Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
Hippo Campus
When thinking of musical contributions to the world of indie-music, Hippo Campus is one of the first bands to come to mind. The Minnesota based band has made some waves in their 10-year run, with songs like “Buttercup,” “South,” and “Baseball,” reaching hundreds of eagerly listening indie enthusiasts. As a testament to their ability to remain relevant, the band is constantly pushing the limits of their writing, musicality, and showmanship. The latest EP, Wasteland, came out April 14 of this year, and it contains songs that experiment with many new themes for the band, a musically western leaning sound and cowboy themed lyricism. The coastal country theme is one of the ways that Hippo Campus continues to show up for fans with new, vulnerable, and enthralling sound, both lyrically and musically. Ahead of the band’s Madison show later this month, we spoke with lead guitarist Nathan Stocker about the complexities of the songwriting process.
What is one of your favorite lyrics from any of your songs?
One of my favorites now is from the song “Yippee Ki Yay.” It’s the first line “shot my horse in the opening scene.” It’s so vivid, I think it sets the scene so well, and I’m just proud of us that we can push ourselves to not be afraid and just write. It always gets me. I think of thousands of people singing that line and it’s hilarious.
What is your songwriting process?
It’s changed so much across the board. During the early days of the band, we were writing from the ground up in a room together with all of our instruments in hand. Bashing our heads against a wall for six plus hours a day. That was unique, and trying, and difficult after a while but that’s how we got the first record, the first couple EP’s. And then we veered off that path, we experimented with writing individually and bringing in songs. We’re very insular and self-reflective in that way. There’s a lot of references to our relationships with each other. There’s a lot of songs that are directly about the person standing across the room from you.
It’s a product of our centered idea that we’re writing from an honest place. This band means so much to us. This band has been our life entirely. It would be concerning if we didn’t try to work out our personal dynamics in the music that we’re writing. For it not to show itself in any way would be odd, considering how collaborative and democratic the process is for us. Nowadays, we’re working on some new tunes. It doesn’t matter where they come from, as long as, at the end of the day, we feel like we’re serving the song well.
What’s the main takeaway that you wish for listeners as they’re listening to your music?
It’s tough. You have to think about people who have never heard the band before, people who have been listening to us for a really long time, and everyone in the middle. You really want to make both of those parties happy, because you have to cater to the people that gave you this platform in the first place, while also trying to have a fresh perspective on rock music in general. It’s very hard nowadays, because it’s changed a lot over the last 10 years.
All I can hope for is a feeling of honesty that listeners get from what we’re doing. A feeling of relatability. Back in the day, we might have been caught up in the idea that we have some grand poetic statement. Now, it’s definitely transformed into a mission of being understood, and providing an opportunity for someone to relate. Hopefully creating a community from that. It’s been more bringing people in. All that being said, we have to make music that we like first and foremost, and let everything else follow. That has always been the essence of the group, and what we’re about when we sit down to write a song in the first place.
Do you have a favorite song from the new EP?
“Yippee Ki Yay.” That song means a lot to me. It was in my back pocket for six years. It speaks to the power of music that an idea can linger that long and then see the light of the day.
I like all of them. They all represent an interesting time for us as a band, and I’m excited to see the fans' response to them live.
Have you played in Milwaukee before, and if so, what did you think?
Yeah, Milwaukee’s great. I love Milwaukee. Madison and Milwaukee both, we love it. We just played the Pabst. I was touring there on a solo record last September and we played the Cactus Club. It’s such a good spot. Wisconsin all around is a good place to perform.
Hippo Campus will perform at The Sylvee in Madison on Tuesday, May 23. For more information on the band and the show, visit the Hippo Campus website.
