Garbage is a band that’s proven to stand the test of time. With Shirley Manson at the helm, the ‘90s juggernaut has been able to stay relevant in a disposable music industry, despite multiple hiatuses and an inconsistent album release schedule.

This summer, the band released Strange Little Birds — its first studio album in four years — and has been on the road exciting old fans and winning over new ever since.

We were able to chat with Manson, bassist Duke Erikson and guitarist Stever Marker before they hit the stage at Detroit’s Fillmore in July to discuss the inspiration behind their raw yet textured sixth album, touring since the early ‘90s and the current state of the music industry.

What was the inspiration behind Strange Little Birds?

Erikson: It was taken from one of our songs. The four of us are indeed strange little birds and proud of it. I think everyone underneath our public personas, we’re all strange little birds. I think it’s something everyone can relate to.

What’s your favorite song from the album?

Erikson: “Night Drive Loneliness”

Manson: “Sometimes”

Marker: “Even Though Our Love Is Doomed”

Studio time is nothing new to you guys. Describe an average recording day.

Marker: In the beginning, we would go to Butch [Vig, our drummer]’s basement every day and pick up whatever instrument and start playing. We wanted to write songs totally from scratch and not have any preconceived notions about what we’re going to do. About half of the album came from those writing sessions.

Erikson: If we had a formula, we would get bored pretty fast. Every song comes out a different way… If it didn’t happen that way, we would lose interest in the whole idea of making a record.

Touring is something else you’re very experienced with. Have you developed any pre-tour rituals to prep?

Erikson: I always pack too much.

Manson: I love going to beauty stores and stocking up on makeup. I go to my local MAC store and I stockpile my beauty products.

What are your favorite things to do on the road?

Erikson: Going for long walks in the different cities. I like to get lost.

Manson: I used to read like a fiend. Now I’m always answering emails or Skyping with friends at home. I’m currently obsessed with [the show] Vikings.

Marker: Netflix and HBO GO.

You have quite the discography, so your set list options are pretty much endless. What are your top three favorite songs to perform live?

Erikson: “Vow.” It always goes somewhere different every time, by the time we get to the end.

Marker: “Only Happy When It Rains.” We do it a little different from the record. It starts off real slow and moody. The audience is usually not sure which song it is from like 30 seconds, and then they realize what song it is and get excited. It takes off from there.

Manson: “Even Though Our Love Is Doomed.” We’ve been playing together for 21 years, so the new material will always feel the most exciting. You learn about songs by playing them live and you discover them. It’s really strange — a completely different experience from recording them, but you discover them because you’re playing them for other people. I get excited every night we play “Doomed” because it’s very different from the rest of our material. It’s very bare boned, down beat, really slow. And I think it’s an interesting practice for us as musicians to be forced to slow down. It forces us to become a different part of ourselves.

Do you remember the moment you decided to create music?

Erikson: I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I was at my friend’s house, and he had absolutely no interest. I was glued to the television. I noticed the difference between him and me.

Manson: Mine was watching my mom sing at church. I remember sitting in the little baby chairs. My mom got up and sang a solo — a song called “On A Clear Day” — and she was wearing a white dress with little blue cornflowers all over it. I remember looking at my mom, who I was so used to seeing as this mother, being transformed by the story I felt she was telling by singing. I fell in love with her. That’s how I think of my mom now that she has departed. Her true self… completely realized. That’s how I fell in love with music and how powerful the transformation it provides for people.

Marker: My parents were both really into music. We had instruments all over the house. My mom played the piano all the time. My dad played drums. His hobby was making oboe reeds. 

What are the differences in the music industry between the ‘90s and today?

Marker: A complete shift. Our first record came out on cassette/cd/vinyl. No such thing as downloading or streaming. Barely email. The big record companies were the kings. There was a lot of money being thrown around.

Manson: The system by which we listen to music has changed 100%. I don’t think the actual business has changed. The problem is, you’ve got really greedy corporate interests exploiting creatives. It seems even more abusive now. Nowadays for a musician to earn is getting increasingly difficult. Instead what you’ve got is pretty much what you see in society. You’ve got the upper class who make 99.9% of all the money and get all the attention and media coverage. Then you’ve got everybody else — the 1% of whatever is left that isn’t ingested is left for everybody else to pick over. It’s really hard for the average musician to survive, which I really think is unfair. The business that’s built up around musicians is really obscene. Bordering on criminal.

Erikson: The function of the technical side has changed completely. The average person thinks music is in the air. It’s just free and they can play it. Nobody gets hurt. But the musician does get hurt. It’s their career.