an indication of how obvious this band's talent is. The ultra-magnetic Becky Stark and her suited backing trio of veteran musicians self-released the stunning Cavalry Of Light EP last October. Despite the critical acclaim that the band received, they played only scattered dates for nearly a year before embarking on their recent tour with Colin Meloy and the gang, which has brought both groups here to the CMJ Music Marathon. After spending half of Wednesday night sitting through some unbearably obnoxious noise bands, last night's Lavender Diamond set lifted my spirits and soothed my aching ears. The unreleased songs that the band showcased maintain the same halcyon pop sounds as their initial work, but frequently crossed into anthem territory. Becky Stark's incomparably utopian lyrics somehow felt equally tranquilizing and empowering. Her dreamily optimistic between-song banter reached an apex when she declared, "This is the best planet!" After their set, we had a chance to sit down with Stark and talk to her about her visit to New York and the group's upcoming record. CMJ: You've played a few different festivals now, how does CMJ compare to SXSW or Arthurfest? Stark: Oh, well I think CMJ is great, because it's in New York City! I love New York City and I love Brooklyn, and I'm just so happy to be here, so CMJ is... is... I think it's a wonderful festival. CMJ: Are you looking forward to seeing any of the other bands while you're here? Do you have time to check anything else out? Stark: Oh. Well we've got a little time, but, it's funny these days how time always seems to be a very precious commodity. That's why I like to walk really slowly and waste time willfully—because it makes me feel rich! Today, we woke up in—cuz we've been on tour—in Philadelphia, and I got a little bit sick 'cuz I get asthma. So I had an asthma attack and strangely enough, the cure for asthma is moving really slowly! Like a 90-year-old woman. So I had to explain to everyone, "Moving really fast is making me sick." So I have to just pretend I'm 95. (laughs) And everyone walked across from the van to the restaurant really fast. I just walked super slow like I was 95... But I think moving slowly is really fun. But oh, your question was.. any other bands? Well tonight we're playing here with Earlimart and Death Vessel and the Vague Angels—all bands that I'm very excited to see so, I guess that those are really gonna be the only bands that I have the time to see. But I just want to say that I'm so excited about all the bands. And the proliferation of music, and I think that a music festival is so fun. I can't really think of anything more fun than a music festival. CMJ: So while you're in New York you probably won't do much else besides play these shows? Stark: Yeah, well cuz I have to walk really slowly (laughs)... so that I can take deep breaths. We're playing a show tomorrow afternoon, and then we're playing tomorrow night at Joe's Pub and, uh, I think I won't have time, sadly, to see other shows. But I know that there's a lot of great music at the CMJ festival, and everyone seems to be having a wonderful time! I'm really happy about that. CMJ: I want to talk about the record, are you gonna put out a full-length? Stark: Yeah, we're gonna put out a full-length record in the spring. And we're almost finished. (laughs) Speaking of time, we're taking our sweet time!(laughs) You know, I believe that sometimes it's good to go slowly like that myth of the tortoise and the hare, you know about that one? CMJ: Yeah, I've heard of it. Stark: Cuz sometimes, the faster you go, the more you mess up, or you don't—you know, you miss something if you're not moving slowly enough. Actually, moving slowly can be a very awesome, sort of psychedelic experience, like in lieu of taking drugs, just walk really slowly, or move slowly, or think slowly, or something like that. But we're gonna have this record out, I think it's coming out in the spring, we're almost finished. It's gonna get all, you know, "mixed" that's one of the process you know about, when they... Mixing is a very mysterious process where they... there's different sounds, and they put them all into one "sound wave," so that it can go across the radio. It's just a technological, but it's an artistic, yet technological process. So we have to (laughs)... It sounds hilarious. It has to be "mixed." CMJ:Do you have a label that you're gonna release it on yet? Stark: Oh, oh, well we're gonna release it on Rough Trade in Europe and parts of the world, and then we have another label but we're in... I'm not sure I'm allowed to say, but I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood that it'll all work out with the other. We'd like to make this record as best as it can be, and share it with as many people as we can. We feel very, extremely fortunate to be able to play together and share our music with the audiences that we have. Our recording has just been a beautiful, beautiful experience, and we're very, very thrilled and feel very thankful. http://www.lavenderdiamond.com
