The Decemberists - Concert Review

The Decemberists 

@ Radio City Music Hall

by Tina Whelski

Love hasn’t changed much since the 16th century. At least that’s what The Decemberists showed the crowd when they performed their new album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety at Radio City Music Hall on June 10th.

The rock opera, originally intended to be a musical, is the amalgam of lead singer Colin Meloy’s long fascination with British folk revival music and his passion for classic metal. In it Meloy carefully pieces various motifs together from old folk music to create a narrative that revolves around 16th century archetypal characters. His Portland-based band, which includes guitarist Chris Funk, organist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query, and drummer John Moen, meticulously brought that story to life during the show’s first half.

The band’s non-stop set examined love from spring to offspring through the eyes of characters like Margaret, performed by guest vocalist Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond, her lover William, a forest queen, brought to life by guest vocalist Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, and a rake, among others. The tenderness and treachery surrounding the love-afflicted characters was clearly based in another time, but their emotional struggles were easily modern. And the music masterfully followed each character’s arc, heightening their disparate views.

There were many highlights during the evening, but one song that captured the essence of love’s strangling grip best was “The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All).” Crescendos rose with promise and dipped with disappointment. And lyrics like, “take my hand to feel the pull of quicksand” beautifully expressed the dueling nature of attraction.

During the show’s second half the Decemberists raced against Radio City’s curfew, packing in as many songs from previous albums as possible, including “Crane Wife 3,” “July July,” “Billy Liar,” “Sleepless,” and “O' Valencia,” along with an exciting cover of Heart’s “Crazy on You,” performed with Worton and Star.

The Decemberists encored with REM’s “Begin the Begin,” inviting opening act Pete Buck to join. And ended with “Sons & Daughters,” where Meloy and eager fans sang the chorus: ““hear all the bombs fade away.” As the show dissolved, it became apparent that The Decemberists had artfully taken us back in time and returned us for a more hopeful future.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (July 29, 2009).

The Decemberists perform "The Hazards of Love 2" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Dr. Dog - Scott McMicken Interview

Dr. Dog Accepts Its Fate

by Tina Whelski

There comes a time when everything makes sense. The stars align. Clocks freeze. The universe is trying to tell you something. At least that’s what Dr. Dog discovered while recording Fate, the follow up to the band’s critically acclaimed album, We All Belong.

When “fate” surfaced as a possible album title, the Philadelphia band stopped in its tracks. And after a few days of “swooning, and freaking out,” as singer/guitarist Scott McMicken tells it, they realized something greater than themselves was weighing in. Songs they’d written over the last six years suddenly had similarities. And “fate” tied them together conceptually. So members Frank McElroy (multi-string guitar, full-grip chords, harmonies), Juston Stens (trapset & harmonies), Toby Leaman (finger bass, vocals), Zach Miller (organ), and McMicken (woof + mud distortion solo guitar and voice) stepped aside to let a process of observation take over. Instead of finding ways to put ideas into their material, they looked for ways in which they already existed. The result was an album McMicken describes as a subjective experience.

“I’ve never felt as detached from my own songs,” says McMicken. “And I mean that in a good way. This is probably as close as I can get to hearing them as though I didn’t write them and didn’t have anything to do with them. That way of thinking was so important to making the album. Just separating everything you put into them. So that you can re-interpret them and try to put them into this greater story.”

Scott McMicken talks to The Aquarian about recording Fate.

“Fate” wasn’t the intention for the record. How did it evolve?

It was a very natural thing. It just unfolded very slowly from very tiny little seeds…Like Toby saying, ‘What about Fate as a possible name for the album?’ And that was chosen at that point in time just as the word…I liked it immediately aesthetically as a big powerful four-letter word. I don’t know if I liked Fate or didn’t like Fate. I didn’t know what I thought it even was. It was just this big romantic thing in my head. That being said, right away I did realize that it was an interesting title just in the fact that it causes me to question. It’s a word taken for granted. And obviously everyone is so familiar with it. But I really had nothing to say about it. It’s one of those interesting things. What the hell is fate?

What themes emerged as you questioned fate?

The interesting thing is all the songs were written well before we started talking about this idea of fate…So it had less to do with how we were going to go about writing and manipulating our songs to suite this idea and more to do with just re-interpreting these songs…I’d say the only way we got manipulative of material, in order to represent what it was we were slowly starting to think about, was that it helped us choose which songs fit and which didn’t.

The metaphor of trains runs through the record. Why does that work so well?

Basically it was just like, ‘What can we do to point out what we are starting to notice about these consistencies between the songs?’ There’s enough of it in the songs themselves. But we wanted to take it up one notch and tie them all together. So Frank came up with the idea of the train…It suits everything about the album because it’s such a musical sound. It’s got a nice constant, flowing rhythm…And the dynamics. I really like that the passage of time has a lot to do with this album. And I think the passage of time has a lot to do with the train. Its presence is always somewhere in the abstract. It’s like it’s always far from you, but on its way…There’s just this romance around the train.

Can you tell the story of a song from the record?

There are little bits of magic sprinkled through all of them. That’s what got them past the chopping block…When I got to looking at these songs, in my head, they represent how constantly changing I am as a songwriter. Not on a huge level, but like trying new things over the years that I like a lot, like simpler songs. “The Breeze” was me trying to write a song that essentially didn’t change at all. It’s one melody and one chord progression that goes like five or six times or whatever and then it’s over and it never really breaks. So that was an experiment in songwriting for me.

“The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer,” that’s a weird song too, because that was me again trying something that was really not my thing in songwriting, which was sort of a hate message. I always try to put so much passive acceptance into every song I write (laughs) because that’s how I like to live. But that was me trying to be angry about something.

On We All Belong Dr. Dog was getting used its upgraded recording equipment after the success of Easy Beat. Did knowing the studio better free you up on Fate?

Yeah it certainly was convenient…It felt like the first time we as a band went into making an album with a really strong sense of our own identity. For years the studio has just been this blank slate. Especially for the first three, four, five years of being a band, when we never really played live. It was all just this completely imaginary band. We weren’t trying to capture a sound that actually existed. We were just inventing one for every song. So this felt like the first time we actually stepped into the studio with this pretense, you know? I think where we’ve come so far as technicians in the studio made that possible. And the truth is though I’m very very happy with the way the record turned out and I have no regrets…I don’t think it was a full hundred percent representation. But I’m totally fine with it. I accept that about the process. I know that you can only really go so far as you’re capable of. And that every step of the way is educational. I think we just put a foot in the door on some different ways of recording. So I think for the next one, we’ll just pick up where we left off.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly November 26, 2008 issue.

Dr. Dog perform "The Rabbit, The Bat, and the Reindeer" on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson .

and "From"

Nick Cave - Interview

One Word At A Time

by Tina Whelski

It’s better to believe in something than nothing at all. So whether Nick Cave is searching for faith in the pages of the New Testament, on the disorderly streets of New York City, or rummaging inside his own soul, it becomes clear. He at least believes in the journey.

