Tim Presley co-founded Darker My Love, has toured with the Fall, plays with the Strange Boys and records his own work under the name White Fence. All of this is to say that the man is a sensei of rock and roll ("garage rock," if you must) and that you should be paying close attention.

An LA transplant who was raised in the Bay Area, Presley recently wrote and recorded with fellow Californian and guitarslinger-in-arms Ty Segall, and the result, Hair, is 40 minutes of exhilarating, melody-driven ear worms. (If you care about "important" critics, they love it too.) Presley also released a double album on Tuesday as White Fence (Family Perfume Vols 1 & 2) that sounds like Presley took a time machine back to the We're Only In It For The Money sessions and brought The Kinks with him.

We spoke to Presley about being linked to the '60s, how there's too many cool people in Brooklyn, and how he sometimes pees sitting down when he's too tired. You can catch White Fence and Ty Segall, along with The Strange Boys and Brooklyn's own The Men tonight at Webster Hall. The gig is being billed as "the show of the century," and we're inclined to agree.

Your show here has one of the best bills I've seen. These shows have been insane. I never would have thought that this tour would be going this well. Every show besides Missoula, Montana, has been sold out. People at the shows are just going crazy.

I actually played some of Hair for my dad and he said it sounds like "Dylan singing Lennon," but that he "didn't care for it." I'm not entirely sure what that means. Woah! That's awesome! That rules actually. That's good, dude.

Is it? That's the perfect critique actually. It's just enough—well, I don't really know your dad or his musical tastes, but on many levels that's pretty good because its got the references to the old stuff, and the "I don't like it," you know, the Twisted Sister kind of vibe.

A lot of people invoke the 60s when they describe your stuff. Do you think the comparison is tired or apt? I think it's almost cliche at this point, cause like everyone does it. But then again, I do it too. When you hear it the first thing that comes to mind is that it's "of that era," but my only thing about it is that no one fucking harps on '80s sounding stuff or '90s pop-punk, like Wavves or whatever. No one gets down on that shit. They just pick on the '60s guys.

It's just what I like and it comes natural to me. I don't go out and say, "Dude, I want to start a fuckin' '65 mod band" or whatever. It's strange because when I was a kid I was into Hendrix and the Doors and Nirvana, and back. It's just something that's just always kind of been there. And I think the '90s was a weird '60s nod in a way, you know? If you think about it.


How so? Well, the melodies, the songs that were on the actual radio, the guitar, the long hair, the weird hippie look, everything. The culture. In different ways obviously, a mutation of the '60s. It wasn't the cold '80s. The cold, angular, '80s. [Laughs]

When you and Ty [Segall] went in to record Hair did you guys have material at the ready? Or did you write it once you were in there? It was actually like the perfect mix of both because when he first asked me if i was into the idea I said yes, and I immediately assumed it would be like a proper split: A-side is him, B-side is me, or whatever. I was kind of kicking that idea around and he said I should come to the studio and we should just mess around. I had the second song, "I Am Not A Game," already written and recorded as in my room like White Fence-style. And then when I met him at the studio where he does all his records in San Francisco I was like, "Oh my god, I gotta rerecord this song here with you."

It sounded like the perfect middle ground between both of us and he learned the parts and the drums and all that and we re-recorded it. That was the initial spark, "I Am Not A Game," that song. I played on his songs and then we started writing songs together and that was ultimately the best part of it, writing together, because it was possible to just hole up in my corner and do my stuff and he'll do the same in his. It was really beautiful.


I read it was done in about six days, is that right? Here and there, not straight six days in a row. It was kind of just in batches of three, well, two. Well, I don't know, I guess it was kind of spread out.

That sounds kind of rushed though. Six days total: is that normal for you? [laughs] The first Nirvana record was done in like, what, a day?

That's true. [Ed: Not quite, but close. Three days, 30 hours.] I don't know. That's the beauty of it, and that's why we locked in so hard, we both record very similarly—very fast and inspired. If you have the feel or the idea, just do it. Throw it down and if it sticks then keep it and if it sounds bad, try it again. Usually, the case is the first or second time you try is exactly what you want to hear anyway. That's how I did it in my room. When it's just me I can really dive in. It can take a really short time, but you never know when you're in a studio because of time restrictions and money. Then you end up just saying, "Oh, that's fine," to get it over with because you want to move on to the next thing. I don't know, we record very similarly and it's about getting it down.

