Driving Out the Darkness: An Interview with L.A. Band Position Nuit

By Tyler Francischine

On a chilly, rainy Sunday night, newly formed L.A. band Position Nuit takes the stage – actually a corner of the floor – at Footsies Bar in Highland Park. The four-piece wastes no time launching into an uproarious set combining the fervor and electricity of punk and rock & roll with the emotion and pain of the blues. After the second song ends, Position Nuit singer, guitarist and songwriter Thomas motions with outstretched palm to the audience.

“Come up closer. Come up here! I won’t bite, I promise. Yet.”

Yet the crowd is shy tonight, gripping their beer glasses with asses firmly planted on barstools. Not a problem – Thomas likes a challenge. Leaving the safety of the mic stand to venture into new territory, his nearly six-and-a-half-foot-tall frame deftly takes two steps to land on top of a table in a dark corner of the room. A man sitting at this table throws a straw wrapper at Thomas, but it doesn’t soar past his knees.

Like some kind of traveling preacher, Thomas journeys next toward the entry of the tiny bar, where at least half of the audience huddles. Singing and screaming with increasing intensity all the while, Thomas embraces one man who initially hunches over as if cowering in fear. By the end of the song, this man has shuffled up to the front row, just a couple paces from Position Nuit, and he’s beaming. During the set’s closer, Thomas walks over to him again while taking another lap around the room, and he embraces Thomas, gripping his back with both hands.

Witnessing a live performance of Position Nuit is a litmus test for your own emotional state. Can you withstand the urgent, dark emotions that Thomas releases into the atmosphere with every yelp and scream he emits? Does the vulnerability of the lyrics, which are often about complex relationships and feelings left unexpressed, make you squirm as the words conjure up your own shadows, released from the recesses of your mind? Are your legs lodged in cement, a metaphor for the anguish and pain you keep inside, never to escape?

Or, with each driving crack of drummer Dan Possehl’s sticks, do you feel lighter on your feet? With each lip-curling bass line from Julian De La Celle and each mean lick from guitarist Ian Waters, do you feel more ready, more willing to exorcise the demons that hide inside of you?

If you let them, Position Nuit will drive out the darkness. What’s left when they finish their set is a sweaty joy, a clear mind, a feeling akin to attending a Southern revival church service. In the silent moment after their last song, you remember to inhale, but you don’t remember the hang-ups that you entered this room with.

I sat down with Position Nuit in the days (and minutes) before their set at Footsies on January 29 to talk about the eternal catharsis of songwriting, the needlessness for perfection and the fleeting yet nourishing magic of the artist-audience connection.

Photos by Timothy Murray

For those who haven’t heard you play yet, how do you describe your sound?

Ian: An L.A. singer and songwriter we know called it ‘death country.’ It’s dark and foreboding, and there’s a pioneer, frontier spirit.

Dan: I call it punk Brit blues.

Thomas: We’re like a straight-up rock & roll band.

Thomas, what drew you to songwriting as a creative outlet?

Thomas: I was quiet when I was a teenager, on my own most of the time, with no friends. My
grandma bought a guitar for me when I was 15. My parents wanted me to do sports – I taught myself how to play Nirvana songs. As soon as I had a guitar, I felt I found myself and found what I wanted to do. I had a need to do something to express myself. Guitar is still, for me, the best way to express myself.

What’s your ethos when it comes to creating music?

Thomas: I never really learned how to play, so I have a lot of limitations technically. Also, I’m
not a singer. At times, it’s more like shouting than singing in Position Nuit. With what we do, I don’t think there’s a need for perfection. I don’t get excitement or satisfaction really from playing well or singing well. It’s more about the expression, the raw and very direct expression of myself and what I have to lift off my chest, you know what I mean? It’s about feelings, really.

What are you exploring with Position Nuit’s lyrics?

Thomas: I can’t really sing something that doesn’t have a direct meaning to me. Even if I cover a song, I have to find something that relates directly to my own life and my own experience.

Otherwise, I don’t feel like I can properly sing it, if that makes sense. Most of the time, my lyrics are about relationships, not necessarily just with a romantic partner, but with my mom or friends. With my lyrics, I always try to talk to someone. It’s like they’re little bits of conversation, and there’s something I need to express and I can’t really do it directly. I will put it in a song. It’s a bit like hiding, really. Sometimes, I would first put words into a song to find the right words and then have the conversation that I needed to have with this person.

What unique style or technique do each of you bring to best support Thomas’ songwriting?

Ian: Position Nuit allows me to do what I do best – I have a punk spirit, but I like country and western guitar stylings. This band lets me bring that with as much intensity as I can. It allows me to go further. I can go louder, scarier, meaner, harder, and the band is like, ‘Yes, more, more, more.’

Julian: I have my own musical projects, but I don’t usually write songs as heavy as some of the music I like. Thomas and I share a lot of influences, like The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, [Australian post-punk band] The Birthday Party and Detroit rock. It’s nice to see another side to the music I love – I can support it rather than create it. A lot of Thomas’ songs come from darker places, so it’s fun for me to play spookier stuff.

Dan: I’m a pop drummer, and I’ve never explored this kind of music before. I don’t catch everything that Thomas is singing about, but I feed off of his energy, and I bring structure. Thomas’ vision for the band was to play with no structure, and I said, ‘That’s not happening.’ Thomas runs with the wolves.

How do you aim to connect with audiences when you perform live?

Thomas: Position Nuit relates to my understanding of religions and spirituality really, and what I feel about general interaction with people. I just want the audience to have a good time, maybe shake a bit, dance a little bit if they feel like it, and be engaged. That’s my only goal. I get a little bit intense if I see that nothing’s happening in the audience. That’s the only way I know how to do it: just explode on stage. It’s more interesting when the audience brings something to the show, because that means the show is always different.

What’s your ideal live show look like?

Thomas: Now and then, I like to have a proper stage, with a proper PA and everything, but I also like the DIY feeling, ‘cause the sweat and the energy and the smell of everything is just different. It’s right in your face and their face. You can directly go to the audience, and they can shout in the mic if they want. I like when it goes a little bit off.

What’s your favorite part of performing live in Position Nuit?

Dan: Thomas is my favorite part of being in Position Nuit. He’s one of the more engaging front-men I’ve had the pleasure to play with.

Ian: Thomas is an enigmatic and charismatic front-man. I saw Position Nuit’s first show [at Harvard and Stone on September 21 as part of Secret Smiles’ September residency] and right then and there asked to join the band.

Julian: There’s a certain energy with this band – it feels like a support system situation. When we meet, we jam a lot before we get down to practicing the songs. We all connect so easily.

How can L.A. audiences connect with Position Nuit next?

Thomas: We’re playing at The Redwood Bar in Downtown L.A. on March 17. We’ll post more details as it gets closer on our Instagram.