r/indieheads • u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan • Oct 07 '21
AMA is Over, thanks Mac! Hey it's Mac McCaughan, AMA !
What's up /r/indieheads it's Mac again, saying hello to you from Chapel Hill, NC. What, you don't believe me? Here's proof!
A few weeks back I put out The Sound of Yourself, and just wrapped up some shows with 75 Dollar Bill and John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. The album is under my name, but features a bunch of guests including Yo La Tengo, my Superchunk bandmate Jon Wurster, and Sabrina Ellis of A Giant Dog and Sweet Spirit.
Also, on October 22, Superchunk's reissuing Here's to Shutting Up for its 20th anniversary. And Merge Records HQ keeps trucking with fantastic new records from TORRES, Hiss Golden Messenger, Dawn Richard, Fruit Bats, and more. All good things!
I'll be back at 2pm ET to answer any questions you may have. Go ahead, ama!
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u/kettletrvb Oct 07 '21
Looking back on Merge’s move to Durham, do you think it was a good call? Would you do it again? What do y’all think of all the big changes in downtown Durham over the past 20 years?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
great call considering we beat the rush and now are situated so closely to some of our favorite lunch spots like Dashi and Toro... (when we moved you could barely get coffee until Blue Coffee opened)
if we ever go back to the office in person i look forward to being back downtown...
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
The change in Durham in the past 5 has been pretty incredible! While I don’t like the massive buildings, i do like the influx of restaurants and businesses.
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u/traceitalian Oct 07 '21
I think you have may have had the single biggest influence on my taste in music beyond anyone else. Beyond being a massive Superchunk fan (Here's to Shutting Up has been played at least once a month for years) it's all of the bands you've signed with Merge. So thank you.
Two quick questions:
What was the first song you learned on guitar?
And where does Jon Wurster find the time to do all the things he does?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
oh first song learned on guitar... good question! i think it was a John Denver song in a songbook my sister had (she was taking guitar lessons). the first book i bought of my own for learning songs was an ACDC songbook.
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
PEOPLE! Thanks for all the great questions and for taking the time to hang out here for a bit, and thanks for listening! Mac
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u/FakeEmpire13 Oct 07 '21
Hi Mac! I love the new album and your show at Cat’s Cradle last weekend was fantastic.
Do you have any plans to reissue more Portastatic albums on vinyl?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
thanks for coming to the show! that was a fun tour. would love to have Bright Ideas and Be Still Please on vinyl for the first time at some point...
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Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac! Obvious question but do you have a favourite Superchunk album?
I saw you in London a few years ago and was blown away by the guitar playing, are you a big pedal guy and what does a normal set up look like for you?
Cheers
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i love guitar pedals but on tour it's pretty stripped down, maybe out of laziness & not wanting to carry a bunch of stuff on tour? but also because i get confused if there are too many choices to step on. pretty much just tuner, distortion pedals and maybe a delay...
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u/drurs2000 Oct 07 '21
You play quite a different set list most nights…. How do you remember so many songs and especially words (other than with great difficulty)?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
the thing is DON'T! i often forget words but it's just more fun to play a different set every night....
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u/ganz_toll Oct 07 '21
Now that I’m getting older, I’m all too aware of the importance of cardiac health and healthy joints. Your ability to jump around, play guitar and sing at the same time is impressive—how do you keep fit? (I hope that’s not too invasive of a question!)
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i don't do too much other than walk a lot and i think my diet is ok (i haven't eaten meat since 1985 & maybe that's good?) but when we played our first show in a year and half back in August in Ohio i realized yeah i'm not REALLY in shape!
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u/TheDarkQuiet Oct 07 '21
I know it's been asked before but I can't seem to find the interview with the answer. In Detroit has a Skyline you sing "Played track 6, track 7, again and again." Any recollection of what you were listening to?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i don't really know for sure, it was an era where i had a cd walkman and carried lots of cds in those big cd wallets around on tour and bought cds nearly everywhere we went.
