Community Building in the Washington, DC area!!

SFP Editor: When did you join Land of Malls? Where did the name come from? David Walls-Kaufman: LOM began in 1995. I was a founding member. The name of the band came from a short story I wrote in a passage sketching a description of America. I liked the sound of it so much that I wrote a song of that name and theme in 1996.

SFP Editor: Describe your experience writing songs for the band? What is the process?

David Walls-Kaufman: I write songs because they crowd into my head in good enough order that they seem destined and deserving to have lives of their own, and I dare not stand blocking the doorway of the process! I started writing a couple songs that seemed of passable quality back in high school. I went to song writing forums to see what others were doing - and heard what I thought was good and bad. For the most part, the process is turning some attention toward that upper right back corner of the brain that seems to light up when the song process is going. Sometimes I keep it turned off because there's enough on the band's plate and, since I can't write music, I've got to keep it all remembered. and that's VERY risky. I've forgotten some really good stuff of mine. so, I tickle that area, let things know that I'm open to something happening, I pick up the guitar, I start playing and humming along. usually, a good hook or a good theme pops out, and I just start pursuing it. honestly, I think the most important aspect of the songwriting process is keeping my internal critic on big bad red alert so that it can stop me from jotting down lyrics that are sophomoric, trite, over-visited, clumsy, or of the caliber you read on a Hallmark card.

SFP Editor: How did it feel to receive your first ASCAP royalty check? How did this come about?

David Walls-Kaufman: It truly was one of the most joyous, affirming experiences of my life. to think that my songs are being listened to, even in such a tiny way, by people that do not know me, that will probably never meet or know me, is more affirming of one's production of songs than anything. It happened from people in radio in japan and england spotting LOM's cd "Suburban and Gomorrah" on CD baby.

SFP Editor: I hear your music is very popular in Japan. How did a local band get such international exposure?

David Walls-Kaufman: The internet, and the curiosity of the browsing international public, combine to create a uniquely powerful tool! Hopefully, the little bit of exposure we have will only continue to grow. But music is competitive.

SFP Editor: Describe your songwriting philosophy. Is it a gift, a skill or both?

David Walls-Kaufman: My songwriting philosophy is fastened closely to artistic quality. when I set about pursuing the conclusion of that song, first, last and foremost my job is to keep that song from being trite, flat, uninspired, uninteresting, amatuerish, unclever. I want to be proud of it. I want to be confident enough of its all-around quality, ie. melody, lyric, theme, arrangement, that i know the majority of people are going to hear and approve of its quality and say, "that guy did not cheat me of the time i took to hear his song".

Also, my song-writing, artistic philosophy is totally hooked into my overall philosophy, which was sparked by a college Sociology class, in which I learned that researchers had discovered that overpopulation pressure in animal experiments always led to that society of animals abusing one another. I made the leap to suspect that human beings are the same way under overpopulation stress, i.e. they identified less with one another and progressively see sufficient divisions between one another to rationalize cheating, harming, injury, abuse, stealing, killing, oppression. I think this link between overpopulation and social decay is one of the most important lessons for a world as crowded as ours to learn.

SFP Editor: Were you always a songwriter? Or is this a passion which began after childhood?

David Walls-Kaufman: It began after college. my first artistic love was painting and illustrating. i always thought I would be an illustrator. Then, I began to love reading and writing. From the moment I started chasing song ideas, I felt confident in my ability to discern what was a quality piece of songsmithing and what was not yet ready for public audience.

SFP Editor: When you are not playing in Land of Malls, what are you doing?

David Walls-Kaufman: When I was young, I was just lucky to have learned of this really accomplished t'ai chi master. touching his body, and feeling the power of his internal ch'i energy, upended my entire perspective on the human potential and what it meant to be enlightened. Ever since, I've been a diligent t'ai chi student trying to get at the nugget of what that art is all about. I've also continued writing and am trying to get four novels published. the rebel-conformist in me chose to become a chiropractor after I saw how significantly the architecture of the spine seems to affect our nervous system and therefore our overall health. If I ever get a book deal, I'd like to illustrate my stories. I also have a secret affection for old-style music and I sing in a Frank Sinatra-style band in order to get out those ya-yas.

SFP Editor: When did you come to the DC area and why?

David Walls-Kaufman: I was dragged here by my parents at an age way too young for me to break away from the steely grip they had on my wrist so that I could stay in Austin, Texas, the beloved city of my birth. I am convinced that, had I stayed in Austin, I never would have thought of any other career other than music and entertaining. However, by coming up to DC, that is the only way I ever would have met the really accomplished t'ai chi guy, whose name is Ben Lo, who set my world on its ear, and for which I am eternally grateful. It led to a series of big and small realizations that I would trade for nothing else.

SFP Editor: What do you think of the DC music scene?

David Walls-Kaufman: I wish it was not so locked up in roots rock and rockabilly. Now, I really like that stuff, and I'm for musicians pushing ahead however they get the job done. But I wish we had a tad more variety in our local scene. I wonder if there isn't something in the water that makes our scene a little less happening than in NYC, Boston, Philly, LA, and many other places.

SFP Editor: If you could play anywhere in the world - which venue would you choose and why?

David Walls-Kaufman: Hah! I really like this question. I think I would settle for LOM playing for a loud, enthusiastic stadium full of people anywhere in the world. I'll never forget how thrilled I was the first time an audience member broke out singing along with me the lyrics of a song I wrote. I guess the next step up from that is seeing a whole crowd of folks singing along. as for location, I guess I would have to pick a stadium in southern Europe, Spain, Italy, France, Greece just because such good food and people would be so close at hand. but this is a question whose answer will haunt me for a while, I can tell.