Interview: Laura Ballance of Superchunk and Merge Records

Laura Ballance, Merge co-founder, Superchunk bassist and all-American woman met us at Skylight Exchange to talk about her world.

Let's talk about the Merge fest. What made you guys want to do it?

I didn't want to do it! I thought it sounded like a huge problem since I was going to be on vacation the month before everything was going to happen. But it went off a lot more smoothly than I thought.

Would you guys do it again?

Sure. It was really cool how it worked out. There weren't a bunch of gross, shmoozy people there.

Was there an A&R contingent?

If there was, they kept quiet.

So you didn't have a lot of people trying to get in free?

No, we made it pretty clear that there wasn't going to be a way for people to get in free. Each band member got to put a person on the guest list the night they played, and all the band people could get in every night, but that was it.

Did you make money off it?

Yeah, we weren't planning to but it worked out that we made about $600. We spent a lot making posters and stuff, and we paid for hotel rooms for the bands on the nights they played.

Any idea how many out-of-town people came? It seemed like a lot.

I don't know, really. I think we sold about 150 tickets through the mail.

How many people work at Merge?

Mac and I, and John and Spott.

And they're full-time.

Right. And there are interns.

Who decides what Merge releases? You and Mac?

Yeah.

Do you solicit input from John and Spott?

Sure. We try to get them to listen to stuff. Mostly what they wind up doing is helping us eliminate.

I know when you guys started off you were just signing your friends, so are you getting to the stage where you're doing unsolicited stuff?

With Matador, you signed a three-album deal initially.

Yeah, they had options. And they wanted to do more but by the time we made the last record, we decided...we told them what we were going to do.

So they didn't try to hassle you to stay...

No, not at all.

Seems like people have sort of interpreted your leaving as a sort of "fuck off" to Matador.

You know, I think Matador actually encouraged that idea!

How?

Just like...I don't know...advertisements and stuff...

Oh like that one in the back of Spin? (Matador had an classified ad in the with a headline reading "SUPERCHUNK BLEW US OFF," then said something about how poor suckers like Jon Spencer, Come, Chain Gang, etc. were still with the family) But that was hilarious!

Yeah, I thought it was funny too but that can lead the public to believe....

John Williams (Merge mail order guy) was saying how people would write in and say stuff like "Coooool! You all put down The Man!!!!"

No, it wasn't like that. Sometimes I worry Matador might feel slighted but they shouldn't. We didn't screw them over or anything.

Do you have investors in Merge?

No.

I guess it's pretty safe to assume that Superchunk makes the most money for Merge. Does anything else come close?

Um, no.

What are the biggest sellers next to Superchunk?

Polvo and Magnetic Fields. The 3D's do pretty well...basically stuff that's come out in the last year.

What's your royalty rate compared to something like Matador's?

Well, it's a completely different system. Matador does points. But with Merge, it's a profit split. Well, I guess it's the same...but I don't know, it's complicated. With Merge, it's just 70/30 -- the band gets 70% of any profits...outside of all the costs like promotion, etc.

Let's talk about that Alternative Press article. (Laura looks grim) Oh, is that a sore subject?

Sort of. Some of those quotes were taken out of context and people overreacted. All I said was the songwriting is not democratic enough. Jim and I, and Jon too, should be more involved. But I wasn't mad or anything. Jim and I are too lazy! ...but it became this big deal. People kept saying we were going to break up.

The whole time that was happening I was hearing people in Chapel Hill saying you would turn down the vocals in the monitors because you knew Mac's songs were all about you.

I think I said that in the article. Yeah, a lot of it is really painful to listen to. But every record has been that way for me.

Because of Mac's lyrics?

Yeah. I can't say what they're about and he won't tell me but some of them... a lot of it's really bitter.

How did people react when you all broke up?

People didn't know for a long time. It's not like we announced it.

Probably because it would lead people to speculate that Superchunk was breaking up.

That was another weird thing about the Alternative Press article. The guy asked me if we had broken up from listening to the record. He could tell from the record!

The whole premise of the article was that you guys had broken up and there was bitterness amongst the band.

Well, things were weird for a while, but it's gotten easier. Mac and I breaking up definitely put a strain on our working relationship and it's still hard sometimes.

Has it affected the way you put songs together?

Yeah, it's made me a little more aggressive.

So have you and Jim had more active roles?

Yeah.

But Mac still writes all the lyrics.

Yeah. I can't sing and play at the same time very well. And he won't sing anyone else's lyrics, so if I write a song, I have to be able to sing it.

Have you considered doing side projects, like Mac does with Portastatic?