“A hemorrhaging of words and ideas,” is how the Australian-born singer/songwriter describes Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, his fourteenth studio album with The Bad Seeds. And like previous works, his narrative songwriting looks for God, love, and sex to explain their mysteries. But this time, he probes more emotional, abstract territory. And lets himself and bandmates, Mick Harvey, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, Jim Sclavunos, Thomas Wydler, James Johnston, and, Conway Savage get more expansive.

Nick Cave talks about Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Can you describe your mindset going into Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!?

What I tried to do was make a record that was not just a bunch of songs but that the songs kind of echoed throughout each other. I’m just trying to think what I was trying to do. I can’t remember what I was trying to do to be perfectly honest. It was a long time ago.

I’d imagine from start to finish, that your music passes through many lives. After completing the album and listening back, did it surprise you?

Well I was really pleased that it was good. That’s all I really cared about. And then I quickly forget about it and involve myself in the next thing. It’s always the next thing that’s of interest to me. But it’s important to know that thing before is at least good. And Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is a good record. It’s been an immense pleasure to play live. But what was going through my mind when I wrote it and all that sort of stuff, to be completely honest, I have no idea. I can’t really remember. Since then I’ve been writing a closing chapter for a novel, I’ve written a screenplay, I’ve done the music to the Cormac McCarthy movie The Road. All sorts of things have been going on. So it’s difficult to remember what the actual process was behind the record. But the process is pretty much always the same. I just sit down and do something. There’s not really a story behind it. I just put my head down and work.

Let’s talk about the narrative on “Today’s Lesson?”

“Today’s Lesson,” I think, was one of the first songs that I wrote. I mean what normally happens, and this took a longer time than usual, is that I have to write myself from the last record I made. So I sit down and I start working on a new record and it takes maybe a month to stop writing songs that sound like the last record. Or that come from previous records. This record took a long time to do that, to get away from what sounded to me like Nick Cave lyrics. And I think “Today’s Lesson” was one of the first songs that I found kind of wrenched itself away from that kind of writing. It was something different. “Today’s Lesson,” to me, is much more abstract. There’s a kind of humor to it, but it’s an extremely sinister, violently sexual song.

I guess what happened was that I found a different way to be narrative. Songs that I’d written before that had always been largely narrative songs. That’s just the way that I write. I find it difficult to write any other way. But there’s a different narrative style going on in these songs, which is much more confused and much more about digression and things like that. With that particular song I wrote it and it really creeped me out lyrically. I found it a very disturbing song. It related strongly to certain things that I was thinking about at the time. And that I’d heard about at the time. But it wasn’t a straight narrative. And that really pleased me.

What’s going on in "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!?"

Well you know that song came out of unfinished business. I’d spent many hours as a child at bible studies, hearing the stories of the bible. And that particular story always disturbed me. That Christ had brought this guy back after being dead. After being dead for three days as an example of his miraculous powers? And you never found out what happened to Lazarus. And we don’t ask him. That always disturbed me, so I thought that I would finish the tale.

Let’s discuss one more.

Well “Moonland” was kind of a long song. With much more of a narrative story within those words. I just kept chopping down and chopping down. And I got rid of the event that the story is around. And just talked about the peripheral activities going on around the song. That ended up being beautifully mysterious to me.

I’ve been playing Grinderman concerts for a while. It’s quite nice to do this interview because you keep reminding me of particular songs and I keep thinking, ‘Fuck that’s right. We do that song.’ And that song live is wonderful. It’s become something else.

People often paint a dark picture of you. But these songs seem like your way of casting those feelings away. To me that’s ultimately optimistic?

Well, I find the whole process of writing and recording a positive thing to do. It can’t be anything else. If you want to use that language, it is an optimistic thing to do. I know I’ve written some heavy going songs in my days. And I apologize to everyone for that. But I’ve never considered them depressing.

Do you remember when music touched you in a way where you knew it would always be part of your life?

I’m still surprised that it is. It was never what I was going to do. It was just an accident. I wanted to be a painter. But through a series of accidents I ended up being a musician.

We talked earlier about how for you, it’s always about moving on to the next project. What were you working on today?

Well I’m writing a novel. And today I killed off the central character. I’m quite pleased about that. It was a big day for him. (laughs). He is now officially dead. Which means I’m nearly finished the book. So that’s been quite exciting.

What inspires you to write?

Everything inspires. Other people’s art inspires me. Everything that I see. But in the end, I work. I sit down, put my head down and I work. And inspiration doesn’t really have that much to do with it. It’s more about writing one word after the next.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds perform at WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on October 4.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly Oct 1, 2008.

Nick Cave Video for "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"


an older one, "Into My Arms."

My Morning Jacket - Tom Blankenship Interview

Songs For The Road

by Tina Whelski

Give My Morning Jacket an open road and they’ll jam it with fans. At least that’s what the Louisville, Kentucky band’s been doing for nearly a decade. There’s just something about these hillbilly rockers that people can’t help but like. Maybe it’s those honest, sweet guitar sounds juxtaposed with the band’s super-frenzied performance? Or it’s that haunting, soul-searching reverb that’s aching for contact? No one knows for sure. Not even the band. But what is clear is that My Morning Jacket is quickly becoming known as one of the best live acts in America. The band’s upcoming show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall scheduled for June 20 sold out in just 22 minutes. And with the release of their 5th album, Evil Urges (ATO Records), just a few days ago, it is obvious My Morning Jacket is heading for new territory.

My Morning Jacket established its signature sound with independent releases of The Tennessee Fire (1999), At Dawn (2001), and its ATO debut It Still Moves (2003)—all recorded in their Louisville, Kentucky farm studio. The band became more adventurous on 2005’s Z, leaving home for Allaire Studios in the Catskill Mountains. But with Evil Urges, the band deliberately made itself uncomfortable, opting to record in the less serene New York City at Avatar Studios. The result is an impressive evolution in their sound.

It seems the wider My Morning Jacket travels, the more interesting things get. But even though Evil Urges stretches east, south, north, and west musically, there’s still a familiar space grounded by Jim James (frontman), Tom (“Two-Tone Tommy”) Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboards) that you’ll recognize as pure My Morning Jacket.

My Morning Jacket bassist, Tom (“Two-Tone Tommy”) Blankenship talks about Evil Urges.

You recorded Evil Urges in Manhattan with Grammy-award-winning producer/engineer Joe Chicarelli. What was different about the way the band approached this album?

I think we intentionally set out to have a different recording environment than we did the last time. We’ve worked at Allaire before in upstate New York and it was definitely out in the middle of nowhere. It took like fifteen minutes just to drive up the hill. And the records before that were all done at the farm. We’d always been kind of secluded. So we really wanted to switch it up this time. All of us were really excited to go to New York to do it in a big city. I think we all wanted to experience it as well personally. So the prospect of spending a month living in Manhattan was pretty enticing.

