With so many fledgling independent bands in the world, it's becoming increasingly hard to get noticed: to have that certain listener-captivating quality that leaves the rest of the nondescript-rock pack in the dust. Okkervil River, an Austin, TX band led by Macalester graduate Will Robinson Sheff '98, have that 'it' in spades in the form of Sheff's voice, a ragged spine-tingling vehicle.

Okkervil River has been a fixture on the Austin club circuit since Sheff's post-graduation move to the city, and last year saw the release of their stunning sophomore album, Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See, an epic record of such sprawling ambition and immediate impact that it garnered critical raves in the likes of Rolling Stone and Mojo.

Don't Fall in Love is the kind of record that reminds obsessive music lovers why they bothered to care about music so much in the first place; it is an album of extreme sentiments and sounds delivered with the kind of passion that simply can't be faked. The band covers a lot of stylistic ground on the album's nine tracks, shifting expertly between loping western style ballads ("Kansas City"), downcast folk dirges ("My Bad Days") and frantic horn-fueled pop ("Lady Liberty"), with a good deal in between. Okkervil River are the kind of band that breeds intense fandom. There's no such thing as casual listening when dealing with music this intense—it's an all-or-nothing proposition.

Thanks to the Macalester programming board, Macalester students will get to see what all the critical praise is about in person this coming Sunday, on the Mary Gwen Owens Performing Arts Stage of the Campus Center at 9 p.m. Sheff will be performing a rare solo acoustic show with opening help from fellow Macalester musician alum Ben Connelly '92. Sheff is a truly dynamic live performer and his show should be required attendance for any one who counts themselves as a fan of emotionally charged singer/songwriters.

Fresh off recording the group's third album in San Francisco's prestigious Tiny Telephone studios, Sheff was kind enough to take time out and answer some questions about the past, present and future of Okkervil River.
 

TMW: Did you feel any internal pressure while making the new record, to live up to the level of Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See after that album ended up being such a critical success?
 

Will Robinson Sheff: There was a little bit of that, but we tried not to let that bother us. When I was making Don't Fall in Love I wasn't really thinking at all about what other people would think, I was just trying to make myself happy and make the record I always wanted to. When the band first started talking about record number three, we talked about putting out something really 'rock' and just trying pushing away from the alt. country label. Then after awhile I just realized I didn't really care, I'm just going to do what I want to do.
 

MW: Based on the sound of some early mixes from the record, it appears that you're favoring a slightly more restrained approach when singing. Was that a conscious decision?
 

WRS: We sort of tried to let the songs build themselves organically a little bit more, to let the music carry the emotional weight in addition to the vocals. This time around I think I was holding my cards a little closer to my vest. There are just so many songwriters out there that get wrapped up into self-absorbed histrionics and start shouting off-key about their stupid problems. I really try to avoid that.
 

MW: Okkervil River is generally viewed as a band that writes story-based songs. Is that an accurate analysis? With some of the newer material like "It Ends With a Fall," you appear to be moving away from that narrative-based structure somewhat.
 

WRS: I like writing character-based songs and I like the term story songs to describe my songs just fine. It's never something I think of in that way though, I don't say, 'I'm going to write a story,' when I go to pick up my guitar. I just get into these characters and they come out like this. I don't think that I really tried anything differently writing these new songs. A song like "It Ends With a Fall" does have two distinct characters and a story, it's just not really fore-grounded. There's no real exposition, but if you read the lyrics you can sort of discern a story. There's more autobiographical stuff on this record, a lot of these songs have more to do with me personally, but it all gets put into the characters and their stories. In my songs there are moments that are totally true that I could never tell my friends or my girlfriend, but they're mixed in directly with fabrications and lies.
 

MW: From listening to the records and seeing you play live before it's obvious that a high level of passion and energy go into making Okkervil River's music. How essential do you see that passion being in terms of Okkervil River's sound? As a fan, it appears to be your band's defining quality.
 

WRS: To me, rock and roll is all about burning out in front of people. For example, I know that there's only so much longer that I'm going to be able to scream like I do before my throat is totally destroyed, that there's only so much longer I can go and hear loud music in clubs before my hearing is totally shot. I'm fully aware that I'm slowly pissing away my chances at getting a real job and a nice retirement by choosing to pursue music with my life, and I think that represents a commitment of a certain kind. I don't care about anything at all when I'm playing music. I don't care about anything beyond that one single moment. If spurts of blood start to fly out my mouth from screaming really loud it's all the better. It's all about going totally out there on the edge and meeting your art head-on with the possibility of having it tear you apart. I think that level of commitment is behind all great art, a willingness to use your self as fodder for the art.