Back when they honored DCist by performing at our second Unbuckled, Olivia Mancini and Randy Scope had Housemates and bandmates. All their Housemates were bandmates, but not all of their bandmates were Housemates. Since then, Washington Social Club called it quits, leaving Mancini and Scope with fewer bandmates, but more time for the Housemates, who will be playing the Black Cat this Saturday night. There, they will debut fresh material for D.C. fans in support of Georgie James. Mancini and Scope recently spoke to DCist about the WSC break-up, the road ahead, and how Scope's scrambled eggs can save the lives of suicidal poets.

So, let's start things off with the obvious: why did Washington Social Club break up?

Randy: The last album really took a lot out of us. I mean, we were making Chinese Democracy jokes. Although I felt our best work was still ahead of us, I just couldn't imagine doing another album. We just weren't communicating well and personally I was tired of struggling to keep the mood light. Apart from the time we were actually playing live, it just wasn't fun anymore, and being that fun is the point of it all...

Olivia: I knew it was time to move on when I stopped having fun at the shows. I mean, I always have fun at the shows. How could you not? Marty's a riot, the kids in the front row are having a blast, Evan, Jared, Randy and I are playing are hearts out, trying to keep everything on the rails... But, eventually, even the performances couldn't help me shake the feeling that it just wasn't going work out.

So what does the Housemates lineup look like now? What do you guys see happening/want to happen with this band?

Randy: First and foremost I want to see the name changed. I'm never short of ideas on this one, yet Ms. Mancini seems to find most of my suggestions farcical. Also, she moved me off guitar, mostly I think to keep my side project Clear The Room (with Ed Donohue) from performing impromptu sets at the end of Housemates shows. This is unfortunate for the people who work at the clubs and want to go home, because we are quite effective at living up to our name.

Olivia: The Housemates have settled nicely into Ed Donohue, Dan Swenson, Kristin Forbes, Randy and myself. That's a standard rock lineup - guitars, bass, drums -augmented by Dan's trumpet and his and Kristin's great harmonies. Frankly, I'll go wherever the future takes us. The Housemates have always been a band of the moment, which the name reflects, or reflected, actually, which is why we're kind of looking for a new moniker. Right now, we're in the process of putting together songs for the next record, some of which we'll debut Saturday night at the Black Cat.

Do you have plans to record already?

Olivia: Yup. Randy will be producing this next record, as he did the last, but we're starting the process by recording some tracks later this month with Roger Greenawalt up in Brooklyn. Roger produced and engineered the last Social Club album which, despite the difficulties we experienced during its making, sounds fantastic.

So how long have you guys been playing together? Are there any dynamics that you think define this band?

Olivia: The Housemates have been together for about two and a half years now, but all of us have been playing together off and on for the last four or five years. Ed actually played guitar Social Club for a few shows, before we got Evan Featherstone. Dan and I played for a year or so together in a group called the Small Shouts. One of our unique dynamics as the Housemates is that we are informed by our other musical relationships: Randy and I are the rhythm section for Ed's Donny Hue and the Colors. I play guitar in Dan's Holy Attack. I sing for Randy's studio project, Sleeping Secrets, which is another reason why he devotes free time and energy to doing the Housemates' production. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses and trust each other as musicians in a lot of different scenarios.

Randy: Thank you Olivia, for mentioning The Sleeping Secrets, I appreciate it even though you forgot to include a URL which is: www.myspace.com/thesleepingsecrets Our album will be out in 09 on DC's The Kora Records, assuming I get around to finishing it. Also I still hope to produce the Holy Attack album should Dan Swenson read this interview. I work cheap.

When you do settle on a new name for the band, will it still start with "Olivia Mancini and the"? Will you still be the defacto leader of this group, Olivia?

Randy: It's my belief that it should just be "Olivia Mancini" but I don't think her ego has the capacity for this.

Olivia: I never liked the "Olivia & the" thing. It just started that way because it wasn't really a set cast of characters and then we kind of got trapped in it.

And, another question: How do you divide your time and your energies between so many different bands and projects? Does each one have a different sound? What's the reasoning behind making music in different configurations rather than just doing whatever it is you want to with one band?

Randy: Finding time is easy. Some people spend their time watching The Biggest Loser, some people spend it in a basement ruining their hearing. I prefer the latter. The reason we play in so many configurations is because we all have multiple interests musically. My approach to drumming with Olivia's group is different than it was with the Social Club, same goes for Donny Hue and the Colors. There wasn't room for me to play guitar on WSC recordings, but there is on Olivia's albums. Also, you develop more relationships by playing around, make more friends, real friends, as opposed to MySpace friends which aren't really friends at all.

Olivia: Each band definitely has a distinct sound, each with a different primary songwriter. It's funny, I have this occasional fantasy in which we form one ultra-creative band in which people switch instruments and we have different lead singers. But the reality is that they're all separate endeavors. And as Randy said, that gives an opportunity to explore different musical sides of yourself. I play bass for Ed, I play guitar for Dan, I sing in the Housemates and with Sleeping Secrets and I get to employ a different style in each group. It's a good deal.

One last question: do you guys cook? What's your favorite recipe?

Olivia: I think Tenacious D can sum this up nicely. "What's your favorite dish? I'm not gonna cook it, but I'll order it from Zanz-i-bar!"

Randy: Any one who has been on tour with me or crashed at my place while on tour knows that my breakfasts would get Slyvia Plath out of bed. My scrambled eggs (with american cheese only), are light, fluffy and perfectly moist, while my blueberry pancakes (lightly fried in corn oil) are delightfully crispy and golden. My favorite recipe of late has to be peas, steamed and pureed with a splash of breast milk and a side of 'Baby Mum Mum' brand wafers from Whole Foods. I'd also like to add, thank you Amanda for NOT asking us about the D.C. scene, our favorite D.C. clubs, or what bands randomly come up when we put our i-Pod on shuffle.