DEVENDRA BANHART: Hey, Andrew! How’re you doing?

ANDREW BIRD: I’m alright. And yourself?

BANHART: Let’s talk for a couple of hours and then begin the interview. Let me ask all the important questions and then we can start recording… So rock ‘n’ roll. What’s it all about?

BIRD: The Holy Spirit. [laughs]

BANHART: Oh, shit. Good answer.

BIRD: Let’s clear something up, though: Your middle name. Was that just an icebreaker when you said your middle name was OB1?

BANHART: Well, it might have served the purpose of breaking the ice, but it wasn’t a tough sell.

BIRD: Was it fabricated as an icebreaker?

BANHART: It was fabricated by my parents in 1981 while they watched that documentary, something about a Star and a War… I might as well mention, to the readers out there, that Andrew and I don’t refer to each other by our first names. I call you by your middle name which—I’m going go ahead and share your middle name—is Wegman. That’s how I refer to Andrew, who’s actually my neighbor. It’s weird that we’re doing this over the phone because I could have come over and stolen some of your avocados.

BIRD: I know, but we were forced apart.

BANHART: So, where does Wegman come from?

BIRD: From Iowa, my mother’s side, it’s a last name. I think it means “bridge keeper,” like bridge keeper of a medieval castle. The guy who attended the draw bridge over the moat. I don’t know if that symbolism really works on me or not…

BANHART: I often think of you as somebody who loiters around bridges. A lot of people don’t this, but if they watch that Red Hot Chili Peppers video, “Under the Bridge,” and look closely there’s a pre-teen Wegman Bird in the corner. [laughs]

BIRD: I was hoping the Chili Peppers would make it into this talk.

BANHART: So moving on… It’s hard to talk about much without mentioning what’s happening in the world and what happened yesterday, the horrifying attacks that have happened in Brussels. My cousin lives there. I was really horrified generally, but also it was a very personal fear.

BIRD: I was just there two weeks ago, passing through. I’ve spent a lot of time in Brussels and my friend was there.

BANHART: I really don’t know what to say about it. I’m in shock and I feel like I’m not going to do this interview in a non-shocked, horrified, and mourning way. It would be good to mention that I’m in mourning right now, and shaken up. Let’s take a moment to send prayers to the families of the victims, and send love and support and hope. The unifying thing is love—not a common enemy, but a common love. [pauses] Um, so, now let’s talk about the record. Why is this record called Are You Serious?