How did this change affect the music?

It was a good work environment because we spent twelve hours a day locked in a studio from eleven to eleven or twelve to twelve or whatever it was. It was different because before everything was more relaxed. You just kind of strolled into the studio whenever you woke up. If a couple guys wanted to stay up late until 2:00 a.m. and work on something they could. If you wanted to wait until it was really late at night and light some candles and look out over the mountains or look out over the farm and record a song, you could do it. It was different here because you had these twelve hours you had to work. That was it…It was more like you just focused on what you had to do and spent a day or two on a song tops knowing that maybe you wouldn’t get the chance to re-visit it again. So there was a certain amount of pressure that added, which I found nice and freeing in a way. To have everything structured and set in stone. You know how your work day was going to go, how your work week was going to be.

Did you have a specific thematic intention entering the studio?

I think personally I had an idea what the record was going to be like and it didn’t turn out anything like that, but we’d never really discussed going for a certain sound or a certain kind of direction. It was just we had this group of songs and we kind of cut out a few here and there. So it came down to like twenty songs or something. And it would be like, “Let’s try this twenty or seventeen and see how it goes.” Cause usually the album will sort of piece itself together.

Is there a song that’s particularly special to you?

Yeah, there are a couple, like “Evil Urges.” I think that was one of the most fun to write because it started out as two riffs. Like that intro riff with the bubbling roads and stuff and then the kind of big chorus part. Those were just two riffs that Jim had and he wanted to fit them together. I think it was the first song that we worked on and it was kind of nice because we were all starting from scratch. It wasn’t a demo that we had previously or something that we were familiar with. So it was a nice ice-breaker. And it was one that we spent the entire month in Colorado last year rehearsing. Every day we would play that song. So every day it really went through a lot of changes and was probably the most collaborative thing that we’d done.

How does an MMJ song typically come to life?

The process doesn’t change too much. Jim makes demos at home and hands us like two dozen songs or something. And we all live with them for a while. Then we get together and everybody just plays whatever comes into their minds. We just kind of hammer them out from there.

Where does inspiration often strike you?

I would listen to the songs in the morning here at the house and I guess it was last spring I had to do a lot of mowing. I had to mow the yard like every five days or something and then I had to rake between mowing because I had this ancient mower. So anyway, I spent a lot of time outside working and I would still have the songs in my head and I could hear little bass parts come up that way. So a lot of my stuff came when I was just working in the yard.

Your first-ever headlining show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall is scheduled for June 20 and it sold out in just 22 minutes. How does it feel knowing people can’t wait to be in the room with you guys?

It’s surreal. And it’s insanely flattering and unbelievable. Definitely unbelievable would be the major thing. I obviously believe in us, but just that anybody really wants to see us that much and that a show would sell out that quickly just blows my mind.

What do you think makes your live show such an attraction?

That’s a good question. It’s funny, when I see “Okonokos” [live 2006 DVD] or something like that. When I actually see clips of us playing, it’s like “Oh wow these guys are pretty good.” It’s so strange. Well I guess it’s not that strange. When you’re in the middle of it and you’re doing it you just have no clue. But even when I saw Patrick and Carl play with Bobby Bare Jr. in Austin a couple of years ago I was like “Holy shit,” watching them play. I understood. Not being a part of what they were doing and watching them play as individuals. There was a weird energy and a magical thing that happened. It’s hard to describe. I don’t know, it’s weird. Years ago when we were touring on At Dawn live shows were so different. It was like we wanted to be, I don’t want to say we wanted to be a metal band, but that’s what it felt like when we got on stage. Like we were Metallica in the ‘80s or something. (laughs). It wasn’t even something we talked about. It was just like that was what we did. I guess it was what we had grown up listening to and watching all the time. Hardcore and metal and stuff like that. I guess that really seeped its way into the live show, whereas the recording was a totally different world. Maybe that’s where it comes from. Just that music we were listening to growing up.

Do you have a song that’s a favorite to play live?

"One Big Holiday” would probably be the obvious answer. Because we’ve been playing it for so long, since the first year the band started. That’s one that I can’t get tired playing. And hearing people chime in at the verses. Its like, “Oh my God it’s insane.” And you can’t beat that intro. You know the ticking and then the guitar comes in. It’s like one of those live staples. Like it was written to be that kind of song. One that would get people off their feet. So that’s always fun to play.

My Morning Jacket performs at Radio City Music Hall on June 20.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (6/18/08).

MMJ on Conan O'Brien in 2006 performing "One Big Holiday," my favorite.


"Thank you Too" from Evil Urges


With the Boston Pops on David Letterman.


"I'm Amazed" Video.

Nelly McKay - Concert Review

Nelly McKay @ Joe’s Pub
NYC 4/1/08

by Tina Whelski

Sitting pretty in a pink chiffon dress and matching hair ribbon singer/pianist Nelly McKay filled her Joe’s Pub set on April 1st with an unusual mix of jazz, rap, techno, politics, and zombies. She tapped out tracks from her new album, Obligatory Villagers, along with a scattering of blues covers, several works-in-progress, favorites from her debut CD, Get Away From Me, and some bizarre theatrics.

Her stream-of-conscious lounge show included animated interstitials where she tackled topics like the presidential election. “The thing about Obama is he’s great,” said McKay in her cooing voice. “And he’s so attractive. You know that seals the deal. The thing about Hillary is, well she wants it so bad. I don’t know. I’m just going to feel like such a sell-out if I don’t vote for her…It’s just so hard,” she said exaggerating the point. “I’m glad you find my pain amusing,” she said interrupting the audience’s laughter.

McKay then charged into “Sari,” rapping “Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t apologize so much” (and messing up the next few lines purposely, so she could apologize and begin again).

A techno version of “David” followed.

“I try to make these things fresh again,” said McKay about her older song. “I think I tried this once here and it didn’t come off, so I’m going to go for twice.”

McKay screeched out a few lines that resembled high-pitched Dolphin cries and improvised others. Ultimately, she acted out a scene between two people in a club. “Hey this is really crappy,” she said. “I hate techno music, don’t you?” “Yeah,” she said answering herself. “Let’s stay a few more hours.”

But no one stayed. Seconds later she transplanted herself in another era and a snappy, mind-blowing version of “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” began. McKay was so authentic channeling the nursery rhyme Ella Fitzgerald originally made memorable that it was as eerie as it was enjoyable.

Then a Ukulele appeared and McKay was suddenly playing the tongue-in-cheek “Mother of Pearl” from her new album. ”Feminists don’t have a sense of humor,” sang McKay. “Feminists just want to be alone. Feminists spread vicious lies and rumors. They have a tumor on their funny bone.” The song’s zinger comes when she tells feminists to “lighten up” and explains, “These feminists just need to find a man.”

During this endearingly bipolar performance, the songs that followed—a soft and lovely cover of “If I Had You,” “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans,” popularized by Louis Armstrong, and McKay’s disorderly “Inner Peace” all somehow worked together.

