Q&A: Pat McGee of Stars talks about new album, Coachella performance

Canadian band Stars started when a couple of high school friends decided they wanted to play music they loved with people they cared about. Over a decade later, the veteran indie pop group has not quit. Returning to the upcoming Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival after five years, Stars has a new album in tow. “The North,” released in September 2012, adds to the repertoire of a band known for its strong lyrics and distinctive sound. Daily Bruin’s Jacob Klein spoke with Stars’ drummer Pat McGee about the upcoming festival and Stars’ new album.

Daily Bruin: What should people look forward to for your performance at Coachella?

Pat McGee: There’s going to be some drama, some spilt drinks undeniably. People will probably feel pretty romantic midday in the scorching sunshine. They’re going to hear a lot of songs about the north down in the south, which should be an interesting juxtaposition.

DB: What are you looking forward to at Coachella?

PM: I’m looking forward to some sunshine, for sure. We were up in Winnipeg, (Canada); we’re doing the northern states and Canada right now and it’s still pretty wintery here so I am looking forward to some sunshine. It’s an interesting lineup this year. It has a throwback, second-wave English invasion vibe going on. I get a little nervous, you know, because I liked these bands when I was young and it makes me nervous to go see them. But I hear they’re killing it, so that’ll be good.

DB: You’re doing two performances in two weeks. How are you planning on keeping them interesting for yourselves and the people who are there?

PM: We’ve been playing two nights in a lot of cities here and so we have two different sets. Maybe we’ll try and tweak each one a little bit to make it a little bit different than the last. The themes are sex and death for the two nights, so maybe we’ll carry that over for the two sets at Coachella. We’ve gone deep in the vaults actually on this tour. We figured we’ve been out for so long and our fans have been so loyal that we felt we owed them some old nuggets from the past.

DB: What inspired the latest album, “The North”?

PM: We recorded and wrote most of it in and around Montreal, and Montreal is going through an interesting time right now. At one point, art and cities and architecture and government were all looking to the future. There’s a lot of architecture and art going on that was futuristic and somewhat hopeful and creative. And all that stuff is now crumbling and people are scrambling to try and maintain it, but there’s no money anymore. It’s a little bit depressing. Governments now are cutting funding to art like art doesn’t matter. It’s something that people in general seem to think isn’t worth supporting in society, which is ridiculous. If you look at all the great civilizations, the things that survive today are the art in most places. And so, I think that was what mostly inspired us, was just living in the place that was going through this.

DB: What do you hope listeners come away with after listening to the album?

PM: A complete set of music, Side A and Side B. I know it’s a real retro idea, but it’s what we all grew up with. I hope people come away with a feeling that they just listened to a whole musical experience as opposed to picking out a tune here or whatever. And I think the album captures a real warmth and a real honesty.

DB: How do you think the indie music scene has changed over the years?

PM: Maybe, if anything, I think what I have noticed is bands are really virtuosic these days. I think people are drawing on some really heavy (influences) like African music. I think it’s changed because people are really starting to incorporate some pretty heavy ideas, global ideas, music from all over the place. People that listen to music these days are accepting of quite sophisticated sounds that bands are making.