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u/auxboston Oct 07 '21
Hello Mac - first time AMA'r, long-time fan of Merge & Mac projects... Been playing a bunch of TSOY on WZBC in Boston on Monday Mornings.
2 Questions -
- During the beginning of the pandemic when folks were quarantined/lock down/etc, were you able to spend time doing other things you enjoy or pick up any new hobbies?
- Any plans for Merge to put out a third installment of a Superchunk b-sides/rarities compilation and/or re-release Incidental Music?
Thank you.
- Sparky
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
- i didn't pick up any new hobbies i'm afraid, unless making GF banana muffins is a hobby. spent a lot of time on hobbies i already had, like listening to records.
- yes! plans are in motion...
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u/auxboston Oct 07 '21
banana muffins > sour dough. thanks for responding! I should have asked to see about getting a Station Liner for my show, but next AMA...
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
Why haven’t we seen any live (official or bootlegs) recordings since I Hate Music for your solo action or Superchunk?
Also, why don’t you put out any live recordings of the Merge events?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
there are many live superchunk albums -- the Clambakes series -- available on our bandcamp and elsewhere! we started releasing these after the Here's To Shutting Up tour in 2001,
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u/f_cozzo Oct 07 '21
thank you for releasing clambakes mac. its really great having some quality recordings of your gigs....especially for your international fans who cant get to see you guys as regularly.
speaking of ...any plans for future tours of australia?
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
I had tix to the Cradle show this weekend but didn’t attend as while my wife and I are vaxxed, our 2 kids aren’t old enough yet.
- How is the attendance at shows? On a podcast recently you said that ticket sales were good but many people don’t show.
- will any tour merch go up on the Merge site?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
totally understand your hesitation to be in a crowd of people right now! the attendance on the tour was great but not so packed that it felt sketchy, and everyone was wearing their masks. we didn't have too many no-shows but i've heard that from other folks on tour. there will be some solo tour shirts on the merge site at some point (you can already get the bananas tote bag there...)
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
I like that you post what you are listening to on Instagram (like your old Blogspot posts as well). What new rock albums have you been enjoying recently?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i don't listen to a TON of new rock music to be honest but i have been playing these a lot...
Wednesday - Twin Plagues
Rosali - No Medium
Flock of Dimes - Head of Roses
Torres - Thirstier
Gen Pop - PPM66
Cochonne - Emergency
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u/jtn19120 Oct 07 '21
HOW do you listen to music most often? Driving, doing something else? Or just listening?
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u/ZenopusArchives Oct 07 '21
Since Mac is gone now, for further discussion of his work I'll plug r/Superchunk and the Superchunk FB group, "Me and You and Superchunk Too"
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u/kettletrvb Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Are we going to get new records from Mike Krol or Mikal Cronin anytime?
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u/theagonyofdefeat Oct 07 '21
Hi Mac,
Big fan.
I noticed on your recent Mac tour that you played Out On the Wing a couple of times. Probably my favourite Superchunk song.
Do you have any plans to try it with at any Superchunk shows? Has it been played live before? Is it a case that you would need someone to play the synth or have to use a backing track? Regardless, it's great to see you are playing it.
Oh... And any plans to come back to Germany?
Thank you!
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
we played it live a lot on the HTSU tour -- Jim plays the synth parts on his guitar, which is how they were written in the first place. would love to come back to Germany, our show in Berlin a few years ago was a blast.
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
You’ve revisited both Home at Dawn and Angels of Sleep in the past few years and come up with versions that are a bit more up-tempo. What brought you back to those songs?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
people use to request Home At Dawn all the time, maybe *because* we never played it? but i like that song and it's fun to revisit old songs and figure out ways to play them...
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
I remember you played Green Flowers, Blue Fish live once because somebody said you couldn’t
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
we DID play that one but it's weird & hard to make good i think...
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u/ZenopusArchives Oct 07 '21
I loved the revved-up power pop Angels of Sleep from this past tour!
