The National's Siblings Stay Civil

As if it wasn't difficult enough to have everybody in a band get along, try doing it with two sets of brothers. Matt Berninger of New York-based band The National knows this position well. He's the baritone singer sandwiched between guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner and rhythm section Bryan and Scott Devendorf. Luckily for Berninger, there isn't as much drama in The National as there is between say, the U.K.'s two most infamous musical brothers.

"They get along really well," he says. "There isn't a whole lot of deep seated baggage from growing up together. There's healthy competition, especially between Bryce and Aaron because they're both guitar players, less so between Scott and Brian. Truthfully, it doesn't add any tension, it makes it a little smoother, having known each other for so long. We're constantly locking horns creatively, but I think that's typical whether it's brothers, sisters or best friends. It's healthy. It's not like a Gallagher brothers situation."

The National's latest release, Alligator, is their first for Beggars Banquet after releasing two records independently. It was recorded mostly in their practice space in Brooklyn. The casual set-up made sessions for the LP far more relaxed, because the band weren't on a studio's clock.

The group's first two records were released on Brassland, a label run by the guys in the band with Berninger putting up the cash for production and publicity ("Basically I was paying for everything, but didn't want to do any of the work," he says). As the band began to gain steam, however, it became much harder to run the label and an alternative had to be found.

"When Beggars found out we were looking for a label, they called right away," Berninger says. "If we had a choice of labels to choose from, they would have been at the top. They've been around for 20 years and aren't a major. They don't waste money on bullshit. We didn't want the pressure of having to sell hundreds of thousands of records and they're the kind of label that can actually make it work with a band that only sell a few thousand. The day they called, it was probably less than two weeks before we decided."

All the members of the band were friends before moving to New York and officially starting the band. Surprisingly, one of the biggest hiccups in their evolution has been their name.

Though they only chose The National because they thought it was generic and meaningless, they quickly figured out this wasn't the case.

"We probably should have put more thought into it to avoid any name that had any connotations, but we didn't think that through well enough until we got to Europe and it quickly donned on us that 'The National' has very negative connotations, especially in places like France and Germany, so it all backfired," Berninger says. "We've had groups boycott our shows in Germany. They think it's some sort of reference to the Nationalist Party. We get over there and spend a lot of time talking about the name and our politics."

Another hiccup has only come with the band's current rise: it's been difficult trying to balance the growing success of The National against their personal lives. Berninger says that during the off times, it's difficult to pay the bills and during the tours it's hard to see those they care about.

"When you start to get successful, you have to chase it," he says. "When you start getting attention you have to stand up. We've been doing this a long time, there's no question we're going to go after it, do everything we have to tour-wise to make a dent. So right now, this year, this is our opportunity, but it is ruining the rest of our lives. The plan is to pick up the pieces next year. [laughs]"

Here are The National's Canadian tour dates:

September 17 Montreal, QC @ Main Hall
September 18 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
October 2 Vancouver, BC @ Sonar (w/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!)

source: ChartAttack by Noah Love