We Are Scientists is touring the nation in support of their third disc, Barbara. I got to chat with bassist Chris Cain on the phone, and even singer-guitarist Keith Murray chimed in. We’ve got news on the band’s new single, why the album is called Barbara, drummer Andy Burrows’ upcoming solo album and if Chris combs his sweet ‘stache, among many other fun topics.
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Buzzlegoose: How has the tour been?
Pretty good.
Which stop has been your favorite?
Salt Lake City. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I feel pretty strongly that’s gonna take the cup.
Why’s that?
It’s my hometown. It’s where I grew up. A bunch of hot chicks I went to high school with will be there. Which will be sort of a dream come true of playing to girls I wanted to fuck in high school. What could be better? Now I get to go on stage and be a rock star in front of them. I think my joy of doing that will spread to the rest of band.
How would you describe the recording process for this album?
It was pretty smooth. We had to kind of do it in pieces. Our drummer was in England. And the producer was in Los Angeles. We were in New York. We did a week in London and a week in New York and two weeks in Los Angeles. It went pretty smoothly. We didn’t go back and re-record. It came out pretty easy.
How was that different from the last two records?
Different. Recording the last record was kinda a huge pain in the ass. I don’t think rock historians will discuss Brain Trust Mastery. But there were some creative disagreements. The label was kinda there. Lot of walking in circles. The first [record] was completely different. We weren’t on a label yet. We did it cheap. Expectations were low.
So would you say there was more freedom on this record? You guys left Virgin Records for this, right?
Yeah. There was more freedom. I don’t have any bitterness about it [leaving the label]. It’s a business. It was never upsetting to us having people evaluating what was going on. We had nobody putting in their two cents here [on the new album]. It was certainly easier this way.
Why ‘Barbara’ for the album title?
There isn’t really a good story. It’s just one of those titles that sat on our lists of titles for months and months. We liked it more and more. It was standing out to us at the time. It wasn’t named after anyone. We thought it would be funny. We liked the idea of giving the record itself a human name, like boats get human names. A name, as opposed to a title. It’s not meant to be an ode to Barbara Walters or Barbara Bush. Those are the two most common guesses.
What else was on that list of titles?
The next most likely title was Body Shots. Again, just thought it was funny. That was funny, Barbara was just odd. Looking back at it, I’m glad we didn’t use Body Shots.
What has [new drummer] Andy [Burrows] added to this album and band since he joined?
He definitely has his own sound as a drummer. He’s accomplished. He’s not playing someone else’s drum style. He can play any instrument you put in his hands. He’s got a solo record coming out next month in which he does play every instrument. He really hears the song. A lot of drummers, their approach is to do something cool with the drum beat. It can be cool, but it can be dangerous. The drums have to be foundational. Andy really brings the songs to the best possible place they can be. He comes up with really fucking great fills. The mixing process was a pain in the ass, in a good way. We had so many great drum fills to go through and cut down. We’ve got a huge box of unused fills.
So you said Andy has a solo disc coming out? Did you and Keith help out at all?
He did it all on his own. We guest on one of the songs, on backing vocals. Otherwise, it’s just him. The man is a multi talent.
Where has been your favorite venue? Or do you have a favorite concert in mind?
California shows tend to be really great. Our fanbase here seems to be pretty passionate. California show are better than, say, Ann Arbor, though Ann Arbor is a great place to play. More people at California shows.
What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever experienced at one of your shows?
We never had anything really fuckin off the hook. Last night [Saturday], post show. The guy who is touring with us opening for us, when we were driving from San Francisco to our hotel in Dublin, California, he fell asleep on a half-eaten burrito. When we got out of the van, a wave of re-fried beans fell off of his clothes. The van now smells like beans. He’s still wearing those clothes. That’s about as crazy as we get.
I do have one story that is We Are Scientists-related that I would like to get out there.
The guy who drummed for us on the last album, Adam Aaronson, he’s currently with the band My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. He was touring with them for the last month. When he stopped in Salt Lake City last Friday, and he got on the bus after the show, there was a crazy fan that had gotten on the bus. When Adam got on, the fan started tussling with security. He wanted to see the singer but got pissed when he couldn’t. The dude pulled out a gun. Adam, who has been boxing for fitness, punched the guy in the face, and the guy dropped the gun. He ran into the venue and got security. And the guy went to jail. Adam shattered his hand on the guy’s face. His hand is in a huge fuckin cast. He’s a hero.
The lead single off your album—“Rules Don’t Stop”—why isn’t it called “Rules Don’t Stop Me”?
I don’t know, actually. Lemme ask Keith.
Keith Murray [in background]: It’s clumsy. It’s clumsy with “me” in there. It takes away the mystery of the title if “me” is in there. It takes out the mystery of what lies beneath.
Chris: “What Lies Beneath” is Keith’s favorite Harrison Ford movie. He was looking for a way to work that in.
You guys have some ridiculous music videos. What has been your favorite music video you guys have done?
“Rules Don’t Stop” video. It’s so pure. It’s the only video of ours that doesn’t have any story at all. Kind of refreshing to just watch something that’s basically a screensaver. A super screensaver.
What was it like running from a guy in a bear costume in the “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” video?
It’s gonna sound like a lazy answer, but it was exhausting. It was a very long day. We had to run 10 times the amount that was seen in the video. To an athlete, that’s not that much. But We Are Scientists is not a band that is athlete friendly.
You usually have some form of mustache, do you comb yours?
I do comb it. You’ve gotta run a comb through it in the morning after a shower. Mustaches don’t simply come out of the oven looking good. Just like the hair on your head. A disheveled mustache is no man’s look.
Last question. Any word on the album’s third single?
“I Don’t Bite.” Just shot the video on Friday in Los Angeles. It’s the most insane video we’ve done. And possibly the worst.
When are we gonna get to see it?
Pretty soon. Definitely this month it should be up on the Internet. And showing on TV, fingers fucking crossed.
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