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10/31/2008 1:19 PM ET
Diamond dreams for Gibbard
Death Cab singer reveals his inner baseball geek
By Doug Miller / MLB.com
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Death Cab for Cutie are currently on tour with Neil Young in support of their new album "Narrow Stairs." (MLB.com)
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Ben Gibbard is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie, one of the biggest bands in America today. But he isn't afraid to admit that being a rock star is hardly his ideal occupation.
"I said on a live EP we put out (that) I'm not doing what I want to be doing," Gibbard told MLB.com's Dan Von Behren in an exclusive backstage interview before a recent sold-out gig at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.
"I should have been playing shortstop for the Mariners. I should have Spike Owen's position."
Kudos to Gibbard for even knowing the name of the man who played shortstop in the Kingdome from 1983-1986, and kudos to Gibbard for taking his indie band from Bellingham, Wash., all the way to major-label stardom and huge radio play.
Death Cab's latest album, Narrow Stairs, has gotten excellent reviews and made it to the No. 1 slot on Billboard's 200. According to Gibbard, it's a departure from some of the band's earlier material, including hit albums such as 2005's Plans and 2003's Transatlanticism.
"I think there's kind of a melancholic kind of disappointment through some of the record," Gibbard said. "I think there's also some really beautiful moments in the record, and enough moments in the record that have a sense of humor ... It's not all so bad."
The same could be said about Gibbard's beloved Mariners, who struggled in 2008 and finished in last place but still have loyal fans, including one Death Cab for Cutie singer who religiously tracks their performance while on the road.
"Everybody in the band has been very supportive of the amount of baseball that gets watched on the bus," Gibbard says. "I'm trying to be sensitive. I'll watch in the back lounge, but there's a lot of screaming of the TV. The Mariners had a rough season."
Gibbard has stuck with his team, however, and even uses them to keep his bandmates grounded despite their meteoric rise.
"We always (say) that we always kind of feel like the underdogs," Gibbard said.
"Even when we're selling out Radio City Music Hall. To complete the analogy, it's like the Mariners having that 116-win season (in 2001). They had the best record in baseball, but they kind of didn't have the confidence to go all the way through the postseason."
Death Cab for Cutie has certainly gained confidence over the years, and all the while Gibbard has maintained the love for baseball that he cultivated while growing up with a transistor at his side.
"When I was a kid, I'd always listen to baseball games on the radio," Gibbard said. The sound of the crowd underneath the announcers is exactly the same as it was when I was a kid. I love being in my car and listening to baseball games on the radio.
"It's really the only sport where you can experience it on the radio and really feel like you're there." Doug Miller is a Senior Writer for MLB.com/Entertainment. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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