Ben Gibbard is at a bit of crossroads right now, with a Chris Walla-less Death Cab for Cutie album coming next year and a Postal Service anniversary fling that appears to be finished.
The Washington musician is playing solo shows in his spare time, and he provided fans a cover of Alvvays' "Marry Me, Archie" at a charity gig in Seattle this past weekend.
Check out a clip from the performance below:
A video posted by Dusty Henry (@mrdustyhenry) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:27am PST
Gibbard recently discussed the future of Death Cab sans founding member and producer Chris Walla.
"Oh, there is undoubtedly a line in the sand here," he said. "The position we're in - it's a blessing and a curse - is that people feel very strongly about the period of this band in which they got into us. We're fighting against people who say 'Why can't you make a record like the one I heard when I was 20 years old?' And the answer is we can't. We can just move forward, and create a new period."
There are plenty of groups that have survived losing primary members - and a whole graveyard of acts that did not.
"I make no comparisons as far as cultural significance with this band, but I think about Wilco, and the changes they've gone through over the years, and how there have been moments in that band where people have left and you've thought 'How are they ever going to continue?'" Gibbard said. "I look at them and I think 'We've lost a very talented musician, but there are other very talented musicians with new perspectives and new ways of looking at creating music.' It's on us to make this a good period."
Gibbard is also still riding the Postal Service's 10-year anniversary train that began with reunion shows in 2013 and will officially continue until their concert film Everything Will Change drops on Nov. 24.
Check out a sample below:
