This week's guest is Silversun Pickups singer, guitarist and founding member Brian Aubert. Since starting the project with then-roommate Nikki Monninger more than 20 years ago, Aubert and his band have released five acclaimed albums, including the Gold-selling 2006 debut, Carnavas. Along the way, Silversun Pickups saw 10 of its songs land in the top 20 of the Billboard charts, they've played shows to adoring fans throughout the world and they've shared the stage with some of music's biggest names. Aubert has come quite a long way since he was a kid performing to his stuffed animals in his "fake Duran Duran lip-sync band." A few hours before last weekend's Silversun Pickups concert at The Rave, Aubert spoke to My First Band host Tyler Maas about what it's like being back on the road, the experience of stopping an early 2020 tour on account of the pandemic, the band's unassuming start and unexpected rise to worldwide notoriety, and all the projects that came before. Over the course of the conversation, Aubert talked about taking guitar class in first grade, briefly playing bass in a post-punk project and once opening for Elliott Smith. My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering, Lakefront Brewery, and Music Go Round Greenfield. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers").