Stylus '97
by David Barthiaume

A whole passel of bands emerged onto the international rock'n'roll scene at the beginning of the decade and at least a handful of them are still going strong. With their eighth full-length release, "Indoor Living", Superchunk endure-but why?

Songs. Good songs. The kind that make you turn it up and sing along. Every release so far has been peppered with them. The new LP is no exception.

"Best album we've done so far, easily", guitarist James Wilbur boasts. "I suppose I felt that way about every record when it came out, but this time·I don't know. I'm just really happy with it. I mean, going into the studio I wasn't so sure how it was going to come out, but by the time we were done I was surprised by it."

The working dynamic of the group has changed considerably in the last few years, according to Wilbur. There is a much more relaxed, open approach to songwriting and rehearsing.

"Take 'Hyper Enough' for example (from "Here's Where The Strings Come In"). That was a song I wrote but (singer/guitarist) Mac came up with the guitar hook and Laura wasn't there when we learned it. So When she came in and wrote her part, she actually played it wrong, but we thought it sounded cool, so we kept it. In the early days, we tended more to finish everything from beginning to end before even bringing in a song to practice."

" I think it would be a mistake to try and force Superchunk to do things that are weirder than what it already does," Wilbur admits. "It's a four piece rock band. I think we're really good at that. Sometimes I wish we weren't so middle-of-the-road with the format, but the focus is on songs, really."

··One has to wonder, what with side projects like Portastatic, is there any chance of any of the members being tempted away from the fold.

"I don't think so," Wilbur says. "I mean, we've all got our things going on the side, but mostly it's just for fun. And Mac's got Portastatic, but he just has this need to keep busy. He's really a driven guy. He always has to have three things going at once."

The re certainly is a lot going on with the band at the moment. Besides the writing, rehearsing and recording of "Indoor Living", they just finished shooting a video, starring movie folk Janeane Garafalo ( "The Truth About Cat's and Dogs") and David Cross ("Men In Black"), for the single "Watery Hands". The tour is already underway and it will take them down the highways and byways of North America all the way from coast to coast (with a brief stop at the Pyramid on October 20^th). All this·not to mention the small matter of running their own label.

As Fugazi has Discord and Ani DiFranco has her Righteous Babe, so Superchunk heads the independent label Merge. "It would be great to sell as many records as possible," Wilbur says. "I don't think anyone believes that a band doesn't want to sell records. It's just a matter of, 'What do you want to do to achieve the highest sales possible? I realize that this is a business and not just a band. Touring can be a pain sometimes. It can be a lot of work. I'm a musician. I want to be in a band and play music. Look, I'm sorry to gripe. It's just that I've been on the phone all day saying basically the same thing over and over. Why anybody cares what I think is beyond me."

Then with a chuckle he says, "Don't mind me, I'm just the old crank in this band."