Phantogram Doesn't Like to Waste Time

Numbers are absolute. And because of that, there is a certain level of comfort in knowing that no matter what the mathematical equation or measurement, there is always a concrete outcome, a correct answer, to be had.

But sometimes assigning numerical values and sums to everything could be a little nerve-wracking, such as calculating life expectancy and seeing, in digits and decimals, just how much time that actually comes out to.

Josh Carter, one half of the indie-pop duo Phantogram, broke that down recently after discovering a life calendar, which maps out how many weeks make up an 80-year-old life. In case you’re wondering, it’s about 4,160, give or take, depending on leap years.

“It was quite jarring to actually look at,” the 42-year-old multi-instrumentalist says. The idea of weeks withering away or simply naturally passing by, and what someone experiences during that time, influenced the group’s fifth album, Memory of a Day, which released last October via label Neon Gold.

“We thought about that a lot," Carter says, "days and time and previous moments and dark moments and happy moments.”

“Moments that are meaningful that you will never forget, like your first kiss or the first time you crowd surfed at a show,” adds Sarah Barthel, Phantogram’s fiery vocalist.

“Or a funeral,” Carter continues.

“Or the first time you got caught cheating on a paper in school. Things like that. All moments and memories that kind of define you and make you who you are,” adds Barthel, 41.
Carter and Barthel have been friends since preschool (that means they met about 2,000 weeks ago) and teamed up to form Charlie Everywhere, a group that would eventually become Phantogram, in 2007, after Barthel returned from college in Vermont and Carter found himself back in upstate New York following a stint in NYC with another band.

In the nearly 1,000 weeks (887 to be exact) since then, the two musicians have experienced a steady rise into the mainstream, particularly thanks to a trio of chart-topping gold and platinum singles in “When I’m Small,” “Black Out Days” and “Fall in Love.” They’ve also collaborated with some of the biggest names across pop and rock, including Miley Cyrus, Tom Morello, Billy Corgan and the Flaming Lips. In 2015, Phantogram and Outkast rapper Big Boi got together and formed hip-hop trio Big Grams to release a self-titled EP. So Barthel and Carter have certainly been making the most of their time.

Currently, Phantogram is on tour promoting Memory of a Day, with a Denver date at the Fillmore Auditorium on Tuesday, February 18. LA producer meija is also on the bill. “We put a lot of thought into the flow of it. It has nice peaks and valleys and it’s a really exciting set to play every night,” Carter says from Atlanta, before a recent Phantogram show.

He’s holding Barthel’s dog, Leroy Brown — “He’s been going on tour with us since he was born,” Carter shares — while diving deeper into the latest record. “The idea of songs taking new meaning over time, or from night to night, there’s this magical revealing of emotions and feelings, and it changes,” he adds, “in a kaleidoscopic way. These bits and pieces working together.”

The twelve latest songs were meant to trigger a feeling of sentimentality, according to Carter. Such tracks as “Attaway,” “It Wasn’t Meant To Be” and “All A Mystery” don’t just sound like familiar Phantogram but also feel it.

“That’s why we named the album Memory of a Day, the idea behind the album is nostalgia and also life and existence, love and death, and everything in between,” Carter explains.

He and Barthel have only gained more perspective with each passing week and year. The two still write in a remote cabin called Harmonie Lodge near their hometown of Greenwich, New York, and make music that, ultimately, they want to hear.

“What I try to keep in mind is that we’re best friends and this is best friends shit,” Carter says.

Barthel, who was born in Denver and lived in Vail before her family moved east before she started school, agrees.

“Now that we have all this life experience, going through all that we’ve gone through with the band, we’re a lot more aware of what we want and what we don’t want and what we can do and what we can’t do. We have the power to say no and yes,” she explains.

“In that type of way, everything is more meaningful because we understand that and we’re not just trying to dance around to get attention from all the right people,” continues Barthel, who celebrates her 42^nd birthday the day before the Denver date. “We’re doing it because we love it and it’s clear that we’ve grown the right way, organically and from nothing, so we’re just grateful. It’s just fun. We know how lucky we are, it’s not fucking easy, but we’re so lucky to be able to follow our dreams, live our dreams.”

And you don't necessarily need a life calendar to quantify that.

Phantogram, with meija, 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 18, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson Street. Tickets are $60.