Interview6

Supergiggin' with The Verve Pipe
by Jose Martinez

"We wanted to make a statement right off the bat that this is a rock & roll record," Verve Pipe singer Brian Vander Ark admits about "Supergig," the lead-off track to the band's latest self-titled release. "That was a pretty big lift from The Who for me."
    Best known for their lush breakthrough hit, "The Freshmen," the Verve Pipe's "Supergig" sound more like the Sex Pistols. But fear not, pop fans, it's just one facet to the band's follow-up to 1996's smash, Villains. After performing nearly 300 concerts in America alone in support of their last record, the band (singer Vander Ark, his bassist brother Brad Vander Ark, drummer Donny Brown, guitarist A.J. Dunning, and keyboardist Doug Corella) spent three years writing songs and getting acquainted with the pitfalls of fame.
    In between albums, the band lent their talents to several soundtracks, including Clay Pigeons, Great Expectations and The Avengers where Vander Ark teamed up with XTC's Andy Partridge on "Blow You Away." It was one of 11 tracks they wrote and recorded together. In addition, Vander Ark also made the leap onto the big screen, acting in Road Kill which won the Audience Award in March at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and Mergers and Acquisitions which will debut at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this month.
    "This record holds a magnifying glass up to this band," Brian says while filming their video for "Hero." "It's self-titled because it really captures what the band is all about," the singer explains. Preparing to embark on another extensive tour, the Grand Rapids, Michigan native offered his take on success and the pressures to follow up "The Freshmen."

    Venice: This isn't your second record, but for a lot of people it's the second one they know about. Was there any pressure to avoid the sophomore jinx?
    Brian Vander Ark: We realized that the press would jump on the sophomore angle, especially with the success of "The Freshmen." That's obvious. We knew it was going to happen. But this is our fourth record and we have grown with each record. Hopefully, we've grown in the right direction.
    There's always pressure, but quite honestly, if we wanted to ensure our success, we would have gotten Jerry Harrison (who produced Villains) to [produce] this record. And we would have recorded the record like we did Villains. The lyrics would have been more metaphoric so they can reach more people, instead of being so personal this time. But we decided to take a chance.

   Did you ever hear while making this record, "You need to make another 'Freshmen'?"
    Nobody in the band ever said that. We knew from the beginning of this band..."The Freshmen" had been written very early on and we felt it would be successful if it was recorded the right way. The Label, of course, wanted another "Freshmen." They'd say, "I don't hear another 'Freshmen' on this record." And we'd say great. This is a whole different record.

    How much have you changed since the success of Villains?
    We're more mature. We know a lot more now about what the agenda of the record label is and what our agenda is. We had a fairly successful run before we signed (to RCA). We sold between 40 and 50,000 records in Michigan which was respectable. We were used to doing things ourselves and when you sign to a major label you think, "We're going to hand over everything to them and do what they say because they're paying for it." And that's basically what we did. This time we thought, "We've had success and now we want to stretch out a bit." Fortunately, RCA has been great about that.

   What was it like finally going home after performing over 300 shows in support of the last record?
    It was pretty bizarre. The dichotomy of homelife and bus tourlife is amazing. Going from only knowing your schedule from day to day to going home and asking, "What am I doing next week? Next month?" That's a whole different animal. I can be really comfortable in either, once I get used to it.

       You worked on a few soundtracks in between records. Was that a way to keep things fresh?
    Those were opportunities that came up. We didn't seek those out to stay in the public eye. Especially with the soundtracks that we chose; they weren't very popular movies. The Avengers was in theaters for one afternoon (laughs). It's always a great thing if I can get inspiration. At this point in the game, I've recorded 50 to 60 songs, so where am I going to go for inspiration? When that happens I'll sit down and write.

    What was it like working with Andy Partridge of XTC?
    Amazing. That was my moment. Most of the time I was sitting in disbelief that I was working with him. I've been listening and loving his music for years. It was one of my greatest experiences trying to understand what his songwriting agends is; how he gets from Point A to Point B. We wrote faster than I've ever written before. In the confines of two days, in a tool shed, we wrote 13 or 14 songs.

    Do you want to do anything with the rest of those songs?
    I want to go in with Andy and record all those songs. Every one of those songs is great. These songs should be heard.

    You also spent some time acting in front of the camera. Is acting anything like making a music video?
    They're very similar. There's a certain amount of acting that goes inot a live performance. You just have to know where the energy comes from; you have to muster up the energy. I learned that on this last film, Mergers and Acquisitions. The director came up to me and said, "I just don't feel it." And I thought, OK I have to perform and turn it up like I'm on stage, and it totally worked.

    How did you go from acting in an independent film to producing one?
    I was so excited working with the independent spirit, which is like guerilla filmmaking. If you don't have a permit you just jump out of the van and do it or you design dialogue by committee. I was thrilled and I felt I could help young filmmakers in some way using my name. Now I've received scripts and stories and treatments from people who haven't had their big break yet. And if their story is great, I'll do it. That's how I got involved with Mergers and Acquisitions. It's a fantastic story. I've sunk my own money into it, although I've heard you're not supposed to sink you own money into your own film, but I did anyway. And it looks great.

