Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf

Interviewer: Eric Rankin
Interviewee: Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf

ER: First of all, is the band’s name taken from the Jack London book, or do you just like the words “Sea” and “Wolf” together?

ABC: Yes, it’s taken from the book. But I also like those words together.

ER: Although many of the lyrics in your songs seem to be in narrative form, how much of it is autobiographical?

ABC: Depends on the song. Some songs aren’t at all, others are. Most of the songs have a lot of my personal experiences in them, even if the whole song isn’t entirely autobiographical.

ER: How has the road leading up to now been for Sea Wolf? Is the release of Leaves in the River a big step for you?

ABC: Yes, it’s a huge step. It’s been a long road indeed. I wrote the first Sea Wolf song 6 years ago, and Sea Wolf became Sea Wolf 4 years ago. It took a long time to develop it into what it is now. So it feels pretty good to finally have it out there.

ER: The percussion on most of the songs on Leaves in the River is pretty sparse (which i personally find refreshing), how did this approach come about? How much of a role did the producer (Phil Ek) play in the overall sound of the album?

ABC: Not sure how the percussion wound up sparse. To be honest I never really thought about it. I guess I don’t think about percussion too much. Phil produced the vocals and a couple little things here and there. I think the vocals are the most important part, so I’d say that while Phil’s role was relatively small, it was crucial.

ER: You make references to nature throughout the album. Do you find it easiest to express yourself in the context of water, leaves, animals, and the like?

ABC: Not necessarily. I think this record symbolized a return to my roots. I lived in the country as a kid, and nature was a big part of my life then. So I guess that’s where that came from. But I don’t know if I’ll necessarily keep up those themes in the future.

ER: What does your songwriting process involve? Do you consider the possibility of orchestration during the initial development?

ABC: It usually starts with some chords on the guitar and a melody. I do think about other instruments a lot of the time, but not always.

ER: There seems to be a sense of fairytale story-telling on a few songs (such as “Leaves in the River” and “You’re A Wolf”). Where did the influence for these kind of lyrics come from?

ABC: Well, I don’t know if fairytale is quite the best description as that implies some sort of magical mysticism, which I don’t subscribe to at all. Leaves in the River is 100% true, so that’s how that happened, and You’re a Wolf melodically didn’t lend itself to a kind of storytelling song with a lot of words, so that one had to be more repetitive and metaphorical as you can say a lot more with fewer words that way. Mostly the lyrics come from wherever I am at the moment I write the song, and what the song requires.

ER: I remember a few years ago I saw Sea Wolf at Spaceland and I thought to myself that your musicianship couldn’t be any better. Do you strive to sound as much as possible live as you do on your album?

ABC: Yes and no. First we strive to make it sound like the record, then we figure out how to make it a have more impact in a live setting, which often requires some embellishment.

ER: You mention wolves, tigers, and crickets throughout your songs on Leaves in the River, what is your favorite animal, and if not a wolf, why not?

ABC: Come on. You know it’s the wolf.

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To start off, I would like to congratulate you guys on the release of Boxer, which I can already tell is going to be at the top of everyone’s list for album of the year.

(Eric Rankin, Interviewer) The orchestration on Boxer is one of the stand out characteristics of the album. How did Padma Newsome end up working with you guys?

(Matt Berninger, Lead Singer of The National) We’ve worked with Padma since Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers. He’s also in Bryce’s other group Clogs. On Boxer, Padma was brought into the process earlier than on the other records and his contributions were much more thought through. We wanted to make sure the orchestration was more than just supportive. We wanted every instrument to be heard and have a voice and purpose, not just be there for ornamentation.

(ER) The lyrics throughout Boxer have a literary quality that ties the album together. Are there any authors that have influenced your writing style?

(MB) While working on Boxer I kept going back to Grace Paley’s short story collection “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute.” I had also been reading a lot of Jonathan Ames at the time. I sometimes steal tricks and turns of phrase from things I’m reading but I probably borrow as much from movies and TV as I do from literature.

(ER) As a kid I had always wished that my brother played an instrument so that we could start a little family band. The National have the peculiar factor of having two sets of brothers in the band. How does this affect the songwriting and relationship among band members?

(MB) Those guys have been playing together since they were kids so they have a good synergy and the fact that no one person is in charge allows us to tear songs apart without anyone’s ego getting bruised. its all very collaborative.

(ER) How was the band formed?

(MB) We all ended up in New York about 12 years ago for different reasons; school, work, etc. About seven years ago we started getting together on weekends and after work and recording little song sketches on a four track. We did that for a long time until we decided we might as well put some of these together for a record. Things evolved very slowly. We never expected to get to where we are now. It was always just some thing we did on the side as a means of escape.

(ER) What is the writing process involve? Are lyrics and music written completely separate from eachother?

(MB) They pass along simple music ideas that I listen to over and over on my headphones and write lyrics to. We pass stuff back and forth for a while then start building and arranging the sketches we’re all most excited about. It’s a gradual process.

(ER) What’s your relationship with Beggars Banquet like?

They’re great. They let us do what we want.

(ER) Sufjan Stevens’ piano playing seamlessly entered in to Ada and Racing like a Pro. What was the chemistry like between the band and Sufjan?

