Pitchfork

First modern dance, and now musicals: indie rockers are gettin' their high art on big time these days, with veteran post-punk muckraker Ted Leo the latest to join the after-school drama club.

Yesterday evening, Leo told Pitchfork that he's working on the soundtrack for a musical, tentatively titled Red Bananas, that is set to premiere in Seattle in the late spring. "The whole thing is still being written, but it's going to be a multi-media kind of agitprop play about US involvement in Guatemala since the 1950's," Leo said. "There's an actual human drama to it involving two particular people, so it's not just a barrage of propaganda or anything."

Red Bananas's author, off-Broadway veteran Brad Rouse, approached Leo "out of the blue" for the project. "It's something that I've never done before and I'm actually pretty self-conscious about," Leo said. "I'm not even 100 percent confident that what I'm doing is going to be good." Hey, it's gotta be better than The Capeman, right?

But don't worry, Leo hasn't abandoned good ol' rock n roll. In fact, he plans to begin recording his next record with backing band Pharmacists as soon as they finish their upcoming tour. "I'm deep in writing mode right now," Leo said, describing the new songs' sound as "not a radical departure" from his previous records. "It is kind of running a broader swath of my own influences, I guess. If you're familiar with my stuff, it'll probably be more like one of my older albums and less like the most recent one. It'll be a little broader stylistically."

He's having a bit of trouble with the lyrics, though. "I feel like I'm talked out, you know? I kind of spent the last couple of years spending every single night saying everything I had to say with all the passion I could possibly say it, and it leaves me a little at a loss for things to say right now. So that's going to be the hurdle to get over."

Only two songs have titles at the moment, "La Costa Brava" and "The Sons of Cain". As for what label Leo will call home now that Lookout! Records is going through some tough times, well, he hasn't quite decided yet. "It'll be really, really soon," he said of the decision. "Like within the next couple of weeks."

Hopefully the announcement will come before Leo/Pharmacists head out on tour in March. Handling opening duties on the 20-day trek is the Spanish-by-way-of-Philly stylings of Les Aus. Their new EP, El Picasoques, will most likely be waiting at the merch table, fresh with the Ted Leo seal of approval, a trusted brand if there ever was one.

Dancing in the dark:

03-02 Brooklyn, NY - The Hook *
03-03 Providence, RI - The Living Room *
03-04 Boston, MA - Paradise *
03-05 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
03-06 Rochester, NY - Bug Jar *
03-07 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
03-08 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig *
03-10 Chicago, IL - The Abbey Pub *
03-11 Newport, KY - Southgate House *
03-12 Nashville, TN - Exit / In *
03-13 Little Rock, AR - Vinos *
03-14 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room *
03-15 San Antonio, TX - Sanctuary *
03-19 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington *
03-20 Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea's Café *
03-22 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
03-23 Charlotte, NC - Casbah at Tremont Music Hall *
03-24 Washington, DC - Black Cat *
03-26 New York, NY - Knitting Factory *

* with Les Aus

You'll notice an uncharacteristic four-day break between the San Antonio and Houston dates, the same four days as a certain music industry orgy in Austin, TX. Hmm...Is this break business or pleasure, Ted?

"