News Parquet Courts: ‘I Feel Like I’m A Slacker’

The footage used in Parquet Courts’ ‘Borrowed Time’ video isn’t groundbreaking. It shows a band playing a show, exchanging cash for vinyl and chatting to fans. So why does it make you feel so great? Our guess is because it’s become rare to speak to a rock band, to know little beyond the fact that they play music and you enjoy listening to it.

It’s what makes Parquet Courts stand out. They’re a band playing shows and practicing every night in between day-jobs. It used to be tradition but it’s become unusual. “We don’t have the onslaught of internet presence that’s really prevalent in a lot of music,” agrees Austin Brown, the band’s guitarist. “I think that’s refreshing.”



Many a career can come and go in the space of a few months. One head-turning mp3, one veiled, semi-cryptic promo shot and there you have it: the wheels are in motion. Parquet Courts aren’t like that; they existed as a group two years before debut ‘Light Up Gold’ gained self-release on frontman Andrew Savage’s own label.

“There are thousands of new bands that are fighting for your attention. And they all go through the same process; it’s kind of a joke at this point. It’s not really what being a band is about,” states Austin. “With Parquet Courts, we’d been doing shows around Brooklyn, playing for almost no-one. We can see from point A to point B how we got to where we are now.”

“Where we are now” means touring the world, and being mentioned in some circles as the saviours of what’s been lost in music. The frustrated punk sound that so defines the group’s album is something that everyone reaching the end of their teens can relate to; this process of reaching adulthood and learning the ropes.

The band don’t work full-time to fund their recordings anymore. That’s a bonus. Nowadays they deal with interviews, sleep deprivation and being called a bunch of “slackers”. “I’m almost like ‘how did you know?’ because I feel like I am a slacker, but it’s got nothing to do with the music at all,” jokes Brown.

The misconceptions are merely petty distractions; Parquet Courts aren’t slackers. They’re just a group of no-bullshit guys with one hell of a record. You see: music fans the world over were looking for something. Something they couldn’t describe or put into words. Parquet Courts are the missing piece.

Read the full interview in the 1st April edition of DIY Weekly, available from Apple Newsstand.

Taken from the April 2013 issue of DIY, available now. For more details click here.