Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows frontman Scott McCaughey has been blurring the distinction between his two bands for a while, to the point where many of the songs on either group’s LPs would be appropriate for the other. Both return this week with new efforts: the Minus 5’s Killingsworth and the Fellows’ I Think This Is. The tunes are more divergent, with Killingsworth featuring a heavy alt-country vibe and I Think This Is being a typically funny garage-pop workout. When he’s not fronting his own combos, McCaughey is a sideman for R.E.M. and Robyn Hitchcock, the latter of whom produced I Think This Is. McCaughey is guest-editing magnetmagazine.com this week. Read our Q&A with him.
McCaughey: People always ask me, “Why Spain?” I don’t really know. All the sociopolitical theories why Spain rocks so hard are arguable, though the discussion is hardly worth the time or effort. Was Franco somehow responsible for the popularity of the Dictators, Lyres, Smugglers, Cynics, Flamin’ Groovies, Nomads and even the Young Fresh Fellows? I thought Pan’s Labyrinth was a brilliant film, but it hardly explained this nagging question. You only find out by going there. It’s not advertised ahead of time. You show up, hit the stage at 2 a.m. or so (minutes after an insane three-hour meal), the crowd goes nuts and, on a good night, won’t let you stop playing. The food is fantastic (though hardly a paradise for vegetarians), the coffee perfect, the beer cold, the wine amazing and the people are both enthusiastic and nonplussed. In short, I recommend it. Fares get low in October, and that’s a mighty good time to go.