There's a lot of really tasty basslines on the album: "Cry Baby," "Tongues," "I Can't Get Around You" Who's the brains behind those? You or Ty? I think it might be different from song to song. I think "I Can't Get Around You" might be me. That was kind of the rad thing about every song, if you have the idea—we never really talked it over, we just did it. We're kindred spirits. I'm older than him, but I know where he's coming from because I was that kid. That's what I really liked about it. He pulled out that part of me from that age. It was very awesome and weird, but also very natural. He brought out a part of me that was maybe a little dormant for a while.

Do you prefer doing your own thing or do you prefer being part of a revolving cast? You've done many different projects. What's your preferred method of working? I love playing with other people. I should say other friends. I don't really like playing with people, I like playing with buddies. No matter their ability, I don't really care, as long as they can kind of play the song, but at the end of the day we're friends that's the fun part. As far as recording and being creative, I've found I prefer to be alone. I think that stems back to me as a kid drawing in my room alone. Essentially, it's like a guy in his garage building a model airplane.

The "fewer cooks in the kitchen" philosophy. Yeah, it dilutes me. It's happened before. It's fine, I don't have to be a glory hog, but I have things to say and I want to find them out. I can't do that in front of other people. You ever try on clothes in public and you get insecure? "Okay, I'll just take it, that's fine, it looks good," and then you get home and it sucks. You kind of just said, "Yeah" because eyes were watchin' you or someone there said it looks good on you.

I think most clothing is probably sold that way. Yeah they get you in that insecure moment.


Do you have a dream lineup, dead or alive, that you would want to play with? Oh, man, [long pause] that's really hard. With me as the front guy?

Whatever you want. I think I've had this discussion in the van before but I can't remember. That's a good one. [long pause]

[Laughs] Well if it comes to you, let me know. I read that you said New York was "one giant college campus of cool people." Do you have anything to add to that description? I think was just coming hot off of a recent Brooklyn trip. I didn't mean it in a bad way! It was way more observational because I was struck by if everyone dressed the same and everyone dresses cool, then who's cool, you know? Where's the freak? It just made me want to be the reverse of that.

You were in Brooklyn specifically? I was and to be honest I really like New York a lot, but I think it was kind of a tongue and cheek poke at the east coast. It's kind of like if everyone is the same and everyone looks so great—which is fine—it's hard to tell...I dunno, it's just hard to tell.

Everyone can't be that cool, right? Statistically that's seems impossible. [Laughs] Exactly. Who's the real freak here?

The Men are opening for you guys on Wednesday. Have you listened to their new album? I've heard a couple of songs, and to be perfectly honest with you, when any band gets a lot of praise and stuff I tend to roll my eyes immediately. But then I listened to it and it was really, really good.

I've read that you have a cat. The internet likes things about cats. [Laughs] I know I've noticed! I have two.

What are your cats names? And please, tell us something about your cats. I have a cat named Gray Charles. He's a gray cat, and very, very mean, no matter how much love I give him. He's an alpha male, which sucks for love, but good for protection, maybe? And then on the opposite side of the spectrum is Clifford. He's like a plush doll. Very doughy. He's orange and he's missing his canines on the top so his tongue sticks out, cause he can't hold it in.

How did that happen? Me and my girlfriend came home from a trip and found that he had that periodontal disease. He was frothing at the mouth—we thought he had rabies, cause we have coyotes in our neighborhood. So he had to take his teeth out, which was sad, but it turns out it was very beautiful because at any given moment he'll have his tongue completely out of his mouth.

Wow. So he's sort of like a pug. A little bit, but not as annoying. He's the best kitty I've ever been with.

That's not going to piss off Gray Charles? He's already pissed! I can't piss him off more. Actually, I went to the bathroom the other day and I sat down because I was so tired and I was peeing, sitting down, and he peed on me. And I was very, very upset.

You were peeing sitting down? You know that's going to be the headline on this interview, right? [Laughs] I mean, dude, fuck it. Get it out there, it's true. I was really tired, you know? It was six in the morning or something and I just didn't feel like standing. You know how it is.

That's actually pretty conscientious. You could have easily peed on the seat or something at that hour. Exactly, dude, I'm respectful.