Mac Mccaughan (merge Records, Superchunk, Portastic)

Photo by Jason Bergman

When Mac McCaughan unconsciously combined the Buzzcocks, Hüsker Dü, and early Dinosaur Jr. to create Superchunk in the late 80s, then formed the Merge label to release a few 7-inches by friends’ bands and his own, he probably wasn’t thinking “next 20 years of indie rock.” Needless to say, the man’s played some festivals and watched the explosion from both near and afar.

Vice: What’s the weirdest or worst or funniest organizational or administrative decision you’ve seen at a festival?

Mac:

We opened for the Blue Man Group once. This modern-rock station in Boston, like a lot of modern-rock stations, did those street festivals where they blocked off the street behind Fenway. It was Morphine, us, I think the Lemonheads played, or maybe just Dando, but the Blue Man Group was the headliner. I just remember them warming up backstage, which was another street, not a room. It was two guys standing about a hundred yards apart; one guy would throw a super-ball, really hard, and the other would catch it in his mouth. It was the best backstage warm-up I’ve ever seen.

Wow, that’s a good one. Anyway, because there are now so many large-scale American festivals each year, as the owner of a label, is there anything about it that sucks for your bands, or any bands?

I think we may be reaching the point of diminishing returns with some of the festivals, but it really does help to play others. Like Coachella, which has really good lineups, at least on certain stages, and a really interesting setting. A band playing the five-or-six-in-the-afternoon slot at Coachella, when the sun is going down, it can be a really amazing thing. There are festival situations that can provide a good boost for a band, but at the same time, a band playing a two-in-the-afternoon slot, sweltering inside one of the tent stages, when half the crowd isn’t there yet, I don’t know who that’s helping.

I’m not sure how I feel about bands playing old albums when they’re not really into it. But as far as ATP is concerned, the one last year with My Bloody Valentine, I liked the idea of that. Because of what type of festival it is, and how few tickets are available compared to other festivals, it’s saying, “We’re not trying to be the biggest festival in the world.”

I was just about to ask you about bands playing their “seminal” albums start to finish. I’m personally conflicted, with good and bad feelings on that. There are definitely bands that phone in those performances.

It’s different with each band. And it’s different if the band has always been together and is still making new music, like Sonic Youth. But in some of those cases, I was around to see those albums performed the first time, and I want to hear what the band is doing now. I was talking with someone that was asked to perform an older album at ATP—they were telling me, “You know, I can’t think of anything I’d want to do less than perform one of our old albums from start to finish.”

Is SXSW still as beneficial for a label’s newer bands as it used to be?

For bands that haven’t been seen by most of the country, yes, but they can’t go down there, play one show, and expect it to pay off in any way. Because there’s so much going on down there these days, bands need to play at least three or four times. Otherwise, people just won’t see them. For getting exposure for new bands, it can help, and it’s cheaper than touring. And you can see shows at SXSW that you’ll never see anywhere else. It does get a little less appealing each year, as someone there to see bands. Last year, we got into town and had to rush to a show and there was a guy juggling on 6th Street with no shirt on, and it was noon. It can seem like a nightmare version of spring break at times.