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Okkervil River's fourth full-length album, "The Stage Names," released Aug. 7, delves into the dark side of celebrity and fame with songs that explore the self-destructive tendencies that can accompany success.

The Austin, Texas-based indie-rock band's distinctive sound is fueled by songs that feel like short stories brought to life in brooding arrangements equally inspired by American folk, Elvis Costello and '60s pop. Currently touring to promote the album, the band will be in Athens on Wednesday.

Okkervil River has had a couple brushes with fame this year, including their first television appearance. In August, the band appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," drawing applause from both O'Brien and guest Jeff Goldblum.

"I think that it was unfeigned enthusiasm," Will Sheff, the lead singer and songwriter, said of O'Brien's response. "Goldblum seemed to dig it too."

Earlier this year, rock legend Lou Reed invited the band to open for him at the Highline Ballroom in New York City. "It was just an amazing night," Sheff recalls.

Reed was impressed by the band when he heard one of their songs on satellite radio in 2006. During a recent interview with Pitchfork Media, Reed named Okkervil River and Amy Winehouse as two current bands he enjoys. Although Winehouse's current exploits read like a character in one of Okkervil River's songs, Sheff admires the way Winehouse has captured the "great classic girl group sound" and in fact says the band was "thinking about girl group productions all over" while recording "The Stage Names."

Sheff's love of girl groups goes even deeper: "I wish I could sing with a girl's voice," he says. "A lot of times when I sing songs I pretend that I am a girl, like especially 'Shannon Wilsey on the Starry Stairs.' I was trying to pretend I was Janet Jackson when I was singing that song."

While Jackson's influence on Sheff's vocals is not evident to the casual listener, the song is written from the point of view of a woman, an adult film star known as Savannah, who killed herself in the early '90s.

Despite Sheff's fascination with girl groups, Okkervil River is a rock band. Sheff sees similarities between the band's acoustic rock sound and one of Athens' legendary bands.

He says, "I've often thought of us as like an R.E.M. band" because the band's acoustic sound is not "a country thing or a folk thing. It's still kind of a rock thing."

Sheff says R.E.M.'s 1986 album "Life's Rich Pageant" inspired "The Stage Names" "because there's so much percussion on that record." Jonathan Meiburg, who plays piano, Wurlitzer, and electric guitar, among other instruments, in the band, was responsible for that choice. Meiburg, "was a big R.E.M. fan growing up - I mean everyone was."

The lyrics in the song "Plus Ones" even offer a direct reference: "Eight Chinese brothers/Well, there's a reason why the last is smiling wider and sitting higher than the others," allude to the R.E.M. song "Seven Chinese Brothers."

What else does the band like about Athens? Bizarro Wuxtry.

"That's a great comic book store that you got there in Athens," Sheff says.


And for all of you Conan lovers, here's their performance on his show a month ago:



I bolded probably the most amazing part of the whole interview. I love the oddness of this band. My sister interviewed them and wrote this article, so I'm completely jealous of her. There were so many great stories that Will Sheff told my sister that didn't make the article.

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