Even before the Georgia Theatre burned down, this Athfest was going to be a wistful event, as We Versus The Shark, one of Athens’ most reliable entertainments, has decided to hang up their collective hats for until.

When I met “The Shark” six (!) years ago, they described their jumpy post-rock to me as “calculator funk,” which was as good a self-description as any I’ve encountered. Over the course of two albums and an EP/DVD, the band racked up accolades from SPIN, Pitchfork, and the Onion. Over the past few years, their sound calcified and grew beet red, ending in the explosion of pent up emotion that was the nearly live album Dirty Versions. If the band’s sound had grown less accessible, it hadn’t lost any of its urgency, as the songs sounded like they popped from the band members’ hands. Right after Dirty Versions came out, guitarist/singer Samantha Paulsen dropped the (amicable!) bombshell that she was leaving the group. The band respectfully trundled on without her, but it felt like they lost some essential inertia with her departure, and the boys’ gazes flitted in other directions.

As Athfest has played host to a yearly stream of monstrous We Vs. The Shark shows, it was only fitting that the band decided to give it one last hurrah with Samantha back in the fold this Athfest. The show was originally scheduled for the Georgia Theatre (natch), so it’s been moved to Athens’ historic Morton Theatre, on Friday, June 26th, supported by the all-star cast of Deaf Judges, Geoff Reacher, Marriage, Hot New Mexicans, and Lazer/Wulf.

We asked the band members to talk about the past, present, and future of WVTS.

How long will this hiatus be?

Jeff Tobias (bass, keys, vocals): Probably forever, really. The plan is for the remaining members to take a break from all the touring (and saving up for touring) to do some “life stuff” like finishing (or starting) college, domestic biz, and what have you: stuff that’s probably sort of run-of-the-mill to people who do it all the time, but for us seems sort of enticing and exotic — ooh, home improvements! But simultaneously, we are very much on track to start writing a really fun new record that may or may not be under the We Versus the Shark banner (but probably not). We have also have a new member we’re very excited to start collaborating with. The ideal plan is to have a new record in the can before anyone sees hide or hair of us. However long that takes, is how long it takes.

Samantha Paulsen (guitar, keys, vocals): Indefinite, as far as I know. We’re all looking forward to writing new music, progressing forward, and ending this era of our musical career. It’s a happy ending, though.

Scott Smith (drums): We Versus The Shark satisfied a very immediate need to release bottled up thoughts and emotions… it was the best avenue I’ve found yet for self-therapy. It also satisfied our love of music, providing a much-needed artistic outlet. We hold our standards for the band at very high levels, and I believe we aren’t interested in half-assing our way into the next step… thus we won’t play again as We Versus The Shark until we have something we can stand confidently on… this might take a year or longer. My choice to finish my Economics undergraduate degree this Fall also affected our decision to give the band a break, since we won’t have any tours scheduled until Spring 2010 at the earliest.

Luke Fields (guitar, vocals): Indefinitely. We’re ready to try something different. With Sam’s departure and the drifting further and further away from our first album we didn’t want to tour with people expecting the same old WVTS anymore. There are a lot of sad faces when we don’t play anything off of [first album] Ruin Everything! and we’d like to eliminate any potential “teasing” of the audience.

Why do it now? I thought the last album was a monster.

Luke Fields: I love our last album but it didn’t really seem to resonate with many people. We’ve matured a lot since that album as well and are much more interested in creating some more fun, anthemic stuff. [Final album] Dirty Versions is dark and angry, relatively speaking. We wanna get people pumped up again! Sam’s departure was probably the start of this process but it’s not the only reason. And we’d be WVTS again if there was a call for it, say another big European tour or something like that. I don’t think it’ll happen but if given a great opportunity I don’t think we’d turn anything down. The three of us (Scott, Jeff, Luke) really wanna take some time on this next project and do it right and easy. No more rushing and scrambling. Just make a really good, hopefully important album.

Samantha Paulsen: I think after Dirty Versions was released, we hit a wall with our writing, and I definitely felt like I was growing apart musically from the other three. I tried for a long time after that album to write with them, and just didn’t feel like I could put myself into the music as much as they were, and it didn’t feel right anymore. It was like putting together a puzzle and having one piece left, except that piece doesn’t fit, no matter which way you turn it. I was that puzzle piece, that at one point finished the puzzle, but somewhere along the way a hungry little kitten gnawed one of the edges off, making it impossible to ever solve the puzzle again. So, as hard as it was, I definitely feel confident in my decision to leave the band. After playing in bands full-time for almost eight or nine years I just needed a break. Actually, after I left WVTS last summer, I didn’t pick up my guitar for a couple of months because I was so burnt out on playing and writing, or even thinking about it. It took a while for me to WANT to play music again, but now that I am, it’s really good, and I’m excited to write again.

