At night, when not performing as the guitarist for Darker My Love, and when not toiling away at his job as a graphic designer, Tim Presley makes music alone in his apartment under the alias White Fence, crafting a specific tone and atmosphere that evokes a mod/Kinks/punk hybrid. Recently, because of a peculiar coincidence, Presley put together a batch of songs and released his self-titled debut on vinyl from Make A Mess Records and on CD and digitally from Woodsist Records.
CL: What city are you based in?
Tim Presley: Los Angeles. I’ve been living here seven years. Before that, it was bouncing between Berkeley and San Francisco.
Do you play all the instruments in White Fence?
Yes.
Does LA inspire the album at all?
Yeah I think so. For one, LA is a weird place. It’s full of pockets of strangeness. And also, well, I barely leave my apartment. I kind of just stay in. Really the overall thing, the cosmic thing, is because it’s sunny all the time I feel like I have some weird condition where I’m really sensitive to that. For example, in San Francisco, I look back at it and even when I go there I feel foggy and I feel tired and cold. That doesn’t really work for me because, I love San Francisco don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t help me be motivated. It makes me lazy. For some reason here, it has nothing to do with trying to keep up with Hollywood or anything, or showbiz. It’s sunny all the time and for some reason that effects my brain. I feel motivated, energized. I know it sounds weird but I think it’s true.
This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2010.
