Okkervil River's Will Sheff talks about living in St. Paul and attending Macalester

Photo by Alexandra Valenti

​Okkervil River is a big name in the indie rock sphere, and the Austin, Texas-based band has been written up by everyone from Pitchfork to the New York Times during their nearly decade-long career. But what many in the Twin Cities might not know is that lead singer Will Sheff actually spent some of his most formative years in St. Paul attending Macalaster College -- and it's an experience that Sheff says helped shape where he and his band are today. In this week's print edition of City Pages, Rob van Alstyne talks to Sheff about his years in St. Paul and his thoughts on success, including this endearing and humble quote about his gig at First Ave this Sunday: "I just have to make it known how psyched I am to actually be playing First Avenue," Sheff told van Alstyne. "I remember reading the City Pages every week and listening to Radio K obsessively and I never in a million years dreamed that I would be written about in the paper or playing the Mainroom. That's just massive for me personally."

Read the whole interview in the paper this week and online here.