I'd love to but I don't have time. Between Merge and things I like to do in my life. Plus I'm really not an accomplished musician. I don't know how to play guitar. I've a lot to work on. I was supposed to have a Tenderette cassette done nine months ago and I haven't even started!

(Tenderette is an indie label based out of Richmond, VA, with some sort of connection to Tenderizer Records. They release solo tapes by vaious rockers.)

Would you say you're more personnally invested in Merge or Superchunk? Which one is more important to you?

Merge is closer to me, though both are really important. It's more of a long-standing thing.

Do you get any weird fan mail? Have you been asked to any proms? I hear that's the next big thing.

I guess Evan Dando started it.

And Mark E. Robinson.

Mark went to a prom?

Yeah, but don't ask me where I heard that `cause I've no idea, but someone told me they saw a picture.

I haven't been asked to anybody's prom, but there's this woman, Diane Jefferis who sent us some pictures she took at our show in Chicago. And she also sent some pictures of her rabbits.

The rabbit on the inside cover.

It was so cute, so I called and asked her and she said yes. Now I get a packet of bunny pictures from her at least once a month. I have hundreds of pictures of her rabbits!

There used to be this guy who'd write us postcards that didn't make any sense. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble. He'd say things to David Yow on postcards he'd write to us...apologize for kissing him...apologizing for kissing me....just weird things that didn't happen. I feel bad for him but I never wrote him back because I didn't want to encourage it.

What about Esther Records (the new local label headed by Mac's SO)? What does it have to do with Merge?

Nothing at all.

Have you heard anything about alt.music.chapel-hill?

People tell me about stuff on there every once in a while...but we don't have Internet. I refuse to allow it. We only have one computer and it's hard enough to get on there. If it became a social device, Mac would be on there constantly and we'd never get anything done.

Have you noticed any sort of backlash since you've become popular?

Oh sure. It's not cool to like us anymore.

In Chapel Hill specifically?

Everywhere, but it's more so in Chapel Hill.

Is the crowd smaller or is it just that the hipster crowd isn't there?

I don't think we're drawing less people, it's the hipster crowd.

I saw you guys play in Atlanta with the 3D's. You seem a lot more focussed at shows out of town.

I'm a lot less comfortable when I play in Chapel Hill because I know more people. I don't think we play as well here. We get nervous or something. I don't know what Mac and Jon think, but Jim hates playing here too. He gets more drunk.

Are you more comfortable doing interviews now? You seem to have changed quite a bit since you were starting out. And you're a lot more confident on stage.

I'm more confident in general. Being in this band has done a lot for me. I used to be really, really shy. I had a hard time talking to people. And the first year that I played, I nearly had a heart attack when I'd go on stage. As far as interviews go, it's much easier for me to do an interview if I'm the only one.

Mac talks a lot.

Yes, Mac talks a lot. It's hard for me to get a word in.

What are some of your favorite songs?

On this new record...see, I don't listen to any of our records, so I have a hard time remembering what songs are on what records....but on this record, I like "The First Part," "Like A Fool," probably the hits. "Kicked In"...

What about doing little stuff, like the set list? Does Mac do most of it?

We all make Mac do the set list. I don't know why but I just hate it. I can't even copy it without wanting to take a dump or something! For some reason, copying the set list just scares me (laughs).

Are you afraid you'll write the songs down wrong or something?

No, it's not that. I just don't want to have to see what we're going to play. I dunno, it's a panic thing. Jim and I both have this problem.

What sort of stuff are you working on now?

Our orignal plan, after we put out the acoustic 7-inch in October, was to go to Steve Albini's and record an EP. But it looks like we're goingto be on tour so much that we won't be able to do that.

You guys make a lot of money touring.

Yeah, definitely. For the first four years, that's how we survived. A lot of bands don't seem to realize you have to tour to make money. You don't make much money off records at first.

Do you always stay in hotels or do you shack up with people?

Mac and I, if we know people in town, we'll stay with them. But Jim and Jon pretty much won't do it at all...I can understand, you know, having to...

Talk to people...

Yeah, talk to people, deal with them in the morning, get everyone in and out of the shower...it's hard.

In October, Merge will release a Superchunk acoustic seven-inch. The band will also be on a couple upcoming soundtracks, namely, some Jerky Boys vehicle and (this is still tentative at press time) Johnny Pneumonic (sp?).

About the bunnies...
SF! learned after the interview that Diane Jeffris also sends pictures of her bunnies to Lou Barlow. Some of her bunnies, like Barlow and Spencer, were named after her favorite rock stars. Though Spencer is pictured above, he met an untimely fate -- allergic to his own urine, he grawed off his penis and shortly thereafter went to join it in bunny heaven.