Two decades ago, Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard were sending back-and-forth snail mail along the West Coast that would turn into an unexpectedly successful musical endeavor still in the limelight today.
The Postal Service was named after the process in which the makeshift band, formed by the minds behind L.A. experimental DJ project Dntel and the then-up-and-coming Seattle indie outfit Death Cab for Cutie, collaborated: through the mail. In fact, they got a cease-and-desist from the actual United States Postal Service over their name; that was later resolved, and The Postal Service’s album would even go on to be sold at post offices across America.
For the making of the album, Tamborello would mail a CD with a couple of songs he had been working on to Gibbard, who he met through his roommate. Gibbard would then add lyrics and vocals, maybe making a few minor tweaks here and there.
A lot of those lyrics Gibbard wrote during long walks around Seattle, some while touring for the Death Cab for Cutie album “Transatlanticism.” A month later or so he’d send his updates back. The process continued like this until the entire album for “Give Up” was created.
Now, on that record’s 20th anniversary, The Postal Service is touring for only the third time ever, with a stop at Credit One Stadium. The first was right after the record was made, the second for its 10th anniversary. It was the only album ever released for the project, which also recruited Jenny Lewis for vocals.
“The District Sleeps Alone” was the very first song Tamborello and Gibbard collaborated on when making “Give Up.” “Brand New Colony” was also on that initial CD. As Tamborello wrote the music for it, he ended up going a surprisingly pop-driven route that differed from his norm.
“I think before we started, I had it in my mind that it would be a more experimental record,” said Tamborello. “But for some reason, the first songs I think were a little more poppy feeling, and when Ben sang on them, I just felt like it worked so well that it kind of told us to go in that direction. … It just became the blueprint for it.”
The process went so smoothly that once 10 songs were completed in that manner, they decided to record in Tamborello’s bedroom at a house in Silver Lake.
The Postal Service, pictured in 2013 for the 10th anniversary of the "Give Up" tour.
Gibbard came down for the occasion and recruited someone who was on the same record label as Death Cab for Cutie at the time: Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. To her, it sounded like a fun adventure, even though she wasn’t offered any money at the time, she recounted in “Everything Will Change,” a 2013 concert film and documentary on the 10th anniversary tour.
“Originally Ben sang all the backup vocals himself,” offered Tamborello. “... Then we realized that we should have some other voices on the album, so she got brought in. Neither of us knew Jenny, but I think Ben just called her and asked her if she’d be up for doing it.”
The ensuing magic the trio created would far exceed any of their expectations.
Tamborello’s leading tool, a kurzweil k2000s synth/sampler, made most of the sounds you hear on the album; he still has it and used it to rebuild the songs for the live show. On stage now, though, he’s surrounded by laptops, a Moog and more.
“Back then, everything was a lot more limited,” he said. “Like there just wasn’t the space on a computer to do that much, so you had to be real economical. Most of that album was done in the sampler more than the computer. And now you just have, like, infinite space and options, which is kind of harder to deal with.”
Within 2003’s limited technological confines, Tamborello managed to make something unique and emotive that would resonate with thousands of fans, many who have already come out on the first leg of The Postal Service’s 20th anniversary of “Give Up” tour.
Left: The poster for the 20th anniversary tour. The Postal Service is touring for the third time ever, with a stop at Credit One Stadium.
It had been a decade since Tamborello was on stage with Gibbard and Lewis, but once they started up again, he said it felt just like old times. Unlike his counterparts who are touring musicians, playing in stadiums and arenas is a rare opportunity for Tamborello.
“For me, I haven’t really toured since 10 years ago,” he said. “It still feels like that one was kind of a shocker for me, like it was such a bigger tour than I’d ever been on. And then I waited 10 years, and now I’m doing it again. It’s still kind of shocking.”
Even after “Give Up” took off in the industry, topping 1 million sales, Tamborello said it just didn’t feel right to make more music under the moniker. It was a one-off melding of the minds that couldn’t be replicated.
“I mean, we tried to make some stuff at one point, and it just kind of didn’t feel the same,” he said. “The first time, it was so natural, just like we made pretty much the full album — 10 songs in a row — with no struggle. And then when we tried it again, it just didn’t feel like that at all.”
A couple of those later tracks made it onto the album’s re-release, but there were no follow-up full-lengths for The Postal Service. Tamborello is fine with that, and there’s no resentment that Gibbard and Lewis have gone on to blow up in the music industry with their own projects.
“I tried to avoid pressure, and I feel like it’s nice that we never had the pressure of following it up,” said Tamborello. “It was always meant to be a one-time thing.”
The “Give Up” 20th anniversary tour also aligns with the 20th anniversary of Death Cab for Cutie’s “Transatlanticism,” so the two records will be played in their entirety at the Daniel Island concert.
