The Strokes may be the biggest band to come out of the New York punk scene in recent years, but watch out for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This underground art-punk trio has been creating quite a buzz over the past year on the strength of a self-released EP and an electrifying live show. In 2002, the band became the object of a major-label bidding war and was eventually signed by Interscope. In late April of this year, they released their debut CD, Fever to Tell.

Although Yeah Yeah Yeahs are only three pieces — vocalist Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase — they manage to get a very full sound. In addition, Karen O's wild stage antics and sexually charged stage persona have helped to fuel the band's reputation. I had a chance to speak with Zinner just a couple of weeks before the release of Fever to Tell.

Do you see Yeah Yeah Yeah's fitting in with the Strokes and The White Stripes and the whole new garage-rock thing?

No, we don't see ourselves as part of that at all. Obviously, historically we are. And we're also coming out at the same time. [But] I don't think the Strokes or the White Stripes are even remotely similar.

Was the decision to go without a bass player an intentional musical decision or did it just happen?

It pretty much just happened that way. It was never a statement of defiance or anything like that. It was just like the first time that Karen and I wrote songs on the 4-track — we recorded them with just guitar, voice, and drum machine, and they sounded great. We tried playing with another guitar player, and originally we wanted to have a keyboard player, but it just sounded all muddy and got in the way.

With no bass in the band, do you have to play your parts differently, emphasizing the low strings more?

Yeah, definitely. Which is great. It's really fun, actually. It's nice to have the aim of supporting the whole song with the whole dynamic and melodic range.

You don't find it constraining?

No. I find freedom in constraint; it opens more possibilities in a way.

There are some harmonic-like, synthy-sounding parts on some of the new songs. Were those played on guitar? And how do you play them live?

That's a drum machine. I think it's the Zoom RT-123. It has a keyboard sound on it, and you can program loops into it. I have that through a foot pedal so I can turn it on and off with my foot while we're playing.

Have you always been into rock and punk, or have you played other music as well?

I'm all over the place. I was really into metal when I was a kid — it's definitely something I've been heading back toward recently.

Do you notice a big difference between New York City audiences and those from out of town?

New York audiences are pretty reserved, unless you play for an all-ages show. It's like that all over America. Over-21 crowds are a lot more sedate. If you can play 16-plus shows, kids go crazy and are really responsive.

With Karen O's onstage antics, I bet some wild stuff happens during your shows.

Last Thursday [at New York City's Bowery Ballroom] Karen was swinging a microphone, and the mic came off of the cord, went into the crowd, and hit someone on the head.

Was the person okay?

Yeah, they didn't need stitches.

Are you guys surprised with the success you've had?

Yeah [laughs], absolutely. It's pretty strange. We're never fully in it. While things are happening, we're sort of watching ourselves and thinking, “Wow, this is crazy.”