Published: October 10, 2008 11:29 am            

MUSIC: Okkervil River flows into Buffalo

After hearing Okkervil River for the first time, it would be an understatement to say that Travis Nelsen didn’t think much of the band.

“I actually thought they were terrible,” Nelsen said in a phone interview from New Orleans. “The fact that they got a lot of press upset me.”

It’s an odd statement coming from someone who has long been Okkervil River’s drummer, but Nelsen’s journey to the band was a strange trip indeed.

Okkervil River comes Friday to Buffalo’s Tralf as a critically acclaimed, literate band — two mainstay descriptions of the group. But the band has seen its star rise in recent years from small, beloved indie band to bigger, more beloved indie band (Okkervil River’s most recent album, “The Stand Ins,” debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard 200, the band’s highest chart position ever).

As the band’s first booking agent, the group’s recent success isn’t something Nelsen necessarily foresaw. After hearing Okkervil River’s first album, “Don’t Fall in Love with Everyone You See,” he was “blown away.” Nelsen booked a two-week tour for the band, but upon catching another one of their live shows, he wondered if he’d made a mistake.

“I went to check them out — they were awful,” Nelsen said. “I’m like, ‘They’re going to ruin all my connections. They’re terrible as a live band.’ ”

But Nelsen struck up a friendship with Okkervil’s chieftain, singer-songwriter Will Sheff, and he was soon called upon to fill in on drums at South by Southwest, now one of the country’s largest music festivals. Nelsen turned the offer down for a “couple of weeks” before deciding to give it a shot, he said. Soon after, one thing led to another and Nelsen became the band’s permanent drummer.

Around the time of Nelsen’s arrival, he feels like the band began to change into a louder rock band, though Nelsen wouldn’t take credit for the shift.

“They all had it in them,” he said. “It was not a planned thing.”

The band has released three albums since Nelsen joined the band — 2004’s “Black Sheep Boy,” 2007’s “The Stage Names” and its companion album, “The Stand Ins,” which was released in August.

Nelsen feels “The Stand Ins” is the group’s best album yet. A confident and melodic set of songs that finds the group more up-tempo than its ever been, the album could have been a part of “The Stage Names.”

“We thought about making ‘The Stage Names’ a double record, but we thought that would be egotistical,” he said.

Despite the band’s growing popularity — fame and its effects seem to be a key theme throughout “The Stand Ins” — egotism isn’t exactly a trait normally associated with Okkervil River. There have never been any ego struggles within the band, Nelsen said. Though Sheff writes the songs, when the band plays together, it’s a socialist environment.

“Will doesn’t tell me what to play on drums. Everyone tells me what to play on drums,” Nelsen said.

As for Okkervil’s increasing fan base, Nelsen rarely reflects on changes in the crowd. The band now plays for more than 1,000 fans a night, though years ago, there were times when the crowd hovered closer to a dozen people.

“It’s been such a gradual buildup that I just don’t think about it,” he said. “We’ve never had overnight success.”

The band has come a long way in many ways, including, Nelsen said, a vast improvement on stage since those early days.

“I think we’re a really, really good live band,” he said. “We’ve come a long way. Everyone rehearses so much. I think we’ll always be a little sloppy, but (we have) punk rock energy.”



IF YOU GO

WHAT: Okkervil River concert

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St., Buffalo

MORE INFORMATION: Call 852-2860 or visit tralfmusichall.com

        

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