Members of New York band Walkmen are proud to be loud

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Walkmen, the New York band that swiped its moniker from Sony's portable music player, delivers elevated garage-rock melodies at full volume.
"We're really loud," says organ player Walter Martin.
"It's one of the things we pride ourselves on. It's so unsatisfying to go to a rock show and have it be quiet, so we try to be as loud as we possibly can."
The group just completed its North American tour, which showcased its second album, "Bows and Arrows."
The five musicians previously played -- in various combinations -- in buzz-worthy indie bands Jonathan Fire*Eater and The Recoys. But they were collaborating long before then.
In the eighth grade, Martin, guitarist Paul Maroon and drummer Matt Barrick started a ska band called the Ignobles. They all lived in the same Washington, D.C., neighborhood as vocalist Hamilton Leithauser (Martin's cousin) and bassist Peter Bauer. The band even opened for Lenny Kravitz once at a local venue.
"At the time I think we thought they booked us because we were really great, but looking back I think they just thought [our music] was funny," says Martin.
Since then, they've all quit their day jobs at spots like the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to concentrate on making music full time at their Harlem recording studio.