(MB) Bryce has toured with Sufjan so they’ve known each other for a while. He lives in the neighborhood and just came over one day to play a little on a few songs. It was a very casual collaboration.

(ER) Is there a message you’re trying to drive home with Boxer?

(MB) Not at all. I’m not exactly sure what some of it’s about.

(ER) Was there a moment in your life that inspired you to dedicate yourself to music? What keeps you going?

(MB) I sorta fell into it by accident and luck. I can’t play any instruments so Scott asked me if I wanted to sing.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. I’m sure this interview will be appreciated by your fans, and hopefully create quite a few new ones.

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      On their third full-length, we find a band who has harnessed a blindingly wide-open sound and wrangled it into focus. The Swedish duo responsible for quietly making some very loud music is back with a new label, a new record, and a full head of steam. After a change to Startracks for their homeland operations, the pieces all fell together and At The Ballroom was born to the world as pearl eyed and wistful as anything they’ve put out in their 11 year career.

      This is no update of sound to catch up with every electro’d indie-popped blog gem. This is the album that defines and cements a band’s footing in the musical landscape. A claim is staked and a plot of land is reserved for Ola Frick and Carina Johansson as At the Ballroom ticks away track after track. Where 2004’s The Orange Billboard gained the pair some well-named mentions and subsequent stateside spins, At The Ballroom-bulging with ideas and craftiness- pops its buttons and moves a size up with relentless energy and a steady stream of accomplished songcraft.

      The Moonbabies rule over a vast empire of sound is evident from the moment you hit play. Their take on pop is unique, but grounded and worlds apart from the connotations that spring up at the mention of a musical twosome. The pair saw a major jump in productivity and confidence between the aforementioned Billboard and At The Ballroom as Frick explains to One Times One via e-mail, “With The Orange Billboard recording sessions we wrote and recorded around 100 songs, compared to this one where we only wrote and recorded around 14-15 songs, 11 of them turned up on the album. It was much easier for us to reach the goal faster, we’re still perfectionists, but this time things fell to the right place easier.”

      Surely this perfection doesn’t come without restraint. As a two-some who play all of their own instruments and only bring in ringers to tour, their sonic pileups never seem forced, in fact, it rarely feels like they’ve had to tinker with their blue prints much at all. As one would guess, this couldn’t be further from the truth and the variations are enough to make even slight fans of this band want to break into their vaults. “Carina on lead vocals, me on lead vocal, Lo-Fi version, Slow version, Heavy version, Dance version…tons of alternate versions, sometimes too good to be unreleased. There are hundreds of versions.”

      With strong hands on the editing suite, The Moonbabies make light work of keeping their nuts and bolts well concealed. Through four strong releases they’ve kept their strand of the pop molecule completely relative to itself, separating cream from crop with rigid discrimination. “We’ve killed so many songs in the studio which were perfectly good or great songs, but somehow they tend to get less interesting by each listening.” Frick says. “Carina recently said, jokingly, in an interview that if a song can’t handle 1000 listens in the studio we throw it in the trashcan.” With this type of self-scrutiny there’s no room left to wonder why you always get the same breathtaking experience song after song.

      The vocals are ever-airy regardless of who is behind the mic and a continually lazy (hammock lazy, never a victim of the couch) haze floats upon them playing perfect peacemaker between their uppity beats and somber reprieves.

      The Moonbabies big step forward is pressed into finality with a lyrical completion that is a welcomed progression for the pair. Melody was something that seemed to be born into this band from the get go, but as far as a wider appeal, a place where their pop can be heard as pop without explanation, it is the disc’s crowning achievement. There is a confidence that dominates the vocals here, the pieces fit together so perfectly that they dominate the landscape. By the time Frick says, “The Ballroom is filled with broken glass/A couple of pieces left/ But if you get lost along the way/ I know you just ran out of luck” he’s just painting away at the last few bare pieces of the canvas. “Dancing In The Sky” closes the doors on The Ballroom with a reflective luster that makes starting the whole thing over again seem obvious if not unavoidable.

      Revelations make for great pop songs. Frick’s, “I just found myself in ways I couldn’t help,” on the lead single, “War On Sound,” is convincing. You understand things about understanding, viewing the process of feeling through eyes almost as familiar as your own. Ironically, that kind of moment making is one part happenstance and possibly one part translation. “It’s funny you mention that line,” he says, “Because I’m still not sure what it means. Or actually I think I do know what I mean. The chorus of the song was written instantly. Lyrics, music, and everything and I haven’t changed a thing. But I like those kinds of lyrics myself, to me all good pop songs need some kind of mystic.”

      The sweeping standout cut, “Cocobelle” is aged with strings and a great drum pound that meets a blippy keyboard grind and airy vocal to swell up in modern Spectoristic bliss. The short and sweet cut falls in line between an upbeat left-of-center Johannson vocal workout and a somber instrumental bridge revealing a versatility that has been with The Moonbabies from the beginning. Trying to hear this record through virgin ears is a testament to the masterful selection and placement of its tracks. At The Ballroom keeps short attention spans in check with a variety that lets you get comfortable just long enough to make you piece together your thoughts before they evolve again.

