BUILT TO SPILL Interview by Sean Neumann Photos by Alexis Scherl Built to Spill is receiving critical acclaim for what could be this year's best album. After years of rotating guest musicians through the rhythm section, bandleader Doug Martsch solidified his lineup by bringing in Scott Plouf on drums and Brett Nelson on bass. The result is the album Keep It Like A Secret, Built to Spill's fifth and most focused and polished effort to date. It's a melodic and beautiful album that has brought together many of the sounds, emotions, and creative talents that Martsch seems to have a never ending well of. After many years of working on K Records, Martsch signed on with Warner Brothers. The label is so high on the album and so eager to sell it, that Built to Spill is prominantly placed in between the Goo Goo Dolls and Madonna on its web page. Publicity and popular sentiment aside, Built to Spill is worth a look. I recently got a chance to talk with Martsch about songwriting and the creative process. It seems you've had friends come in and lend a hand on previous albums. Now that things have been solidified, how does it feel to be working with the same lineup ? Doug -It's real nice. This tour is going to be real good. We've always had guests on the records and in the past, we always rotated parts. But this time, it's solid. Everyone really knows their parts. It was always hard to get what I intended, but it's come together. A lot of the stuff was collaborative. We find parts for the songs mostly by practicing more and getting the songs down. Do you have a set idea when you go in to the studio? Doug -No, not really. It's more random collaboration. But there is more continuity this time. How has the creative process changed since adding Brett Nelson and Scott Plouf? Doug -There are some things we are still figuring out. They're both great. Brett and I played together forever and we work really fast. It's amazing. Scottie was looking for someone to play with, so we brought Brett on. He's a good player, but he didn't have the style I was looking for, but the more we play, the more I like him. His style is beginning to fit in real well. Is that because he has been affected by continuously playing with you and Scott? Doug -Definitely. From jamming with us, he has changed a lot. Now, he really loves jamming. [Plouf] is used to making things perfect. Get to work and get 'em done. For [Plouf], going back to our first tour together, every night was a 45-minute jam, and he was used to just playing the song and finishing. The new album seems very focused. Doug -Yeah, it's the most focused for everyone. We have been playing together for the longest time in this version of Built to Spill. On the first album, we were just going into the studio and jamming. The second was the next closest thing to this album. But it wasn't a good band. On Perfect From Now On (the band's fourth album), we barely practiced. (for Keep It Like A Secret) all the songs were played live (before recording), demoed in my little studio, I added a lot of slide guitars, but everyone had the vision. It was great. How has your music developed over the past decade? Doug -It doesn't seem like it goes in any direction. It doesn't improve, it doesn't get any worse; they just go. The songs themselves, there isn't much difference between songs from years ago and now. I've always written songs the same way, I stumble along them. When you write a song, do you begin by developing the lyrics and then plugging in chords and beats? Or do you find a melody and beat that appeals to your ear and then find lyrics that match the music? Doug -I just fit them together. Your brain makes these associations, but I make the music first. Right now, I have 20 different songs with no words. [The words] are probably just waiting to be found. CONTINUE TO PAGE 2 OF 3>>>