tableau: Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
Ted Stevens: Yeah, a few. We spend hours wiring the stage and getting that ready, and then, [Tim Kasher, lead vocalist] and I have been in the habit lately of doing vocal warmups and drinking a lot of water right after the soundcheck. Then we have dinner, and then come back, and we normally have a few beers and maybe a little whiskey before we play ... I've been doing a little clarinet, doing a little guitar-playing too. We just kind of found our little, uh, rituals.
t: Give me an example of your vocal warmups.
TS: Oh, you know, scales. We start with Zs [sings zzzzz], then we just build up on one key and try to train ourselves to breath naturally.
t: Yeah, because breathing naturally is really hard.
TS: You wouldn't think it, but it is.
t: Did you know in the back of your mind that you were destined for great things with Cursive?
TS: Not really. I never really gave myself that much credit. I loved the band though; before I joined in '99, I was a big fan. I played with other groups and desperately wanted to tour with Cursive and do things like that ... I was really shocked and kind of flattered that they asked me [to join], to tell you the truth.
t: Let's talk about the new record.
TS: OK.
t: Describe Happy Hollow in one word, what it is in your mind.
TS: Oh, shoot. Gosh.
t: [pause] You can have two words if you want.
TS: I don't know what I'd call it ... there's something that sounds pretty developed about the record to me. I have a few regrets but fewer than the other records, and I feel it's just a pretty good representation of where we're at right now. Or course, we're always faced with trying to pull the songs off live, without all these studio tricks and whatnot.
t: It says on your website that you guys recorded 20 songs, but there are only 14 on the record, so what were the other songs like?
TS: Well, they were maybe a little bit underdeveloped. Some of the writing seemed a little bit forced, they weren't really strong ideas that were waiting to jump out -- they were more riffs or pretty pieces of music that never really had a theme or an idea that found a place on the record. So we kind of just cut a few off, lost a few ... We wanted to tone it down to something that's listenable.
t: What's the reception been like?
TS: ... I don't think people would really tell me their honest critiques, not many people -- they don't care enough to -- so to me the reception's been really good. Although, I know there's been criticism out there regarding, of course, our former fans or our earlier and mid-range fans. Their reception to The Ugly Organ seemed to be a little stronger, but I guess in my heart I believe this is a better record, and that's good enough for me.
t: Tim Kasher seems less prominent on this record -- was that a conscious decision or did it kind of just happen?
TS: Well, um, I guess something confusing all along is that our voices get mistaken for each other. So, I think Tim finds it funny that he's confused as my voice on The Ugly Organ at times; people didn't really know what songs I was singing. It's not that our vocals are so much alike, but my vocals were affected in a way that kind of disguised the difference in tone. Or maybe people just don't listen that closely. I think in this record it's obvious, like, my songs kind of jump out as a little different. My voice is treated a little different in studio. I guess Tim and I talked about how many songs I was contributing, and I told him that I would prefer Cursive to stay for the majority of songs the same as it ever was and have a resonance with Tim's voice and words and whatnot. But if I were to come into the mix, which I'm glad to join as a writer, that we should keep my involvement to 25 percent or lower.
t: [Laughs.]
TS: You know, so we're not alienating fans ... Three songs seemed like what they wanted to use for this record, and I was pretty cool with that. I'm happy they wanted them.
t: You guys are in the middle of a pretty extensive trip around the U.S. How's that going?
TS: ... California was great, the Southwest was great, coming here into the Southeast, I feel really good about our first few shows, you know, nothing insane, really small, pretty humble shows in small towns, but that's kind of what the record's about in another kind of way, and it's nice to connect with that audience, too ... to have an audience period in towns like that makes us pretty happy ... I guess I'm a sentimental bastard or something.
t: Is there any question you'd like me to ask or any statement you'd like to make?
TS: No. Thanks for asking, though.
Cursive performs at Satellite Ballroom tonight. Doors open at 8 p.m.
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