LANY Is Coming to a City near You
"It's not that hard, maybe the pan heat," Paul Klein tells me after I ask whether the rumors of whether he makes the best turkey bacon are true. "You want to get the pan nice and hot so there's a nice sizzle on the turkey bacon. I think I make it pretty crispy. I don't know, I just make it with a lot of love."
But Klein doesn't just make breakfast sides with love, he inserts a lot of it into his music, too. Case in point, L.A.-based band LANY's sophomore LP Malibu Nights—the culmination of nearly five years of hard work within the music industry. He wrote the album in exactly 45 days, just a year and a half after releasing their self-titled debut, as a way to express all the trials and tribulations that come with processing a breakup. It marked a notable shift in the band's sound and look, one that has no doubt added to their indisputable longevity and allure. Not to mention their epic relationship with fans.
As if die-hard LANY fans didn't already have reason to celebrate with all these releases—among scattered show dates and other appearances—the band has announced a massive world tour set to take place next year in 2019. We spoke with Klein about the upcoming show, in addition to a bevy of other topics that will leave you lingering on his every word (and song).
JENS INGVARSSON
ABRAHAM MARTINEZ: Tell me about the first song you ever wrote.
PAUL KLEIN: I was 15. It was to ask a girl to prom with a promposal. I snuck into her garage in the morning and wrote on her car with glass chalk, just telling her how amazing she was. She had this favorite lunch she would always want so I had it delivered to the school. And then, I got the keys to my mom's car and got my mom to fill up her car with balloons, and one said "Pop This One.” On the inside, it was like "Will you go to dinner with me tonight? I'll pick you up.” [Then] I took her to dinner. I'm so extra.
I liked this girl so much. I knew her since second grade. She was like my best friend, and she dated one of my friends before me, which was devastating. We were still best friends— I would tell her that one day she would be my girlfriend. [When they] finally they broke up I swooped in hard. Then, I took her to dinner and sang her a song in the park, then asked her to go to prom with me. Then I had my first kiss, which was her at prom.
LANY stands for Los Angeles New York, how would you characterize both cities and their relationship with each other?
Well, I do think that they're both number one in their own aspects, as far as this country. I think a lot of forward-thinkers and designers and artists find themselves in either city, but they are completely different from each other. Not really opposites, just different. Like apples and oranges. People in New York really know how to hustle and there's a certain energy. I lived there for six months, and could really tell that there was something different in the air. People are really ambitious, for different reasons than people in LA are ambitious. I think for music right now, I felt it was more important for me to be in LA, but I love both a lot.
Where did you record Malibu Nights?
We recorded on Main Street in Santa Monica, in Bob Dylan's old studio. Nobody really knows about it—it's really hidden. Santa Monica is cool, but it's not in the nicest area. It's literally right by Urth Cafe on Main Street in Santa Monica, and that's where we made the album. A lot of the album was written at Conway Studios in Hollywood off Melrose. The Weeknd rented [it] out for 6 months. There are three main tracking rooms, I think he rented out the entire complex so nobody could get in for three months. [When] I was there, I think Travis was making Astroworld, Pharrell would be there a lot. I would just go and sit on the piano. We didn't really use the studio as most people would use it.
What significance does ‘Malibu’ have for you?
I live in Malibu. I spent a lot of tough nights up there by myself. Initially, we thought it'd be a 4 or 5 song EP, and call it January because all of us have had a January in our lives. Where it's like you just can't catch a break for a month. Like damn. Nothing is going my way, but ultimately there are more songs that were written and Malibu Nights was more of an indicative title. It was a more fitting title.
What are your hopes for the upcoming world tour?
I'm excited to take this show to every corner of the world, we'll be going to South America for the first time. We're really going everywhere. It'll be cool to see how the fan base continues to grow.
Speaking of fans, how have you seen your relationship with your fans grow? What would you say it's involved into since when you guys first started?
From the very beginning, it's always been really intimate. We've always spoken to them directly, and apart from sitting on the Internet all day every day doing a Q&A, you can't ask for much more. We throw fan-specific events all the time because they're the most important thing that we have. I don't think it's changed much, but the fan base has grown. I think that's an attractive quality to people who like music and like following bands. Here's a band that's incredibly transparent and pretty available and seem to have the right perspective on putting fans first.
Tickets for the tour will go on sale to the general public starting this Friday, November 16 at 10 am local time. See below for tour itinerary, fans can visit https://thisislany.com/tour for tickets and more details. Citi is the official presale credit card of the LANY tour. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, November 13 at 10 am local time until Thursday, November 15 at 10 pm local time through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete presale details, visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
For more LANY, revisit their feature in L'Officiel USA's Music Issue here.