    Do you have any other film projects coming up?
    I did a movie with Garry Marchall called The Space Between Us. And that's making the circuit right now. That's pretty much it. I'm looking at other projects. I just read a novel by a guy that I really, really like called Alice Underground. And he wants me to play a part in that.

    On the last tour, the band opened for KISS. This might be an old story for you, but what was that like?
    That was heaven and hell all mixed up in one. Some nights it would be glorious and other nights it was a really hard experience. The one thing that I took away from that experience was never fear another crowd ever again. Before that we played radio festivals where people wanted to see Bush or whoever, but going out with KISS... There's 20,000 people waiting for two hours for KISS to go on, the lights go down, there's a huge cheer, the light come up and there we are (laughs). What are you going to do? They were chanting "We want KISS" during the first song, but we always won the crowd over within the first two songs, except for Germany. They would not have anything to do with us. They would spit on us and throw stuff at us.

    In the song "The F Word" (on the new album), you sing, "I've got to get arrested to keep you interested." Did you ever think that fans might forget about the band in between records?
    That's how I was feeling at the time. That's when everybody was arguing about the material. Even the band sat down, because Donny had written a lot of songs, and there was an argument as to what makes a song better. It was frustrating because people were saying, "I don't hear another 'Freshmen,' guys." And I said, "Fuck this." I locked myself in a cottage in Lake Michigan for two weeks, didn't bathe, and just wrote what I felt. "The F Word" was the first song that came out. It was about life in this band and what that's like, and the pressure to make some sort of noise. And it's funny because on the heels of writing "The F Word' you have the white boy rap/disguised heave metal, in you face, press and radio of Limp Bizkit and Korn and that's appealing to the masses. That's what I was talking about in the song. Do I have to do that to make us more appealing?

    I know I'm getting sick of reading about rock stars getting arrested for trying to take a gun on an airplane.
    You know, fuck that noise. That is a publicist's dream. That's become so banal and so cliche. And I've actually msde the mistake of doing that. A friend of mine runs a radio station in Seattle and she dared me to get naked and I did. And suddenly I felt like a hypocrite because I let myself do it, and it was a stupid thing to do. I'm not the type of who would take a gun into the airport. I'm the kind of guy who takes his belt off because I don't want to give them a reason (laughs).

    Your first single on this record is "Hero." And in the video you play an accidental hero. Do you feel like a hero whenever you're on stage?
    Actually, it's quite the opposite. It's really tongue and cheek. I may be some kind of icon to someone, but I hope it's in a way that will inspire them to pick up a guitar and play. Personally, I don't want to be a role-model. Quite honestly, I'm a heavy drinker and a fairly heavy smoker. I'm basically a pretty selfish guy. I think people can live their lives better than the way I live my life. I'm a jerk; a creep from the cradle and don't follow my lead.

    Do you remember the point in your life that you wanted to pick up a guitar and commit to it?
    It was my older brother. He was in bands and getting girls. At first that was my motivation. Now I'm not only getting the girls but trying to fulfill my never-ending quest to write the perfect pop song and love song. "Kiss Me Idle" was the closest thing I've come to writing a love song.

     Can you pick a hit song? Did you know when you wrote "The Freshmen" that you had a hit on your hands?
    It's a bit contrived. I had rented the movie "The Freshman," with Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, and I was waiting to go to my job at the mall and something clicked. Imagine if there was a song that had "the freshman" in it, imagine the possibilities? Honestly, (that song) was written to be successful. I knew if I really nailed it, a lot of people would hear the song and I'd be successful and be able to do this for the rest of my life. Now when it was done, I wasn't positive I had nailed it. But "The Freshman" fell into the category of the post-grunge era and we were pretty much lambasted for that.

    Was there a lot of discussion about releasing "Hero" as the first single?
    Yeah, there was. "Hero" was written as the antithesis of "The Freshman." I wanted something dancey and fun, and when I do the video I want to be smiling and having a good time. I wanted to show the world that we're not so serious. That was the intention.

    Do you think that a song like "Supergig" (which really rocks) could ever be a single?
    I would love for "Supergig" to be a single. If "Supergig" was a single, then my idea of what radio is would be perfect. That song has the ups and downs dynamically; it's guitar based and drums. Chances are it's not going to happen. As much as we took a lot of chances on this record, there are other songs that are more indicative of the record. I think if someone bought the record on the strength of "Supergig," they might be disappointed when they come to "Kiss Me Idle" or "She Has Faces." And "Hero" really wraps up the whole thing in a nice mix. If you buy this record you're going to hear all of these elements in different songs: you have the heavy rock guitar, you have the sweet background harmonies, and you have the drum loop.

    Is being in The Verve Pipe your supergig?
    This is the super gig, man (laughs). I'm thrilled. We're all happy right now. Ask me that question again in two months.