McKay summed up the night best when she was talking to herself. Hunting through stacks of songbooks and scribbled notes she said, “Isn’t she all over the place? Like what the fuck are we doing here honey?”

So when McKay ended the night with “Zombie” and her guest ensemble appeared, arms out-stretched and growling with vacant looks (think Shaun of the Dead), they oddly enough didn’t seem out of place.

But that’s McKay’s charm. Nothing is out of place. She’s a timeless paradox. An equal opportunity performer. She appeals to everyone. Even the walking dead.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (5/7/08).

Nelly McKay performing "Mother Of Pearl."


And on The View last year.


On David Letterman with "The Dog Song."

Cat Power - Concert Review

Cat Power @ Terminal 5
NYC 2/6/08

by Tina Whelski

As she slinked across stage it was easy to see that Chan Marshall, who performs as Cat Power, was well past her age of doubt. A few years sober, with her infamous stage antics and breakdowns now distant memory, she was lovely, confident, and maybe even happy during her sold-out New York City show at Terminal 5 on February 6th.

Supporting her eighth album, Jukebox, a collection of mostly covers, Marshall once again borrowed the words of her heroes to express what’s perhaps a little too intimate to say alone.

Her bright smile peeked thru hushed lighting as she opened with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” backed by The Dirty Delta Blues band. Her sneaky, quiet vocals seemed comfortable wrapped around the Hank Williams cover “Ramblin’ (Wo)man,” and James Brown’s “Lost Someone,” but her interpretations of “Silver Stallion” originally performed by The Highwaymen, and Janis Joplin’s “Woman Left Lonely,” sounded more natural.

The Atlanta, Georgia-born performer seemed most at home with her older songs. She introduced “Metal Heart,” which appears on Jukebox, re-made from her 1998 version, as “an old song from when I was a young girl.” She followed it with “Moon,” “Where is My Love” and “The Greatest,” all from her acclaimed The Greatest album.

Other highlights included “Song To Bobby,” Jukebox’s other Marshall-penned tune, and “Lived In Bars.”

Erratic phrasing lends to Marshall’s unique sound. It’s as if she cautiously chases, then catches every thought. Though pretty, it can leave you a bit breathless without some up-tempo relief. But a cozier venue than this former dance hall might have solved that. And feedback that broke the mood all evening didn’t help.

During her ruined cover of Patsy Cline’s “She’s Got You,” Marshall gracefully worked in the line, “That feedback is pissing me off,” to wild applause. It proved how far she’s come as a live performer. Marshall was only fighting feedback—not herself.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (2/27/08).
Photo by Tina Whelski.

Here's Cat Power singing "Lived In Bars" on Later With Jules Holland.

Anthony Raneri of Bayside - Interview

by Tina Whelski

Anthony Raneri appears sans Bayside at the Knitting Factory on January 18. The punk rock band’s front man will perform acoustic versions of Bayside’s music, along with whatever else he can think of. Raneri discusses playing what he wants, where he wants.

You’re playing solo shows before re-joining Bayside for a tour supporting the band’s latest album, The Walking Wounded?

I’ve been doing these shows for a couple of months now. This is my hobby I guess. Our band has gotten to a point now where I have a very rigorous schedule and it’s turned into a job in a way. I still love it and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else, but playing music isn’t what it was when I was twelve. It’s not like I can grab a guitar and play whatever I want. So it’s just a chance for me to go wherever I want in the country. It was cold and snowing in New York so I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to San Francisco.’ So I flew to San Francisco with a guitar and I just played last night. And I’m playing in Orange Country tomorrow. I get to play wherever I want and whatever I want. You know what I compare it to? It’s like 50-year-old dudes who go to work all day and then on Friday nights they play in a cover band at a bar somewhere. It doesn’t matter that they’re not making any money. It doesn’t matter that nobody’s there. There’s no pressure. There’s no stress at all. They’re just loving that they can play music. That’s what this is for me.

What will you play?

Well at these shows I play some Bayside songs. And then I play some covers and songs that I’ve written that aren’t Bayside songs. I play “Duality,” mostly songs from the new album. I play “I and I.” I play songs that I think translate to acoustic well, because I always hate the sound of people playing rock songs on an acoustic guitar. Some songs are meant to be played with a band and some songs aren’t…I just play whatever I think sounds right.

What are “Duality” and “I and I” about?

“Duality” is about the two personalities that are inside everybody. The song ‘I and I’ sums up the theme of the new record. On the first record I was in more of a dark place. And it really reflects in the lyrics. There’s really not much sign of hope. On the second record there was kind of this, ‘Okay, I understand that things are going wrong and I need to figure them out.’ And then on this new record I’m great and I’m loving life and I think I figured out how to do that and why I’ve gotten here. And that’s kind of what ‘I and I’ is all about. Being happy where you are. I think too many people try to change the world to make them feel better. But if something’s getting you down or you’re at a bad place in your life, the way to move on from that is to change the way that you’re looking at it. Change the way you’re handling it. Not to change the thing itself. You can’t really mold the world to be a place that you want to be in. It’s really in your own head and you’ve got to show yourself a better way of looking at everything.

What’s next for Bayside?

We’re shooting a video for “Carry On” which we’re pretty stoked about. We spent a long time trying to decide which song would be the second single from the album. “Carry On” wasn’t the obvious choice. There were other songs we were talking about that probably would have had more mass appeal and that’s kind of what you go for when you release a single. But we just love the song. It’s probably the fastest, heaviest, most punk rock song on the record…And then at the end of January we’re doing a ‘B’ market tour, which I’m really excited about. When we first started playing shows we couldn’t get a show in Manhattan. Nobody would book us. We’d have to play in Queens or in Long Island or something. We couldn’t get a show in Philly. We’d have to play in Reading, Pennsylvania right outside of Philly. Or we couldn’t play in L.A. We’d have to play in Ventura because nobody would book us in L.A. Since we got our record deal and started putting out records and got a booking agent and all that stuff, we only play in L.A. and Manhattan and Philadelphia and stuff like that. So we really wanted to go back to all the places we used to play all the time.

Sing along with Anthony Raneri at the Knitting Factory on January 18.

Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (1/17/08).

Bayside's "Duality" Video.

Twisted Sister - Jay Jay French Interview

by Tina Whelski

Have yourself a head-banging holiday with Twisted Sister. The unlikely carolers give the season’s classics a heavy metal makeover during their second tour supporting A Twisted Christmas. (Because seriously, what self-respecting metal fan wants to hear about “twelve lords a-leaping”). Guitarist and founder Jay Jay French talks about how a band that was once mad at the world re-interprets peace on earth.

How did A Twisted Christmas happen?

