Luna's frontman on the band's breakup movie

Luna, the very cool New York City band behind classic albums like Penthouse and Rendezvous, broke up in February 2005. It wasn’t a very nice thing to do: To a lot of us fans, they still seemed to be going strong. But it’s a lot harder than you think being in even a well-known indie-rock band like Luna, at least judging from Tell Me Do You Miss Me, a casually revealing and bittersweet documentary that follows the group along its very last tour (watch the trailer). The DVD lands in stores June 20, the same day as The Best of Luna, a greatest-hits CD. Dean Wareham (also formerly of Galaxie 500) was the group’s droll frontman for all of its 13 years. We asked him a couple questions about the movie, the greatest hits, the future, and the band.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Until I saw the movie, I didn’t realize the extent to which a band like yours has a tough time actually making a living.
DEAN WAREHAM: Yeah. I mean, we made money touring the States. But that trip [in the film] to Europe, we made no money. Japan, we made no money. Certainly, it’s not like we were getting rich off it. And I think, with people’s perceptions, they’ll see us at Irving Plaza [in New York], and there’s a thousand people there, and they’re like, ”Yeah, they gotta be raking it in!” We’re not! Maybe we’re pulling $10,000 that night, but after commissions and expenses, it’s not a lot of money. And you can’t do that every night.

Another thing I never realized until this movie: The T-shirt table at concerts is so important to bands like yours.
[Laughs] Yeah. Especially on a trip where you’re just breaking even, like the European trip. But that’s the reality of it. Touring costs a lot of money.

Was that the main reason the band broke up, the money problems?
The simple answer is: Bands are supposed to break up. That’s part of the thing. You start a band. And it breaks up. You get to a point where you really have to know when it’s time to move on.

The movie does a good job of making it seem like a lot of stuff broke you up: You weren’t making that much money, you were always on the road, you and [guitarist] Sean Eden drove each other a little nuts… everything.
Well, it’s true. Yeah. You add up all these things and all of a sudden it seems like the reasons to call it a day outweigh the reasons to keep going. It’s easier to quit than keep doing it.

How’s it been for you since the band broke up?
It’s been good. It’s been — [long pause] — a little depressing for a few months. Because you start to think, God, I’m done — I’ll never be able to do anything else again. Which is not true. Britta [Phillips, Luna bassist and Wareham’s better half] and I have made another album, and it will come out in January on Rounder.

What’s the sound? Similar to your first record together, L’Avventura?
Yeah, it’s pretty similar to L’Avventura. Bunch of covers, more original songs this time.

At this point, you think you’ll just keep working with her, or start up another band?
I don’t really want to start up another band. I mean, we’ll put a band together to tour, but I don’t want to start another band in terms of, like, organizing my life around a committee of four people voting on stuff all the time. I’ve done that enough.

What about Best of? How’d you pick the songs for the CD?
Uh, it took a while. Believe me, all band decisions take a while. With this, it sort of went back and forth between me and Robin Hurley at Rhino — he had some suggestions too — and the band. We’d send these lists around, and they’d go round and round until everyone can agree on something.

Sounds strenuous, like a good reminder why you got out of it.
It’s true, actually. Since the band broke up, there’s been a ton of Luna-related work for me — for me more than anyone else. It’s just writing liner notes, and getting the artwork together, looking through old photos and all of that. I was working three or four hours a day on this, for several months. It’s a big job.

Is it true you’re working on a memoir about being in a band, about Luna and about Galaxie 500?
Yeah, it’s about both, I guess. I have a lot of stuff written but I’m not sure what the final shape will be. I need to hand in a draft by the end of the summer. I have the same editor as Alan Greenspan!

Then I hope your publisher invites you both to company cocktails or something.
I know, I’m waiting for me and the editor and Greenspan to all go out to lunch together. Anyway, he’s getting a ghostwriter. I actually have to do mine myself.

You’re not gonna burn bridges with the book, are you?
I’m gonna try not to. Most of the dirt will be about myself, not about other people.

When will it come out?
Late 2007 would be my guess.

Do you have a title for it yet?
No. Got any ideas? I’ll pick a Luna song, maybe. Fuzzy Wuzzy: The Dean Wareham Story.

Actually, when I was looking over the track list on your Best of, I was surprised ”Fuzzy Wuzzy” wasn’t on the CD. That’s a great song.
Yeah! Well, I think for a little while it was on the list. It was a difficult process. Yeah, that would be one of my favorites, definitely. I mean, I like ”Fuzzy Wuzzy” a lot more than I like ”California (All the Way)” and ”Tiger Lily.” But those are our better-known songs. And it’s not really all about my favorite Luna songs.

How much do you miss being in Luna?
I don’t miss it at all. Maybe I’ll come to miss it at some point, but right now, it’s kind of liberating. It’s nice not to be responsible for a bunch of people making a living.

Did anything in the movie surprise you?
I was surprised by how bad my hair was. Why didn’t they tell me?