Paperback Rider: Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend
Reading his wife's romance novel & closing out "Hope" alone at MSG
CHRIS BAIO is my second guest for Paperback Rider, a series about musicians reading on the road.
Chris plays bass in Vampire Weekend (touring hard behind Only God Was Above Us, their tip-top fifth LP) and has released three albums along with several singles and EPs with his own project, BAIO.
I saw Vampire’s Madison Square Garden shows earlier this month; a Saturday night and Sunday matinee. Randy Fibiger said it was the first daytime rock and roll show at MSG since The Concert for Bangladesh. That was two shows on the same day, August 1, 1971. The first started at 2:30pm, then again later that night with a slightly different setlist.
My favorite moment across the two VW gigs was Baio playing the final measures of “Hope” alone on stage, staring into the arena’s air, as present as I’ve seen anyone on the big stage.
For Paperback Rider, Baio selected 3 BOOK QUESTIONS and 3 TOUR QUESTIONS from many options, so he had input on the routing for our Q&A below.
Thanks for reading,
🖤AV
PS: you can suggest book/tour questions for the long list. It should change and grow as this goes along.
FIRST, TELL US WHAT YOU’RE READING AND WHERE YOU GOT IT?
CHRIS BAIO: I am currently reading my wife’s latest historical romance novel, The Mistress Experience. I brought a copy on the road with me—unfortunately it fell out of my pocket somewhere along the way. Luckily, the great DC bookstore East City Bookshop had a copy and I was able to get a replacement when I was in town earlier this month.
Before that, I finished The Letters of Seamus Heaney, which was the latest selection in my book club that’s been running for the past four years. It hadn’t been released yet in America so I bought a copy from a Canadian bookseller on eBay.
WHERE ARE YOU NOW AND WHERE DO YOU GO NEXT?
CHRIS BAIO: St. Augustine, Florida, then Austin to finish up this five week tour.
THREE BOOK QUESTIONS:
WHAT BOOK IS ON DECK?
CHRIS BAIO: Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer. It’s the next book in the aforementioned book club. The club is made up of friends I know from when I lived in London. We are now spread out all over the world (between Los Angeles, London, Paris & Sydney) and get together once a month on Zoom.
LAST BOOK YOU WERE GIFTED WHICH YOU LOVED AND LAST BOOK YOU GAVE AS A GIFT?
CHRIS BAIO: My friend Seb gave me Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich for my birthday several years ago and it became one of my favorite books of all time. The last books I gave as a present were three of my favorite film director memoirs—My Last Sigh by Bunuel, The Magic Lantern by Bergman, and Something Like an Autobiography by Kurosawa—to my friend Ray for his birthday.
A FAVORITE BOOKSTORE IN A SMALL TOWN?
CHRIS BAIO: I have to shout out the independent Womrath Bookshop in my hometown of Bronxville, New York, established in 1938 and still going strong!
THREE TOUR QUESTIONS:
MOST EMBARRASSING RIDER ITEM?
CHRIS BAIO: “Fun” sour candy. I am about to turn 40 and still love that stuff.
WHERE DO YOU GO AFTER SOUNDCHECK?
CHRIS BAIO: Usually to a fitness center to get a quick run in.
UNDERRATED CITY?
CHIRS BAIO: Detroit
Strong book recs!