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Without Reservation

It's been a tough couple years for Miranda Sound, but the band isn't slowing down

by Stephen Slaybaugh

With the release of their second album, Engaged in Labor, in the fall of 2002, things seemed to be progressing for Miranda Sound. The record was issued by Indiana-based Standard Recording Company with distribution in place; the local band had a devout following in Columbus and had begun to garner a wider audience through Midwestern tours; and they had gelled as a tight unit of melodic hooks and electric playing.

But someone must have forgotten to knock on wood because, just a year later, the band had survived a series of setbacks that might have had lesser acts crying uncle.

In June 2003, guitarist Dan Gerken was riding his bike when he was struck by a car running a red light. He suffered a concussion and multiple cuts requiring stitches on his back and forehead.

A few months later, drummer Scott Haynes announced his decision to quit the band. The band then parted ways with their record label—all after their touring van was destroyed by a tree felled in an electrical storm.

A year that started with so much promise ended up being a killer.

Undeterred, the remaining members—Gerken, guitarist Billy Peake and bassist Sean Sefcik—regrouped in 2004. They added drummer Dan Bell (also of Templeton and the Last Hotel at the time) and were soon playing shows in Columbus and out of town.

By 2005, Miranda Sound was ready to record a new album and, to man the controls, they enlisted the help of J. Robbins (a former member of Jawbox and producer for the Promise Ring and the Dismemberment Plan, among others).

The result is Western Reserve, which will be released by local label Sunken Treasure. The perseverance has paid off. The record bests its predecessors not only through increased musicianship, but also by wedding the complexities of the band's material with the kinetic energy of its performances.

Speaking to the band last week, they said they've learned to measure success differently, but they also hope the coming year will be more fortuitous.

If none of those bad things had happened, what was your game plan back then?

Billy Peake: Engaged in Labor was released in 2002, but we didn't get a publicity company and it really didn't get distributed until fall 2003, so it was still pretty fresh then. We went out for 10 days and it went pretty well. We had a lot of momentum and all kinds of good press. I thought that we'd record in the spring and then really start hitting the road, but the bottom kinda fell out. It was crazy.

What were your thoughts at that time? Were you fatalistic about it?

BP: No, we were pretty cool. As long as the three of us keep writing together, it's still us. Scott's still our very good friend—and I've become better friends with him after the band—but he wasn't having a very good time playing out of town. He definitely wanted to move on. So in some ways, we saw it as an opportunity to regroup and prove ourselves.

Dan Gerken: All of those things just made it interesting. Inherently working with another drummer is going to require a stretch outside of the box we had been in. And same with these life events that happened. They add interest to the vibe that's going.

Sean Sefcik: And it puts it back into perspective as to why you're doing it. We were playing shows and taking it for granted. Then something like Scott quits or Dan gets hit by a car, then—it sounds weird—but the first shows after those events were freaking amazing. It was the most fun I'd ever had.

Did you have any particular goals or ideas coming into the band?

Dan Bell: The thing that's interesting is that I was a fan of the band. So I just wanted to take what Scott had done and what I do and try to find a happy medium. I figured they were going to write songs that I would like as a fan so I'd just play drums to them.

The funny thing is—and I didn't even realize I said this—one time when Scott had a job offer and he ultimately decided to not take the job and stay in Miranda Sound, I supposedly told him, "It's a good thing you didn't quit the band because I would have taken your spot." I was trying to say that he had a good gig here.

What were you hoping to get out of working with J. Robbins?

DG: He has a history of making records that sound amazing and that capture what a band is a good at so you don't have to try to hear what they might be good at. And that's what we felt like we hadn't accurately captured before based on how people had compared us live to our recordings.

He made extremely few creative choices, but he's a world-class engineer. And he was all about it. He stayed with me, and I'd be spent and he'd be up to five in the morning. So that's partly where that confidence came from. He also had a great bedside manner for Billy and I in the vocal booth, and it's hard to summon up such a reassuring attitude.

One day I was driving with him down to the studio. I felt like while he was here we had to make sure that we were squeezing every bit of potential out of this that we could. So I said, "Look, if you have ideas, like you want to add something on top, just bring it up. We can all play lots of instruments so if you have an idea just bring it up."

And he said, "My goal is to document what's going on." And I said, "But if you want some more cello or something just let us know." And he's like, "We're making a record like Gang of Four. We're not making a record like the Flaming Lips." And that clearly told me that he believed in the songs and that was enough.

I think the lyrics on Western Reserve are more direct, where on the past records, the language was more metaphorical.

DG: In a way, metaphors are safe. It's safe to only commit to an abstract thought. On the plus side, anyone can identify with it because it doesn't really mean that much. But on the negative side, it doesn't really mean that much.

BP: I appreciate metaphors because they are clever. But just given where we were at with life, it just seemed like it was time to just go at it. Dan got pummeled and 30 was around the corner and you don't know what's happening with the band or doing with your life—personally it was just a frustrating time trying to figure out everything that was going on around me. I didn't need metaphors because what we were singing and writing about was enough. It wasn't even a conscious effort—it was just where we were.

Do you feel like this is a more mature record?

BP: For awhile, I've been struggling with, "What the fuck am I doing?" I mean, when Miranda Sound's done, what do I do? I don't have a career. I don't mean to be melodramatic, but I really don't know. And that's why this has always meant so much to me. Life catches up to you and you define success differently.

DG: To us, making music that sounds mature is being mature. I think the modest number of people that can identify with our music feel the same way: They're not satisfied with the way they spend most of the hours of the day and they hope for something more fulfilling.

Miranda Sound will celebrate the release of "Western Reserve" on Saturday, April 1, at Little Brother's. Click to mirandasound.com for info.

March 30, 2006