About a year and a half ago we were rehearsing for our summer tours in Europe and thought it would be a fun if we did a Christmas record…Much to my surprise it was like whoa, “Come All Ye Faithful” was really the inspiration for “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” So we played “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and we sang “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” on top of it and it was like, ‘Oh my God that really worked.’ So we approached the record as if we asked Judas Priest and AC/DC and other bands that we love to do a Christmas record. How would they sound? “Silver Bells” sounds like AC/DC. And “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” sounds like Judas Priest. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” sounds like the Ramones. “White Christmas” like Iron Maiden and “Let It Snow” sounds like Thin Lizzy. So we had fun with it. In the very beginning I was saying, ‘Is this really going to work? Or is this really just going to destroy our careers, what’s left of it’ (laughs). We did it with a lot of care and it worked.

How did you give the classics a Twisted Makeover?

Well Twisted is Twisted anyway. Dee sounds like Dee. And Eddie and I play guitar like we play. And Mendoza and A.J are the best rhythm section out there and they pummel. So it’s not going to not sound like us.

“Heavy Metal Christmas” was a highlight for me. Obviously you changed a few lyrics.

We had real fun with that one. Dee said, ‘We’ll write it just as a heavy metal fan would.’ When we do it live it’s hysterically funny. It was just a matter of group thinking and taking certain phrases, ‘nine tattered t-shirts’ and ‘three studded belts, ’‘two pairs of spandex pants’‘ and a tattoo of Ozzy. Twisted is such an interesting mix of bands because the band can be amusing. On the other hand it can be brutally heavy. There’s a darker side to the band that allows us to play death metal festivals in Europe that most people don’t understand. Anyone who really wants to understand the band has to figure out how we can play Six Flags on a Saturday and then go play a death metal festival in Europe. The person who figures that one out wins the prize.

What goes through your mind as you get into that hair and make-up each night after all these years?

Um, the same thing that’s been going through my mind ever since I was twenty which is ‘What the hell am I doing?’ It’s almost like I can’t go onstage without doing it anymore. I feel like any other way isn’t real. I transform into this guy called Jay Jay French. I understand from people that that guy is a different person than me. And I’ve been doing it so long I don’t even think about it. But we celebrated our 9000th show last year. It makes me feel like I’m in the heavy metal version of Cats or something. So when I’m in the mode of changing over it’s weird. You have to get a game face on. It’s kind of like walking into a football locker room and they’re putting pads on and the black tar under the eyes. Usually they’re the nicest guys in the world, but they’re getting ready to kick ass! And I think that’s what happens. We’re nice guys. We don’t sacrifice animals and burn churches down like these death metal bands. We’re just guys from New York who play soccer with our kids. But you have to develop a game face. And I guess over the years we really perfected the game face. And we go out there and we do. We take no prisoners. We play this heavy duty locomotive freight train metal that we play and then we go home. We do it around the world in 23 countries and it’s a never-ending wonder to me to be honest. Every time we go out and do this stuff I always say, ‘How do we do this stuff.’ And then we do it and I go, ‘Oh that’s how we do this stuff.’ You would think after all these years I would know how we do it. I have no idea.

You’ll also perform Twisted Sister’s hits during the show.

A real fan just wants the hits…And that’s what we do. We go out there for an hour and forty-five and just kick your ass.

Larger-than-life rock shows always elicit a larger-than-life response from the audience. What happens when you add a bit some Twisted holiday spirit?

I don’t know. We just have fun with it…Ten years ago if you’d have asked me if there would be a reunion I’d say it would never happen. Five years ago if you asked me, ‘Would we play more than one show?’ I’d say it would never happen. Four years ago if you asked me if we thought we’d ever make a DVD and a new CD, I’d say that would never happen. Three years ago if you asked me if we’d continue to headline festivals around the world, I’d go, ‘That would never happen.’ I’ve given up on this ‘never happen’ business. I have no idea what is next. People say to me, ‘Well we hear it’s over.’ And I say, ‘Listen, it’s over every December.’…Then somewhere in March or April promoters start calling and we keep saying no. And they keep saying yes. And we keep saying no. And they keep upping the money. And I say, ‘How much do I need to get paid to walk around stage as a middle-aged transvestite?’...I just don’t know on a year-to-year basis what Twisted’s going to do. So at the end of these four shows it could very well be the last shows we do, I just don’t know.

Join Twisted Sister’s classic line-up—lead singer Dee Snider, guitarist Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark Mendoza, drummer A.J. Pero and Jay Jay French—at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on December 20 and 21.

Here's the video for "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"



And some classics, "We're Not Gonna Take It"



and "I Wanna Rock."



Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Aimee Mann - Interview

by Tina Whelski

Aimee Mann celebrates the yuletide with her second annual holiday tour. The festive variety show features Christmas classics from her album One More Drifter in the Snow and a new line-up of guests, including comedians Paul F. Thompkins and Fred Armisen, and musicians Josh Ritter, Ben Lee and Morgan Murphy. Mann talks about sound-tracking the season and spreading good cheer.

You wanted to make a record that reflected “the range of emotions that people have at Christmastime.”

When I started talking to producer Paul Bryan about the record and the kind of things that we could do, you know, first of all it’s mostly about the songs. So we listened to Christmas songs to see what songs were out there that we felt were good enough just as songs. There are lots of Christmas songs that are really annoying and not really good songs, not pretty melodies or anything. And the other thing that we talked about was the tone of the record. To me the nicest Christmas moments growing up were listening to certain records that my parents played. Johnny Mathis is one that I remember distinctly. Dean Martin, Julie London, people like that. That tone. Having that kind of approach to a Christmas record. Rather than trying to modernize it or make it groovy or whatever. I never really was a fan of that. Christmas was always about nostalgia to me. And I think it is for most people. And then thinking about the feeling you have when you’re a little kid. It’s very exciting, but it’s also a weird, mysterious holiday because a strange man comes into your home. It’s almost supernatural. So I wanted to try to capture that feeling, as well as that mellow, sitting-by-the-fire-drinking-egg nog-kind-of cozy feeling.

You perform mostly covers on the album. How did you capture the nostalgia of the songs but still make them your own?

It’s all about choosing the band and working with the players and getting the beautiful things that happen between musicians when they play live together in the studio and are listening to each other. Cool little unexpected moments happen. With these particular players, it’s really just about the personalities involved.

How does your original tune “Calling On Mary” fit into the collection?

I thought if you have a Christmas record there has to be at least one original song and I wrote that with Paul Bryan. We just sat down and started playing around with some music. It sort of has a traditional theme. Like It’s a Wonderful Life kind of stuff. Where this person is walking around town feeling depressed and awful and then has sort of a revelatory Christmas spirit moment.

What is one of your first Christmas memories?

I would always wake up in the middle of the night, because you’re excited as a little kid, and look out the window and up at the stars to see if I could see the Christmas star. That happened almost every year. And that’s why Christmas to me had this really mysterious kind of beautiful quiet to it, because I had those moments.

When you put a bunch of people together and that holiday spirit fills the room I’m sure it’s amazing to see.