      Where The Orange Billboard was a sensational album full of life and luster for those who got their hands on it, At The Ballroom finds accessibility without an ounce of compromise. It’s more that The Moonbabies just needed to distill and bottle what had been there from the beginning rather than changing their tune as so many bands do. Their brand of mind blowing-popism hasn’t made a huge jump in sound from their first to their newest, but the subtle maturity of song and craft has been on their heels the whole time. With The Moonbabies At The Ballroom, Ola Frick and Carina Johannsen were finally able to get one step ahead of it.

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What sort of transition has there been from working with Kill Rock Stars to working with Capitol? Was there an added element of pressure approaching this album in a new situation?

Really the transition seemed very smooth. Capitol was very hands off during the recording process, they gave us our budget and we chose the studio, producers, and recording schedule ourselves. There was definitely more pressure in the making of this record, not so much because of the label but because it was a follow-up to Picaresque which we all were very proud of. We knew that with Capitol behind us we were going to reach a larger audience and we didn’t want to disappoint new listeners or old fans. We always want to make the next record to be better than the last one.

It seems pretty clear that a big label can do more in specific senses for a band than an independent, is there anything Capitol can’t do in comparison to Kill Rock Stars?

Capitol is a large company compared to KRS, so in some ways it is hard to know if everyone at the company is behind our record. I think in Capitol’s instance they are and everyone has been very supportive but with KRS we were in direct contact with everyone at the label and there was a real sense of community and friendship. I also think that music fans will seek out bands on a label like KRS and check out whatever is new from them because they trust their tastes. That can’t be true with a major since they have so many different kinds of artists represented.

From early on there has always been a healthy rapport between your band and your fans- was there any backlash, if we can call it that, when you signed?

There were a few people on our message board who exclaimed that we had sold out and were becoming corporate but I think with the making of The Crane Wife most people have realized that we just made another Decemberists record and did not change our aesthetic to fit in with the label.

What are The Decemberists aiming to achieve with this record?

We just wanted to make a great Decemberists record. With our larger budget we wanted to be able to experiment a little and play with the album format and put in the longer songs, etc.

Was the choice to bring Chris Walla back into the studio again a fairly obvious one for you all?

We love working with Chris. He has a great energy and loves to experiment in the studio. He is great at recording and mixing analog (which format we chose for this record).

At what point did Tucker Martine enter the picture too? Are you two connected via Laura Viers or had you known each other for some time prior?

We all loved what Tucker had done in the past, and since Chris Walla wasn’t going to be able to be in the studio the entire time we were excited to bring him on board. Chris and Tucker work very well together and brought very different things to the table. We have known Laura for a few years, she has opened some shows for us and Colin did a solo tour with her last year. I had first heard of Tucker through her but other people had been into his past work with Bill Frisell and Eyvan Kang.

How did you find working with both Tucker and Chris together?

They were great. Chris is the more high energy guy always trying new mic techniques and recording ideas. Tucker is so experienced and is great at getting good sounds out of instruments, helping us clean up arrangements and keeping all the parts locking together (keeping good tempos… he is a drummer you know.) They both are great at mixing as well.

The workspace itself was a bit different for The Crane Wife than it was for Picaresque, how did this play into the sessions?

We realized after recording Picaresque that recording in a church is less than ideal. We wanted a studio with some isolation so we could record more than one track at once. It was also important for us to have the control room isolated to we could discuss ideas while the recording was going on. It was much more comfortable and since we were in there for almost 2 months that was very important. They had a beautiful grand piano as well which made me very happy!

As would be expected, The Decemberists have gone from playing in some very small places to playing some much larger spaces. Would you rather be playing to 200 people or 2000?

It’s been crazy seeing how this band has grown in such a short time. I love all the different rooms. Sometimes we play the best in the small rooms. Now our set-up is somewhat complicated and the small stages don’t work as well (Hammond Organ, Cello, etc.) I like a nice medium size room with an ample stage but it is not so bad that the sound is too boomy or you feel disconnected with the audience.

What have you been doing to gear up for this tour?

We had a week or rehearsals before we left to practice with our new in-ear monitor system and get our new touring member Lisa Molinaro up to speed on the songs. We also needed a little brushing up on the songs since we finished recording the record in May. While we are on the road we try to get out and see the towns we are in as much as possible. Nate, John, and I brought bikes along, which is a fun way to spend the day after being stuck in the bus.

What is down time like for the band? Does everyone hang out or hibernate and then regroup?

We all sort of hibernate and go back to our hidee-holes. We all have houses and families to attend to. We definitely see each other while we are not touring but we don’t live together or anything.

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In this feature Joel Armato reviews the re-release of Hello, Dear Wind and interviews Michael Nau of Page France.

      The story of Hello, Dear Wind is just beginning to unfold. It is a rousing tale of two coasts, good friends, and a school of amorous water dwellers. What began in Maryland after the record’s author was bitten by a horny fish in the throes of passion and ended in Washington State with a CD about to release for the second time only brings us up to speed and familiarity. Still then, it should come as no surprise that an album packed full of songs overflowing with life, color, and imagination would warrant a re-release; the stories in the songs themselves take more than one listen to understand too.

