How does Carl Newman define success?

That all depends on when you ask.

A decade ago, success meant finishing the New Pornographers’ first record. Two years later, it meant finding a record label that cared. Shortly after that, success meant selling 10,000 copies, then 50,000, and eventually 100,000 plus.

And it seems the higher the bar is set, the more Newman and his merry band of pop pundits are able to keep their egos in check. There are no backstage brawls, no wardrobe malfunctions, and no Spin cover story entitled “True Pornographer: The Real-Life Confessions of Dan Bejar.”

Nope. The name is anything but what it might suggest—all the New Pornographers do is churn out solid record after solid record, four of them to date. All of which leaves modern rock journalists—and the bloggers who misquote them—with very little to write about.

“We don’t really want to be Fleetwood Mac,” Newman explains. “Maybe if we were we’d sell more records. Maybe if we aired out all our dirty laundry we’d be more popular. But the idea of doing one for the benefit of the other isn’t all that interesting to me.”

Indeed, the New Pornographers are nothing like Fleetwood Mac, except for the fact that both were branded with the supergroup tag early on. But unlike Fleetwood Mac, who supergrouped themselves straight into rehab, the Pornographers remain grounded and sturdy, unwilling to compromise themselves in the name of commerce. Because of that (or maybe in spite of it) each member maintains a successful career outside of the Pornographers; in some cases, a career that eclipses the success of the band itself.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship,” says Newman. “Neko Case helps the New Pornographers, but the New Pornographers help Neko Case. And sometimes people make more of it than there is. People had theories about whether Dan was leaving to revolt against success at one point, and really, the guy just wanted to do his own thing for a while.”

Perhaps it’s those other “things” that have allowed the Pornographers to persevere. Unlike a lot of other bands who go their separate ways due to excess, creative differences, or a plain old case of Yoko, the Pornographers’ line-up has remained (mostly) constant over the years—with the notable exception of Kathryn Calder, who originally joined the band in 2005 to cover some tour dates Neko Case was unable to accommodate.

Since then Calder, who is also a member of Immaculate Machine, has become a full-time Pornographer, complimenting rather than replacing Case and allowing the band to incorporate three- and even four-part harmonies that simply weren’t an option before.

“In 2004, when Neko was really busy, we only played two shows,” Carl explains. “So we needed to find a way to exist without Neko. But who could we possibly find to fill that role? It definitely couldn’t be someone who looked and sounded just like her.”

Calder, who it turns out is actually Newman’s niece (the daughter of his half-sister), was playing a nearby gig with her band at the time and bandmate John Collins urged Carl to go see them play.

“I’d never really considered Kathryn,” Newman admits. “Then I went to see Immaculate Machine and I started thinking, yeah, she can do it. Initially, we were just going to have her play on Twin Cinema. Then there was a gig where Neko couldn’t be there and the promoter, whose words might have ended up having a big impact on the future of the band, told us, ‘I don’t care if Neko’s there. I just want the New Pornographers to play.’ That was the first time we’d heard someone say that. And it was kind of liberating in a way. You don’t want to play without Neko, but we found out that we could if we had to. So we got Kathryn to fill in and it worked.”

Calder recalls saying “yes” to the idea before it really had a chance to sink in. And despite the overwhelming task of filling Case’s shoes, Calder claims the initial reaction was (mostly) positive.

“In the beginning there were a lot of people in the audience who had no idea that I was not Neko,” Calder says, laughing. “But there were also a lot of other fans who were honest and told me they were big Neko fans and they really thought she’d be playing the show, and I respect that.”