Yeah. Absolutely. The tour last year and this year, it’s a very old-fashioned idea, to have this variety show with a bunch of different people. I love playing shows like that because I love the ensemble feeling. I love people interacting with each other and having a bunch of different things happening, rather than just one person playing for the whole night. It really imparts a Christmas spirit to everybody.

Aimee Mann's Holiday Tour warms the Grand Ballroom in NYC on December 14.


Here is a sampling from Aimee's holiday album.



And even though this report is about Aimee's holiday show, I couldn't resist posting the video for "Save Me" from her classic Magnolia soundtrack.



And from the Forgotten Arm album, "She Really Wants You."




Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Martha Wainwright - Interview

One of Martha Wainwright’s earliest memories is singing alongside her dad Loudon Wainwright III and brother Rufus at the Newport Folk Festival when she was six-years-old.

“I remember feeling very comfortable on stage. Maybe too comfortable...I didn't want to get off,” says Martha.

So she didn’t. Martha spent years performing on stages around the world, including more appearances with her famous family, which also includes legendary mom and aunt, Kate & Anna McGarrigle.

But it wasn’t until 2005 with the release of her self-titled full-length album that Martha found her own voice. And as she readies her upcoming sophomore record due in early 2008, she realizes, she likes the sound of it. Martha chats about her upcoming tour.

On these dates you’ll be debuting music from your upcoming album, due out next year. Will you talk about the record?

Yes, I'll talk about the record and some of the nuances found in these new songs. Hopefully as a relief to my audiences they are not all about me and my navel gazing.

Can you discuss a song or two musically and lyrically?

One of my standout tracks on the new record is a song called "The Tower Song,” which is my attempt at an anti-war song. Seeing as I am not good at political material, in this case I am using poetry to try and express my feelings on the current situation. I will hopefully be playing this one live on some upcoming shows.

Has growing up in a musical family made writing a natural form of self-expression or was it intimidating at first?

I think both. The act of writing songs seemed natural as a daily event although the bar was set quite high from the start seeing as I am such a big fan of my families work. It was very important from the beginning to find my own style and to tap into what I had to offer to this art form.

What impression has your family’s music made on you?

They have taught me not to listen to anything else but my own heart.

Who is one of your favorite artists?

One of my all time favorite singers is Edith Piaf. I've always tried to emulate her intensity. Her ability to convey the story and words in such a dramatic way without being over the top is incredible.

Martha Wainwright performs at the Beacon Theatre with Swell Season on November 19.

Watch Martha Wainwright perform "Factory."



And Martha performing with Rufus at Glastonbury in June 2007 (the sync is off a bit, but close your eyes and listen, it's beautiful).



And with Snow Patrol.




Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Mike Doughty - Interview

Singer/songwriter Mike Doughty has all the answers on “The Question Jar Show” tour. In addition to introducing songs from his new album, Golden Delicious, due out in early 2008, the former Soul Coughing front man will answer questions that fans place in a jar at each venue. According to the press release there is “no question too weird, no topic taboo.” What more could you ask? Doughty discusses the tour.

On this tour you'll be previewing songs from your upcoming album, Golden Delicious, due out early next year. Can you talk about your thinking going into this record?

Well, my thinking is mostly not-thinking, or maybe I should say trying-to-not-think. Accidents are usually more fun than intentions! I did know I wanted to play on the strengths of my live band—my piano player John Kirby is a genius. Obviously, given Soul Coughing, I'm a guy who likes to exploit and encourage an idiosyncratic, highly-stylistic musician.

Will you describe a new song or two-what's happening lyrically and musically?

Hmm, this is always difficult, as I get a better perspective after I play the tunes for a year or two. "Put It Down" is a kind of bouncy song, maybe in the same species as "Circles," that was semi-nonsensical until I broke up with my girlfriend, and now it's a heartbreak tune that rather embarrasses me. "Ft. Hood" is a song based around the chorus from "Let the Sunshine In." Fort Hood, TX is the Army base that's lost the most soldiers in Iraq. I am vehemently, vehemently, vehemently opposed to the war, but the song is more about denial, and about the soldiers coming back scarred. I went to Walter Reed a year ago, with my band, to visit some wounded guys, and it really messed my head up.

Tell me about the "Question Jar" part of the show?

Welp—there’s a jar—folks put questions in it—I answer 'em between songs!

You're not afraid of what people will ask?

I am TOTALLY afraid of what people will ask!!

On Golden Delicious you worked with Dan Wilson who produced your last album, Haughty Melodic. What did he bring to the process this time round?

I would say that I kind of come from a New York hip hop background, about rhythms, with one or two unchanging chords in the song, and he comes from a Beatles-y background, which is about lots of chord changes, very arrangement-complex. He tends to want more instruments in there, and I tend to want less.

What kinds of things inspire you to write songs?

Love, cars, food, trees, places, names, trains, guitars, China, cable television, bodies of water, milkshakes, electricity, nice suits, digital watches, horses, fire, my friend Scrap, hardwood floors, Marc Ribot, and did I mention love?

Describe one of your earliest music memories.

I used to sit in the back of my Mom's massive green Oldsmobile, circa age 5, listening to John Denver's Greatest Hits on a little tape recorder pressed up to my ear.

Mike Doughty performs at Joe’s Pub on November 15 and 16.

Watch Mike perform "Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well."



Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Gogol Bordello - Eugene Hutz Interview

by Tina Whelski

There’s method in Eugene Hutz’s madness. And with the release of Super Taranta!, more people are noticing that.

“It’s about fucking time,” says Gogol Bordello’s eccentric band leader. “For years I’ve been reading that my strength is that I’m insane. It’s like smart people at some point have to start realizing that my main strength is not that I’m insane. It’s that I’m actually a pretty fucking good songwriter. That’s the fucking thing that holds everything together.”

But the Kiev-born visionary admits his gypsy punk trans-global rebel rock is a lot to digest.

“I’m pretty psyched that people are starting to see into the band, way past not only its wildness and rowdiness, but actually seeing the hypnotic side as well,” says Hutz. “It is truly a huge band mental-wise, physical-wise, people-wise, and message-wise. If I would be somebody who experiences Gogol Bordello as an outsider, it would probably take me a couple of years as well to wrap my head around it. Maybe I would never wrap my head around it, hopefully. Maybe I haven’t wrapped my head around it now.” (laughs)

Part of the band’s vast appeal lays in the fact that Gogol Bordello is more of a “culture” than a band, according to Hutz. As the tireless performers continue to attract higher profile gigs (like this year’s Live Earth in London’s Wembley Stadium, Coachella, Bonnaroo and Glastonbury) and witnesses its global fan base grow it is possible Hutz is right.

