Flaming Lips and Death Cab for Cutie Spontaneously Plan Joint EP

The backstage area at a large-scale rock festival is often ground zero for new musical relationships. Such was the case recently at Montreal's Osheaga music and arts festival when, during an intense moment at the end of Spinner's interview with Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne jumped into the convo and propositioned the Seattle indie rockers while our tapes rolled.

Not only did Coyne pitch Death Cab on a collaborative EP with the Flaming Lips, he also revealed he's working on material with psychedelic rockers Black Moth Super Rainbow and Nick Cave (whose band opened for the Flaming Lips at this year's Primavera Sound festival).

The following is a direct transcript of the events as they happened while Spinner and Death Cab for Cutie's members were sitting around a picnic table backstage at Osheaga discussing Gibbard's sobriety.

Spinner: You didn't have a "rock bottom" moment?

Ben Gibbard: I didn't have a "rock bottom" moment, I just...

[Wayne Coyne sits down]

Coyne: I was given permission by the Warner [Music] guy that I could jump in.
[To Spinner] I have to talk to them about making some music.

I don't know if you're aware, but we're doing these collaborations with a lot of different groups. We've done Neon Indian, do you know them?

Gibbard and Harmer: Yeah.

Coyne: Also Prefuse 73, he's cool. I've got some Nick Cave tracks starting, I've got some Black Moth Super Rainbow; the one that's just come out this week is Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt.

Gibbard: Oh, killer.

Coyne: So we should find a way to do a Flaming Lips/Death Cab three or four song EP.

Gibbard: Let's do it!

Coyne: OK, now how do we do it? Do you have any extra junk laying around that you could send to me and I could add stuff to? Even if it's a song you already have out or a different version of it. Don't make it a big deal. If you have something that you could send us...

Gibbard: I know we have a couple things we were working on when we made this record. But I don't know what state they're in.

Nick Harmer: We could ask Chris [Walla, Death Cab guitarist and producer]. I know there are two songs that were unfinished for the album that are still great. I wouldn't even say they're unfinished.

Gibbard: We do have 'Aimless Intellectual.'

Coyne: I look at it more like, 'The Flaming Lips featuring...' so it doesn't feel like another group. But I don't really care, I just thought if I asked, you'd say maybe you had some instrumental thing.

Gibbard: You know what, we could even use that 'American Waltz' thing.

Harmer: That would be great -- we've got stuff around.

Gibbard: You know what, lets pow-wow on it. I think I have a [phone] number for you.

Coyne: Let me get my phone, it's charging on the bus.

Gibbard [to Spinner]: OK, well, you got the scoop.

Though details and dates for the collaborative EP are still unconfirmed, this will not be the first time Gibbard has worked with the Flaming Lips (which is probably why he has Coyne's number in his phone). In 2003, Gibbard's electronic side-project the Postal Service released a version of the Lips' 'Suddenly Everything Has Changed' as well as remixing "Do You Realize??" for the band's 'Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell' EP.

Watch Flaming Lips Perform 'Do You Realize??' Live

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