      What started with Baltimore lake swimmer and songwriter Michael Nau and a handful of demos has blossomed into the soulful folkfest of acoustic strumming and tambourine jangles known simply as Page France. A whirlwind on plastic, their sophomore effort’s picturesque storytelling regale shimmers brightly with the rattling surprise of a John Darnielle line and the jaunty freedoms of The Arcade Fire or Polyphonic Spree. Combustive melody and layers of harmony bind together and float with the whimsical, yet emotive pairing of Nau and his swooning counterpart Whitney Mcgraw. Sometimes hyper, sometimes solemn, but thoughtful through and through, Nau sings to people, deities, and animals alike as his Piper-ish march crosses a kaleidoscopic foreground while his troupe’s lush backing tacks on mile after mile.

      While they occasionally trip the lights apocalyptic, Page France’s quintet move through the jubilant Hello roster in a flurry of major chords that ring triumphantly, aiding and abetting the introspect evoked when minors are enlisted. At the outset this platter seems to live in a majestic celebration of momentous crescendo, but some of the lyrics may suggest that parts of this world are a chaotic opposite. Somewhere right around the center of this album is a theme that runs like veins from the first track to the last. What is never mentioned in Page France press material, but spoken of so often in media reviews is the amount of religious imagery flowing through this body of work. Nau’s flakey voice is peppered over songs that specifically and symbolically cite age old Sunday School tales all the while stretching the range of outward praise and seeming despair. While it is easy to focus on all of the theological allusion and Sufjan Stevens comparisons, the heart of this album actually lays a few steps off of the commonly beaten path. “It had a lot to do with the time and place of that record,” Nau remarks via e-mail. “I wasn’t certain of anything, and I was younger than ever, trying harder to figure it all out. There was this dualist battle going on between my physical and spiritual and I was curious about it all. I didn’t know what it was. A lot of people perceive the record to be leaning to a side, but I never intended it to. I wrote that record from a state of most uncertainty.”

      The opener, “Chariot” inches out slowly from the gate, filling in on top of itself before breaking open into a frolicking chant of conclusive request. With chiming xylophone taps and lyrics that inform as much as they request, playing catch up is a necessity not realized until it is too late. Driven by a bass drum that pops itself into a marching snare, the song shifts and meets Mcgraw in the middle who is waiting to carry out Nau’s requisitive call. The maiden track ushers in a standing room only album full of barbs and roses, each looking to be understood in their fated path. Met with its kindred bookend, the disc closing “Feather,” the former seems to boil with optimism in its resolute cause, while its cohort is more somber, showing a knowledged growth in our orator as he looks to have had his request appeased and is now employed by those called upon in his original appeal.

      Working now from the inside out, we find on the rest of the record songs of exposition and exploration; a plenary link between Nau’s call for lenience in ”Goodness” and his loving attachment in the latter stanza of “Dogs.” Page France’s collective self-production talents add salt to the sea of words that Nau’s tides are washed in from. Wind is a topic, as are feathers, a wrecking ball and a circus ringleader. The whole adventure manages to get your head nodding and foot tapping as its topics teeter on the outer rim of eternal ascension. Among recurring reference to angels, the songsmith himself even takes the voice of one or two along the way.

      That’s not to say that Nau is obsessed with death, he hardly touches the stuff, its more along the lines of a curiosity in the mechanics of finalizing events. Interestingly enough as lucid as lyrics like, “Turn the vessel upside down/ Let us swim or let us drown,” or “Circus Composer could you write this all down?/ You let us get closer/ You let us be found,“ sound, Nau’s true intention seems to have been the reverse. “I didn’t want there to be much certainty in that album and that is something that I may have done a poor job on. Perhaps I made myself sound a bit more sure than I actually was. We wanted to create an organic sound of stress and wonderment by using toys and playful words. It came out sounding more free than stressed. I can’t really figure it out.” Whether these are mentions of the rapture or everyday struggles magnified by alliteration is a paradox that makes the record intricately beautiful. Nau is able to bounce between statements that are distinctly cryptic and utterly matter-of-fact with an effortless delivery that seems as natural as everyday conversation.

      In all, Hello is an enthralling ride through the mind of its curator. It may be easy to concentrate on the wonderfully raucous moments of this record, but in reality it is mostly comprised of mid-tempo confessionals. These are the songs where Nau’s prowess shines through. His rotating first person voice and changes in angle breathe lung-fulls of sentiment and raw understanding into Hello. When he says, “I’m as heavy as a feather…Halleluiah,” all supposition is curbed long enough for him to be felt simply as an artist, which doesn’t seem like too much to ask. For Nau, the album seems less about sacramental content and more about finding truth in the answers that he thinks he has. “It eventually has to wear you out, you know? Initially, I was a bit discouraged by how much of the focus was upon those topics. I felt, and still do feel, that the record has a lot more to offer.”

      A rallying ally, Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze Records appear to agree. The indie launch pad is set to re-issue the disc almost a year to the day after its original release. Suicide Squeeze should offer wider distribution and the plucking of a few more strings on the band’s behalf than their hometown champion, Fall Records. Although the events seem to have happened quite quickly, Nau says the band is taking it all in stride, “The hop to Squeeze just felt like the natural next step to take. It’s great to know that the record, and forthcoming records, will be easier to find. We’re thrilled to be working with Suicide Squeeze, and are overjoyed about the forthcomings.” The band hits the road this week for a three month US tour starting where we did, in Baltimore, before jutting West with the endlessly interesting Anthallo on a spree that swings itself to an Easterly end in early December.

