Whiggin' Out

Parker Gispert is having one of those "Twilight Zone" moments at a Waffle House in Little Rock, Ark. The 24-year-old vocalist of The Whigs is sitting near his manager, Josh Rifkind, who seems to be regressing to a former self back when he fronted the band Lithp, known for its vulgar puppet shows in Manhattan.

"The scene's kinda strange," Gispert confirms with a baritone snarl. "We have an elderly man on one side of the restaurant with a puppet. He's sitting by himself and trying to flirt with the waitress."

The Athens-based musician, who was plucked from virtual obscurity when Rifkind first met The Whigs at an open mic contest in Atlanta, laughs as he recounts the surreal Waffle House scene in graphic detail over the phone. "It's all weird if you ask me," Gispert jokes.

After The Whigs won the open mic contest several years ago, the veteran puppet master agreed to manage the trio of college students-Gispert, bassist/guitarist Hank Sullivant and drummer Julian Dorio. Their Southern-fried sound coupled with Rifkind's street cred led to a string of shows with red-hot acts like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and The Scissor Sisters.

While studying at the University of Georgia, Gispert and crew recorded "Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip" at an empty frat house near campus. The Southern indie rock gem earned the group national ink, including accolades from Rolling Stone magazine who named the trio one of the "Top 10 Acts To Watch" back in March 2006, and ultimately landed The Whigs a deal with ATO Records.

Recently graduating from college with a degree in philosophy, Gispert chats about his surreal life on the road, the band's y'all-ternative sound that hearkens back to the glory days of indie rock in the 1990s and whether or not he believes The Whigs will lead an Athens, Ga. music renaissance.

Q: How big of deal was it for the band to be singled out by Rolling Stone magazine?
Gispert: It was cool because we weren't signed and we didn't have a publicist or any of that stuff. It was the first time we played in New York and a couple of their writers had our CD and liked the show. I normally wouldn't think Rolling Stone would do something like that. But it reinstated my faith in giant, corporate magazines.

Q: You were still in college when the album, 'Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip' started to get national attention. Did you finally graduate from college?
Gispert: Yes, I actually graduated three weeks ago and we left for the tour the next day.

Q: Is all of the commotion surrounding your album freaking you out?
Gispert: No, because we recorded it a year ago during the summer. We packaged it ourselves and it was technically out in November. It wasn't a giant release or anything like that. We did it all ourselves, playing shows on the weekend and going to school during the week.

Q: You recorded the album at a frat house. How was that?
Gispert: It was downtown next to the 40 Watt Club and it was abandoned for the summer. There were no kids living there. We had the idea that we wanted to record in a big house with lots of natural character to it. We wanted our surroundings to reflect our material and didn't want to record in a studio where you had to take an elevator or something to get to it.

Q: Was it uncomfortable?
Gispert: It was really hot. There was no air conditioning because they unplugged everything because there were no students there. We recorded in that for a month.

Q: How has the tour been?
Gispert: It's being going great. Luckily, we have someone booking our shows. Before, we were booking our own shows and we didn't really think things out. We would finish class on a Tuesday and get in our van and drive to Manhattan. Then we would play a show, load out and drive back. That was 28 hours for one hour of music, which isn't too bright.

Q: Athens is known as a music mecca with bands like R.E.M. and the Elephant Six Collective's Neutral Milk Hotel. How is the scene now?
Gispert: There's a lot more diversity now than there used to be. When I would listen to all of the music that came out of Athens back in the '90s, all the musicians played on the same albums. All of those (Elephant Six Collective) bands like Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel had very similar sounds and shared a lot of the same members. Now, there's a diverse mix ranging from rock to slower, country-influenced music.

Q: Do you foresee a renaissance coming from Athens?
Gispert: I don't know. That's tough. Athens will always keep doing what it does. Whether or not it breaks through to a more national level, I'm not sure.

Q: I read that you started a Modest Mouse fansite when you were a teen. True?
Gispert: (Laughs) Yes.

Q: Is it strange that the tables are turned and kids are setting up sites for The Whigs?
Gispert: Yeah, it's weird. I'm not sure if anyone has done an actual fansite for us yet. (Laughs) Maybe they will soon.