Spin Doctors

After more than a decade since their last studio effort, If the River Was Whiskey, Spin Doctors are back with a new album, Face Full of Cake. The release is a fresh set of songs that showcase the band's signature variety and enduring chemistry. Well over three decades into their journey, the band is riding a wave of creativity and cohesion that might just be stronger than ever.

Drummer Aaron Comess caught up with Analogue to discuss how the new album came together, what it’s like working with a new bassist, and why the band is still going strong in 2025.

Analogue: If I could have spoken with you during the band's nascent years and said you'd be promoting a new album in 2025, would you have believed it?

Aaron Comess: In 2025, if I thought we'd be putting out a new record, I'd probably say no. I mean, that was over 30 years ago, so it was like, it's hard to look that forward in your life when you're young, you know? But at the same time, I remember thinking that this band could have a lot of longevity.

You know, the music felt real. Everybody was in it for the right reasons. We were never a band that was looking to just make money or have commercial success. We really came about it in just an organic fashion, and the commercial success just sort of happened, which was great.

But we've certainly had our ups and downs over the course of our career, and I think to be here now, at this point in our lives, and have made an album we all feel really good about... everybody in the band is getting along great, and if you come see the band live, we sound really good. So, you know, it feels good.

Analogue: Is it surreal to look around and realize how few bands from your era are still doing this?

Aaron: Yeah, like I said, I don't really think we expected it, but I think we're all really grateful to have what we have now. At this point, you know, we're 35 years in the band's career; we're all lifers as far as musicians. Even outside of the band, we all have other projects and work with other people.

I think that gives you a really good perspective, and I've done so much other work with other artists that I really have grown to appreciate being a member of the Spin Doctors, because there's nothing better than having your own band, you know? It really is something.

We wouldn't still be doing it if we didn't feel like we were playing really well. It's not about just coming out and collecting a paycheck like a lot of older bands do. It's really about making good songs, playing at a high level, and feeling like we're being creatively fulfilled. That's really important to me and to all the guys, so I think we all share this appreciation for having this still at this point.

Analogue: What sparked a new album after so many years?

Aaron: It's interesting. If I look back at the whole life of the band, there are different periods where we'll have a real creative spurt as a band. I think individually, everybody's always creating and writing and doing stuff, but to get us motivated together to write songs hasn't always been the easiest thing.

In the beginning, it was great. It was easy. We very quickly had a huge catalog of original songs in the first three years, and then tensions happened in the band and people's interests changed. There were certainly periods when there wasn't a lot of writing at all.

In the last 10 years, we've gotten together a few times in different formations and did some writing but it wasn't great. I think the timing has to be right. We started talking about getting together and writing toward a new record in the pandemic, and once the pandemic sort of cleared up and things were getting a little healthier to get out, we started grouping up in different groups. Eric and Chris got together, me and Chris got together, me and Eric.

Before we knew it, we had a whole collection of songs. It was just fun and effortless, kind of like the way it was in the beginning. I think the record just feels that way. Everybody has to be in the right frame of mind, and then it's a breeze. That's the way it was this time, but it's not always like that.

Analogue: Was that hard to get everyone together, given that you all have other creative pursuits as well?

Aaron: Not really. It has been in the past, in different periods of the band. Right now, we're at a point where we're all really dedicated to the band.

Everything just feels good. We have a really good team around us, from our management to our excellent booking agent. We teamed up with Primary Wave with some of our catalog, so it's like we've made a decision to make this a priority. It's not what was happening 10 years ago, or even sooner, where it's, 'I'm busy doing something else. I can't do that.' That's fine too. People have lives. But obviously, when you're in a band, it's a lot easier when everybody has the same level of commitment.

Analogue: What excites you most about this newest LP?

Aaron: I love the diversity in the material, and that's always been important to the band. Going back to the beginning, we've always been four different types of people and musicians, and we've always all individually brought a lot to the music, whether it's the way we play or collaborations in the writing process. So I really love how this record has a lot of different sides to it. That's always been sort of classic Spin Doctors, and that just comes from all of us contributing.

Analogue: Given the longevity in the industry but space between albums, what does that mean for your hopes or expectations for this album?

Aaron: Yeah, my expectations are pretty much zero, you know? [Laughs] I mean, I'm happy because I feel like we made a great record. And to me, even when we had the hits, it's the best part of the process for me—the writing and the recording and coming up with something that you're proud of.

Look, the record industry is so different now. It's pretty much non-existent. So the idea that you're gonna like have a hit or sell a whole bunch of records is just not a thing anymore. But I am very pleased to see now that it's finally out and people seem to be reacting really positively. I'm really happy with it.I think the other thing that's so great is that we have all this new material to play live, and it seems to really fit in with the other songs.

So at this point in our career, I think the big thing—and this even goes back to records like Nice Talking To Me and If The River Was Whiskey—is if you can come out of each record cycle with two or three songs from a record that you can play on your set and it really works, that's a success. So that's it for me. I'm not the least bit worried about chart position or record sales or anything like that.

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