OTO contributor Joel Armato caught up with Jenny Conlee of The Decemberists to discuss moving to a major label with The Crane Wife, working with Chris Walla, and adjusting to a much bigger fan base.

What sort of transition has there been from working with Kill Rock Stars to working with Capitol? Was there an added element of pressure approaching this album in a new situation?

Really the transition seemed very smooth. Capitol was very hands off during the recording process, they gave us our budget and we chose the studio, producers, and recording schedule ourselves. There was definitely more pressure in the making of this record, not so much because of the label but because it was a follow-up to Picaresque which we all were very proud of. We knew that with Capitol behind us we were going to reach a larger audience and we didn't want to disappoint new listeners or old fans. We always want to make the next record to be better than the last one.

It seems pretty clear that a big label can do more in specific senses for a band than an independent, is there anything Capitol can't do in comparison to Kill Rock Stars?

Capitol is a large company compared to KRS, so in some ways it is hard to know if everyone at the company is behind our record. I think in Capitol's instance they are and everyone has been very supportive but with KRS we were in direct contact with everyone at the label and there was a real sense of community and friendship. I also think that music fans will seek out bands on a label like KRS and check out whatever is new from them because they trust their tastes. That can't be true with a major since they have so many different kinds of artists represented.

From early on there has always been a healthy rapport between your band and your fans- was there any backlash, if we can call it that, when you signed?

There were a few people on our message board who exclaimed that we had sold out and were becoming corporate but I think with the making of The Crane Wife most people have realized that we just made another Decemberists record and did not change our aesthetic to fit in with the label.

What are The Decemberists aiming to achieve with this record?

We just wanted to make a great Decemberists record. With our larger budget we wanted to be able to experiment a little and play with the album format and put in the longer songs, etc.

Was the choice to bring Chris Walla back into the studio again a fairly obvious one for you all?

We love working with Chris. He has a great energy and loves to experiment in the studio. He is great at recording and mixing analog (which format we chose for this record).

At what point did Tucker Martine enter the picture too? Are you two connected via Laura Viers or had you known each other for some time prior?

We all loved what Tucker had done in the past, and since Chris Walla wasn't going to be able to be in the studio the entire time we were excited to bring him on board. Chris and Tucker work very well together and brought very different things to the table. We have known Laura for a few years, she has opened some shows for us and Colin did a solo tour with her last year. I had first heard of Tucker through her but other people had been into his past work with Bill Frisell and Eyvan Kang.

How did you find working with both Tucker and Chris together?

They were great. Chris is the more high energy guy always trying new mic techniques and recording ideas. Tucker is so experienced and is great at getting good sounds out of instruments, helping us clean up arrangements and keeping all the parts locking together (keeping good tempos... he is a drummer you know.) They both are great at mixing as well.

The workspace itself was a bit different for The Crane Wife than it was for Picaresque, how did this play into the sessions?

We realized after recording Picaresque that recording in a church is less than ideal. We wanted a studio with some isolation so we could record more than one track at once. It was also important for us to have the control room isolated to we could discuss ideas while the recording was going on. It was much more comfortable and since we were in there for almost 2 months that was very important. They had a beautiful grand piano as well which made me very happy!

As would be expected, The Decemberists have gone from playing in some very small places to playing some much larger spaces. Would you rather be playing to 200 people or 2000?

It's been crazy seeing how this band has grown in such a short time. I love all the different rooms. Sometimes we play the best in the small rooms. Now our set-up is somewhat complicated and the small stages don't work as well (Hammond Organ, Cello, etc.) I like a nice medium size room with an ample stage but it is not so bad that the sound is too boomy or you feel disconnected with the audience.

What have you been doing to gear up for this tour?

We had a week or rehearsals before we left to practice with our new in-ear monitor system and get our new touring member Lisa Molinaro up to speed on the songs. We also needed a little brushing up on the songs since we finished recording the record in May. While we are on the road we try to get out and see the towns we are in as much as possible. Nate, John, and I brought bikes along, which is a fun way to spend the day after being stuck in the bus.

What is down time like for the band? Does everyone hang out or hibernate and then regroup?

We all sort of hibernate and go back to our hidee-holes. We all have houses and families to attend to. We definitely see each other while we are not touring but we don't live together or anything.

-Joel Armato 11/30/06