On the strength of their just released demo and excellent live shows, the Corto Maltese have already been making waves around town. With the frenetic ruckus of the Arcade Fire and a touch of David Bowie, “Providence” is a spirited anthem that is fast becoming an early summer hit, even getting weekly rotation on 101.X’s “The Next Big Thing,” while “Man Alive” courses through high-wavering vocals that would fit nicely next to Peel’s energy and “Never a Waver” bursts with pounding rhythms and reckless shouts. You can the quartet live this Friday, June 8, at Emo’s inside stage opening for Nymph Echo, Mars Wars, and the Visitors.
Profile : The Corto Maltese
Year Formed:
2006
Members/Instruments played:
Ben Maddox- vocals, guitar
Tyler Thompson- guitar
Wes Turner- bass
Justin Roberts- drums
Former Bands/Side Projects:
Shitty Wolff
Aaron Neville: Warrior King
Albums:
Our demo just hit itunes this month, and you can listen at our myspace page. (www.myspace.com/thecortomaltese)
Influences:
West Texas, Pixies, Roy Orbison, David Bowie.
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
From an all-caps typed letter left in our mailbox by an annoyed neighbor:
“�YOU VIOLATE THE NOISE FORCE-FIELD� AND RUIN NUMEROUS SUNSETS�”
Favorite local bands:
Ghostland Observatory, Belaire, Golden Bear, Explosions in the Sky.
Upcoming shows scheduled:
Sat. June 8 with Visitors and June 21st with the Dark Romantics.
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
Andrew Bird: Armchair Apochrypha
Jarvis Cocker: Jarvis.
Feist: The Reminder.
Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury.
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
Station to Station period Bowie.
Austin Sound questions:
Is the band name an allusion to the graphic novel character Corto Maltese? If so, what are some of your favorite graphic novels or comics?
Tyler: No, not intentionally. In the original Tim Burton Batman film the Corto Maltese is shown on the cover of a magazine. The name caught Ben’s eye and I think it provided that mysterious allure that a good band name needs. But as the designated comic nerd, I’m currently enjoying Grant Morrison’s “Seven Soldiers” which is basically 70’s Jack Kirby superhero comics on acid. Koike and Kojima’s “Lone Wolf and Cub,” an epic revenge story about a samurai assassin and his three-year old son on their journey to hell.
Y’all also have a song appearing in the upcoming film “I’ll Come Running.” How did that come about and what can you tell us about the film?
Wes: I actually worked on “I’ll Come Running” for a couple days as a camera assistant. The film was half shot in Denmark, and half shot here in Austin. It’s about a Danish backpacker who hooks up with a waitress in Austin, only to have her show up on his doorstep in Denmark. It’s kind of a broken romance. Spencer (Parsons, the director) and I had talked about David Bowie and his contribution to Kashmir’s record. He eventually heard an early demo of ours and asked if he could try “Man Alive” out in the latest cut. I guess it fit.
Song Introduction:
Ben: We’ve chosen our song “Providence” because everybody seems to like this one.
Sound Off:
In lieu of writing a paragraph, we gave each group member 1 word to evoke his subjective impression of The Corto Maltese, so here are the results:
Wes- “Tender”
Justin- “Sweat”
Tyler- “Hogarth”
Ben- “Justice”
Mp3 from The Corto Maltese:
Providence
Websites:
Myspace
Good group and really nice music