Ok, first of all, just say your names and what you do in the band.

Morgan: Morgan Nagler, I play rythym guitar and sing.

Tod: Tod Wisenbaker, I play the drums and guitar.

Vanessa: Vanessa Corbala, I play various percussion.

Everyone: And you sing!

Vanessa: Oh yeah, and I sing.

That's important!

Casey: Casey Wisenbaker, I play drums and the bass.

FACrock: Ok, very good. So, originally the band was called Vagtown 2000, right?

Morgan: Sadly.

So what's the story with that? Why'd you change it and how did you come up with the band name?

Morgan: Well..

Casey: (laughter) Why'd you change it?

(Laughing) Well, I understand WHY you changed it, but...

Casey: It was such a great name... why would you change it?

Morgan: Well it was basically a joke, the whole thing was a joke. My last name's Nagler, people called me Nagstown. It was a misunderstanding. It was a dinner table joke, where someone thought that I was actually being called Vagtown instead of Nagstown. I don't know how you get those confused. But then it was like, oh, well that would be the WORST band name ever, but we could make it even worse it we added a number to it?

So you were just going for the worst name you could think of?

Morgan: Yeah, but it was just a joke, we weren't intending on actually using it, it was just a conversation. And then our friends just started having us opening for them and kept being like, 'Yup. You're booked. It's Vagtown 2000'.

And you just couldn't get rid of it. So how did Whispertown come about?

Morgan: I overheard a conversation, ironically about a device from the 90's called the Whisper 2000, which is designed to overhear people's conversations. So, I just heard those words Whisper 2000 and was like, "Perfect! Anything!"

Cool. So, I discovered your music through this wonderful magazine (Filter) which happens to have Jenny Lewis on the cover, and I know she's a big supporter of yours. So was it a coincidence that your 'Getting to Know..." article was in the issue with Jenny on the cover?

Casey: Yeah, completely. We didn't know when we did it, and then we saw it, and thought it was so great.

Morgan: Yeah, it's really wierd.

Tod: Morgan's actually in it...

Morgan: I don't know if you noticed, but in the Jenny part... I don't know where it is... (flipping through the magazine).

There you all are, so I think it's further back. Are you in the main article?

Morgan: Of her, yeah.

Casey: I forgot about that picture (referring to the Whispertown 2000 picture featured in the magazine). We look so swanky.

I know. Classy picture, you guys!

Casey: I bought that tuxedo I'm wearing in the picture at a thrift store the day of the photo shoot for four dollars.

Morgan: Ok, here it is. So.... that is me. (referring to a larger than life photo in the background of Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello's photo spread). This is Jenny's house and there's this gigantic picture of me on my 26th birthday that is in her hallway.

Casey: Bigger than lifesize.

Morgan: Yeah, it's larger than life, and they took pictures in front of it!

So you made the cover article!

Morgan: And it's in the same issue. It's so wierd.

That's really cool that you have a giant picture in Jenny's house.

Casey: It's a really funny picture.

Morgan: Yeah, it's my 26th birthday and I'm like totally wasted. Clearly I have streamers wrapped around me in it and a hat on.

(Laughter)

Ok, well you've opened for Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley, as well as a lot of other great bands. And tonight's only the second night on this tour. How was Gainesville?

Morgan: It went really well... and we love everyone...

Casey: Well, we've been hanging out with them for the past week in Alabama...

Morgan: Yeah, Tod's playing in their band so they were practicing.

Casey: It was like being at camp or something because we would just stay up late every night and talk and scre around and just play on the intruments and it's just been really really fun... And her [Maria Taylor]  music's awesome.

So is there anythinng you especially love or hate about being on the road?

Casey: I hate not being around my dog.

Vanessa: Me too! I miss my dog!

Casey: We miss our friends and dogs...

Morgan: I love just playing every night.. and I don't have a dog.

So when you are on the road, what is the one item that you cannot live without?

Morgan: There's so many!

(laughter)

Casey: What do you mean? You don't have a thousand bags!

Not a light packer, Morgan?

Casey: She's an interesting packer...

Morgan: Well, it's mostly that I just divide everything into little bags, so if I'm going in somewhere, I'll just need my toiletries bag, or my clothes bag...

Casey: It's not that it's a lot of stuff, it's just like it'll be a bag with five bags in it.

Morgan: I would say vitamins though. And Zycam and echincecea (SP?).

Tod: The TomTom.

Vanessa: My blanket.

Aw, do you have a comfort blanket?

Casey: She's obsessed with it - the baby. Probably, the iPod. You gotta be able to vibe out and listen to music either when we are driving or sometimes it's nice just to have your alone time just listening to music.

That's important when you're together all the time.

Morgan: Well, it's ten people in a van.

Vanessa: Yeah, it's awesome.

