We spoke with Caridi before LVL UP’s enthusiastic San Francisco show on September 8th, one of the stops on a final tour that ends this week in New York. Though the band ran through a slew of discography-spanning fan requests, the show felt not like a celebration of what was but a grateful embodiment of the thrilling present.

The moodier side of Mike Caridi, captured by his bandmate Nick Corbo.

Pitchfork: LVL UP is part of this community of indie artists in Brooklyn, including many labelmates. What’s the reaction to the breakup been like within the scene?

Mike Caridi: It’s been kind of overwhelming. It didn’t feel like a big deal to us… we were just like, “Yeah, we’re going to end this thing.” We came up with so many bands and have seen a lot of our good friends come and go; bands like Krill we saw break up, and we’ve seen bands like Frankie Cosmos, who are very close to us, blow up. Once certain friends or bands we’ve been playing with for a long time heard about it, people were like, “Whoa, that’s crazy. That feels like the end of an era.”

There have been some private moments in my head [on this tour] where I’ve thought, “Man, I really wish this wasn’t ending, maybe it won’t.” But then there are moments of clarity where I know this is the right decision.

What was the driving force behind the breakup?

It was a lot of things. We had not really been playing for about a year because when Return to Love came out, we toured really hard and pretty much burned ourselves out. We did a lot of things we really didn’t want to do but kind of felt pushed into doing. After that was all over, we were like, “Let’s just chill for a sec.” Some people started working on different projects, and Double Double Whammy had become my full-time thing. It [ending the band] felt like the right thing to do.

We started this band when we were 19, almost 10 years ago, and now something about it felt like, “You know what? This part of our lives, this band, has run its course.” Everyone is going to continue to keep doing music. Trace Mountains, Dave’s new band, is about to tour supporting Saintseneca, who are old friends of ours. Nick is working on a new record for a band called Spirit Was. I’m doing the label once I get home and working on a record for a new band called the Glow.

How do you make the decision to classify it as breaking up versus an “extended hiatus”?

That’s what the label wanted us to do. They weren’t pushing, but they were like, “You guys don’t think that maybe five years from now you’ll come together or something?” We’ve talked about that too, but there’s something that feels different about that. I wouldn’t say there’s no way we’ll ever play music or shows together, but I don’t think there’ll ever be a record, and our focus on this band is going to be over now. At the same time, we’re all sad about it ending. We’re just trying to have a nice time on this tour and feel some closure from it.

Has your experience on Sub Pop informed your approach to growing Double Double Whammy?

I learned a ton from Sub Pop. We had some marketing meetings with them where I thought, “Whoa, I should be taking notes.” Putting a record out with them was super informative for me, and same when Double Double Whammy did some sub-distribution for Run For Cover. And about a year ago, Double Double Whammy and Polyvinyl started a partnership, which has been huge. I feel like it’s pushed the label to a more sustainable zone, and I’ve learned a ton from them. I talk to them pretty much every day—they’re kind of like mentors in a way.