LANY 2019 WORLD TOUR DATES
February 4, 2019, Moscow, @Russia GlavClub
February 5, 2019, Helsinki, Finland @Tavastia
February 7, 2019, Oslo, Norway @Vulkan Arena
February 9, 2019, Stockholm, Sweden @Berns
February 11, 2019, Hamburg, Germany @Docks
February 13, 2019, Cologne, Germany @Carlswerk Victoria
February 14, 2019, Utrecht, Netherlands @TivoliVredenburg Ronda
February 16, 2019, Frankfurt, Germany @Gibson
February 17, 2019, Berlin, Germany @Huxleys Neue Welt
February 20, 2019, Warsaw, Poland @Proxima
February 21, 2019, Prague, Czech Republic @Meetfactory
February 22, 2019, Vienna, Austria @Simm City
February 24, 2019, Munich, Germany @Backstage Werk
February 25, 2019, Milan, Italy @Dude Club
February 27, 2019, Barcelona, Spain @Bikini
February 28, 2019, Madrid @Spain Cool Stage
March 3, 2019, Paris, France @Alhambra
March 4, 2019, Brussels, Belgium @Botanique / Orangerie
March 6, 2019, Nottingham, UK @Rock City
March 7, 2019, Dublin, @Ireland Olympia Theatre
March 8, 2019, Belfast, UK @Limelight 1
March 10, 2019, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @Newcastle University Student Union
March 11, 2019, Leeds, UK @Beckett University
March 12, 2019 London, UK @O2 Academy Brixton
March 14, 2019 Manchester, UK @Albert Hall
March 15, 2019 Glasgow, UK @SWG3 TV Studio
March 25, 2019 Mexico City, MX @El Plaza Condesa
April 23, 2019 Miami, FL @The Fillmore
April 24, 2019 Orlando, FL @House of Blues
April 26, 2019 Birmingham, AL @Iron City
April 27, 2019 Columbia, SC @The Senate
April 28, 2019 Nashville, TN @Ryman Auditorium
April 30, 2019 St. Louis, MO @The Pageant
May 1, 2019 Kansas City, MO @Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
May 3, 2019 Madison, WI @The Sylvee
May 4, 2019 Milwaukee, WI @The Rave
May 6, 2019 Cincinnati, OH @Bogart’s
May 7, 2019 Cleveland, OH @Masonic
May 8, 2019, Detroit, MI @The Fillmore
May 10, 2019, Boston, MA @House of Blues
May 13, 2019, Pittsburgh, PA @Stage AE
May 15, 2019 Washington, DC @9:30 Club
May 17, 2019 New York, NY @Hammerstein Ballroom
May 20, 2019 Philadelphia, PA @The Fillmore
May 21, 2019 Toronto, ON @Rebel
May 23, 2019 Montreal, QC @Corona Theatre
May 28, 2019 Columbus, OH @Express Live
May 29, 2019 Indianapolis, IN @Egyptian Room
May 31, 2019 Norfolk, VA @NorVa
June 1, 2019 Raleigh, NC @The Ritz
June 2, 2019 Atlanta, GA @Coca Cola Roxy
June 4, 2019 New Orleans, LA @Joy Theater
June 6, 2019 San Antonio, TX @Aztec Theatre
June 7, 2019 Houston, TX @Revention Music Center
June 8, 2019 Austin, TX @Stubb’s
June 10, 2019 Denver, CO @Fillmore Auditorium
June 11, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT @The Great Salt Air
June 12, 2019 Boise, ID @Revolution Concert House and Event Center
June 14, 2019 San Francisco, CA @The Masonic
June 17, 2019 Vancouver, BC @Queen Elizabeth Theatre
June 18, 2019 Spokane, WA @Knitting Factory
June 19, 2019 Portland, OR @Keller Auditorium
June 21, 2019 Seattle, WA @Showbox SoDo
June 25, 2019 Anaheim, CA @House of Blues
June 27, 2019 Los Angeles, CA @Greek Theatre
July 13, 2019 Brisbane, Australia @256 Wickham
July 14, 2019 Sydney, Australia @Enmore Theatre
July 17, 2019 Auckland, New Zealand @The Powerstation
July 19, 2019 Melbourne, Australia @Margaret Court Arena
July 20, 2019, Adelaide, Australia @The Gov
July 21, 2019, Perth, @Australia Astor Theatre
July 24, 2019, Manila, Philippines @TBA
July 27, 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia TBA
July 30, 2019, Bangkok, Thailand TBA
August 5, 2019, Osaka, Japan @TBA
August 7, 2019, Tokyo, Japan @TBA
August 8, 2019, Seoul, South Korea @TBA
August 10, 2019, Singapore, Singapore @TBA
August 13, 2019, Jakarta, Indonesia @TBA