      With a double-EP set available now through Fall Records all those discovering Page France for the first time with Hello, Dear Wind’s re-release will have plenty to seek out once the record makes its splash. While the EP’s contain some material that predates the first edition of the album in focus here, nothing will end up on their new record, which Nau says is very near completion. His insights give the EP’s an added bit of intrigue insofar as their difference to the Hello material, “Those EP’s were made up of a lot of backlogged material. Those songs are just not us. We just wanted to do something different, and we felt that an EP would enable a sense of ballsyness, sonically and musically speaking. It was really just something that we needed to do before moving forward.” Chances are Page France will be rolling through one of your neighboring towns between now and Christmas in support of their supplemental release. With a bounty of material that will make Wise Men beam and blush, the Page France circus tent will erupt in song and surprise.

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      Carey Ott has a quality that no amount of marketing could embellish or hide. He is a hard working musician that lets his music do all the talking. His songs have a way of sounding familiar and inventive while at the same time reaching listeners with substance, not lumping them in the head with form. Through a combination of feeling, voice, and the sounds that magnify these talents Ott fills an indie-pop canvas with different shades of some well used colors. Lucid Dream, his solo debut is set to release on the historically country-fried Dualtone label and while his sound is just about anything but honky tonkin’, they think he’s worth the chance.

      Talented where it’s most important, Ott is as convincing a songwriter as he is a singer which is a duality in minority among many of his peers. The subtleties hidden in the record’s production give many of the tracks a complexity that is not overbearing to the lay listener while satisfying the most hardened buffs. Most four minute songs don’t demand this much attention. Where many modern pop contingents would abhor a slide guitar sight unseen, Ott uses it tastefully as a driving force, but only where it fits. Lucid Dream is not a repetitious highlight reel of what’s been successful for other people lately, it is the culmination of an artist’s ambition.

      Ott, formerly of reveled Chicago band Torben Floor, has seen his share of doors opening and doors closing. The alt-rockers were courted by labels and even recorded songs for Atlantic Records, only to be passed on and sent back to the pool of artists on the brink. Understandably, the experience has left him less than optimistic about the business side of being a musician. As his album nears release on a Grammy winning record label with a song featured on ABC’s primetime hit, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ott speaks skeptically about his current position in the industry, “This is a hard game with a lot of pitfalls and competition and sharks. I’m only beginning to comprehend the difficulties involved with being an artist for hire…I’m learning to not have expectations in this business.”

      This view may have influenced his choice in fellow workers on Lucid Dream. Co-produced alongside of longtime collaborator Ed Tinley and the highly talented Ray Kennedy (Ron Sexsmith, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams), Ott confesses, “There were three cooks in that kitchen.” Although the artifact speaks for itself, his recollection of their time together is positive. “It was valuable. I have worked with Tinley for years and I had no idea what to expect from Ray, so I wanted to have a close ally with me that appreciated my own vision for the record. Ray got it though and it turned into a great collaboration between the three of us.”

      The sound of Lucid Dream is reminiscent of the more intricate pop stylings of the Actual Tigers or Wilco and while Carey Ott rubs elbows as much with Sondre Lerche as he does with David Gray, his ability to be both concise and meaningful borrows from the best parts of those he is mentioned alongside. Critics many times over have praised Ott’s catchy use of melody, which is a great start, but where he really wins the prize is in his immediate familiarity. These songs, and it is a great group of songs, seem like you’ve heard them somewhere right out of the gate. He is the kind of artist that stays on the tip of your tongue, you relate and assign his sound to moments or periods and are enriched by it in the process.

      The balance between good music and good sound is often buried under the weight that the combination bears. Between Ott’s experience and counterpart producers the scale seems to level. “I’d recorded and produced on my own for over 10 years when Lucid came around, so I had strong ideas about what makes a good production. Ed taught me a lot about understatement. Ray is a master engineer.” The fruits of their labor are brimming with possibility: “Virginia” is a AAA shoe in, while “You Got Love” and “Daylight” are campus anthems. On the other side of the coin, “Mother Madam” and “Sunbathing” are sandal wearing, acoustic goodbyes to summer. The first four tracks alone would make great singles across as many radio platforms.

      Commercially, what is most attractive about the music on Lucid Dream is the fact that the songs offer a variety suited for many degrees of pop success. With that being said, what is most remarkable is that it all seems effortless, natural, and sounds great. Throughout the record Ott is connected, but never over affected. He doesn’t have to bleed on his guitar to convince you that he is sincere, but on the same note he’s not blowing a mic full of hot air. The thoughtfulness in what he sings is paired with the ability to sound good doing it, resulting in a record that you can connect with differently over many listens. Many artists seem to excel in only one of those areas and compensate through gimmicks and distraction to cover the rest. These aren’t songs that live and die by the hook; they’ve already got you by the time the chorus hits.

