San Francisco natives Tea Leaf Green have been gaining momentum around the country since the release of their latest album, Radio Tragedy! back in June. On Sunday, the jamming quintent will bring their act to The Haunt. The Sun called up newly-minted drummer Cochrane McMillan this week, who shared  some behind-the-scenes details on the making of their most recent album and some stories from the road.

The Sun: Your album Radio Tragedy! came out about a year ago. Can you tell us about it?

Cochrane McMillan: Yeah, we started making that record in November of 2010 and we took three months. We did it at my recording studio, which is in Oakland. I have a recording studio with my partner Jeremy Black and it was a bunch of songs that mostly had been played for a year or so and a couple newer ones. It came out in June, Josh did the artwork for it, and we worked really hard on it. It was my first record with the band — I’ve been with the band about two years. I thought it was a great record and we’re starting to make another one, so Radio Tragedy! is like some kind of distant memory. I love that record, but I’m looking forward to moving forward and making an even better record.

Sun: Since you own the studio where it was recorded, did you guys get completely free reign over the album?

C.M.: I mean we certainly paid my studio for the time, but I did cut myself a deal! [Laughs.] And also we booked a lot of days to work. Jeremy and I work really well together and with the rest of the band so we have a really nice situation — we’ve got our band and we have a professional studio. It’s a great creative environment for us to continue making recorded music. 

Sun: What’s it like playing in a band with two drummers?

C.M.: Well, I am the second drummer and I love it. The other drummer, Scott, is the original drummer and I have a pretty different style from him. I think they match really well. He’s a real specific drummer who’s really good at doing the same kind of thing and being a kind of solid rock. I have more of an improvisational, jazz or psychedelic rock vibe. So I bring this different energy to the drums. I think we complement each other in ways that make each of us stronger. 

Sun: Have you played with a jam band before or is this new for you?

C.M.: I have not played with a jam band before. I’ve mostly done jazz and rock, but I’ve been around the jam thing. Like in high school, I learned a lot about going to shows and having fun with other people. But I’ve been around all kinds of music. I like all kinds of music. Ultimately, this band is a rock and roll band and that makes sense to me completely. I think that the jam band thing is really some kind of moniker that this band has been associated with — for good reason, and it totally makes sense but in the end, what we do is play rock and roll.

Sun: Well, recently jam bands have been getting a lot of scorn, which seems kind of unwarranted to me.

C.M.: Sure. It always happens. I don’t really mind the label because all labels have backlash and all backlash has backlash. There aren’t a lot of new ideas. I think there’s a lot of innovative music, but when you’re making music and playing music on stage and creating something in studio, you love it. That’s why you do it. You don’t really think “What’s this gonna be? What’s the genre of this music?”  And I think the jam band thing describes a lot of different types of music and bands. It seeps over into the indie rock scene and the funk scene and the New Orleans scene and the San Francisco scene and the psych-rock scene and stoner rock and punk rock and bluegrass. I mean, Animal Collective is kind of a jam band. The National are making a Grateful Dead record and love Phish. I feel and I hope it’s changing and people recognize it. Everyone’s just expressing themselves and if you like it, you do, and if you don’t, you don’t. Then move on, and it’s not a big deal.  I don’t need the coolest people in the world or the hippiest hippies liking my band. I want to do what we’re gonna do and if you like it, come on! We have a great time. We rock and roll. Have a party. Drink a beer. 

Sun: You mentioned a new album earlier. Can you tell us about that?

C.M.: Yeah. In the past, we’ve recorded it all together. This last record was a compilation of that with a lot of production and thinking about how we wanted to sound. For this next record, we wanted to move forward in a way where everyone’s bringing in brand new songs that none of us had heard before and the songwriter plays it on the guitar, piano, or sings it, and we start building layers on top of that fundamental aspect of that song. We’re just going to spend months building these songs piece by piece to get the sound we want, the vibe we want and have a cohesive record in a classic sort of way. We want to give each song what will serve it best and not necessarily have all of us playing on it. That’s the way we’re approaching it. We’re also planning on releasing some songs before the record comes out because I think these days it’s not just about having a whole record. It’s about getting music out there and showing people what you’re doing. So I’m excited about it. I’m excited about this year and I’m excited about that. 

Sun: So we’re going to end here with one silly question. What are five things you can’t live without on the road?

C.M.: My Bose QuietComfort headphones, my iPad, Wet Wipes, money and Vaseline.