A Conversation with Cymbals Eat Guitars' Joseph D'Agostino

Let’s get one thing out of the way first — yes, New York buzz band Cymbals Eat Guitars does sound a lot like classic indie heavyweights Pavement, Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. But here’s the kicker: when those bands were releasing their best work, Cymbals front man Joseph D’Agostino was still in elementary school. Fast-forward a decade and the now 20-year-old has released one of the year’s most hyped debut albums. Why There Are Mountains is a beautiful mess of scrappy punk, epic guitar jams and sing-alongs that’ll make you feel 1995 all over again.

Your song “Indiana” hints that you’ve been driving through the state. But have you ever spent much time here?

Joe D’Agostino: My girlfriend of 2 and a half years — we recently broke up — went to school at Notre Dame. I went to school in NY. I was out there a few times to visit her for clips of four or five days — as many days as I could cut class.

The band is often compared to classic indie bands of the 90s. Is that a great complement or tired reference?

It’s the best thing in the world to be compared to Built to Spill or Modest Mouse or any of these bands. I don’t want to sound like a complete jackass; I’m serious about this. I listened to (Modest Mouse song “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”) one day, got all the way through and just said “Oh….Oh, my.”

When you write, do you hear the whole thing or do you start with a simple piece of the song?

Writing music and writing lyrics are independent processes for me. Sometimes I mix and match — I don’t know which song will go with which lyrics. But I’m no Brian Wilson — some genius who can hear it all in my head then go ahead and produce it.

Neil (Berenholz, bassist) is 12 years older than you. How has the broad range of life experiences shaped the band?

Neil brings a different generation of music to the table. His CD book is always available, and its filled with 80s college rock. He’s called himself a ‘Band Dad.’ At first I thought that was embarrassing, but it’s true.

Has that gap led to any awkwardness, being underage with a bunch of older guys?

In places where they’re lenient, it’s not a problem. Most of the time I walk around clubs with big, black X’s on my hand.

For the Indiana area - the band'll be here Thursday. Check em out here:


Thursday, 8 p.m.

Vollrath Tavern, 118 E. Palmer St.

317-632-5199