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the Music Lounge by Albert Rodriguez - SGN A & E Writer

Keith Murray of We Are Scientists gets chatty about unwashed jeans, hanging with Arctic Monkeys, The OC and his band's shirtless videos
Back in November, We Are Scientists were anticipating the release of their debut album. Four months later, they seem to be music veterans. Having just wrapped up European back-to-back tours with Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys, the alt rock trio is enjoying rock star status overseas. In the US, they're on fire. They appeared on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show and performed at the industry-heavy SXSW festival last week, got announced as a main stage act for the Sasquatch Music Festival in May, and already sold out two upcoming shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tuesday's concert at The Crocodile Café, presented by Seattle Gay News, is almost sold out as well. Keith Murray, the group's hella cute guitarist and lead vocalist, had a few minutes to kill before We Are Scientists went onstage for a recent performance in Norway. So, he picked up a phone and spent a little quality time talking with his favorite Gay rag. That would be us. The guy is smart, funny and totally entertaining to talk to. When I met the band last year, over the course of several drinks, I had a blast. We Are Scientists give a free in-store performance at Easy Street Records (Queen Anne) at 6:00 pm. See this week's "Where It's At" column for information about the group's concert later that night at The Crocodile Café. Here's what Keith Murray had to say when he stepped into "The Music Lounge". Albert Rodriguez: Where are you at right now? Keith Murray: (in a chipper mood) We're in Norway. Our last show of this tour is tomorrow in Sweden, and then we're flying to New York and doing Conan O'Brien. Then flying to SXSW. Rodriguez: How are the other guys doing? Murray: They're doing very well. I don't know what our pre-show ritual was at the time you saw us. I'm willing to bet it involved many, many drinks. Rodriguez: It sure did. Murray: Well, that's continued a pace. We're feeling the effects of having had four beers and two whiskies every night for two and a half months. Rodriguez: That's the life. You wouldn't want to be one of those Josh Groban types who has a Snickers bar and a Starbucks latte before going onstage. That's boring. Murray: Josh Groban simply doesn't understand, would he? The other day in, I don't remember where it was. It may have been in Germany. For some reason, I didn't have time to drink before the show. I will admit that I played very well, but the entire time had my mind on other things because I was too cognizant of what was going on. I was thinking about old friends that I haven't seen in a long time and reminiscing about bygone times. Rodriguez: Which do you like better, sober or drunk at a show? Murray: I definitely like being drunk. I think the show is better when we're a little tipsy. Rodriguez: I like being tipsy at shows. Murray: Everything is better tipsy. Rodriguez: Have you noticed a big difference between UK and US live audiences? Murray: The crowds over here (Europe) have had our album for a long time and they're on the third single now. They're more familiar with us. We're more in the media's eye over here. We're on TV a lot. We're in magazines a lot. In the states, we're still a band people are investigating. Rodriguez: Are you guys in any of those scandalous magazines? Murray: We're working on it. We're doing our best to drive around with all sorts of Class A drugs. For some reason, we're never being pulled over. Rodriguez: What were the best show(s) of the European tours? Murray: The best show of the NME tour was the last day. I assume you know who Arctic Monkeys are? They're playing at The Crocodile. Rodriguez: Of course. They play the night after you're here. Murray: The very next night? Rodriguez: Yup. You guys are on the 28th. They're on the 29th. Murray: That's amazing! Well, we're really, really good friends with those guys now. I played on some of their songs and Alex, their lead singer, played on one of our songs. There was stage diving and what not. So that was probably my favorite night of that tour. Rodriguez: It's going to be nuts when Arctic Monkeys play The Crocodile. Murray: They're one of those bands that when we're on tour with them I literally make it a point to see them every time. Rodriguez: They're so young. They can't even drink legally here. Maybe in Europe. Murray: Everywhere in Europe they're old enough to drink. The tour promoters in the US know they're nineteen and twenty, and though there's ways to go around it, nobody will let them drink. Rodriguez: Except at my house. Murray: Nice. Rodriguez: If you're nineteen or twenty and you're going to stay the night, you can drink at my house. Murray: The Seattle Police force might not feel the same way. Rodriguez: That's just between you and me. Arctic Monkeys are totally welcome to come over and have a couple of beers. Or, a few. Murray: I will tell them that at SXSW. Rodriguez: We've been spinning your video for "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" at our alt music night at one of the local Gay bars. Murray: The one with the TV screens (Manray Video Bar). Rodriguez: Good memory. Murray: You should get "The Great Escape" video, with the three of us in the shower together. Rodriguez: You guys need to do more nudity in your videos. Murray: Actually, in the "It's a Hit" video we're all shirtless. Rodriguez: We see pecs? Murray: The entire time. But keep in mind we all weigh about a hundred and forty pounds. There's nipple but not a lot of pec, unfortunately. Rodriguez: Oh, darn it. Murray: I'm sorry. We simply don't have them. Rodriguez: There's time. Murray: There is time. I'm going to do some pushups right before we go on tonight. Rodriguez: That could be your thing. You guys can be the band that appears shirtless in all your videos. Murray: And in every video I'm just bigger and bigger. You can chart my growth. Rodriguez: Do you travel lightly when you're on tour? Murray: I pack more than I really need to. I tend to wear the same clothes every day. But I pack as if I'm not going to do that. Then I just get lazy and can't be bothered to change my clothes. Rodriguez: You go somewhere to wash your clothes, right? Murray: Theoretically, you can find a Laundromat. But I'm the sort of person that defines the slightest cultural difference between America and Europe to be too overwhelming to even be bothered looking for a Laundromat. I have yet to wash my clothes. Rodriguez: Really? Murray: I do wash my shirts in sinks. They dry very easily. But my jeans have gone unwashed. Rodriguez: Interesting. Murray: That's what Monday in New York is going to be all about. Rodriguez: You're the one who's addicted to The OC, right? Murray: Yeah, but all of that has changed, my friend! I'm not the only one anymore. Everybody except for Michael, who I don't mean to draw any conclusions about what this means, but for some reason the one who doesn't talk so much is the one who doesn't watch The OC. He still hasn't seen it. It's not that he's turned it down. He's just turned his nose up before he's even seen it. Everybody in our entire crew is addicted to The OC. It's known as "OC California". Rodriguez: What does the rest of the year look like for We Are Scientists? Murray: I don't know if it's 100% confirmed, but we may tour with Arctic Monkeys in late spring. Rodriguez: I'm there. Hey, you need to go onstage. Thanks for the chat. Murray: Thank you for sponsoring our show again. Rodriguez: You bet. Have a safe trip back to the US and we'll see you soon.