Audio Muffin’s Inside The Bakery series continues with an electrifying band from my adopted hometown, NY to the C.  The Postelles are gearing up to drop some doo-wop laced indie rock on the masses with the March 2nd release of their EP, White Night, which features production from The Strokes axeman Albert Hammond Jr., and an iTunes-only remix courtesy of Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor.  You can head on over to their Myspace to catch a sampling of their tunes (and I suggest you do – ’123 Stop’ is a jaaaam), but for now settle in and hear what lead singer Daniel Balk had to say when he stopped by the bakery for a nice little chat.

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Audio Muffin: How did the band form?

Daniel Balk: We all met in high school  The band started with just me and David.  I walked into our school’s music room one day to find John playing The Beatles on cello so I asked him if he’d like to join.  Billy was in another band, but we were able to snatch him up as well.

AM: Where does the name The Postelles come from?

DB: It is really just influenced by the old Motown bands like The Shirelles and some of the Phil Spector groups.  We thought ‘Post’ would obviously mean after that time period, but it’s a nice little gesture to that era.

AM: I love the sound of the band – infectious contemporary jams with a sprinkling of old school Back To The Future charm – how would you describe the sound?

DB: You described it just fine! To us it’s just rock ‘n roll.  We love the idea of the perfect pop song, much like the Motown groups so finely crafted time and time again.  We really believe in plugging and playing, and we try our best to stay authentic to that idea.

AM: Tell the readers a little about your influences – musical and non-musical – that inspire you to do what you do?

DB: I think as a band we all have similar influences.  We love the late 70′s punk scene like The Ramones and The Clash.  I think they had the same “we don’t care” attitude that Elvis and Buddy Holly did in the 50′s, which is appealing to us.  Of course we are influenced by the Motown era, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, but also our music is influenced by other forms of art.  We all read frequently, drifting between Hemingway and Salinger among others.  We also each watch at least one Woody Allen film a week, just to keep a New York state of mind.

AM: Speaking of which, it looks like we’re all NYC boys here – what are some of the benefits and drawbacks to trying to make it as a band in NYC?

DB: The immediate benefit is that there is a huge music scene with so much opportunity, and the immediate drawback is that there is a huge music scene and so many bands to compete with! There are so many venues to play and so many music fans, but it is tough getting noticed in such a big city.

AM: If you had to pick a neighborhood in NYC that best represented your songs, what would it be and why?

DB: We all grew up uptown, but we definitely spent most of our nights downtown.  I would say our music is influenced by the downtown nightlife with a pinch of uptown flavor.

AM: Craziest New York moment?

DB: I’m not sure I can share one single moment with you, but I do remember us religiously visiting a Japanese restaurant on St. Marks practically every weekend when we were younger.  We would do sake bombs, which consists of dropping a glass of sake into a much larger glass of beer.  Afterward we would have sing-a-longs on the street – I remember us singing “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand over and over again.  We’d sing until we lost our voices or our minds, whichever went first.  Whenever that song comes on the radio we always have a nice band moment and remember those days.

AM: I see that you’re playing both SXSW and Bonnaroo this year – what’s in your festival survival kit?

DB: For Bonnaroo and SXSW you need water and sunscreen.  It gets hot, hot, hot at both of those festivals.  Especially when you drink in the heat, you need lots of water.  Bonnaroo can get very muddy, so bring boots.  SXSW is in a city, so just bring your patience.

AM: What else do The Postelles have on tap for 2010?

DB: We are excited to release a three song EP on March 2nd, and then embark on a long U.S. tour in March/April.  After that we will have more touring – we want to visit as many places as possible.

AM: And the most important question of all – what’s your favorite kind of muffin (besides the Audio kind of course)?

DB: Personally, I have a sweet tooth so I’d have to go with chocolate chip.  I get along with blueberry as well.

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And there you have it folks. The EP should be out on iTunes and Amazon come Tuesday, and an album will be dropping sometime in the early summer.  I’ll be back with a full report once I’ve soaked in some more soundwaves – but until then I’ll leave you with one song that sums up the flavor of the interview…

Nas – N.Y. State Of Mind

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