When: 9 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St.
Tickets: $20 at www.etix.com
Information: www.onepercentproductions.com or 345-7575
Don't write off Built to Spill as old-timers.
They may have been around since Bill Clinton was first made president, but the band's frontman thinks it's better with age.
“For a lot of people we're like an old band. I think some people have one or two of our records from 10 years ago,” Doug Martsch said. But for him, Built to Spill is “better than we've ever been.”
Other than acknowledging the release of Built to Spill's new album, “There Is No Enemy,” and mentioning that most of the songs have been road-tested on tour, Martsch didn't want to talk much about it.
The band's main songwriter has never been one to talk about the meaning of his music or lyrics, saying that what a listener feels a song means is more important than his intentions as a composer.
He also doesn't trust artists, including himself, to tell the truth.
“If you're told that a song is about something, even if the artist said so, I don't believe it. I know from my own experience that I'll say something in an interview that's completely not true,” he said. “I don't even want to know the meaning behind the things that I love.”
After 16 years and six albums, the group is going strong. Making music isn't too difficult for Martsch. The band's seventh record, “There Is No Enemy,” will be released Oct. 6. The group performs Wednesday in Omaha.
Keeping a band together, on the other hand, is a different story.
“Keeping a group of people that want to be around each other and support each other for that long ... that's the hardest part,” Martsch said. “I didn't think we'd last that long and, more importantly, I didn't think we'd be relevant.”
If it weren't for music, Martsch doesn't know where he'd be.
“I never thought I'd be a musician for a living. The whole thing is icing on the cake for me. If I wasn't doing this, I would have some sort of low-paying, unskilled, menial task sort of job,” Martsch said. “Now I have a low-paying really fun job.”
Contact the writer:
444-1557, kevin.coffey@owh.com
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