INTERVIEW: Laura Ballance, Superchunk
- Christina Apeles
Stopping into Los Angeles for a two-night stint at the Roxy to promote Superchunk's latest record, Come Pick Me Up, bassist and co-founder of indie label Merge Records Laura Ballance, talked with Consumable Online over some drinks before heading off to soundcheck. And if you've ever seen Superchunk live, you're familiar with their high energy set where the whole band gives it their all and have continued to over their ten year career. One would think that after years and years of playing gigs across the U.S. and abroad, there would be a point where one or all of the band would tone down their set. Yet after seeing them perform for the third time within a year, that hasn't been the case.
"I don't know, I guess maybe a couple years ago we were burned out, but I think as time goes on we've learned how to get along better over the years, and also just have more fun playing. We're not taking everything so seriously. If you mess up it's not such a big deal," says Ballance while sipping her Corona. When asked if she or Mac had ever plowed each other on stage, Laura confessed, "We've never actually fallen down but we've all hurt each other before, but not knocking each other down."
So where do they find the energy to bounce around all over the stage night after night? "You just do it," Ballance answers. "I hate it whenever I see a videotape of myself playing. It's just embarrassing and whenever I see that I'm just like, I am never doing that again. I am not jumping around like that anymore; it's so stupid looking. But I find that when I'm playing I have to, 'cause otherwise I'll feel like I'm being a real stick in the mud. And, it's fun to do."
Playing shows at clubs while on tour are one thing, but playing music festivals are another thing altogether. I last saw Superchunk play on Independence Day at "Ain't No Picnic" which had some twenty-plus indie bands staggered over three stages.
"Well, 'Ain't No Picnic' was fun," Ballance admits. "We got to play with all the same bands two days before in Northern California, like Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Rocket from the Crypt. We've all known each other for years. That was an exceptional situation, that was fun. But European festivals are disgusting. There's not enough port-a-johns for everybody; it's just gross. I'm just like, get me out of here."
As for their current tour across the U.S., Ballance shared Superchunk's preparatory ritual. "We do place bets at the beginning of the tour. We go through the entire itinerary and place bets on the attendance of each show, like we'll all put in a number. It's completely random so far who wins. I won a lot on our last tour because I used to be tour manager. What you win is not much, like the band buys you a drink, which is ridiculous because we get free drinks wherever we play anyway, and when we go out to dinner the band buys dinner."
Since I am an Angeleno, I had to ask about her experiences playing Los Angeles. "I don't mind playing L.A. I used to hate it when we first started playing here, 'cause you get treated like shit. When people don't know who you are and you're in a band, you don't get treated very well. One of the first times we played here we played the Whiskey, opening for Sonic Youth. After we were done, they're like, 'Okay your gear is on the street, move your van.'"
On the business side of making music, Ballance does not deny the pressure or desire to sell more records. "We haven't given up on that. There's no external pressure, but there has been internal pressure to do that. At one point we tried to get past 40,000 records and we hired someone to push the video, a single for radio, and it was a miserable failure. It wasn't fun. We ended up doing a lot of stuff we wouldn't otherwise do. We did more interviews than normal. Doing a few is fine but doing a ton gets really old."
If you're wondering if she reads Superchunk interviews after they run, she doesn't. "Why do I need to read them anymore? I'm just fed up with reading about music. I read the 'New Yorker' a lot so I feel like I have some idea of what's going on the world. I used to not to be able to stand it. I used to think it was snotty. Now, I find that it's not."
Though Ballance is sick of reading about music, she still has her radio tuned in, and not just to indie rock. "There's a lot of crap out there, but a lot of the hip-hop stuff I like, like Busta Rhymes. If I'm not listening to college radio at home I'll listen to the hip-hop station."
She went on to remark on the music scene in the band's hometown of Chapel Hill, which has produced the likes of Archers of Loaf, Ben Folds Five and Southern Culture on the Skids. "We're outside of it now. There's still a strong Chapel Hill community, but we're not so much a part of it. There's a whole new crop of kids. We used to know everyone that was doing something." This is partly due to their touring schedule, as well as managing their Merge Records label, which celebrated its ten-year anniversary this year that carries such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel, The Ladybug Transistor, and Magnetic Fields. "Mac and I own and run it, and we have three-and-a-half employees who basically run it whenever we go out of town."
Of course any business is not without its difficulties. "It's different every time, and there's always different problems. Lately there's been a lot of problems and not a whole lot of rewards. Whenever a record finally comes out it's okay. Just getting the whole thing together, signing a band you love, getting the tape of the record and going 'Oh that's awesome,' then the artwork comes in and it all comes together and when it does, it's just a perfect package." Ballance also contributes to the creative work. "I do a little bit of painting, not very much. In high school I took a painting class. I mostly paint when we need a record cover."
The other members of Superchunk (McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, drummer Jon Wurster) have their outside responsibilities as well. In addition to the day to day demands at Merge, McCaughan has done three albums with his other band Portastatic, and he just started Wobbly Rail, a jazz label. Wilbur has had his side projects like Humidifier, with members from fellow Merge band Spent, while Wurster keeps up with fan mail and managing Superchunk's website. Needless to say, none of them have much leisure time. Ballance feels, "If I ever had free time, I would probably want to spend it painting."
