Hot Gig Alert (09.12): Superchunk visit Somerville (Interview in Post)
When I asked Jim Wilbur, guitarist for Superchunk, what people in Boston could expect at the show, he said, “loud guitar and lots of smiles.” I’ve seen Superchunk a few other times –last time was at the Paradise in 2022 (one of the last shows that drummer Jon Wurster played), and that’s very true. Definitely bring earplugs if you’re planning to see Superchunk on Friday night at Crystal Ballroom in Somerville.
We bonded over the fact that I lived in Westport, Conn., the first eight years of my life, and he’d grown up in Connecticut and gone to Fairfield University. He mentioned the random Paul Newman sightings in the area. My mom ran into Paul Newman at a local marketplace, and he came up to her, admiring my brother’s blue eyes.
Superchunk formed in 1989 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wilbur joined early on, after Superchunk released their first album. The current lineup includes Mac McCaughan (vocals/guitar), Jim Wilbur (guitar), Laura Ballance (bass), and newcomer Laura King (drums). Superchunk released their 13th album, Songs in the Key of Yikes. With songs like “Is It Making You Feel Something?” and “No Hope,” it’s an album about the challenges in the world today, especially with the current regime running this country.
I spoke briefly by phone with Jim this morning. It was early–9 a.m. They’d played a show in Pennsylvania and another show in DC and would be playing New York City tonight. “It’s fun, but I’m old and just tired. But I’m fine,” Wilbur said. “I go to bed early when I’m home, and now I’m up at midnight every night. It’s not something worth complaining about.”
What do you attribute to your longevity as a band?
We get asked that a lot, and the answer is that we didn’t have unrealistic expectations about what we wanted to do, we got along, we never worked when we didn’t feel like it, or when we were tired. In the 90s, the schedule was not grueling, but much busier than it is now as we got older. We took a nine-year break, and even though it was a break, we kept playing and still wrote and recorded. We just didn’t turn the machine on. We just slowed it all down, and in that time, everybody’s life changed. People got married, had kids, and priorities shifted. Now that we’re older and the people who have kids they’re going to college and we can continue to do this. I put it all down to levelheadedness and focusing on what was important to us– making good records or at least what we thought were good records and playing the shows we wanted to play rather than having a master plan of world domination.
What do you think makes a good record or good song?
Memorable songs, catchy songs, timely songs. Things that don’t suck. Not necessarily trying to be innovative all the time, but being true to what had come before. I mean, really just not suck. If it’s pleasing to the ear. It’s not that we’ve worked hard at it. It comes pretty naturally to us, good or bad. We don’t force anything. Especially on this new record. Mac had some songs and sent around demos of him playing them with an acoustic guitar, and as a band, we’d run through them and add parts and make it loud and rock and rollish. Like two practices, and then we’d be in the studio recording it. It wasn’t fussed over too much. It was very much improvised in a way, and that kept it fresh at least for me.
So when you’re playing live, is it similar to the album then? What can people expect at a live show?
These songs on this record, especially the live version, are very faithful to the recorded version. There’s still extra stuff you do in the studio just because you can, and it puts in layers and nuances that you might not hear at first that will be repaid by repeat listening. But on our last record, which we made during the lockdown and no one was in the same room at the same time, Mac didn’t even pick up an electric guitar; he was just playing acoustic. Translating those songs into a live set, those songs sound so much different. A stark contrast to the current record.
I really like the new album. It’s great. Where did you record it? Do you always do a different recording studio?
Pretty much. I don’t think we’ve ever made two records in the same place. Partly it’s just fun to go someplace different, and back in the 90s when we were young, we wanted to just camp out for a couple of weeks in a city where there were no distractions. (Superchunk recorded the 1995 album, Here’s Where the Strings Come In, at Fort Apache Studios) Separating yourself from your family and friends and just hunkering down in a strange city, it’s much easier to do that. The last few records we made locally at different studios in North Carolina. This was made at a place called Sonart, a really state-of-the-art studio that was built during the pandemic, so it was very new and a nice facility. It was 15 minutes from my front door. So I could feed the dog, walk out, and get in the car and be at the studio in 15 minutes. It was a beautiful setting out in the countryside.
What’s your favorite song on the new album?
I really like “No Hope.” That one really came together in seconds, effortlessly. And to give Mac props, he wrote these things, but the band makes them come alive. That one came together very fast. It’s super simple. It’s a very basic song. That’s the one that leaps out at me and the one I hear other people mentioning. I’m going to go with the crowd.
Do you have certain songs you like to play live?
It’s more like there are certain songs I don’t like to play live. Not that I don’t like the songs, but it’s usually because there’s something about it that causes me to become introspective, because it’s repetitive, or because there’s something about it that’s tricky and tests my ability, and will make me anxious, and I’ll start thinking “What am I doing here? How did this become my life?” There are only a couple like that. I shouldn’t admit that.
Does everyone have input in putting together the setlist?
Yeah. I don’t like writing setlists. Mac and the drummer are more likely to have an opinion because of stamina– either vocal or physical. It’s like an aerobics workout for the drummer. We need a break here, or this one needs a certain guitar, and the next one needs to be so I don’t have to keep switching guitars all the time. Everything in the band is very democratic, for lack of a better word. We’re all equal partners, and nothing happens without everyone agreeing to it.
So you’re playing Riot Fest this year. Have you played it a bunch of times before?
We played it at least twice. I think three times. We did one in Denver and one in Chicago. But I can’t remember. I can’t even remember how many records we have. Part of that is we have so many compilations and singles. I think it’s 13. That’s what I’ve been told.
What can people expect in Boston?
Loud guitars and lots of smiles. We’re having fun. We wouldn’t do it if we weren’t having fun. In this era of the band, it’s been the most fun in the whole 35 years. Partly because we’re at a place where we’re not trying to win people over. We’re just doing what we do, and the people who show up know that. There’s very little pressure to be anything but genuine. And we have the new drummer, Laura King, who is amazing. She’s enjoying herself. Not to knock Jon Wurster, because he’s the best drummer in the world, but he wasn’t having fun, and for a long time, he wasn’t having fun. It could be a drag to rehearse and tour, and record with someone whose heart wasn’t really in it, even though we all loved each other. He was super busy. He was in two other bands that toured even more than us, so he had to make time to preserve the legacy of the band. When he left, we could actually focus on doing what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. This has been a new lease on life. It’s been very enjoyable.
Superchunk plays Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, MA on September 12th. Doors for the show open at 7 pm with opening act Tee Vee Repairmann taking the stage at 8. Purchase tickets – HERE.
