Interpol's Sam Fogarino Talks Drugs, Punk Attitude and Laurel Canyon

"We'll just get right to the issue ... [drugs] will kill your soul." Sam FogarinoInterpol's decidedly toned-down yet rigorous 2007 tour in support of the band's major-label debut, 'Our Love to Admire.' The New York band has undergone some changes since the release of 2004's critically acclaimed sophomore album, 'Antics,' and it shows. For starters, they aren't living the highly decadent lifestyle they once enjoyed. "It got really old," Fogarino, Interpol's drummer, explained. "I mean, it [was] incredible – you go and play music for an hour and the party is coming to you and you're actually making a living [ says while we talk about laughs] ... but things get out of hand. Thank God we're all the kind of intelligent people [who] realize you can't sustain a livelihood and do a bunch of drugs."

While "the novelty has kind of worn off a bit," Fogarino insists he enjoys "knowing what we're doing" this time around. Currently back in Europe, Interpol began the 'Love' tour back in April and have been playing headlining sets at festivals as well as big arenas – a "Cinderella story" for the band who made their debut at Manhattan's tiny Mercury Lounge in 2000. So what's it like graduating to Madison Square Garden seven years later? "It's just f---ing exciting," Fogarino says. "To see 25,000 people pogo together is just beyond words. I've seen it in Guns N' Roses videos, [but] it's only supposed to happen to those bands. Just incredible."

But signing to Capitol hasn't translated merely to spacious concert venues. In addition to the obvious monetary advantages, Interpol have also enjoyed increased exposure from some unlikely sources, like the ... NFL? "Ugh, I hate sports," Fogarino moans half-jokingly when I mention that I had heard 'Heinrich Maneuver,' the first single off 'Love,' on an NFL outro. "I personally come from more of a Johnny Lydon train of thought that's just like, 'if the corporation has some f---ing money, take it,'" he says. "That is the true punk rock ethic: Take the money and run. What the f--- is wrong with that? The joke is on them." But Fogarino likes to keep things "a little precious and in perspective. We won't just sell our music to anybody that comes along."

In addition to the tunes he and his bandmates produce, Fogarino is also keeping guard on his own career. "I'm a musician, I'm not a drummer," he responded when I asked if he enjoys playing spokesman for Interpol – a role not commonly fulfilled by the man with the sticks. "If Daniel [Kessler] came to me and said, "We need you to play the kazoo," I would have done it because Interpol is a great band." And despite his self-assessment -- "I'm actually a really bad drummer" – his skeletal, paranoid drumming, along with Carlos D.'s deliciously dirgelike bass, form the unique rhythm section that is credited by most critics as the band's signature sound. So it's no surprise that Fogarino fulfills the same role in his side project, (formerly called the Setting Suns) Magnetic Morning.

Formed with friend Adam Franklin of '90s shoegaze band Swervedriver, Magnetic Morning released its self-titled digital EP in November, which its proud drummer describes as "kind of dreamy ... but rocks pretty heavy at the same time. It's kind of like what Swervedriver ... dreaminess but [with] the guts of Dinosaur Jr.. God, Adam would kill me if he heard me say that [laughs]." Morning made their live concert debut last week at New York's Mercury Lounge to an enthusiastic, packed crowd, peppered with celebrities, including Interpol's own Paul Banks and Daniel Kessler, not to mention 'Entourage' star Adrian Grenier and actor Josh Harnett, all of whom enjoyed the fuzzed-out soundscapes and trippy light show during the intimate seven-song set.

With the new band and Interpol's relentless, globe-trotting touring schedule, it's a wonder that Fogarino can fit in practice and recording with his new band. But he insists it's the collaboration aspect that drives him. Just this fall, in fact, he and Banks participated in a jam session at Fogarino's "favorite bar in the world," Chicago's Empty Bottle, with members of the Liars and Bradford Cox from Deerhunter – a band that Fogarino calls "one of my favorite things in the past five years." "Me and Aaron from the Liars had ten minutes together onstage to work out some bass and drums," he said. "I was like, this is great, to be surrounded by guys who are willing to do this kind of thing."

So where did this newfound free-form inspiration come from? "I've been reading these books from the '70s," he explained. "The whole Laurel Canyon scene with Crosby Stills Nash & Young and all these bands from that period that just get together and playing outside of their respective bands. Just the desire to play music 24 hours a day was overwhelming, and they used to satisfy it. I thought this kind of hearkened back to a period that's almost dead. Everyone is so in their own world and on their laptop and everything is online and just to get everybody away from that and to go into a venue and just play for the sake of playing. I would love for that trend to take over."

For now, however, Fogarino and Interpol will continue with their sleek-and-successful model for songwriting, all the while promising to evolve. "We all firmly believe in forward motion, he says. "[Our fans] have to be forced into change with us. We're all too mentally active just to go back to this formulaic way of working." That is not so say that he doesn't enjoy the efficiency that, say, computers afford a democratic band like Interpol. "That an inanimate object will just play what you want it to without making any suggestions is a blessing for Interpol [laughs]. You tell it what to do and it does it. It's great; it doesn't talk back."