“International recognition and being on the road so much brought us a lot of new extended family,” say Hutz. “It’s a great thing for us because we’re the kind of artistic unit that doesn’t rely on media information about culture and doesn’t rely on DJ’s or some other source of information to hear what’s happening in the world. So it’s much more of a first-hand information kind of process. And that’s how we like it. Consequently, the friends we make and the people who influence us, or we influence, is on the level of a much more authentic bond. It’s pretty exciting to finally make friends with a lot of our heroes and then discover that a lot of them are actually your fans! And then go on to the next level of collaborating and actually in a larger sense realizing that even before meeting each other we were sharing a very similar creative wavelength.”

The unorthodox blend of musical backgrounds and nationalities between band members Sergey Rjabtzev (violin), Yuri Lemshev (accordion), Tommy Gobena (bass), Eliot Ferguson (drummer), Oren Kaplan (guitar), Pam Racine (percussion, dance), Elizabeth Sun (percussion, dance), and Hutz (vocals) is at the heart of every connection. And Hutz believes the band makes a good artistic family because everyone enjoys their own opportunity to shine.

“When the band was just being made, I had a vision for it and I had to be quite controlling about executing it,” says Hutz. “When the band developed, the need to be controlling about it actually fell off, which freed up a lot of space for musicians’ personal styles. That was actually when I think the band actually started to live its real life. Another thing is that because I, being the melodic core of the band, am from Eastern Europe, I always write songs that are instantly recognizable as Eastern European, but yet it’s the whole other line-up of musicians that makes that sound universal. It makes it Eastern European music that people can dig down in Brazil and down in Japan, you know what I mean? That is directly the work of the band. That is the bass lines of Thomas and the guitar of Oren that makes the sound universal. It’s the way that people process information within the band.”

Whether playing gypsy stomp, Flamenco rhythms, speed metal or anything in between, Gogol Bordello’s supercharged trip across musical barriers is ultimately driven by Hutz’s multiple personalities and witty lyrics.

“This album is quite a chameleon,” says Hutz about Super Taranta! “I think all the best albums are. It has a very direct, yet very abstract feeling to it. There are several characters really. The guy who sings “Super Theory of Super Everything” is a different guy than who sings “Dub the Frequencies of Love.”

You might wonder if success will cause Gogol Bordello to lose its anarchic edge. Since 2005’s Gypsy Punks Hutz has explained how reggae and gypsy music created by poor people with nothing to loose first inspired him. Will he still relate to their desperation?

“I don’t really worry about things like that because it’s just not how I think,” says Hutz. “What I write about comes off not only my own personal experience but from the experiences of that extended family. So even if I at this point got all my papers in order, I’m mostly surrounded by people who don’t have them in order (laughs) and there are many different layers and pockets in this topic. The desperation that you’re talking about is not necessarily something that was driven by one particular hardship or another. It’s more of a philosophical thing. There’s a philosophy of life that I write about that’s basically at war with most of the layers of society and culture at the present day. So I don’t see the end of the mother fucking work! The poverty is not the only issue. What about all the rich people who are fucked! (laughs). Of course the poor suffer the most. But that is only one of the layers in the picture…You have to realize that the band, no matter how big it will get, it will always play what it wants to play, how we want to play it and with who we want to play. Nobody tells this band what to do. That in itself is what inspires kids and fans. It fucking inspires me man!”

Gogol Bordello performs at Terminal 5 on November 3.

Watch Gogol Bordello perform "Wonderlust King."

Watch Gogol Bordello perform my favorite "Start Wearing Purple" at Glastonbury 2007.



and performing "Super Theory of Supereverything."



and with Madonna performing "La Isla Bonita."



Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Drive-By Truckers - Patterson Hood Interview

by Tina Whelski

Drive-By Truckers switch gears on The Dirt Underneath Tour, sitting down for a semi-acoustic joy ride alongside legendary keyboardist and songwriter Spooner Oldham. Together they perform hushed versions of the Southern rock band’s gritty tales, spotlighting the storytelling. Because Oldham shares DBT’s Muscle Shoals, Alabama musical heritage you can expect a soulful homage.

Singer-guitarist Patterson Hood discusses the tour, the critically acclaimed A Blessing and a Curse CD, and the record he and band mates Mike Cooley, Brad Morgan, John Neff and Shonna Tucker just finished about a minute ago.

You've wanted to do a tour like The Dirt Underneath for quite a while. What makes these dates satisfying creatively?

I wanted a chance to do a "turned down" (for us that is) tour where the focus was more on the lyrics and stories as opposed to the big loud ROCKSHOW type thing. We were in the midst of writing a bunch of new songs and kind of reinventing ourselves and it made sense to strip it down to the essentials and rebuild from there. It went so great that we ended up working up 75% of what has become our new album, mostly live in front of audiences, so the new album comes already somewhat road-tested. The tour was so fun and successful that we wanted to do one more leg (next month) before packing it in and retiring it.

Can you hint a bit at what we can expect on DBT's upcoming album?

We literally finished it yesterday. It's called BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK and has nearly 20 songs. Stylistically it’s all over the map, yet it’s the most cohesive album we've ever made. It’s definitely all our favorite. Everyone was being really creative and the songs just kept coming so we kept recording them. I think it is a huge leap from anything else we've ever done. Can't wait for folks to hear it.

How do you feel when people attach themselves so closely to your music?

Blessed. Sometimes a little confused.

You’re constantly writing. What kinds of things inspire you to pick up your guitar?

I've never really understood where they come from. Sometimes it might be something I've been thinking about for a long time. Sometimes it feels like I'm being struck by lightning.

Will you discuss a song from A Blessing and a Curse lyrically?

Damn, I really haven't given that one much thought lately, as we're in a really different mode right now. I'm proud of that album, overall, I think it has some of our best moments, (and perhaps some of our weakest too), but we're all in a diametrically different place right now. I think we've only been playing 2-3 of those songs at all this year, and two of those are Cooley's songs, which are as usual my favorites. I am, however extra proud of "World of Hurt.” That was my best song on that album. It started off being about someone else and became about me. Personal as hell. Guess I’m more self centered than I want to be. (laughs).

How about a song musically?

Again, we're totally someplace else now. We're doing this semi-acoustic tour with Spooner Oldham. It was supposed to just be a 3-week thing last spring, but it kinda morphed into something else and we felt like we had to take it to a few more cities. New York has always been so great to us and has always been one of our very favorite places to play. Doing that tour really affected a lot of things about our new album (the upcoming DBT album, coming out in Feb) although it is definitely a Rock and Roll record, just in some different ways than the others.

Can you talk about the influence Muscle Shoals, Alabama has had on your sound?

Growing up around that much great music, especially the Soul albums cut there was bound to affect us a lot. The food is only gonna be as good as the ingredients (as Grandma would say) and we grew up around some really good stuff. It's a tough town to live in. The economy was really bad (still is) and the tough times sometimes bring out the best and worst in people. There is toughness, and honestly sometimes meanness, about a lot of the folks there and that was all a big part of who we became too. Some of the things inspired us, some things we loved and pursued and some things we rebelled against. Those things sat in the front seat for a long time (songs like “Buttholeville” and much of Southern Rock Opera and The Dirty South especially). Making the Bettye LaVette album this year really influenced a lot of things we're doing right now also. (It was recorded in Muscle Shoals and is coming out 9/25 on Anti Records).

