Schooner

Schooner's Duck Kee Sessions EP almost didn't happen.

Shortly after the 2008 release of the band's second full-length, Hold On Too Tight, via the Indiana-based label 54º40' or Fight!, two members left.

"We almost broke up is what happened," admits Schooner's frontman Reid Johnson. The EP the band recorded with North Carolina producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Kingsbury Manx) was slated to be released by 54º40' or Fight!, but then the label went on hiatus — unable to release anything by any of its bands. And last year, Schooner's keyboardist and Reid Johnson's vocal foil and sister Kathryn Johnson moved to New York. She was replaced by Hotel Lights keyboardist Chris Badger.

"I guess we have to start the whole process again," Reid Johnson shrugs.

The inter-band turmoil, though, seems to have hardened his resolve to make Schooner work in some fashion.

"I feel more motivated. Absolutely," says Johnson. "Before I was more ebb and flow with my mood, especially creatively. If I was in a mood to write a song I’d write a bunch of them at one time, and if I wasn’t then I wasn’t."

"I really hadn’t ever been motivated to work at music like I am now," he adds. "Or had the psychic capacity to do it, either, for whatever reason."

But having gained the psychic capacity to soldier on, Schooner is finally gathering some momentum again. The band self-released Duck Kee Sessions in February as a digital-only release available exclusively through cytunes.org, a web site dedicated to the memory of Chapel Hill-area music fan, and personal friend of Johnson, Cy Rawls, who lost a battle with cancer in 2008. All the money gathered from the sale of Duck Kee Sessions — and all the other music available on CyTunes — is donated to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

"It’s download-only because we believe in the cause, and I wanted to contribute something meaningful to it," Johnson says. "This is a record that’s just as good as the rest of our stuff. I put just as much effort in writing it and I believe in it as much as anything in Schooner’s catalog."

Musically, the EP's six songs pick up where Hold On Too Tight left off, shedding a bit more of the heavier shoegaze timbres in exchange for more nods to doo-wop and blue-eyed soul. Johnson's weary croon carries strong melodies, buoyed by his sister's clear harmonies. When the guitars do build a thick fog, it's a dynamic element, not a mask. Schooner's never sounded so pop.

And the EP offers more than Schooner's most ear-worming cuts and a good cause. The manner in which the EP has been released has proven to be an interesting experiment for Schooner. At shows, the band commissioned artwork by a collection of Triangle-area musicians, which are sold with a download code for the EP's songs. The money is still donated to the Tisch Center.

But, Johnson says, "It’s almost like you’re running an ad campaign for a whole new product." Some people aren't sure what to make of buying a record without actually buying a record. Maybe they're suspicious of the quality, or maybe they're confused. Others, have been receptive to the idea, and for the band, the opportunity to forgo the expense and hassle of printing CDs and experimenting with a new format was too good to pass up.

"That’s the beauty of the Internet, I guess," Johnson laughs. "This day and age, you don’t have to worry about printing stuff out if you don’t want to."

And worry is the last thing Schooner needs now. After playing Columbia this weekend, the band will hurry home to open a Sunday night Deerhunter show at the famed Cat's Cradle. Then it'll be gearing up to record LP No. 3 in June.

Besides, worrying doesn't fit into the way Johnson wants his band to operate.

"I think I’ve got stuff to offer to the musical community," says Johnson. "It’s all about just doing my thing and letting it worry about itself."

Schooner plays at 8:45 p.m. Art Bar is at 1211 Park St. in The Vista. Kenley Young and the Open Fires, Norwegian Blue and Yukos the Crude also play. Doors open at 8 p.m.; admission is $3. Call 929-0198 or visit artbarsc.com for more information.