Nate Sloan: The very first thing that happened in this session was that Ryan did a count-off. I thought there would be some conversation where you guys touched base and figured out a plan, but instead Ryan counted to four and everyone just started to groove. Do you start a lot of Scary Pockets sessions like that?
Ryan Lerman: Most sessions start with Jack and I looking at what the moment gives us: We’re trying to capture lightning in a bottle, so most of these sessions are just trying to wait for the spark. The most natural way for that to happen is that someone will just start playing something — so we try to leave room for that to happen by not coming right out the gate with an idea or telling people what to do. A drummer will start playing something, or a bass player will start playing something, and we’ll try to follow that and see where that leads us.

Jack Conte:I’ve found that starting withanything is kind of the trick. Just making sound is step one, so it’s like,All right, let’s make some noise together — and, honestly, most of the time there’s some element that we find inspiring in that first bit of noise that we make together, and then we chase that rabbit until we have an arrangement.

NS: In the case of “Stayin’ Alive,” do you remember how you selected this particular Bee Gees track?
RL: Our song-selection process has been evolving as of late, but traditionally it’s a conversation between me and the singer. I’ll tell them that we try to do songs everybody knows that aren’t already funky.

NS: But “Stayin’ Alive” is a tremendously funky song to begin with.
RL: The whole point of doing a cover is that you’re taking something that everybody knows and changing it. If they don’t already know the song, you lose your context. Then it just might as well be an original.

NS: In this case, you’re replacing the disco groove of the original with this loping, laid-back funk groove.
RL: We have a few guiding principles that we tend to lean on, which are: fun, funky, and simple.

JC: Part of the reason we set these guidelines for ourselves is because it goes against our nature. Both Ryan and I are harmony guys — we love harmony, we love thick texture, complicated chords — and when we were starting Scary Pockets, we said, “What if it was just about the feel of the groove?” Let’s prioritize what thegroove feels like.

Tinker, Tailor, Vocal Surprise

Reanna Cruz: What is it like joining Scary Pockets as a guest vocalist?
Lizzy McAlpine: It’s always so much fun. I think that Ryan and Jack are so talented, and it’s such a warm environment and such a creative space that it’s always really fun to get to be a part of it.

RC: Was it daunting having the song change on the fly as you recorded?
LM: I feel pretty comfortable changing things up. I always go into a Scary Pockets session knowing that the song is not going to sound anything like the original, so I was a little bit prepared for that, but it was really fun to go through the arrangement and pick out specific things to change.