Don’t call it a comeback, Superchunk‘s been here for years. The band members just haven’t been doing anything since the release of 2001’s stellar Here’s To Shutting Up. Well, not much together, anyway, apart from a few one-off gigs and the occasional single. Singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance have their hands full running Merge Records and raising families (plus McCaughan has released a number of fine Portastatic records); drummer Jon Wurster has toured and/or hit the studio with the likes of Robert Pollard, the New Pornographers, Bob Mould and the Mountain Goats in between hilarious Facebook postings and Best Show On WFMU appearances; and while we’re not sure what guitarist Jim Wilbur has been up to, other than gigging with Portastatic, he probably has a lot on his plate, too. It’s a wonder the busy quartet was able to reconvene for the fine Majesty Shredding (Merge), a more-than-welcome return that’s accompanied by the band’s first full-on, albeit relatively brief, tour since 2001. Superchunk will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with McCaughan and Ballance.
Laura: What took me so long!? I have been in the “music business” for 20 years. For some reason, most everyone has to be amplified to the point where it is too loud and it hurts a person’s ears. Why is that? Most sound people are assuming that if you are a responsible individual coming to a rock show, you are going to be wearing earplugs. So, I have been wearing foam earplugs forever. And I really got used to losing most of the high end (also known as joy), as I thought that there was no choice in the matter. A few months ago, on John Darnielle’s advice, I had myself fitted for some custom earplugs and got some 25 dB filters put in there. It is the best thing ever. I can go to shows and hear the full spectrum, and my ears usually don’t ring the next morning. Unless it was a Superchunk show.
Video after the jump.
2 replies on “Superchunk Can Always Count On: Custom Earplugs”
Jeezus, don’t lose those! And don’t forget to clean them! People would be wise to heed your warning about preventing hearing loss.
Actually, the picture sort of induces the old saying of “taking it in the ear.” Icch.