Ok, so speaking of the iPod... what are some other bands that you all are listening to right now?

Casey: We're been listening to the M. Ward record alot. His new one is fantastic.

Vanessa: Benji Hughes.

I'm not familiar with him.

Morgan: You'll love it. It's his first, it's a double record.

Casey: Benji Hughes. Check it out - it will change your life.

I'll definately look that up. Anything else? Tod, you're really quiet tonight.

Tod: I'm full! Too much sushi.

Casey: Classic jams. Bob Dylan, Tom Waits.

Morgan, you have been on television and in movies. Do you feel comfortable being on stage in front of a live audience? Do you still get nervous?

Morgan: I still get nervous.

Do the rest of you get nervous too?

Morgan: It goes away once we start.

Casey: Like, if we know somebody that we know s going to be there..

Morgan: Yeah, like I'm not nervous here, when it's strangers in the audience.

Tod: But if it's a friend, or your family...

Morgan: You just care more when it's someone you know. Like, these people here, it's like who cares? I mean, I care, but it's different. You know what I mean.

Is there anything that you do before the show to get ready? Any rituals?

Everyone: The pole!

Vanessa: Yeah, pull-ups.

Casey: Yeah, the pole. We've been trying to do pull-ups every night. We try to do more and more every day, and it's really hard, and we're all really sore.

Morgan: I just like to take a moment to myself... and also have a shot of whiskey.

A shot of whiskey? That's a good one!

Morgan: Yeah, I just need that... relaxed moment.

Tod: I just make sure that I've eaten. 'Cause if not... I just have to have something to eat or I won't be able to play.

Your record Swim was already recorded when you signed onto Acony Records. What was the recording process and what changed with the record once you signed on?

Tod: Basically, at one studio we recorded the basics, like bass and drums and the piano. And then, at another studio, Casey played the bass, I played the drums. Then, at another studio, we did everything else.

Casey: Yeah, it was a home studio. It was cool.

Tod: And as soon as we were on a label it was basically just remixing...

Just tweaking things?

Tod: Yeah, totally.

Casey: And getting people's input on the order, what songs should go where. Cause it was done and we were just going to put it out ourselves, but then Gillian offered to put it out which was just the most amazing thing and we couldn't have asked for anything more. And like he said, we just tweaked it a little more, but it was for the most part done. It was just cleaning it up and making it ready to get put out.

What made you decide on 'Swim' as the title for the album?

Casey: Kind of this underlying...

Vanessa: Theme.

Casey: There's kind of this water theme to the record, which was unintentional really. We just wrote all the songs and it came together that way, so we wanted something that sort of has a water theme. I'm trying to remember... did it take a long time to figure out what we were going to call it?

Vanessa: It took so long to figure it out!

Morgan: We were thinking of every lyric and every song, and we were just going to self-title it, but then it was an after-thought, I think. I thought of the word in association with the underwater theme without actually thinking that it's a lyric in several songs! And I thought, that's perfect.

Morgan, do you write all the songs for the band?

Morgan: I start off. I write the songs acousticly and bring it to them, and then everyone writes their parts and we bring it together to arrange it. Put it in the right direction, which it just naturally comes together.

Where do you find the inspiration for the lyrics of the songs?

Morgan: Life experience. It's usually not pre-planned, it just sort of flows out in a melody and then I'll write.

I recently saw your new video for "From the Start". What made you decide to do it predominately animated?

Morgan: It was just, my brother had the idea to make it, so he just did it.

Well, one of my favourite tracks on the album is "Old Times". Do you each have a favourite one that you like?

Casey: I think we all really really love the song "Done With Love". I think alot of that has to do with the fact that we haven't been able to play it live.

Morgan: We need another man, pretty much, because that one really needs electric guitar and drums, which he [Casey] plays both those.

Casey: So I think it's that we want to play it so bad, but it just takes a lot of figuring out. There's just not enough of us to play it. So that one, I think we're all pretty stoked on.

Tod: I like "From the Start".

Vanessa: I like "Erase the Lines".

Morgan: It's not really like I can choose...

A little more personal, since you wrote them?

Morgan: Yeah, it's not really a 'like' issue.

Well, that's all I have for you unless there's anything else you'd like to share? Vanessa?

Vanessa: Something to share?

Morgan: Vanessa said she did 8 pull-ups today! So that's impressive.

Casey: And check out our Tumblr, cause it's pretty cool. That's it? We have nothing genuis to say?

Morgan: Why don't you tell your joke you made up?

Csasey: Oh, I did make up a joke today! Why did the bagel stop being friends with the croissant?

I have no idea...

Casey: Cause he was kind of flaky.

(laughter)

Well, thanks for taking some time to talk to me! I'm excited for the show... I'll see you out there!