Better to be 'Lucky' than 'Popular'

They may not be as "Popular" as they were a decade ago, but time has been good to New York's indie-sensations, Nada Surf.Hot off the heels of their fifth studio album, "Lucky," Nada Surf - made up of Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca and Ira Elliot - returned to the metro Wednesday. The band last made an appearance in Omaha in support of their 2005 album, "The Weight is a Gift," which experienced modest success because of the college-radio hit "Always Love."

But the trio wasn't always mentioned in the same breath as bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and Keane. In fact, when the band's first major single, "Popular," was released in 1996, its massive air play on Top-40 radio and MTV had them sharing the stage with Weezer and The Verve.

While they could have been relegated to one-hit-wonder status, especially after their second album didn't produce well enough to meet Elektra Records' standards, the band cut their losses and moved on.

"We wrestled with that for a long time. It was a major issue," explained Elliot, Nada Surf's drummer, in an interview with the Gateway before the band's performance. "It's pretty amazing we survived through all that. I think we're just tenacious - you know . it's pretty stunning that we're able to continue on and have our music continue to be taken seriously and we're not just some joke band from the '90s."

The release of "Lucky" comes sixteen years after the band formed in 1992. As a result, many of the band's college-aged fans likely don't even remember when Nada Surf was, for lack of a better word, popular.

However, that hasn't stopped the band from earning a devoted fan base.

"I think that we sold like 9,000 records that first week which was a significant number," Elliot said about the success of "Lucky."

"The audiences seem to know all the words. . I think we might have a really long year touring this record."

"Lucky" may seem like a hidden gem to those not familiar with the band, but it's truly a mark of Nada Surf's consistency. Featuring the hit "Whose Authority," and soon-to-be hits like "I Like What You Say," and "The Film Did Not Go Round," the album may be Nada Surf's (second) big break.

"We're proud of each record equally and each time we start a new one, it's like how are we going to beat that, how are we going to make it better?" Elliot said. "We fret about these things and then at some point you can't fret about it and you have the make the record based on whatever material you have and make it the best record you can make it be. And I think that's how we've been with all the records since 'Let Go' just kind of heads down and make every moment count."

With that kind of devil-may-care attitude, you'd think the band was college-aged themselves. Their touring schedule doesn't do much to discredit that thought either, especially after hob-knobbing with other up-and-comers at this year's South by Southwest Festival in Austin.

But Elliot, 45, explained those types of festivals, while fun, are getting harder to take on.

"We lived to tell the story. I'm alive," he said with a laugh. "Austin is always kind of a madhouse, you know, you're always rushing around, there's not a lot of sound checking going on; you're flying by the seat of your pants."

Believe it or not, Omaha has actually been a regular destination for the band since their so-called comeback in 2003 with the album "Let Go."

However, this year the band moved from playing the Sokol Underground to the Waiting Room in Benson. And, if Elliot has his way, those types of venues are what the band will continue to play well into the future.

"There are still a lot of places we'd like to go - we've never been to Japan, there's a lot of places to travel as a band. Those are still goals," he explained. "The rooms are getting bigger every year and that's good, up to a point, but you always wonder, imagine - wow, what if we become like Coldplay, and we've become so popular a couple years down the line that we can only play stadiums. That doesn't seem bad, but it also doesn't sound very good."

Being together for so long, it's hard to fault the band for wanting to enjoy their current success. One can only hope that as the band continues to achieve its goals, whatever they may be, Nada Surf stays around for years to come.

"Lucky" for us, the fans, that doesn't seem like that should be much of a problem.

"We'll have to deal with the juggernaut of Nada Surf as we get bigger, but right now we're in a really good place," Elliot mused. "I think we can stay around in whatever plateau this is . when you're playing a 1,000 [to] 2,000-seat room, that's pretty dreamy.