Doug Martsch is an old hand at easing people into new situations.
Built to Spill’s frontman created the band with the intention of rotating musicians in and out to “make different kinds of music, make different kinds of records and not have a particular sound,” he told us at Built to Spill’s Studio Milwaukee Session in May. “Another reason was to just be around different people, spend time around different groups of people and not be with the same people my whole life.”
The session had that inviting feel as the band — featuring Melanie Radford on bass and Teresa Esguerra on drums — welcomed the audience with “So” off 2015’s “Untethered Moon” before showing off a biting new track, “Gonna Lose” from their upcoming album, “When the Wind Forgets Your Name.”
Martsch kept things laid back during the Q&A, talking about influences like David Bowie and Hüsker Dü, frank self-evaluations of his musicianship, and supportive family members who traded cars for guitars.
Appropriately, the band wrapped the session with “Stop the Show,” a track from 1997’s “Perfect From Now On” that went from low key to high intensity during the 8-minute rendition. Listen to the full set using the player at the top of the page, and check out photos from their visit below.