Describe one of your earliest music memories.

This dates me, but I remember the album cover to Magical Mystery Tour (I was 3). Neil Young's guitar harmonics on Buffalo Springfield's “For What It's Worth” (I was 4 and didn't know what that sound was, but I was in love with it). Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” when I was 5. My Dad is a musician, so I heard a lot of really cool music from a very early age.

What’s next for the band?

Our NYC shows for The Dirt Underneath will be the end of that tour. After that we'll be moving back to our fully electric tricks. The new album is being mixed as I answer this…It’s coming out in February.

Drive-By Truckers perform October 26 at Bowery Ballroom.

Watch Drive-By Truckers perform "Easy On Yourself."

and plugged in performing "Never Gonna Change."



Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Dr. Dog - Scott McMicken Interview

by Tina Whelski

Dr. Dog has its day with We All Belong, the imaginative follow up to Easy Beat. Working with better recording equipment allowed the Philadelphia band to unleash more layered vocal harmonies and textured instrumentation, giving songs bigger bark and a more dynamic sound. But upgrades presented Dr. Dog with a unique creative challenge: Songs initially sounded “too good.”

“We got all this new stuff and it was awesome,” says Scott McMicken (woof + mud distortion guitar and voice). “I certainly realized a bit into making the album that we were in a little over our heads. I think we had taken on too much at one time. So we started removing a lot of things and just pared down to using our new tape machine and the console for it and basically one microphone. It was weird. We stepped into the situation aware that it was a whole new phase for us in recording and I think that initially I turned off too many of my reference points for how to do what we’d always done. It was sort of a lesson to learn that a lot of the ways that we used to work, even though we were trying to make improvements on what we’d done in the past, were still really valid…It was definitely an awesome, challenging experience. We have always wanted to have more substantial recording equipment to just try out ideas.”

Working with 24 tracks felt infinite to the band against the mere 8 they used on previous records.

“There’s really no reason why we should ever have 24 tracks,” says McMicken. “It’s kind of like an endless amount of tracks.”

But once Dr. Dog figured out how to avoid going overboard and restored familiar attitudes about the process, the fun flowed.

“As a band, we’ve always loved what you can do with stacking up voices and that awesome feeling you get when you hear yourself in a harmonious relationship with some other singer or even against your own voice,” says McMicken. “Just that really weird, magical thrill you get when you put your own voice on top of itself. That unrealistic scenario that’s exciting to hear back in the speaker. We could also get different tones out of instruments. Double them. Take one part and make it come out of two instruments. That’s stuff we’ve always wanted to do.”

Traditionally Frank McElroy (multi-string guitar, full-grip chords, harmonies), Juston Stens (trapset and harmonies), Toby Leaman (finger bass, vocals), Zach Miller (organ) and McMicken take songs into the studio before learning them as a band. It just ends up being a little more exciting because no one’s necessarily attached to any particular part or sound.

“You can just start from scratch and allow these accidents to occur and sort of shape a sound of a song that you could have never particularly crafted ahead of time,” says McMicken.
McMicken initially pictured an old country ballad for “The Girl,” but the song wanted something different.

“It was just me and Frank in the studio and of all of us he’s probably the one who’s least savvy with how to run things on the board,” says McMicken, “which is good because he stays pretty objective as a listener. He always has really great insights and perspective because he’s not there to think about turning things on and getting the EQ straight and stuff. But he was forced to run the board while I was on the other side of the room to do piano and he mistakenly turned the mic on with the volume completely cranked. So I hit one note on the piano and it just nearly blew the back of my skull out. It was this really distorted sound. At first I just screamed and ripped the headphones off, but then I was like, ‘Just leave it like that and we’ll just turn it down in the headphones so I can survive this.’ We wound up with that really heavy sound you hear. Like I said, from that mistake, it completely shaped the fate of that song. So that’s one of the most fun things about the studio is you can go there with really no sense of what’s going to happen and wind up with these treats. These things that just present themselves to you, as opposed to you having to feel so connected to every idea that you come up with.”

Watch Dr. Dog perform "My Old Ways."



and "The Girl."



and "Ain't It Strange."



Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.

Jason Isbell - Interview

Drive-By Truckers’ Jason Isbell leaves the band after six years to hit the road with his debut solo album, Sirens Of The Ditch, but he doesn’t leave his former band mates or influences too far behind. The record was co-produced by DBT’s Patterson Hood and musicians appearing on it include Hood and his father David Hood, DBT’s Shonna Tucker (bass), Brad Morgan (drums), Spooner Oldham, John Neff and others. Recorded over the past four years at FAME Studios in Isbell’s Muscle Shoals, Alabama hometown, Sirens Of The Ditch draws on the region’s infamous soul roots and incorporates elements of rock and blues into a heartfelt mix of songs that favor piano and pedal steel over buzzing guitars. Jason Isbell talked to me about Sirens Of The Ditch.

You had been a Drive-By Truckers front man for the past six years. Can you talk about your thinking going into Sirens Of The Ditch?

It was important for me to make an album that sounded different from the Drive-By Truckers' work, but I also wanted to stay true to the spirit of what we were doing in that band. We always tried to be honest with our audience. We tried to write about the things we knew on a personal basis, and that gave our work a southern accent. I feel like I have the same job now. I just work with different people.

Will you talk about some new songs, what you're writing about lyrically?

Since this record has been finished, I've been writing songs that are a bit more introspective. I feel like "Dress Blues" dealt with the outside world about as well as anything I've written, and there's been a lot of change in my life this year, so lately I'm focusing on my personal battles. I still have room in these songs for my family, and anything that makes for a good story is fair game, but I have a lot to think about these days. I write songs primarily to show myself how I feel.

How about a song on the record musically?

Musically I'm very fond of “Chicago Promenade'.” I think the simplicity of the chord progression and the movement in the rhythm section fits very well with the lyric. Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) helped a lot on that one by suggesting that the drums be in half time when they entered the song. That really added an emotional angle that a straight 4/4 beat wouldn't have accomplished. The layered guitars on the outro also give me a really good feeling.

This record was a few years in the making and was influenced by your life growing up in Alabama and the Muscle Shoals sound. Will you describe that musical background?

I was heavily influenced by players like David Hood, Spooner Oldham, Scott Boyer, Mike Dillon, and Kelvin Holly when I was a teenager. These guys were very open to the new generation of Muscle Shoals musicians, and they told a lot of stories. To me, their presence and character were more important than even the music they'd made in the past. Obviously I love many of the recordings that came out of my hometown, but knowing these people on a personal level taught me a great deal about spending your life in this world.

Jason Isbell plays Bowery Ballroom on October 10.

Watch Jason perform "Dress Blues."



Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly.