Caught in the midst of a long North American and European tour, the members of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart discuss their sleeping habits:

— She says that I make weird noises in my sleep
— You do make weird noises!
— She says that I talk in my sleep all the time
— Yeah, you do
— You go like this: “Eeeeeee”
— You make moaning noises

This gentle, pokey exchange illustrates the light-hearted repartee that flows freely from this group. Too naive and too wise to look their fame straight in the eye, they prefer to stick to the simple stuff that got them here.

Peggy (keyboard, vocals): We started out just as friends playing music, and like, wanting to play my birthday parties. It wasn’t about making it or anything like that.

Kip (guitar, vocals): I knew Alex from work and I got set up on a dude date with Kurt. I don’t know how to explain it.

Kurt (drums): We’re still going out.

Kip: We’re going steady. We moved in together.

Kurt: It’s gotten more serious (laughs).

Alex (bass): The funny thing about it is we all met in different ways, but I feel like each way that we met was always about being music nerds in a very specific way. Kip and I met cause we were in the same work space, but we became friends because we nerded out about music. Peggy and I met because of a mutual music nerd friend.

Kip: We didn’t form a band based on who could play what, but it worked in a good way. It’s like Voltron, like special powers unite to form a cogent whole. (Laughter) No, it is, in a weird way, like, everyone kind of contributes, and it’s totally balanced. Everyone has their own skills, but we didn’t form out of some back of a magazine type thing … like, “oh, do you know how to play some mad licks on the guitar?”

Kurt: It’s like mainstream music is like the Decepticons. (mad laughter) To extend that metaphor a little bit.

A: It’s like Slumberland, he’d be Optimus Prime, moving all the pieces.

P: I’d be like, I don’t know, the girl that sleeps and doesn’t sleep. I’m an extra character that just has insomnia all the time.

Kip: I just feel like there’s room for all kinds of music in the world, and our band is about dudes and chicks hanging out and playing music. Doesn’t mean that’s the only answer to life. It’s what we like to do, it’s the kind of music we like to play, and it’s not like …

P: Calculated.

Kip: It’s not calculated at all.

A: There’s no world domination plan.

Catbirdman: I am intrigued by the name. Being pure of heart is just something that is stark (“That’s so gay,” says Peggy) and your album cover is stark. Where did it come from and what is it like to be pure at heart?

P: It’s sad but true. I don’t know what it’s like. It must be like heaven, I don’t know.

Kip: Sad but true seems right. Its a name of a short children’s story written by a friend of mine in Portland, Oregon, and the children’s story was called “The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.” The moral of it was that the time you spent when you were young with good friends (Peggy: “Wait Kip, you don’t have any friends … just kidding!”) is more important than, you know,  worldly accomplishment. It’s just about appreciating the experiences you have when you’re young and like, with your friends and hanging out and going on tour and traveling and stuff.

C: Are you trying to recreate that in your music?

A: It just comes out.

Kip: Our music is pretty natural. It’s just like who we are and what we do and it’s not like really thought out that well. (Peggy: “It’s kind of like E E E E, A A A A, B B B B”) It’s a record of all the fun, weird …

P: I feel like our songs are really simple, but who we are comes out through the songs. That’s what’s special, cause like, obviously that’s who we are, really special … just kidding! (laughs)

C: Well the world seems to think you’re really special right now, and obviously you know there’s a huge buzz. I’ve tried to remain as unsullied by that as possible, and come with a pure heart as well, and you only get that in Baltimore.

Kip: Baltimore is so fun.

P: Guitar Center is awesome.

Kurt: Guitar center is not awesome.

Kip: No, Baltimore’s great.

P: I really like Video Hippos from Baltimore. (Kurt: “Video Hippos are great.”) I love them. We played one show with them, with my old band I was in, which like, nobody knew who we were. I don’t know how he found out, but he found out about us, and he like, wrote me, “You wanna play a show?” They are really amazing, like two guys, it’s like Godhead Silo. Never mind, I digress, because Kip’s giving me a side glare.

Kip: Side glare? I wasn’t even looking at you.

C: I was thinking last week when I was listening to your record, that you guys got a really great mix, and it wasn’t until tonight when I was reading through the liner notes that I saw you mixed it here in Baltimore.

Kip: Yeah, Oh yeah. Archie!! [Archie Moore]

P: Archie!!!

A: That was so good.

Kip: Slumberland is based out of Maryland from the beginning. Mike Slumberland [a.k.a. Mike Schulman], who runs the record label went to University of Maryland in the mid ’80s and he had a cool college radio show. He started the label.

Kurt: They use the old computers that like used paper to like punch things out. Like punch cards.

A: This Slumberland thing is really cool cause it seem like all part of a weird club… well, not like a club, but, there’s a respect for everyone who’s been a part of it, and Archie was a part of it from … in so many different ways … and when we, you know, hooked up with Mike from Slumberland, and he was like “You should have Archie mix it.” And they were still in touch from way back in the day. It’s just all such good feelings between everyone who does it.

P: That sounds really trite but it’s true.

A: It’s totally true. It sounds really cheesy, “everyone gets along and everyone wants to help each other out.” But it just is that way. Like, he did it out of the goodness of his heart. He had a newborn and he took time out to do it and nevermind that, he’s also talented and he like made us sound awesome.

Kip: Seriously, I feel like the reason people appreciate the record is because of Archie’s involvement. He was like, “I know what bands you like, and I know what you want to sound like.”

A: He had a whole stack of albums there.

Kip: Yeah, it was really genuine and heartfelt. Yeah, he did it out of the decency of his time just to like, work with us. He was such a good guy.

P: It was also good just hanging out with him and talking about music with him and having sushi with him and everything.

Kip: He’s the coolest guy. Both Mike from Slumberland and Archie who mixed it are like the coolest dudes.

P: We loved hanging out with everyone.

A: It’s been like a charmed kind of existence. Because Mike’s been so awesome and Archie was so awesome.

C: So you guys hooked up with Slumberland relatively early in your existence?

Kip: Not really. The only record label that wanted to put our stuff out, so… (Laughter) Which is cool because they’re our favorite record label too. It’s actually their label we all really loved  growing up, and the fact that they wanted to be involved with it was really amazing. The one label we would’ve wanted to be with in our wildest dreams.

A: Yeah, we talked about it before … if it happened … that would be pie in the sky.

So, gentle reader, as the Pains enjoy their pie, please have another piece on me. Browse through the older posts and comment on what you like and don’t like, and do come back to check in again for Part 2 of this interview, more photos, and maybe a song or two.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Stay Alive
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Tenure Itch (Live KEXP 2-9-09)