With a year well on its way and a new album in hand, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks are out on the road again. Wig Out at Jagbags is the first proper release from the band since 2011’s Beck-produced Mirror Traffic. The record has been well received by fans and media alike and continues to display Malkmus’ strength in crafting infectious hooks and melodies.
The band is currently on tour supporting the new LP and as they make their way down the east coast, the band will stop at the TLA tomorrow, March 1, to give Philadelphia a proper taste of the new songs in a live setting. Opening the show is New York City’s Endless Boogie.
As they were making their way across the country, I was able to chat with Malkmus’ longtime friend and collaborator, Joanna Bolme of the Jicks.
What was the biggest difference between working with Beck as producer on Mirror Traffic and Remko Schouten on Wig Out at Jagbags?
Well, before Mirror Traffic we had pretty much produced all the records ourselves with an engineer. Beck was the first person we ever brought on board to produce, so we let him do his thing. Remko has been doing our live sound for years, we didn’t really have to say much, he just got it all set up real quick like when we’re 2 hours late for load in.
How did recording in Belgium differ from recording in the US? What challenges did you and the rest of the band have to overcome?
It’s not really different than recording in the States, except there were ponies across the street and better cheese. When it comes down to it, it’s just the band and a room, you just play and hope the guys in the other room are doing their job.
Take me through the typical process in writing a Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks song. Has this process changed at all over time?
Steve writes the song, sometimes it’s pretty finished and sometimes it’s just a riff he came up with yesterday. We play it till it sounds like a Jicks song.
How has the dynamic of the band changed since Malkmus moved back from Berlin?
We get to play together a few times a week and work on new songs or just jam. When he was in Berlin, there was only time to rehearse for tour, no messing about.
How does it feel to now have more albums released than Pavement? Has there ever any pressure in being compared to Pavement?
It feels great to beat Pavement in the album department, I’m afraid they slay us with the b-sides though.
What can we expect out of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks this time on tour?
New songs, old songs, songs we just learned, topical banter, spilled beer, shredding…
Tickets are $24.50 and still available here. Doors open at 8PM and music begins at 9PM.
PHOTO: LEAH NASH
