In advance of the release of The Open Door EP from Death Cab for Cutie, I had the opportunity to talk with drummer Jason McGerr about touring, the EP, and how Death Cab approaches their music now that they are an indie-rock titan.

ENS: Thanks for joining me Jason. I know you guys have The Open Door EP coming out. What can we expect from that release?

McGerr: Stereogum streamed all of the songs from the EP in advance of its release. The first four songs are ones that we tracked at my studio as part of the Narrow Stairs [Death Cab’s last full-length] sessions. They were all great songs, but just didn’t quite make the running order for the album. At one point or another, we had each of the songs on the record, but in the end they didn’t make the cut. So, we felt like giving these songs that we believed had artistic value some life, and so The Open Door EP was born. The fifth song, “Talking Bird (demo)” seemed to be a nice contrast, in showing how things can change quite a bit through the process, and we had a finalized product.

ENS: That’s great. I know you all are touring in support of the EP with two big touring partners, Ra Ra Riot and Cold War Kids. Could you talk a little bit about what to expect on the tour?

McGerr: Well, I know Ra Ra Riot has been doing a heck of a job on their own, so I think we’re in danger of keeping up with them. They have been selling out headlining shows on their own over the last year, and we’re really excited to have them along with us. We bumped into them a couple of times last year in Europe at festivals, saw their show, listened to their record [The Rhumb Line] and just fell in love. They are an absolutely phenomenal band and we can’t wait to tour with them.

ENS: In terms of the evolution of Death Cab, I know you joined the group at the point of recording Transatlanticism, which was kind of the point when Death Cab took off. Do you guys approach things differently now, knowing that there is a much larger audience out there for what you’re making?

McGerr: You have to be smart about it now. You can’t just put out a record anymore; you have to be well aware of how you’re being perceived by everybody. More than that, you have to be aware of how you’re reaching people with your music. I remember we went to Stockholm about four years ago, where we had sold about 200 records. We walked onto the stage, and there was a crowd of 1,500 people at a sold-out venue. That certainly wouldn’t have happened ten or fifteen years ago. Independent labels in the U.S. are just as competitive with majors. However, when you go overseas, the major label push is important for success. Our business model has always been the same, which is, “Eyes ahead.” We always look forward to next thing that’s changing; whether that’s distribution, how people talk about your shows, or spicing things up in the recording process.

I don’t think we carry ourselves any differently. If anything, I think we’ve gone backwards in our approach. Hence, Narrow Stairs and the lower level production with live recording. We have the technological world at our fingertips if we want to make a big glossy, perfect-sounding record, but that’s not us and not what we’re about as a band.

At this point, I don’t know where our next record is going to go, given the state of the industry. All I can say is that if we don’t keep looking ahead and focusing on the future, I think we would be lost as musicians and as people.

Death Cab For Cutie play in Louisville tonight at The Louisville Palace with Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot.