The Baseball Project (photo by Vivian Johnson)

Scott McCaughey might be a robot.

One is forced to conclude that only a machine from the future, or possibly the Highlander, could possibly do everything Scott McCaughey does.  Besides leading Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5, touring and recording with R.E.M., and playing with Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, he recently formed The Baseball Project with Steve Wynn, along with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck (also of the Minus 5) and drummer Linda Pitmon.

In reality, singer-songwriter McCaughey is simply a musician with a passion for music and a feverish ambition that keeps him constantly busy.  In the past year alone,  Young Fresh Fellows released I Think This Is (Yep Rock) – their first album in eight years – and The Minus 5 released Killingsworth, a pedal steel-focused alt-country album featuring collaborations with everyone from members of The Decemberists to an all-girl Bee Gees tribute band called the She Bee Gees.   On top of that, the Baseball Project released their first album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, an album all about – surprise – baseball.

When McCaughey called from the road, he was in North Dakota with tour mates Peter Buck, Steve Wynn, and Linda Pitmon, aka The Baseball Project, the Steve Wynn Four, and the most current incarnation of The Minus 5.  Though it may seem somewhat unconventional to use the same members for all three bands on the tour, McCaughey doesn’t think twice about it. “We like being our own opening band and blending everything into one big mess,” he laughs, “It’s awesome.”  The tour seems to embody McCaughey’s career path as of late, which he describes as “[doing] whatever I felt like with whoever was around, whoever I wanted to work with and who would consider joining in the fun and working with me.”

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The Baseball Project’s  debut album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails is an album with a basic concept: a love for baseball.  The band released the album July 7 on Yep Rock.  “[Steve Wynn and I] went back to the late 1800s, early 1900s for some of the material so you’ve got a hundred plus years of characters and stories to refer to, and I think we came up with some pretty good ones and presented it really well,” McCaughey says.  ” I mean, it’s not for everybody, I suppose.  We figure if we make the music cool enough that even people who didn’t even like baseball might like it. And then if we made the stories good enough that maybe people who don’t like indie rock but like baseball might like it too.”

One would assume that a band like The Baseball Project would regularly catch a few games while on tour; unfortunately, McCaughey said it hasn’t worked out that way.

“You know, I almost always catch a baseball game on tour in the summer [during] baseball season, but it’s so funny ‘cause on this tour where we thought ‘Well, maybe we can play at some games’ and do stuff like that, there’s almost no opportunities for us to see any games on this tour.  In fact, the only place we’re probably gonna get to see a game is in Cincinnati.”  Go Reds!

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Despite the numerous gigs on his plate right now, McCaughey admits, “I feel like I should do more.  I should be making more music and putting out more records and writing more songs, so I’m not really satisfied.”

With that in mind, it makes sense that McCaughey doesn’t plan to stop any time soon once the tour is over.  As soon as this tour ends, he’s scheduled to do some Robyn Hitchcock dates right before the Young Fresh Fellows tour in Spain.  Though some could accuse McCaughey of being a workaholic, he certainly doesn’t have the attitude of one, jokingly describing himself as “haphazard.”  “I don’t have a great career plan,” he says, “I just sort of do stuff when I have time and when it seems like fun, when opportunity arises.”

The Minus 5, The Baseball Project, and the Steve Wynn 4 come to the Southgate House this Saturday, September 19.
8pm doors / 9pm show
$10 ADV / $13 DOS
Ages 18+