Scott Smith: The songs we wrote with Sam sound uniquely like the four of us… I don’t think any of us are interested in continuing to play those songs without her. We have collected confidence and experience touring and recording those songs, and we are more excited about future prospects than rehashing a past we’re not necessarily connected to anymore. I’m very happy with the WVTS output thus far, and see no need to limp into the next incarnation… we want something to stand behind for years to come.

Jeff Tobias: We did an October tour to support “Dirty Versions” with a touring guitar player in Sam’s place, a great guy named Neil Callaghan. We had a lot of fun but it was immediately apparent that it simply was not We Versus the Shark anymore. Not as a trio and not with a replacement. So we’re ready to take however much time we need to “reboot” and we’re all excited to commit some energy into our much-neglected personal lives.

What’s next?

Scott Smith: I love music, and branching into different genres keeps the game interesting and keeps me growing. I’m working on jazz and experimental improvisation with my buddy Chris Herren in our band The Rectanglers, and I’ll be attempting vocal duties in a straight-ahead punk band with Jace Bartet in the months ahead. Also, Jeff, Luke, and I have a backed up catalog of rockers we are ready to flesh out into songs.. they are energetic and powerful. Jeff and I will be working on ambient kraut/hip hip experiments as well… so we have plenty to keep us busy!

Jeff Tobias: Well, the new Pegasuses-XL album is done, and I think it’s great. It’s called “Psychic Entourage.” I’ve been playing fake guitar in a new project with Derek Almstead, but other than that, nothing concrete, aside from that Modern Skirts dub remix album I’ve been kicking around [ed. note: I hope he is serious about this, but I suspect he is not].

Luke Fields: I have many projects. Scott, Jeff and I will be continuing on in some form within the next year but no details on that yet. Other than that there are:

‘Powers :: quadraphonic guitar rock band
Bit Brigade :: classic Nintendo performance
The Yes Of Course :: new afrobeat/funk/soul band we’ve just started working on and I’m really excited about
Students :: solo Luke, I have an album recorded but I haven’t released it yet

Samantha Paulsen: Currently, I’m writing and playing in two very different bands. The first is an all-female pop band (with Lauren Gregg and Kay Stanton), along the lines of That Dog, Le Tigre, Shonen Knife. The second is a two-piece, just a drummer (Marie Uhler) and I. Loud, aggressive guitar-heavy stuff. I like the balance of the two styles, keeps me interested in writing new music. I’ve also never really played music with other females before, and I feel lucky to have found these girls, who are so talented and incredibly fun to be around. I’m definitely looking forward to playing some shows in the next year with them.

And the final show?

Scott Smith: This is the last show with the original lineup. We’re going to retire our old songs for good. It’s going to be a cathartic release of the past… so for anyone who has felt a connection with these songs over the years, this is the time to share the experience with us. I expect to be a sweaty pulp by the end!

Jeff Tobias: We have been vigorously re-learning a lot of material from Ruin Everything! and EP of Bees EP, which has been almost like learning songs written by another band! But I guess the only thing epic this time will be the set length — Scott will probably sweat through a couple of pairs of boxers. I doubt anyone will leave not having heard the jams they wanted to hear, unless they’re some sort of deep cut freak, in which case they can come over to my apartment and I’ll personally perform an a cappella rendition of “Easter Island Is For Lovers” or whatever.

Samantha Paulsen: We’re playing a lot of old material, songs that we wrote five or six years ago. Nothing fancy, no fireworks, clowns, or schticks, just a chance to play these songs one more time for people to enjoy. Hopefully it’ll bring back a lot of good memories (Chi House dance parties!) for both us and all of our friends and fans who’ve been dancing with us the past six years.

Luke Fields: Tons of old stuff. A fun farewell.

Catch We Versus The Shark’s farewell show during Athfest at Morton Theatre on Friday, June 26th, supported by the all-star cast of Deaf Judges, Geoff Reacher, Marriage, Hot New Mexicans, and Lazer/Wulf.