Wilco (the interview)

 

Wilco, Wednesday, March 31, 8 p.m., Scranton Cultural Center Grand Ballroom (420 N. Washington Ave., Scranton). Tickets: $38.50 general admission, sold-out at press time. Info: 570.346,7369, www.wilcoworld.net

The most consistent aspect of Wilco in its 15-year history has been change. Since Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt left Uncle Tupelo to form the band, no fewer than 10 members have been in the lineup. Wilco’s musical style changed, too, from a traditional alternative-country sound to an experimental foray that famously cost it its record-label deal to the more relaxed but no less exciting and innovative approach it uses today.

All of those aspects of Wilco, which has enjoyed a consistent lineup since 2004, will be on display Wednesday, March 31, when the Chicago six-piece makes its Northeastern Pa. debut at the Scranton Cultural Center. Billed as “An Evening with Wilco,” the band is expected to perform material from each of its seven albums. What else happens is anybody’s guess.

“I don’t know how much we’re giving away at this point,” a coy but friendly Stirratt said in a phone interview last week. “But maybe (we’ll) give people a taste of the larger stage show and kind of present the band in some different configurations and a smaller stripped-down set.”

‘BEING THERE’

For the past six years and two studio records — “Sky Blue Sky” and last June’s “Wilco (The Album”) — Wilco has featured bassist Stirratt, singer/guitarist Tweedy, guitarist Nels Cline, drummer Glenn Kotche, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and keyboardist Mikael Joregensen.

The newfound stability was a long time coming.

“I think maybe one reason is I think everybody wants to be in it,” Stirratt reasoned. “There’s no falling by the wayside. And over the years, it’s not always been firing, but people leaving. There’s a real commitment to the six we have now, and yeah, I think it took a little while to find that chemistry, and the off-stage chemistry that maybe we were lacking.”

With a seasoned lineup, Stirratt said Wilco has the ability to play about 85 percent of its songs with just one soundcheck rehearsal. The newest members got a crash course when the band played every song in its recorded history during a run of shows in Chicago in 2007. “We learned the entire catalog — at least the rest of the band did — and really got comfortable with it,” said Stirratt.

It’s a comfort level that even the most glass-half-full Wilco fan couldn’t predict. There were the frequent band member defections and dismissals — most notably Jay Bennett, who eventually sued the band over his portrayal in the film “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco”; he died last year. In addition, Tweedy battled migraines, which led to a dependency on painkillers and rehab, and he’s spoken publicly about his depression and panic attacks.

The key moment in Wilco’s history was born of conflict, too. In 2001, its label, Reprise, rejected the album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and dropped Wilco from its roster. The press rallied behind Wilco’s story, the band negotiated a buyout, and it eventually signed with Nonesuch — a label, ironically, like Reprise, owned by Warner Brothers.

Over the years, Wilco’s reputation as a band that puts art before commerce has grown to legendary status; some critics have gone as far as labeling the group “the American Radiohead.” And Rolling Stone named “Yankee Hotel” the third-best album of the decade.

“It’s been incredibly sort of gradual,” Stirratt said, speaking of Wilco’s growth. Then he laughed. “You could almost call it glacial, with a couple of large bumps, like ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,’ obviously. It’s been about as steady a climb as you could ever ask for. I kind of can’t imagine anything better in the world of entertainment.”

Now, Wilco is testing markets it’s never played in, smaller towns like Scranton. Next week’s show here — and the entire tour — is sold out.

“It’s been going that way for awhile,” said Stirratt. “We have had the luxury of playing smaller cities and having great turnouts on non-weekend nights. There’s a fair amount of people that do travel to see the band, but there’s sort of a grassroots-y support and a sort of reputation of a good live show that’s not really expensive. … I think we’ve had the same ticket prices since 2001 or 2002.”

The slow, comfortable trajectory of Wilco’s improving fortunes is by design. Managed by Tony Margherita since the band’s 1994 inception, Stirratt said Wilco’s members vote on important decisions — like deciding to include some “Sky Blue Sky” songs in Volkswagen commercials — and decide when and where to tour. It has also put a premium on avoiding the quick grab for mainstream success.

“The chance for flameout is just so great, and (the band has) been managed by the management and the booking agent and by the band,” Stirratt said. “The worst thing at one point would’ve been a minor hit — and we’ve been wary about it.”

‘SONNY FEELING’

After the experimental “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and “A Ghost Is Born,” a kindler, gentler Wilco has emerged on the past two albums. But that avant-garde spirit still lurks, which you can hear on noisy tracks like “Bull Black Nova” on “Wilco (The Album).” There’s a sly sense of humor blended with the seriousness, too, like the album title, its lead song “Wilco (The Song)” and the name of the current tour: “Wilco (The Tour).”

This band-at-peace-with-itself vibe is relatively new — watch the tension-riddled scenes in “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” for a taste of previous problems — and Stirratt, the only member besides Tweedy to stay with the band throughout, is candid about those days.

“I thought there were times when the band would end,” he said. “I was never close to leaving. I stuck with it because it’s always been really exciting creatively. I think that’s the bottom line.”

The dividends for Stirratt and his bandmates old and new have paid off. Wilco has been nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning twice in 2005. And you’d be hard pressed to find an American band more consistently respected by the press.

The number of Wilco fans, too, has grown at a slow but healthy pace.

“So much of the story of the band has been written by the diehard fans and what they’ve done,” Stirratt said. “From the beginning, there’s been a big culture surrounding the band, just in terms of the fans and the sites they visited and how they communicate and travel.”

Stirratt said Wilco will begin work on its next studio album this summer. And it will again represent a transition for the band: Wilco, whose contract is up, will not return to its label, he said.

“I don’t think we’re going to make a record for Nonesuch again,” said Stirratt. “I think that’s big news for our band. … We’ll figure out if we’ll self-release or go somewhere else. So label-wise, that’s really exciting. There’s kind of a lot happening, even though we won’t have a record out (this year).”

A lot happening, indeed. Recently, Wilco was the recipient of some out-of-leftfield honors, including the opening of the Sky Blue Sky Sandwich Co. — a Wilco-themed eatery in Toronto — and the introduction of Wilco Tango Foxtrot Ale, a beer brewed by the Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma, Calif. (“We like beer,” Stirratt said of the latter. “We hope it’s good.”)

Additionally, Duluth, Minn., and then Madison, Wis., declared Wilco honorary citizens of its cities.

A headline on Wilco’s Web site teasingly reads, “Can Scranton be far behind?” But Stirratt was cautious when asked if Wilco had any messages for Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty regarding any city-issued proclamations for the band.

“I think we need to play at least five gigs in a town,” he said. “Let’s do the gig first and see if Scranton wants to be affiliated with Wilco.”

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