The Boston indie band The Magnetic Fields, led by openly gay member Stephin Merritt, has been creating innovative music for years.
Merritt is the primary vocalist, songwriter and producer. Known for switching gender roles in his lyrics, he continues this trend with the latest single, "Andrew in Drag," the leading track off the just-released 10th album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea.
We talked to the interesting bandleader before the start of the tour, which includes a stop in Chicago.
Windy City Times: Hello, Stephin. So you will soon be returning to Chicago.
Stephin Merritt: Yes. Last time I was there it was so incredibly foggy. It was even dangerous to cross the street.
WCT: The weather is always changing here. You were at the School of Folk Music, correct?
Stephin Merritt: No, we were at a strange Lincoln printer art complex. We played six stories underground in what we called "The Death Star." It was a very unusual space. The Old Town School of Folk Music was the previous tour. We played a larger venue for the 2010 tour.
WCT: Oh, it was the Harris Theatre you are talking about. I heard you have a hearing problem and when people clap in concert it is disruptive for you.
Stephin Merritt: Yes, loud noise is painful for me in my left ear. A lot of loud sounds are painful for me, but applause is a big one.
WCT: This is the first time you have played at The Vic?
Stephin Merritt: We have not played there before.
WCT: It is a busy part of our city. How many people are in the group?
Stephin Merritt: I am the only original member. Originally we were a duo of me and Susan Anway, who was the singer. We gradually mutated into our current totally unstable form and we will continue mutating. [Laughs] The band on this record were nine people: me and Shirley Simms plus Claudia Gonson on piano, Sam Davol on cello, John Woo on guitar, Daniel Handler on accordion, Johnny Blood on tuba and horns, Pinkie Weitzman on violins and Randy Walker on background vocal.
WCT: Wow. That is a lot of people.
Stephin Merritt: I recorded myself in L.A.; Sam, Claudia and Shirley in Boston; with Daniel, Johnny and Randy in San Francisco; and the rest in New York. Last time we all recorded in Boston.
WCT: "Andrew in Drag" has a very fun video.
Stephin Merritt: I like it, too.
WCT: Is the song about a friend of yours?
Stephin Merritt: No, it is just a story.
WCT: What inspired it?
Stephin Merritt: I don't remember writing it. Some songs take a really long time to write. Sometimes I write in bars and I am drinking at the time. If they take a really long time then I don't remember writing them.
I woke up the following morning with no car in the driveway and realized I must have taken a taxi home, which I deduced I must have written a song. I opened my notebook and there it was but I don't remember writing it. I do that about once a year I think.
WCT: What is your drink of choice?
Stephin Merritt: Cognac.
WCT: There is another song on the album called "I've Run Away to Join the Fairies." Where did that song come from?
Stephin Merritt: It is also a story. I liked the title and we wrote the song around it. We are making a T-shirt of it for the tour.
WCT: There was a documentary about you called Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields. How do you feel it turned out?
Stephin Merritt: It is not really about my life in any accurate way, but I hope it sells records.
WCT: It won the Outfest 2010 Grand Jury Prize for Feature Documentary, so that is good.
Stephin Merritt: It did? No one told me anything.
WCT: Do you want to do more soundtracks? I noticed you have several on your resume, such as Pieces of April and Lemony Snicket.
Stephin Merritt: Oh, yeah. I like doing soundtracks.
WCT: Are you a big musical-theater fan? I saw you did a musical version of the movie Coraline.
Stephin Merritt: I am or at least in theory.
WCT: Do you like old-school musicals or new-school ones?
Stephin Merritt: In between. I like Sondheim.
WCT: So Into the Woods?
Stephin Merritt: Yes. I love Into the Woods. I saw Merrily We Roll Along a week ago. It is a beautiful score of a terrible play.
Coraline was my fourth musical and I am working on two more. One is with Daniel Handler and it is a sex farce. One is with Neil Gaiman and it is somewhere between a horror comedy and a sex farce.
See Stephin and the gang Monday, March 26, at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Visit www.jamusa.com for ticket information.