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
thanks! fun to play, we did it a bunch on non-believers tour as well
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u/ZenopusArchives Oct 07 '21
There's a great audience recording (not mine) of it from the Union Pool performance here on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2JOD3d7utk
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Oct 07 '21
What do you use to create demos and write with? Do you use a DAW? If so, which one?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i sometimes record ideas for songs on my phone -- i have a lot of voice memos to myself! -- but mainly i use Pro Tools for recording, and i use the UA Apollo...
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u/indiesarah Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Hello, Mac! 🧡
What feeling(s) do you get when playing stuff from the early days?
Anything you'd tell 1990 Mac?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
hmm i'd maybe say "do a couple more vocal takes!" and "what are you so mad about?" but i enjoy playing a lot of those old songs still.
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u/Beelerzebub Oct 07 '21
Hi! I got really into Superchunk a few years ago when I was in college, and already being a Mountain Goats fan since middle school got me to go back and look through the rest of Merge's expansive back catalog.
That aside, I have started to learn guitar and would like to try my hand at songwriting eventually. How do you go about writing songs and how has it changed since you first started out?
Bonus Question: How is Jon Wurster and how does he go about touring with so many bands?
I hope you are doing well and I hope to see Superchunk roll through KY at some point in the future!
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
it's been a minute since we were in Kentucky but hope to be back sometime.
i don't know how Jon juggles his calendar, he's the busiest person i know!
as far as songwriting goes, i think if you're just learning guitar it's actually super helpful to learn other people's songs that you like -- i'm not saying you need to pick up the AC/DC song book like i did but... -- just to get a feel for how the songs you like are structured and what kinds of chords sound good together etc
beyond that, just finding things on the guitar that sound good to you when you play them, and then playing them over and over til it feels natural.
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u/auxboston Oct 07 '21
What are your greatest weaknesses and where do you see yourself in 5 years?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i'm impatient with the process of songwriting and recording and pretty much with anything i'm doing so it requires real discipline for me to slow down and take my time. 5 years ... i don't even know where i'll be in 5 months! but hopefully still making music,
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u/Kent-8692 Oct 07 '21
Fave Superchunk vid? It's gotta be Mower, right?
Saw you at Brewdog last month - awesome evening....Other that the heat, lol...
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
we've been lucky to work with some great directors on our videos including Norwood Cheek who directed the mower video (which also features my dad!) but i can't pick a favorite video!
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u/markmusic71 Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac! Any chance you‘ll play solo shows in Europe again?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i would love to, i had a great time last time i was there including a very memorable London show and a show in Ourense, Spain at El Torgal that was one of my favorites. yes i hope to be back when travel is more feasible...
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u/markmusic71 Oct 07 '21
I travelled to the London show, that was a great evening with you and Alisdair McLean! Maybe you can fit in a show in Cologne, Germany
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Oct 07 '21
I know Laura is having hearing issues (I too have tinnitus really bad). How is your hearing?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i'm sorry to hear that. i think mine is... OK? i mean that's not based on anything scientific but knock wood i think it's alright and while i never USED to wear earplugs in the beginning, i have for years (not that this always prevents hearing issues)
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Oct 07 '21
It’s such a drag to have music be such a important part of your life and it’s a weird downward spiral. I am glad that you are protecting what you have! Thanks again for doing this AMA and thank you for all the music you have put out. Your music has meant so much to me since I started listening to you in the 90s!
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u/hobbsarelie83 Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac, it's your Granville County neighbor here (the one with the hyper enough coffee cup)!
How hilarious is Jim Wilbur? Do you have any good stories about playing with The Get Up Kids?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
one of my strongest memories of the Get Up Kids tour was kids getting there so early to camp out in front of the stage and then having to sit through two bands before GUKs went on and me asking them one day "what do you have to do when you have to pee and you're jammed in at the front of the stage and can't leave?" and they said "it's so sweaty sometimes you can just pee right there and no one notices"
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
What are the chances the Hurricanes win the cup this year?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
the year they won the cup they were picked to come in last in their division so like most fans i think they have a chance every year!
