Silver Spring natives The Walking Sticks are one of D.C.’s fastest growing local acts. After collaborating for many years, brothers Max and Spencer Ernst were joined by vocalist and longtime friend Chelsea Lee following her departure from Atlantic Records. The band’s music combines mellow soundscapes that complement Lee’s striking voice with a clear respect for vintage synth-pop, and the results are unlike anything else on the D.C. scene.
The dream-pop trio has grown steadily from artist showcases at the Howard Theatre to opening for the likes of Kitten at Rock & Roll Hotel and M.H. and His Orchestra at Jammin’ Java. The Walking Sticks’ ‘80s influenced brand of breezy dream-pop is well worth a listen for fans Chvrches, London Grammar or Local Natives. In preparation for its Aug. 30 show at 9:30 Club, Max (with Spencer and Chelsea chiming in) took some time to talk with The Eagle about the band, new material and the best Belgian food on H Street.
The Eagle: How did you and Spencer meet Chelsea?
Max Ernst: We met at the 9:30 club, like, seven years ago. Spencer and I were playing in a different band. We played an acoustic set there, and Chelsea was at the show with a producer she had worked with and we had worked with. She was a solo artist for a long time. She was on Atlantic Records for a while, and when she got out of that deal, and we got out of our deal, we got together and formed this band.
E: Are you guys signed right now?
ME: No, we’re not on any labels right now. We’re just doing everything independently and trying to build things up that way.
E: That must be a huge change for you guys then, yeah?
ME: It’s definitely different now. We have full creative control, and we’re just doing everything on our own. It’s been really fun to record everything in our own studio and do everything in-house up to this point.
E: You guys performed a few weeks ago at Rock & Roll Hotel. How has the rest of the summer been?
ME: It’s been great, actually. We planned a show at DC9 on Sept. 27. We’ve been recording new material, which has been great. We have five songs done now, so we’ll put those out as an EP we’re calling “Pop Dreams.”
E: What was the recording process like?
ME: We did everything in our own studio, which was nice. For mixing and mastering, we worked with this producer named Greg Lukens, who we met through mutual friends. He’s been hugely helpful in this project, and he’s a great guy.
E: So you’re playing 9:30 club this weekend, and you mentioned DC9 is coming up. What’s your favorite D.C. venue you’ve played?
ME: We can’t really pick a favorite one, but I mean we’ve had fun at Rock & Roll Hotel, Black Cat… all those are great. But definitely the [upcoming] 9:30 club show is the biggest one we’ve played in a while, so we’re super excited to play on that stage.
E: Anywhere you haven’t played but want to?
ME: We’d love to get out and play a big festival – just play for a ton of kids at once. We’re actually playing a cool little festival out near Blacksburg, Virginia called Pink Moon. It’s a five-day festival, there’s like 50 bands and we’re playing a 2 a.m. set. Chelsea says that’s past her bedtime [laughs] but in festival time that’s, like, prime time. So we’re really pumped for that.
E: If you could tour with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
ME: Damn, that’s a tough one. Chelsea’s saying Radiohead, which is good, but then again we could bring someone back from the dead. Maybe John Lennon, to tour with The Beatles? Those are two pretty cliché answers. Actually, we’ll settle on this band called Jungle. They’re from the U.K. and we’ve been listening to [its] stuff a lot lately. [It’s] great.
E: What was the last concert any of you went to just as an audience member?
ME: It was Chad VanGaalen at the Rock & Roll Hotel. He’s this artist that does all of his own music videos and does some animation for Adult Swim. We actually got to hang out with him before the show, which is cool because we’ve been following him for a few years now. Oh, and we also recently saw London Grammar. We wanted to check [it] out because [it has] a similar setup to us, you know stealing our thunder [laughs], but it was fun. It was a great show.
E: How about favorite D.C. food?
ME: Oh that’s tough. We’re vegetarian, so we’re always trying to find new places that fit with that. There’s this tiny Belgian place on H Street called Granville Moore’s. It seems like a hole in the wall but it’s actually really nice, and the food is awesome!
The Walking Sticks will perform at 9:30 Club on Aug. 30. Stream their EP “Send the Night” via Soundcloud.
