Under The Rotunda

If you poke around We Are Scientists' website, you'll find numerous blurbs and segments that will make you laugh out loud. Whether it's in their "Advice Column" or just poking around anywhere, their unique sense of humor is ingrained. And every time I've seen the band live, their banter is always entertaining and quite hilarious. So, with all of this being said, I was looking forward to sitting down with bassist Chris Cain. He did not disappoint, keeping his wit and sarcasm sharp throughout the interview. For example, when I asked him about the recent changes in the band's lineup, he quipped, "Oh, I thought you were talking about my shoes." For those who haven't been following the news, former drummer Michael Tapper left the band last November, and they have since been playing with two new members -- Adam Aaronson on drums and Max Hart on keyboards and the occasional guitar. "We actually started playing with Max before Michael left the band, and Max was a friend of our producer -- a guy named Ariel Rechtshaid -- who produced our two records. And Max has been in a band with Adam for many years, a band that is essentially on permanent hiatus, now that we've destroyed it. Sorry, bass player of High Speed Scene, if you're listening. We took everyone but the bass player. I decided, on reflection, not to replace myself. It was close, though. It was an eleventh hour decision."

While they have yet to officially name Adam as their permanent drummer, Chris had no qualms about his future with We Are Scientists. "I mean, we're definitely not actively searching for a replacement for Adam. At the same time, I think Keith [Murray, vocals and guitar] and I still are not really clear about what we want to happen with the band in the future, in future albums. Right now, both Max and Adam are great and have been not only excellent performers, but have been really integral in a creative way -- when it has come to doing acoustic arrangements and even new b-sides and things like that. We do have a good working relationship with those guys." And just when I thought the conversation was settling down into more standard fare, bereft of wit, Chris continued. "But, if we become a hip-hop duo, that might not be the crew we need. 'Cause it'll all be you popping the minidisc into the front of house, and you get up there and you rap. And you need other rappers, guys who can sing the hook out of tune. And Max and Adam can't do that, they're always in tune."

We Are Scientists' latest album, Brain Thrust Mastery, was released in March, and it was fairly successful, debuting at #11 in the UK. In recent years, We Are Scientists' popularity overseas has grown tremendously, providing them with a much larger fan base than they have in America. "I think our music fits more into the mainstream over there, where as it doesn't really here. The kids are a little more nuts, a little more surprised to see us, maybe? I dunno, as I say that, it doesn't seem true, they can't be surprised to see us. And yet, they sure do act like it. Here, we get a lot more conscientious music listeners who have found We Are Scientists because they seek out music that's kind of on the fringe. And in the UK, as I said, we get more of a mainstream crowd who often does not appear to be there just so they'll have an excuse to drink, if I can be honest. The shows are definitely more electric, but it's nice to have a variety. It's nice to come back to the states and play smaller venues. 'Cause you do miss the intimacy of a smaller club. So, that's the nice thing about playing the states. The rabid fans are the nice thing about playing the UK."

While Brain Thrust Mastery has been well-received, it still sounds like a new direction for the band. "There was definitely a conceptual change. We decided that we weren't gonna restrict ourselves to arrangements that three people could conceivably play. The first album, the idea was for the songs to sound essentially like the best possible live set that we had ever played. And with this album we have strings, we have the odd horn, and we had lots of keys -- before we had a keyboard player. We ended up feeling that to play the songs live, to even have them be recognizable from the album we would need a fourth person. So that's when we added Max, when we began to move into the tour cycle. That was the big conceptual difference. In terms of how we wrote it -- we had the luxury of more time, we weren't working jobs, so we actually did it faster than the last record. And spent a little more money on it but still tried to be fairly -- what's the word -- greedy, with our money. But I say we spared no necessary expense. It sounds like a million bucks. And it only cost three quarters of that."

We Are Scientists - Worth The Wait (from With Love And Squalor)
We Are Scientists - Ghouls (from Brain Thrust Mastery)

Labels: Interviews