Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

CLAPTRAP

Just because you disappear into a studio for two years to make a record doesn’t mean your band broke up. It seems that, in the age of twit-mediacy, any sort of “radio silence” conjures such speculation.

This was the case for the Brooklyn/Philly indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Formed in 2004, the band quickly built a dedicated following, and by 2005 they were playing to sizeable crowds in New York; crowds that sometimes included David Bowie.  Bowie must blog or something because the next thing you know they’re America’s new shit hot indie darling buzz band.

Then, a couple of years ago, they took some time off and went to work writing and recording their third album Hysterical, produced by studio vet John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Walkmen, David Byrne). Imagine frontman Alec Ounsworth’s surprise when he emerged from the studio, after laboring over what is arguably their finest collection of songs, only to find the blogosphere abuzz with rumour that his band no longer existed. 

He must’ve felt a little like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. The guy triumphs over nature after being lost on a desert island and makes his way back home against all odds, only to find he’s been given up for dead and his wife is married to his dentist! Of course in the end he meets a woman who’s hotter than his wife (PS- his wife is played by Helen Hunt.) In CYHSY’s case, how sweet it must be to put rumours to rest and reintroduce yourself to the world with a wonderful new piece of work like Hysterical – it’s hotter than Helen Hunt.

Nowadays if you take a couple years off in between albums people think your band broke up.

(Laughs) You’re suddenly a reunion band.

Are you ever afraid that if you don’t put out a new song every five minutes, like Ryan Adams, you might be forgotten?

No, I mean I’m relatively old fashioned in that I don’t pay attention to it. I don’t believe in going into a studio to make a record without being really passionate and determined to do something that you’re honest about. Maybe Ryan Adams can be inspired and sustain the momentum and that’s great. As far as we’re concerned, it served us well to come back and be honestly passionate about [making music] by virtue of taking some time off.

But you never broke up.

No, no. There was a point where we were struggling to figure out where we wanted to go at that particular time in terms of sense of direction. As far as I was concerned the options at that time were to do a record because we were supposed to do it or to venture out on our own for a little bit and then come back when the time was right. It just so happens that it took that amount of time.

The new album is called Hysterical. Have you ever had fans go annoying-teenager-Beatlemania-hysterical on you?

I wouldn’t call it annoying, but you know here and there we’ve had a couple of instances. I remember a long time ago, before we went on any serious tour, people trying to jump into cars with us, which I found humorous and maybe sometimes people take it a little too far. Especially at that time, a lot of what happened around the first record was why we needed a break. It was just so much, so quickly. I felt like we needed more of a gestation period so we had to manufacture our own in a way.  At the beginning, there were certain fans who were enthusiastic, not exactly in the way I would be, but I’m not going to discredit them for that.

There’s the title track “Hysterical” and another song on the album called “Maniac”. Did someone go nuts while you were making this record?

Not so directly. I mean, I feel like everyone’s a little bit crazy. A lot of these songs are positioned in a specific way and kind of go towards the same theme. The whole idea is it’s inevitable that you are going to be who you are. I know that sounds sort of rhetorical, but I think finally there are certain things you can’t avoid, so all of those weaknesses, all of those crazy, maniacal tendencies are going to exhibit themselves in one way or another. As long as they don’t directly hurt others, I think people have to resign themselves to who they are, and a lot of this [record] has to do with people not being comfortable with that fact. I know it sounds pretty general.

No man! You just dropped some serious wisdom! I think you should open your own church.

(Laughs) Yeah right. Maybe that’s my calling.

I wouldn’t be a good Canadian if I didn’t reference The Guess Who and ask, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, have you or will you ever “Clap for the Wolfman”?

(Laughs) Clap for the wolfman? That’s a very odd question.

It’s a Guess Who song.

I feel like I know that song. Can you sing a little?

(Singing. Poorly.) Clap for the wolfman/You gonna dig him til the day you die

More, more, more! (Laughs) I don’t know the song.

Maybe I inspired you to go listen to a classic Canadian band after this interview?

Yeah, I ‘m going to have to go figure out if I should ‘Clap for the Wolfman’, but I can’t in good conscience do it now.

Words: Jay Brown Illustration: Alan Ganev