      While he is undoubtedly gaining speed as a solo artist, his ambition and forward thinking guarantee at least a good fight, should all else fail: “There are always things I hear, production quirks or whatever, that “professionals” sometimes discredit. Like bizarre hums or Casio strings or an airplane flying overhead. Random sounds that I want to incorporate into a production. I hate all of the arbitrary ‘rules’ of the studio. Bullshit. That’s why I plan to produce my own record next time.” From its lush, sweeping arrangements to its gritty rockers, Lucid Dream should be a pleasant surprise to many in 2006 and the year approaching. If Dualtone doesn’t get just what they want out of this trip into the pop music world Carey Ott isn’t the kind of guy to let it slow him down.

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      Nine Black Alps: with a name borrowed from a Sylvia Plath poem, you’d expect some dark, soul-searching pondering best suited for a dark corner with a Smiths album. But, to my pleasant surprise, the boys from the Alps are not only clever and engaging, but also make some rather kickass rock music. And they “don’t wear eyeliner.” I recently spoke through email with the band.

Interviewer: Emily Tartanella

How did you form as a band?

We met in a bar in Manchester where after a couple of hours discussing the sorry state of modern musical trends we decided to form a band playing only the kind of music we like.

You’ve often been branded with a “nu-grunge” tag, and compared with bands like Nirvana. Is this justified in your opinion?

Maybe. Bands like Nirvana and Pixies were the last ones who actually combined volume with melody without being cheesy so if we’re compared for those reasons as opposed to any fashion stylings or revival theories then that’s cool by me.

What was it like supporting Weezer on their August tour?

Cool, it was great being able to see them for free every night, I’d never seen the songs off Pinkerton done live before so that was some kind of ambition realised.

Do you ever feel at odds with the current “New Britpop” scene (i.e. the Kaiser Chiefs)?

Yes, I think the only thing we have in common with those bands is geography, plus we don’t pay any attention to what’s cool. So if we don’t fit in with what’s tasteful then we’ve done well.

How do you expect the American audience to connect with your album? Are you pleased with the British response?

I’m not sure what to expect from American audiences. Again we don’t really fit in with the popular forms of ‘indie’ or ‘rock’ so we might fall by the wayside cos we haven’t yet worn eyeliner in our videos. The British response has been cool because we get to play big venues without having to change our approach from when we first formed.

What do you do when you’re not on tour?

Write songs. Play guitar. Try and sleep sometimes.

What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

Bought our record.

What are some of your ‘desert island discs’?

Beatles white album. The Muffs Really Really Happy. The Breeders Last Splash. Everly Brothers Golden Hits. Neil Young After the Goldrush.

In your press release, you’re extremely self-deprecating, even in regards to your songs. Are you proud of Everything Is?

No! pride is the downfall of modern man.

Are you thinking about your next album?

Constantly. Already written way too many songs. So am now way too confused to even begin to think sensibly about it.

Is there anything you would like our readers to know about Nine Black Alps?

That we love cash and gifts and animals and trees and mountains and sunshine and all kinds of stuff.

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      Comparison is the new Explanation, or so it goes in the world of pop culture 2000 and beyond. To achieve Good (i.e. approval) resemblance to two or more variables already deemed Good is the only requirement. When factoring in a new band to one’s already keen musical sense, one merely needs to ask themself, “Do I like this Good thing and that Good thing?” If the answer is affirmative, then the new band is a must have. It’s so simple and easy to use too!

     All socio-psycho arithmetic aside, there’s this cool band from Brighton, England and they sound just like……ah bollocks!

     When Ian Parton began splitting time between making archeology documentaries and tinkering with a sampler in his bedroom, he didn’t exactly have his current mode of operation in mind. To bring you up to speed: Ian made a few songs, John Peel played one a few times, some people liked it, Zane Lowe played more, and Ian was asked to play Swedish music festival-Accelerator. Ian needed a band. “It came together pretty quickly because I had a deadline. At first it was assembled just for this {Accelerator}, but when we got home we got more offers and before long we were playing SXSW and Japan and stuff.” Somewhere shortly after the Go! Team played Japan and stuff, the demand for their music began to grow and by late 2004 the debut album was released in the UK. After some issues with sample clearance in the US, the record, Thunder, Lightning, Strike was finally issued and gobbled up by American fans with a buzz in their ears.

      In realtime, the band has just concluded a US tour, wrapping things up with a show at New York’s Webster Hall and is currently making a go! of the rest of the free world with shows in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, and a handful of England’s famous football towns. Ian and live show visualist Bob Jaroc have done a not-so-archeological documentary on the band and Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) is working on a Go! Team remix.

     Not a bad turn of events when you consider Parton’s promotional platform, “I ain’t much of a self promoter so I just let the music go out there and see what happens. It had pretty good reviews right from the start and because we’re on a small label with no advertising budget it was a gradual word of mouth thing, which is what I love. I kinda think if something’s alright people will hear it somehow.” With a year in between the record’s release in two national markets, a considerable amount of talking, blogging, and downloading occurred. The delay of the stateside release provided time for two additional songs to see inclusion on the record and, much to Parton’s surprise, the whole thing was met with a grand reception. “It seems to have struck a chord. It has kinda happened by accident, we certainly didn’t set out to break America, but the music traveled on its own.”

