It’s been 30 years since North Carolina indie-rockers Superchunk released their classic fourth album, Foolish. That breakout album, produced by Brian Paulson (Slint, Beck, Wilco), was the band’s first for the label they founded, Merge Records, and the label’s biggest seller of its early years.
Andrew Slaidins posed the questions to guitarist & vocalist Mac McCaughan to ahead of their visit to Australia this week, kicking off the tour in Brisbane on Saturday 7th December.
Andrew: Welcome to The Rockpit and Australia Mac. It great to see you guys on our shores again.
Mac: Really looking forward to it!
Andrew: What kind of connection do you have with Australia and what are your favourite things about our country?
Mac: We travelled to Australia very early on in our career & it was a pretty mind-blowing experience to be so far from home and to have people at our shows… we were already fans of so many bands from there — Go-Betweens, The Church, The Saints, Hoodoo Gurus, Lime Spiders, I could go on! — that just to be there & then play Livid w Died Pretty & Nick Cave etc & meet Grant McLennan, it was a lot. We also drove a lot more those early tours so got a feel for the country. Amazing place.
Andrew: This time it’s to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the bands fourth album ‘Foolish’. How significant is this album in the history of the band ?
Mac: I think it was the first time people got to hear us do something different and it resonated. To have fans stay with you when you’re trying new things is very empowering.
Andrew: It was an album that has quite a personal element to it. The songs were written while you and bassist Laura Ballance were in a relationship that ended shortly after the album was recorded. I recall reading something about how difficult it was for Ballance to hear and perform those songs knowing the meaning behind them. How personal were the songs on that album?
Mac: The songs on every album are personal; at this point I think they’re just as personal to the people who’ve been listening to them for the last 30 years, so it’s really fun to play them for our crowds that love them.
Andrew: How long did the album take to record ?
Mac: We recorded it super fast, like 3 or 4 days? and then mixed it in a few more days in Steve Albini’s attic.
Andrew: It was recorded at Pachyderm Studios where some of my favourite early to mid nineties albums were recorded. What made you pick that studio?
Mac: Unrest had made Perfect Teeth there with Brian and they recommended it. It was middle of winter in Minnesota, very snowy and cold.
Andrew: Brian Paulson produced the album, what was it that drew you to him to take the reins on this record?
Mac: We loved his records – Unrest as I mentioned, but of course Slint and Uncle Tupelo as well. He is a great person to work with and we learned a lot from him.
Andrew: The band and Paulson mixed the album in Steve Albini’s home studio. Albini had previously produced the bands second album “No Pocky For Kitty” was there a temptation to use Albini again for “Foolish”?
Mac: Steve’s aesthetic is so specific, I think we were looking to broaden out on this record and make something with cleaner tones. It was fun to see him getting Shellac going when we mixed the record at his house — he was making the sleeves to their 7″.
Andrew: How was working with Albini?
Mac: A little intimidating of course, but he put us at ease, and he liked to work fast like we did. Amazing.
Andrew: Do you have a personal favourite track on the album?
Mac: On Foolish, hmmm maybe the title track bc it was SO different than what we’d done before. I also really like Stretched Out which we never played live too much until this anniversary tour.
Andrew: ‘Foolish’ was the first album you did for your own label Merge Records which you founded with Ballance, what was the idea behind creating your own label?
Mac: We created Merge to release our own records — better than sending out demo tapes to try to “get signed” — and to release our friends’ bands.
Andrew: The label has a history of being home to some amazing bands early careers such as Arcade Fire. Others in the later part or more recent parts of their careers such as Bob Mould, Redd Kross and a slew of other bands from the indie/underground scene that was thriving in the mid to late 90’s. Which bands on the label excited you the most?
Mac: You can’t really pick favourites when you work with so many amazing bands! But certainly to work with artists we’d loved since we got into punk like Bob or The Clean is always exciting.
Andrew: How much of “Foolish” will you be playing at these Australian shows?
Mac: We play most of the record live, mixed in with songs from all our records — we don’t really play the same set from night to night, which keeps things interesting for us and people coming to the shows.
Andrew: The title track for the album was recorded in the sessions but was only ever initially released on 7” vinyl, will we get to hear it live?
Mac: Ha! I don’t know, we don’t play that one too much! It was kind of a studio experiment with a drum loop type thing…we’ll see.
Andrew: For a band that has a thirty-five year history how has the band managed to stay with a stable line up, what’s the secret to line up longevity?
Mac: I think just knowing and doing what is fun for us and makes sense.
Andrew: If I can I would like to finish up with a couple of quick questions. Do you have a favourite place or venue in Australia to play ?
Mac: It’s so rare that we get to come down there, it’s hard to have a favourite place because we are excited to be anywhere!
Andrew: Who are your favourite Australian bands?
Mac: See the list above! Go-Betweens, Church, Scientists, Saints, Hoodoo Gurus etc but there are really too many to mention — Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Crime and the City Solution, Total Control, TeeVee Repairman, Quivers, Cable Ties… and we were just listening to The Chats tonight making dinner!
Andrew: What is your greatest, most memorable moment on stage?
Mac: Too hard to pick one; we had an amazing show to finish our Spanish tour this August at the Canela Party Festival! Epic night.
Andrew: Any final words for the Australian fans ahead of the tours kick off this Saturday in Brisbane?
Mac: Can’t wait to see you, tell your friends, and send your requests — who knows! Also tell us where the best record stores and swimming spots are these days…
Andrew: Thanks for your time Mac, it’s been great to chat.
Mac: Thank you! see you soon.
