How did the Ashley Stove get its start? I read something about living in London and getting inspiration from seeing shows there?

Matt Brown and I went to high school together in small-town eastern North Carolina, and we each had been goofing off with guitars and drums, so we started playing together; I would usually play drums and he played guitar. We had fun but it wasn't a real "project" or anything. Matt hatched a scheme in 1991 for us to spend a summer in London working through a student exchange program, which actually turned out to be our introduction to live rocknroll. We were kind of rabid Pixies fans, and they were in England then too. We saw them three times, as well as a bunch of other bands, and from that point on when we sat around playing guitars or even just listening to music, we thought about it differently. We took music more seriously or something...and we knew when we got back home we would start a band.

Built to Spill, The Flaming Lips, The Replacements, Sunny Day Real Estate, Tripping Daisy these are all bands I have heard you compared to. Do you ever read comparisons like that and think these people are way off base?

No, I never get too annoyed with that type of comparison, because it's a natural reflex to try and get your mind around something new...to try and categorize it. I do the same thing, although I am probably more sensitive after being on the band side of the equation. The fact is, the Ashley Stove has never been one of those bands like say, Polvo, that has an absolutely ground-breaking sound. We are a rock band and we try to write good songs and have fun shows, but it's not like we are re-inventing indie-rock or something, and we are aware of that. I'm just happy people compare us to good bands like the ones you mention....well, Tripping Daisy I'm not too familiar with, but those others I say "hell, yes, good stuff."

I will admit that sometimes, when we get compared to Superchunk, it bugs me because it's like "Get over it, we don't sound like Superchunk!" It's just so easy for people to think "Merge +Rock = Superchunk" and I think we have a different thing going on, except for the fact that we play drums, bass, and guitars. And I have loved Superchunk since the first time I heard them, and they are still one of my favorite bands, and that qualifies me to say "We don't sound like them!"

You guys have been affiliated with several labels during your career. Karf, Amish, Jesus Christ and most recently Merge. Do you feel pretty comfy with Merge, like you may have found a permanent home?

I think you always have to keep in mind the big picture from the label's perspective, and from the band's perspective, and make decisions based on what the landscape is like...including a whole bunch of factors. In the case of Jesus Christ, that roster of bands was amazing! But the guy who ran the label had no idea what he was doing...bless his heart because he had great intentions, not to mention good taste, but those records just languished...it makes me a little sick. Amish is run by two New Yorkers who are completely passionate about everything they put out, and if things were slightly different, they could have easily been the ones to put out more of our stuff, assuming they wanted to. I think Merge does a nice job and obviously they have established themselves due to an incredible amount of work and persistence. Besides that, they are great friends of ours and I wouldn't trade them for the world. But as far as whether or not they'll put out the rest of whatever we do, both of us have to look at that and consider it as we go along.

Are you and Jennifer still playing with Mac in Portastic? Do you just accompany him live or do you record with him as well? How and when did you get involved with that?

When I met Jennifer, just after Erectus Monotone broke up, she was playing pretty regularly with Mac/Portastatic. I thought "Wow, she's hot!" At that point a lot of things were coming together in a very strange way. Matt asked Jennifer to play with Ashley Stove, and she said yes without knowing that the boy she thought she liked (which happened to be me) was in the band. I had admired her from afar...especially in Erectus Monotone, so I was really nervous when she started playing with us, because I thought she was tough! Anyway, that's how I got to know Jennifer. After that we started dating. Later Mac asked if I could help out, too, with some tours playing guitar and a little organ. Jennifer, Mac and Laura had been friends ever since before Merge...the late eighties...and this was about '93-4. Jennifer had already recorded on "I Hope Your Heart is Not Brittle" (singing on one of my fave songs "Naked Pilsners") and then we both recorded on "Slow Note From A Sinking Ship" and I think that's the last thing we recorded on. I did a week + tour with Mac in fall of 2000 which was really fun. We played with Yo La Tengo and their shows were totally mind blowing. Portastatic has always been a very fun thing for me, because it's such a shift from being the singer/guitar player guy...it allows you to step back and play more sparsely, which I like. Mac's songs are very well written...it always feels very natural to me. Plus, he takes so much of the responsibility of coordinating the tour, which I usually do with my band.

I understand that Matt Brown, co-founder of the Ashley Stove has departed the band. Do you think your sound as a band has really changed drastically since his departure?

