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.