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Colin Meloy Gets Picarooned

By Kevin Lalonde, Program Director, CFUR Radio

The DecemberistsGrowing up, I was one of those kids who always looked words up in the dictionary if I didn't understand them. It was kind of handy, because I knew a lot of words, and all the other kids thought I was smart. Eventually I finally thought I was smart too, and stopped spending my time with my nose in a thesaurus. Early this spring, however, Colin Meloy and his merry band, Portland 's indie-pop darlings The Decemberists , screwed everything up when they released their third full-length album, Picaresque.

Like every stalwart indie geek in the world, I was perplexed with a question: What the hell does Picaresque mean? After some hefty research at dictionary.com, it turns out that Picaresque means �involving clever rogues or adventurers.� On the surface, this is already a fairly accurate description of Meloy's songwriting; filled with pirates, spies, seabound lovers and vengeful spirits, his writing epitomizes the spirit of adventure.

The title became a bit more relevant when just a few days into their spring 2005 tour, dubbed March of the Picaroons, the indie music community was shocked to learn that the band's trailer, containing every piece of instrumentation in the band's arsenal, was stolen in Portland , resulting in the immediate cancellation of their March show in Vancouver . Suddenly Picaresque reflected its namesake far more accurately.

�It was pretty horrible to see just how low humanity can drop,� explains Meloy. Since then, much of the band's instruments and equipment have been retrieved (some from a meth lab, incidentally), along with all of the Decemberists' merchandise, but some gear is still missing. �There's a lot of sentimental attachment to some of our instruments,� adds Meloy, who still has three guitars at large.

�I'm glad it happened in Portland though. It sort of gave us a chance to figure things out and get back on track,� asserts Meloy. �I'm not a spiritual person, but I believe everything happens for a reason� We basically got to run around in Portland and buy all new instruments to replace all the stolen equipment. So I guess it turned out pretty alright,� adds Meloy with a wry smile.

Now almost two months after the theft, things seem to be normalizing for the Decembrists, if not exceeding all previous expectations. Well into their summer tour and well-equipped with new and recovered gear, the band seems poised to rise to even greater heights in the indie pop/rock genre with Picaresque .

� Picaresque was a huge milestone for us. With this album, we had the chance to do things we always wanted to do before,� says Meloy, fresh off a solo acoustic tour across the US , playing some favorite Morrissey covers.

�Morrissey seemed appropriate for me to play, he definitely influenced my music as I started playing, so it seemed right to kind of pay homage to him. It was a lot of fun. I loved getting to play in some more intimate places this time around,� he adds.

With Picaresque 's continued success, Meloy's focus has certainly changed since his spring solo tour, and we can all happily look forward to new and exciting things in the future from the Decemberists.

�The new stuff that we're working on now will really push the process along I think,� says Meloy. �It's pretty exciting.�

Yes, we're all excited too. Next time, however, I don't plan to be stuck clutching a dictionary when I go to pick up the new album. I'll leave that for some other poor ignoramus.