It has certainly changed some. Matt didn't want to play the guitar like other people play it, and I always appreciated that. Sometimes I thought his parts were genius and sometimes they didn't really fit well with the songs...and I think he would agree with that. He made us push some boundaries, though. Mostly I miss just having Matt around, because now I don't get to see him as much. You may not know that Matt is one of the funniest people in the United States...so he left some shoes to be filled. He does have his own project now, called "My Codename is Blue". On the whole, we are more straightforward with our songs, and we sound more cohesive, I think.

So you are on your third guitar player as of late. Where do they keep going? How is Jim Brantley working out? A lot of reviewers were giving Mike Kenlan a good deal of credit for the "new" Ashley Stove sound of All Summer Long, is there any truth to that?

Mike Kenlan was kind of a guitar hero of mine. Seeing Pipe and Small play in the early nineties was really my introduction to punk/underground rock, since my childhood was mostly spent listening to southern rock and stuff. I agree that he had a big impact on "All Summer Long". He played some snappy parts and they fit great with the songs. Our intention is to be a band where everyone contributes...that's the beauty of a band. So whether it's Mike or Matt or Jim, we want whoever it is to be an integral part of the band...so it wouldn't be possible for him to NOT have had a big impact. I love that chorusy eighties-sounding tone he has on the record...I think that was a very nice addition. He deserves credit...he's a badass.

As far as Jim, he's just a very naturally talented fellow. He has a totally different style than Matt or Mike, but I think he has also complemented the band very nicely. I think we sound more together with Jim, because everything he plays is in the groove with the rest of us. He can also do things on the guitar that most people can't...he plays his guitar ALL the time...he's very comfortable with his instrument. Right now we are working on some new songs and it has been really fun...Jim has brought some nice thoughts about structuring songs...I'm excited about our new stuff.

So I noticed you have some pictures from Austin on your web site. What did you think of our fair city? You guys played with label mate Britt Daniel and local hipsters Subset right? How did you enjoy the show?

Oh, yeah, Austin was great. We stayed in a cool joint called the Austin Motel. That really is a great city...you should be proud. We had some nice food...we are all big food whores in the Stove. I thought the show was pretty good for a Tuesday. It was hot which wasn't a surprise, really. Emo's is a pretty good place. I like the Spoon band a lot, too. Our good friend Roman is playing with them, now. Britt played solo and it was neat...he played along with a boom-box which had a tape recording of some drum beats and stuff. Subset are a fine band...it was nice to meet those dudes because we played a show later on in the tour with Silver Scooter, another fine Austin band. Oh yeah, we stayed with Laura and Aaron from Knife in the Water...we played with them in Houston. It was great to meet them.

What is it like being married to someone in the band? Where you guys married to start out with, or did that come later after love had bloomed at the practice space?

Oh, being married to Jennifer is the best thing that ever happened to me. Ain't that sweet? It's mostly great being married to your bandmate. You don't have the problem of separation during tours, which can be a serious thing. We met through the band, as I mentioned. I remember Matt saying "Look, I didn't go out and get Jennifer to come play with us so you could start DATING her."

Is Jennifer the Devo freak? Maybe Erectus Monotone (who sang "Destination Unknown") should have switched songs with Superchunk (Who sang "Girl You Want") on that Freedom of Choice Comp.

I LOVE that cover of "Destination Unknown". Jennifer is a Devo fan, but I wouldn't say she is the Devo Freak. I guess that song was written with an imaginary girl in mind. The TV show "Freaks and Geeks" is one of the greatest shows ever...and I always kind of picture the Devo Freak girl being on that show. You know, an outsider who loves Devo and dresses funny and has great dance moves.

Speaking of "new wave" this adjective seems to be getting thrown at you a lot lately. I think I have seen that adjective or something similar to it in every single review of All Summer Long I have read. How applicable do you think term "new wave" or even "retro" is to Ashley Stove?

I think "new wave" makes sense. I love the music from that time period...including bands that weren't necessarily new wave (like Devo was new wave)...but got lumped in that group...like the Cars or Blondie or the Clash. It's funny to try and categorize your own band. I think we are upbeat, fun, kind've weird...which pretty much describes a lot of New Wave, I guess. So, yeah, that classification makes me happy. That said, I doubt the next record will be the same...but it might.