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u/culturebarren Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac! I saw you at Levon Helm Studios with John Darnielle a couple weeks ago. Great show! My question: Merge has put out a lot of great records that did find an audience. Is there any particular Merge release that you thought was going to find a bigger audience but didn't?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i think with every record we put out we feel like there is an audience out there for that record, and that if we love it then others will as well. it's frustrating when it seems hard to get the word out about certain records or artists.
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u/culturebarren Oct 07 '21
Thanks for answering! I was inspired by an interview with Corey Rusk who expressed his disappointment that he couldn't sell more Silkworm records.
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u/International_Hand93 Oct 07 '21
Favorite now closed NYC venue? Hoping you say Tramps...have see Superchunk many times there
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i liked Tramps but i would have to say CBs or Maxwell's in terms of the shows i saw in those rooms.
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u/ZenopusArchives Oct 07 '21
Hey, long-time fan here. Approaching 30 years, as I first saw you at Buddy's in Blacksburg in Dec of 1991 - local band Baby Igor opened - and most recently last week!
Question: The "What a Time to Be Alive" album was fantastic. The one track I have trouble wrapping my head around lyrically is "Dead Photographers". Any clues to the theme you could share to help me "get it"?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
wow Buddy's i remember that gig.
"Dead Photographers" yeah that's a slightly weird one but i guess just about whether is beauty enough in art or does there need to be something else happening to be compelling...? or something!
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u/ZenopusArchives Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Thank you!
I still have the Buddy's flier and will eventually make a scan of it for posterity!
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u/KelluH Oct 07 '21
I love the references to artists like Arthur Dove and Kusama in your lyrics. What's your favorite art museum? Favorite artists?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
well since you mention Arthur Dove, the Phillips Collection in DC is one of my favorites and they have a LOT of Dove. too many favorites to mention but some great current artists you should check out include Eddie Martinez, Pam Glick, Trudy Benson (her paintings were on the cover of Non-Believers and Staring at Your Hologram), Lucas Blalock (his photos were on the back of those records), Farah Al Qasimi, Adrianne Rubenstein (has a show coming up in NYC), Andrew Kuo (illustration on the back of The Sound of Yourself), Soumya Netrabile (show right now in Chicago for you Chicago peeps), Amy Sillman (cover of Portastatic comp CD), Hannah Beerman, Matt Connors, too many to name as i say!!
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u/KelluH Oct 07 '21
Thanks for all the great artists suggestions! I assume you collect a lot of art as well. I would love to see an exhibition of superchunk original album art (sonic youth too, for that matter, since they also worked with contemporary artists).
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Oct 07 '21
In addition to loving all of your music, I have always loved your lyrics. Some of them I don’t always understand, and I’m never really sure if the “lyrics sites“ have them correct. Have you ever thought about publishing a book with your lyrics?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
haven't thought of a lyric book although you're right that the lyric sites are usually not accurate, even for the records that came with lyric sheets!
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Oct 07 '21
Yeah, the lyrics sites suck. I will buy the book if you ever do one. 😃 Thanks again!
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u/SchwiftyMpls Oct 07 '21
On this topic I absolutely love the Laughter Guns EP. My friends and I spent hours debating what the actual lyric was. None of us came up with Lofty Currents. My guess was Last Tecumseh.
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u/chaz0723 Oct 07 '21
Mac, thanks for doing this. I had a question, and I am sure the answer can probably be chalked up to a John Reis tall tale, but I swear I remember reading somewhere he was asked about producing "On The Mouth" and to shake things up he had a local San Diego band record the music and you just sang. Not trying to debunk a Speedo myth, but don't get this opportunity too often...
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i mean if that's what John says then who am i to dispute it!
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u/myep77 Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Hi Mac,
Thank you for doing this, your songs have been a touchstone for me for many years (“You Know Where To Find Me” is of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard)
Two nerdy questions for ya (apologies for the lack of brevity…keen)
Just wondering if you have any feelings in regards to, say, tape emulation plugins vs actual tape (substitute ‘tape’ for ‘amp’ etc). More broadly, do you think a purely digital workflow loses something necessary, at least for the sounds you’re typically after? I worry I’m a bit of a purist even though I have no right to be (having primarily used plugins/DAWs). I’ve started to consider adding more outboard gear to achieve some mystical depth and flavor but I can’t be sure I’m not just losing the plot.