     This brings us back to the equation. As word moved swiftly across the internet after the UK release, many American music fans were first introduced to the Go! Team by reading what kind of head on collision would have to occur to otherwise produce similar noise. The big deal behind this music, however, is not in the story, but rather the craft. With many of the songs completed in Parton’s bedroom before he even had band mates, the over-attenuated, full sound is the result of his use of tweaked samples and live instrumentation. “I’ve always been interested in how you can change a sample by playing different chords and other instruments over the top. I never wanted to just loop a few seconds from someone else’s song and call it mine, for its all about the contrast between stuff- how you can fuck around with it to give new life to something forgotten.”

     For these “forgotten somethings,” Ian turned to his youth. “There is no single band that I looked to for inspiration, it was more a bunch of things that I wanted to ram together and hopefully make something new- all of the things I have loved for years like 60’s girl groups, Sonic Youth, car chase horns, double dutch chants, Bollywood.” The source material serves as a pretty good description of the Go! Team’s music: Infectiously upbeat, while purposely a bit rough around the edges. Experiencing one of their songs is like being caught in a beat driven chain of shuttle launches.

     The beauty of these tunes is the absolute absence of repetition. With each head nodding, drum pounding number copious amounts of versatility are put on display. The Go! Team is not just playing over jangled samples; some songs are closer to old school hip-hop while others pit horns against guitar in a bout for supremacy. Effects, chants, and cheers take the listener through scumbag cop chases, jump rope sessions, and halftime shows all the while keeping everything sounding like a party. Vocal samples are routed around the rhyme stylings of Ninja, the exuberant female MC whose stage presence brings an ounce of interactivity to the Team. With an adaptable delivery that switches from the party folly on “Bottle Rocket” to the explosive, way too short bars of “The Power is On,” Ninja’s fit to this music is pretty much like any other element of it, unexpected but effective all the same.

     “It’s all about trial and error,” Parton says on the subject of writing Go! Team songs. “Remembering samples and melodies I’ve written and sticking them next to each other until it feels like a song. When the song is locked down I stick a whole bunch of live instruments over the top.” The band was given co-production credits for Thunder, Lightning, Strike alongside Ian’s brother, ever busy producer Garth Parton. “It’s actually me in the mixing stage,” Ian continues. “I have a pretty strong idea what it should sound like, which basically involves fucking everything up- distorting it, compressing it, slamming it to tape. There’s never anyone breathing down our neck to clean it up, in fact Memphis Industries (the band’s UK label) actually once told me to go back and make it dirtier.”

     As media coverage continues and the band is projected into spotlights of varying degrees and difficulties, they keep their effer-lauded live show rolling across the globe. With a setup that includes two drum kits, constant instrument swapping, and Ninja’s crowd- including antics, it is hard to stay still at a Go! Team show for very long. The band is still evolving their show, featuring the inclusion of background singers and the occasional gaggle of neighborhood kids at select gigs. As the record may imply, there is never a dull moment with the Go! Team.

     The touring year will bring the Brighton crew back to the states in the spring, which is terrain that Parton seems to enjoy, “It’s pretty surreal,” he explains, “You wake up in a totally alien place every morning and it’s kind of addictive because you don’t know what the next gig will be like. Everything’s an unknown. US crowds are good and they whoop more.”

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 The underbelly is alright.

      The time-honored art of nomadic wandering is one not celebrated too heavily in recent time and memory. Luckily, this is more virtue than shortcoming; for once you look deep into the eyes of a true drifter those old hobo feelings rush right back. Run around the country and get on by any means necessary, surely this is a place where true music comes from. “I lied, I cheated, I stole, and then I wrote about it. It’s a bit more glamorous now. Just ask my band.” James Apollo, a hardened character who has seemingly been on the road since the age of sixteen, speaks with a voice universal to all ideals of searching, adventuring, and conformity dodging. “Wherever I am in life, the core values of being a cheap, lowdown tumbleweed are probably going to prevail.”

      There is no need to put a label on his music. When you hear it, you know where it lives and you’re sitting nervously in it’s apartment, “Texas we ain’t see you cry since 1836 / The part of you that’s born to die is still the part I miss,” and this is just the first line of the album. Without asking and only by taking, Apollo’s license to speak on any subject (geographic or far headier) is a testament to his travels. He’s been there and he’s here to tell you all about it.

      It’s massively difficult to picture one shiny object in Apollo’s road case. Polish would be swallowed by grit and covered in the dust kicked up by any tune on Good Grief, Apollo’s second full length for Aquarium Records. If the James gang were assembled on stage in an appropriately seedy saloon, they would most likely be the background to far seedier business in the fore. It’s all very John Sayles in a Lone Star kind of way. Perhaps it is all of this troubadour lore that completes the James Apollo picture. Rather than particularly heroic musicians he points to life on the road as prime inspiration, “I listened to angry youthful punk and whatnot; I also listened to a lot of old jazz and blues. I would say that sleeping under the stars in the desert or getting the van searched at 4am in the Panhandle played a much bigger role in the music I’m making today.”

