A & E

Doug Martsch never cared about getting more exposure for his band, Built to Spill. Never wanted to accept the opening slot on a major tour to play for fans who never heard of the group. All he wanted to do was make music, play music, and not have to worry about album sales or promoting the group.

But after a few dates on the current Kings of Leon tour, Martsch admits he's enjoying the transition between playing large venues and headlining more intimate clubs like Mr. Small's in Millvale, where Built to Spill performs Sunday.

"It's fun to be pampered and to get catering all day long, to play these big weird places, to play shorter sets and be done early," Martsch says. "And, of course, it's nice to go and play for people who really appreciate you."

The added exposure might finally allow Built to Spill to reach a mainstream audience. The Idaho-based group — which features Martsch on guitar and vocals, Brett Nelson (bass), Scott Plouf (drums), Jim Roth (guitar) and Brett Netson (guitar) — has long been lodged in a rarefied strata of rock 'n' roll: Not well-known in popular circles, but popular enough to sustain a career on a major label, Warner Brothers, because of its loyal legion of fans.

"I really don't know how to account for that," Martsch says. "For me, it's sort of the dream position, since I was young. Just the fact that we keep doing it, that we have people who can deal with each other long enough to do it. But I have no way to account for where we are right now."

For 17 years, Martsch and his bandmates have created music that is hard to categorize: Nominally guitar rock, descended from bands such as Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement, but with a unique aspect that's hard to quantify. While the music on albums, including last year's release, "There Is No Enemy," fits into the guitar rock mode, there's a concurrent dreaminess present by way of Martsch's unique phrasings.

And, like many of its forebears, there's also an inherent diversity present.

"We're influenced by a lot of classic rock, a lot of alternative rock, and it seems to me that the aesthetic of those bands is the same," he says. "It's really broad where a band can play and try different things and mess around with a lot of different styles. It seems to me like many of those bands were never limited by a style at all."

Martsch then stops, and says, "I really don't know what I'm talking about."

He's clearly more comfortable playing music than talking about it, although he does allow that the process of creating music is endlessly fascinating. He speaks about the variables of tone and frequency, about the endless choices and limitless possibilities of songcraft. Where once he felt music to be a temporary refuge, Martsch, now 40, recognizes that he's in this for the long haul.

"I used to think, do I want to be doing this when I'm 60?" he says. "Am I going to be doing this, because this is all I know how to do? But I realize now that I'm blessed, I can keep making songs and playing. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I can see it's possible. You just have to keep an open mind about stuff."

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