Struggling with unemployment and hopelessness, best chronicled on the Methadones 2004 album “Not Economically Viable” (Thick), frontman Dan Schafer set aside his troubles for last year’s “21st Century Power Pop Riot” (Red Scare).
“I was divorced. I was laid off from two jobs,” says Schafer, referencing the hard times that fueled the group’s previous effort. “But by the time that was done it was time for some fun.”
To that end, the band holed up in the studio with enough alcohol to stock a small tavern and bashed out “21st Century,” a raucous selection of power pop covers that runs the gamut from Elvis Costello to lesser-knowns such as the Jags and the Records. But what is a punk rock quartet doing tackling the likes of Cheap Trick?
“Delving back I realized how similar the power pop was to early punk like the Undertones and the Buzzcocks,” explains Schafer. “The spirit is really similar. All those early punk bands also had great hooks. They just turned up the amps.”
The recording was a welcome change of pace for the group after “Not Economically Viable,” a concept record loosely based around the Michael Douglas movie “Falling Down,” a tale of suburban angst that explodes into a violent revenge fantasy. Unemployed and newly divorced, Schafer identified with Douglas’ character, though he wisely chose to lash out with guitars instead of shotguns.
Being in a band had never been the wisest economical decision, Schafer says–but without full-time work, that harsh reality really set in.
“I would go to the unemployment line and it was all ages and all walks of life and just a line around the block,” says Schafer. “At the time you would turn on the TV and [President George W. Bush] was playing golf and talking about exploring Mars. It was like, `This is unbelievable.’ The resentment just grew.”
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Schafer admits that one of his biggest personality flaws is his unwillingness to compromise–whether its ending his group’s most politically charged record to date with a catchy tune (the melodic “Straight Ahead Pop Song”) or refusing to play “the game,” a term he uses to describe the hoops that many musicians are forced to jump through to make it in the industry.
“Every once in awhile I get a letter that says, `If you can give us some advice what is it?’ I always say, `Well, do the opposite of me,'” continues Schafer. “I guess if I wanted to wear black eye makeup and get some stupid hairstyle and make everyone in the band jump in unison during shows I could go that route, but that’s not me.”
Instead, Schafer pledges to remain true to his blue-collar personality–which means no makeup, no flashy haircuts and no choreography. “As an artist and as a musician, that’s at once why he succeeds and why he doesn’t succeed more,” notes Ben Weasel, who played with Schafer for nearly a decade in the long-running pop-punk band Screeching Weasel. “He’s one of those rare people who is constitutionally unable to play the game. He’s not built to say, `I’m going to do literally whatever it takes to succeed.'”
Schafer has grown increasingly comfortable with his station in life, taking a job delivering cars through the Midwest for General Motors as the Methadones prepare to enter the studio this spring to record fresh original material.
“I’m sure the next record will have plenty of driving references,” says Schafer with a laugh. “But that’s how it goes. At the end of the day you are who you are.”
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The Methadones, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont Ave. $8; 773-281-4444.