Brad Barr on Eisenhower, label logistics and how playing in Surprise Me Mr. Davis saved The Slip

Fresh Sound, Familiar Songs 

We started working on Eisenhower in early 2004, passing  around a demo which had “Children of December,” “Suffocation Keep”and a few other songs on it. Songs come and go annually, so we wanted to make sure we captured the material we were playing live. We ended up spending a long time just figuring out what songs were going to make the cut and how to make the different parts  sound cool. In March of 2005, we finally went into the studio for real with Matthew Ellard, and  that’s how this record took shape. It was recorded the way we felt a record should be made, meaning that we couldn’t go back and  make the same record again.

Canned Improvisation

The studio is about experimenting,  but it’s a different kind of experimentation—it’s improvisation on this whole different level. In the studio you can record these tiny  little moments—like crumpling paper—and turn that into something incredibly powerful. The beginning of “Paper Birds” has these little sounds dashing in and out of it. It has a real headphone quality.

Label Logistics  

We actually spent a lot of time  just trying to figure out who is going to put this record out. We tried to aim high and we tried to aim low. We had been sitting on this record for almost a year and, at one point, we were just going to give it away. As a band we have  been in and out of so many record deals and we just wanted to get the music out there. Our sound  has changed a lot  but I don’t see it as turning left here and right there. It’s really been a straight  shot. We’ve just had a very public growth process. [The album is being released on Bar None.]

Surprise Me Mr. Davis

Nathan [Moore] is the kind of guy  who seeps into your subconscious. He was on the road with us [playing with members of The Slip as Surprise Me Mr. Davis] and we’d end up in the hotel lobby a  lot because we were the smokers. He’d throw lyrics at me all the time while I’d be working on music. I was really inspired by his whole  literary angle, which would unfold  in this beautiful way. It really stayed with me—it made me less afraid to try out different genres,  like country. He made me embrace simplicity in my songwriting. I had to make my guitar solos say more in a shorter amount of time.

Not So Serious 

For a long time we took ourselves  really, really seriously. Playing was as much of a mental workout as it was a fun experience. Surprise Me Mr. Davis became  this outlet to play songs which were more rocking, looser and song focused. I’d always leave those gigs happy. So I tried to bring that freedom and playfulness to The Slip. We don’t have to worry about creating these spontaneous gems night after night. Those things will happen if you’re loose with it and if you have  strong songs. Plus, we’re getting older and only have so much more time to really rock out! 

Saving The Slip

After 12 years, it was becoming  really difficult to see how we were going to survive as a band. We thought about taking an extended  break for a while but writing these songs made us want to continue. I listened to “If One of Us Should Fall” and it made me want to go out on the road and support this record.

The Slip: Marc Friedman, Brad Barr, Andrew Barr  

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