by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“For the most part, all the things we’ve done have been really fun and they’ve all had their interesting twists and turns,” says Death Cab for Cutie bassist Nick Harmer. “It’s never felt like we sold our soul.”

Much has been made of Death Cab for Cutie’s move from Barsuk to Atlantic, from indie darlings to major stars. The Seattle band’s slow rise to the mainstream began with six solid LPs released between 1997 and 2003, got a boost from singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard’s successful side project the Postal Service, and hit the gas after getting props on The O.C. and plays on Six Feet Under—incidentally, the band’s favourite show is The Office (U.K.). But Harmer is quick to quash all clichés about the big time, based on his experience so far.

“People hear the words ‘major label’ and they picture a hip hop pool party with lots of boats and flashy cars,” he says. True, the band recorded their latest album Plans in a world-class studio, but one that was built in a barn in 1909, and with the same budget as their previous LP.

“It’s important to have barriers you just can’t cross, ever if they’re self-imposed,” says Harmer. “If everyone says yes to you all the time and you have all the money in the world to do anything you want, you end up making Star Wars Episode I.”

Furthermore, there was no Atlantic interference, proving that a major label debut need not sound like a hit-machine product, and a major label band need not kneel before their corporate overlords. Well, not most of the time.

“Every once in a while you have to do things for MTV or they won’t play your videos,” Harmer explains. “So last week we played this really strange, surreal [MTV] show with a bunch of bands we had nothing in common with. It was one of those moments in your career where you go, ‘Wow, this is super-weird, how did we get here? Let’s get our guard back up.’”

Between Gibbard’s heart- and soul-searching lyrics and the band’s copious TV exposure, there’s no doubt that the teens have flocked to the Death Cab, but Harmer dispels the notion that they’re strictly for kids.

“The age spread of people who listen to our music and come to our shows is pretty wide,” he says. “We’ve got as many older folks as we do kids. It’s all over the map and I’m really happy about that.”

Named after a song from the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour movie (performed by the Bonzo Dog Band), Death Cab for Cutie are no strangers to either end of the fandom equation.

“I’ve had some pretty amazing conversations with kids where they just pour their souls out to you,” says Harmer, adding that he’s always flattered rather than freaked, despite having had to change his phone number to dodge an over-excited fan. “I was that kid who got obsessive about my favourite bands [like the Pixies and the Cure] to a nerdy nth degree. Unfortunately I couldn’t bring myself to [talk to them]. I would just stand back and be like, ‘These people are gods among men! I’m not worthy!’”

With Youth Group at the Spectrum on Sunday, Oct. 16, 9 p.m., $20 (sold out)

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