Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard recalls his old Wallingford apartment

All week long, MTV online is running a series called Death Cab for Cutie: Seattle Sonics, in honor of the band’s latest album, Codes and Keys. The article talks about the band’s origins, which began in Bellingham; but did you know that when they packed up and moved to Seattle in 1999, front man Ben Gibbard took up residence in the brick apartment building on Corliss? It’s true! And you can watch the clip below where they stand in front of the building and reminisce about the old days.

Death Cab’s Bass player, Nick Harmer, recalls Gibbard’s elaborate door bell system: “Ben had rigged this fishing line that ran from the third floor with a guitar pick attached to a bell. You would go down the alley, find the pick, pull on it and a bell would ring.”

Gibbard explains how early on, he was looking for work “groveling for jobs I never wanted, but all the while we were writing songs. I wrote ‘Employment Pages’ here, which is still my favorite Death Cab song.”  He also recalls writing “Photobooth” and “A Movie Script Ending.”

Gibbard now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress and singer Zooey Deschanel. “I think some day we could buy this building,” Gibbard muses, to which Nick replies, “It’s still walking distance to a Taco Time.”

Here’s the clip from MTV.