Mister Heavenly
Introduces us to "Doom-Wop"
By Elizabeth Thompson
Photographed by Jacqueline Di Milia
Most bands form with the intention of eventually
recording music together. For Mister Heavenly -- featuring Man Man's Ryan
Kattner, Islands' Nick Thorburn, drummer Joe
Plummer of Modest Mouse and the Shins and actor
Michael Cera as their touring bass player -- it was
the other way around. "It was an accidental record
that turned into an accidental band," Kattner
says of the group's debut album, Out of Love, due August
16th on Sub Pop. Thorburn, who founded Mister
Heavenly with Kattner, says the two had kicked around
the idea of playing together for years, "But I never
thought it would go beyond bar talk," he says (noting, "Not as in Bartok the composer, but the
kind of talking that takes place in a bar"). Finally
deciding to give it a go, the two agreed that if they
liked what they produced, they would "just put the
songs on the Internet for free," Kattner says, "And
that would be that." Instead, they ended up with enough songs for
an entire album. Plummer, needing a break from
life in Portland, took Kattner up on an invitation
to play drums and helped record a demo in New
York. Cera, a friend of Thorburn's, isn't on the album
but goes on the road with the group when he can. This
isn't, however, a movie star's hyper-conscious attempt
"to slum it with a band and load his own
gear," Thorburn says. "He has no preconceived
notion about what kind of lifestyle he should be
living. It's kind of refreshing."
For Out of Love, Kattner and Thorburn display
their shared fondness for contrasting jaunty melodies
with brutal lyrics. They've given this sound
the tongue-in-cheek name "doom-wop," because,
Thorburn explains, "we thought it would be funny
to start a band with a made-up genre."
Although they don't take themselves too seriously
(getting straight answers out of Thorburn is
not easy), this is no joke-band; the record includes
many a wounded heart and tortured relationship.
"I like that this album is about different kinds of
doomed love," Kattner says, referencing, as an example,
the track "Pineapple Girl," about the real-life pen
pal relationship between Panama dictator Manuel
Noriega and a 12-year-old Michigan girl. "It makes
the record sound like a movie," Kattner says. "It
would be the soundtrack for Valley Girl -- if it was
crossed with Mad Max."
Above (L-R): Nick Thorburn, Ryan Kattner and Joe Plummer
WHAT'S ON THEIR SUMMER PLAYLIST
Ryan: "Peaches," The Stranglers
"No One's Better Sake," Little Joy
Joe: "Having a Party," Sam Cooke
"I Wanna Do It," Sonny and the Sunsets
Nick: "Cowgirl in the Sand," Neil Young
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me," Smokey Robinson
MORE FROM PAPER'S SUMMER MIXTAPE
Above (L-R): Nick Thorburn, Ryan Kattner and Joe Plummer
WHAT'S ON THEIR SUMMER PLAYLIST
Ryan: "Peaches," The Stranglers
"No One's Better Sake," Little Joy
Joe: "Having a Party," Sam Cooke
"I Wanna Do It," Sonny and the Sunsets
Nick: "Cowgirl in the Sand," Neil Young
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me," Smokey Robinson
MORE FROM PAPER'S SUMMER MIXTAPE
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