Cloud Nothings is the work of Dylan Baldi, a 19-year-old from Cleveland. Baldi burst onto the blogosphere in 2010 as an 18-year-old college dropout toting trashy two-minute pop-punk. His songs are short, sharp, buzzy, and scuzzy; recorded in ultra lo-fidelity in his parents' basement. His early jams were collected on the 2010 LP Turning On, and in 2011 Baldi issued his debut album proper, a self-titled Cloud Nothings record.
Interview: 13 December 2010
What were your beginnings in sound?
"I took piano lessons when I was a little kid, like four or five. But I think immediately started writing stupid little songs at that point. Every time I picked up an instrument I tried to write a song on it. I actually found a song I wrote out, how to play on piano, from when I was really, really little. It was called 'The Fireman Theme.' It was pretty much a C-major chord and the word 'Fireman' over and over again. If there's suddenly a demand for Fireman music, if I see that genre open up, I'll be in good shape."
It sounds like a logical conclusion to the year of witch-house.
"I'm not about to start the Fireman-music revolution, but I'll happily attempt to cash in on it."
So when did Fireman music become rock'n'roll?
"I had my first band in freshman year of high-school, and we just covered Green Day songs. We were called The Volts. After that, I played in another couple of bands, but I only decided to start my own because I was bored in my freshman year of college. That's where I am now."
How come you were bored?
"I was taking classes in audio recording, and was majoring in saxophone performance. It became apparent really quickly that the academic side of music wasn't for me. Audio recording was with a guy who was teaching you that the best record ever recorded was Steely Dan. That was literally the first thing this man said to me. I realized I was going to have a horrible time in that class. I thought that maybe someone who had gone to the lengths of becoming a professor in a subject would be really open-minded, consuming all kinds of music to learn as much as possible. But it seemed like he just listened to Bach."
What would your teacher think of Cloud Nothings?
"Oh, god. He wouldn't even be able to listen to it. He wouldn't like it. He didn't like me, either. So, no, I don't suspect he'd be a fan of Cloud Nothings."
So you're a drop-out?
"Yeah, I left college after the first semester. This is what I do. It happened really quickly. I put a few songs on the internet and a booking agent wanted to book me, and a record label wanted to sign me. I was like: 'alright!'"
What was it like experiencing that peculiar phenomenon of the internet era?
"It's been bizarre reading about yourself on the internet for something that isn't, like, the high-school honor roll. It's always been my dream to make music, and play with bands that I like, and now it's coming true. That's been so exciting to be able to do. To play my first show with Woods and Real Estate, whose record I've been listening to all year, was amazing. Stuff like that has happened constantly."
What's the strangest thing that's happened?
"Well, we toured with Fucked Up! We knew that we don't play music that sounds remotely similar to them, but we thought the audience would be people who read Pitchfork and hardcore kids. But, turns out, it was just the hardcore kids. And they didn't get into us. It was our first experience playing for audiences who could care less."
Have you felt, otherwise, largely embraced?
"Yeah, it's been pretty good. No backlash just yet. I haven't said anything outlandish in an interview I've lived to regret. Occasionally some people have written about me, and the fact that I dropped out of college, as if I'm a slacker, but that's no big deal."
You deny being a slacker?
"Yeah. Absolutely. I think I'm a pretty hard worker. Wow, this just feels like a job interview, now. Yes, I'm a hard worker."
Are you a prolific songwriter?
"Yeah! I would say so. I make stuff whenever I have time. That's all I've been doing. Luckily, it turns out that people want to hear what I've been making in my free time."
So all those singles weren't just drawn from a backlog?
"No, they've been released as they've been made."
What's it been like having your first songs made so public?
"It's been exciting. Usually, when a band starts out, the first thing they do isn't go on some month-long tour. Most bands have to slowly figure that stuff out for themselves. It's been weird to have all this handed to you; like, 'oh, this week I've got to drive to Baltimore, alone, meet up with a bunch of people I've never met, and record an album with them.'"
That was the genesis of the LP?
"Totally. Carpark knew Chester [Gwazda], and they suggested I work with him. So, I got in the car, drove to Baltimore, met Chester, stayed at his house for a week-and-a-half, and that was that."
Were you worried about staying at someone's house who you'd never met?
"Well, everything I've ever done has had the chance that it could go horribly wrong and be totally awkward, but everything's worked out thus far."
What ideas did you have for your debut album?
"I was listening to a lot of Hüsker Dü and late-'80s punk stuff like The Germs, The Addicts, and The Adolescents. I kinda wanted that whole vibe. Where it's definitely more produced than anything I did myself on Turning On, but it'll certainly never be mistaken for a super-clean Top 40 record. Our live show makes the songs from Turning On sound more punk, more energetic, so that was the vibe I wanted on the record."
What d'you see your record as being 'about,' as such?
"I don't want to make the most thought-provoking, depth-fueled music. I like playing music to have fun, and I think it's a fun record to listen to, and hopefully other people think it's a fun record to listen to."
What do mom and dad think?
"They like it. Partly because they're my parents, and they’ve been really supportive. But, my dad's into kind of pop-punk stuff, so I think he might actually like it. But I know that he's not too into it. He just told me what his Top 10 records for 2010 were. Deerhunter was #1, Cloud Nothings were not on the list."
Better luck next year.
"Yeah, maybe in 2011, we'll crack the dad list."