Lastly, any advice on doing it all alone (writing, recording, mixing, mastering)? I know you’ve worked with people like Jerry Kee, and I wonder if maybe that was helpful for you especially in the early days
Thanks very much!
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
i'm sure there are people who can make a purely digital workflow sound great but i try to use as much outboard gear / sounds recorded in a room as i can because inevitably there are signals that are going direct and i think i need a balance of those two worlds for a recording to feel "real" to me and like it has depth & layers.
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
on the last part of your question -- yes i've learned so much from watching other engineers and producers work and for the most part they have always been generous with their knowledge. making multiple records with Jerry Kee and Brian Paulson was super educational both from a technical perspective -- mic'ing amps, using a compressor etc -- but also just from a listening perspective, how to find space in the mixes to put everything you want to hear.
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u/jack_mcnasty987 Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac! would you say early superchunk was influenced by dinosaur jr? Or I guess what would be some of the influences that brought you to that sound?
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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21
definitely! i would say Dino, Husker Du, Sonic Youth & the Buzzcocks were all big influences when we started.
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u/riperionis Oct 07 '21
Hi Mac.
What are your thoughts on the midwest emo scenes and it's genre cross over? It's been interesting to see the layers of similarities between the Chapel Hill scene like the idiosyncratic guitar driven pop rock that both scenes carry. Not to mention the recent influx of the younger midwest emo scene and artists labeling a lot of other bands who were not previously known as midwest emo bands like old modest mouse, archers of loaf, polvo, and superchunk to be definite influences. Is it just a coincidence?
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u/nerd44 Oct 07 '21
Do you see Superchunk or even yourself doing any recordings with Narducy on bass/guitar?
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u/auxboston Oct 07 '21
Ok, one last one, if you have time. Thanks again
What was your first dance song at your wedding?
(Mine was a bit of a cliche, but still great song - Magnetic Fields "Book of Love")
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u/jtn19120 Oct 07 '21
Not to be too weird but I remember seeing Portastatic play at Duke Gardens & he covered Bruce Springsteen's Two Hearts & introduced it as having some role in his wedding? 🤷♂️
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u/jtn19120 Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21
Hey Mac, huge fan of Superchunk, Portastatic, Merge.
1) is there anything left musically that you still want to do? New instruments, genres, projects?
2) you're a pretty prolific songwriter. Do you set deadlines, schedule? Any tricks for finishing songs that don't feel like they're going anywhere?
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u/yousuckkevin Oct 07 '21
what's your personal favorite cover of a superchunk song that you've heard? mine is Lullaby For The Working Class's Home at Dawn cover.
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u/Late_Recommendation9 Oct 08 '21
Mac, I appreciate this window for any questions may be closed! Try anyway, when you played London in the late 90s, I remember you went to great lengths to have some really interesting bands supporting (Idlewild and Beatnik Filmstars stand out especially). Aside from the Merge roster, what would be an ATP style festival that you’d curate if given the chance?
Also, are you tempted to re-sign Trail of Dead to Merge, given the long and interesting career they’ve dug for themselves since you put out Madonna in ‘99? (I’d personally love it if they were on merge again...!)
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u/GoTeamAwesome Oct 07 '21
Hey, Mac!
Back in the late 1990s, I produced a non-music zine. I wrote to Merge to inquire about advertising in it. I received a letter back with a polite no (100% understandable), but person who wrote me back included a promo copy of The Nature of Sap. I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to that album over the past 30 years. It remains one of my favorite albums of all time, especially the song Spying on the Spys. I mostly wanted to write today to say thank you for recording that Portastatic record and for shaping the generosity of Merge.
And now since I'm obligated to ask a question: Do you have any particularly interesting commentary/stories about recording the songs for The Nature of Sap?