      His voice howls in a manner subsequent to the rest of the room around him. Among the instruments wailing behind, Apollo’s projection still bounces off the walls and comes back through the microphone. Occasional croons break the heart in a different way than the dry, matter of fact growl covering the rest of the tracks. The guy can sing about love without an ounce of sap and make you believe he’s tough as nails if not immune. Some of the tracks on Good Grief, “Three Birds,” “Dead Men Weigh More,“ “Neko,” and “Good Grief,” seem to have been written while peering through a crack in the wall of a tumbledown shack. Confidently, Apollo speaks about life the way John Muir spoke about nature and has the slightly updated traveler’s attitude of Woody Guthrie, “Move in, rock out, move on.”

      The songs are snapshots. Nothing on the record clocks in at any longer than four and a half minutes, that doesn’t leave much time to mess around. This makes apt sense considering the project’s recording: tracking took just two days. “It was August, it was hot. We were in an old house high above the Mississippi River, and we just went straight through. No shirts, plenty of scotch. The record plays in under an hour, so really, 48 is taking a long time.” The songs that build do so quickly, the songs that hit harder make their point and the songs that want you to just listen make you sit down and shut up.

      Like Joey Burns (Calexico) with dirtier boots, James Apollo tells one engaging story after another while his guitar pokes and cuts across each of the 13 tracks. When he goes electric the sun comes in the window and shines on the wicked. When he’s acoustic the desert rolls by through an open boxcar door. “Good Grief is still very much a wandering record,” he says in comparison to his last full length. “But it’s a journey you’re going to have to make alone. It’s a bit darker, and the rainbow may not be as bright, but there’s something on the other side of it. It’s the journey, and not the end.” Backed by able-bodied men who lend just enough to these tracks, Apollo comes across in an original way that sounds as fresh as it does nostalgic. As a listener you don’t have to fill in any information for yourself, nothing is vague and most of it is poetry.

      Good Grief has a steady mix of slower tunes that elbow in amongst the drum inflected up-tempo numbers. The band is strictly business, no stunts or ‘look at me’ accents. The music serves the vocals first and foremost and that’s what makes everything work on the record. The music as a whole is what’s cool here, not the organ, not the guitar, not the etc. The production allows an entire sound to resonate, which makes for great listening. Scratch the release date off of the packaging and 2005 would be a low guess on a long list.

      On, “Libertyville” a song named after his birthplace, Apollo seems fine with consequences, so long as they are earned: “I want to die, not from living too long but living too high.” His honesty can’t be argued with because he’s never preaching. Doing for himself as long as he has, he seems too wise to speak on anyone’s life but his own. He doesn’t even let his band hear his songs until it’s time to record. “I work with characters and musicians. Basically, if someone needs 3 weeks to ham out their part in the song, it’s just not going to work. I want instincts.”

      “Mercenary Tango,” with it’s saloon style piano plunking and dual tempos offers modern day insight through a diminutive bevy of characters past. Apollo continues his sage wisdoms and brute honesties with a look at the tactics of sailors and mercenaries. “And every sailor he confides when he sees water comin’ in / How quickly we change sides when we see the mess we’re in”. Socially and metaphorically applicable, Apollo’s music does not have to be solely for the here and now. Instances past and future surely find meaning here in addition to the ever clear present.

      The title, far from Charlie Brown exasperation, is more than a hook to Apollo, “I think it’s almost a shame that it’s a catch phrase. I want people to understand it and not blow it off as a joke. The sun rises and sets. When its been up too long, you start to miss those lonely nights. Then they back and its like an old friend. You say, “Welcome back. You belong here.” This is where Good Grief comes from, lyrically speaking. Apollo’s reply? Speaking to this specifically described grief he fathers this advice, “Welcome back. The air you breathe is the love you lack.” No one is playing cowboy here, but there is an attitude not matching footprints with your coffee house singer/songwriter. His travels are a bit more focused these days, he tours heavily in the US and Europe, but don’t think for a second that his days of wandering have ended, “I get nervous whenever I stand still or can’t see the horizon…We’re taking a breather in September. I’m going to Peru to find the next Machu Picchu. Or get shot by bandits.”

Good Grief is available through Aquarium Records (www.aquariumrecords.com) or James Apollo’s website, www.jamesapollo.com. Buy it.

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Interviewer: Arie Musil
Musician: Noah Harris

Arie: Let’s start from the beginning. Who influenced you musically growing up, and why did you desire to go into the music business?

Noah: Well, in my opinion, music can’t be a business. It isn’t a religion either. I’m gonna tell you the truth, though, when I was 19 I read Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and watched Brother Son Sister Moon in the same week — well, I think that ought to explain the whole view right there. I wanted to take off my clothes in the square and proclaim a faith, a love really; the song wasn’t the substance of the faith, the song was my saint, making intercession. You know, like Rilke said, I spent a lot of time trying to find out if I needed to make these songs; if something inside was demanding it, I am finding out that I do need to write them. The thing about music is that today Cameron McGill’s songs are interceding for me, bringing me back; well I have to try and bring out a saint for you, Arie, something to intercede for you. Right?

Arie: How did the three of you meet? Had you each attempted to begin a band on your own? When did you know that the three of you would be it?

Noah: Adriel and I met a few years ago while I was living in Madison, Wisconsin. Josh (Lucas) and I are old friends. That said you should know that The Elanors has recessed back into being just Adriel and I these days. The Elanors is a descendant of my solo project, Adriel is truly fantastic and her talent and persona are really giving the project its current shape, in my opinion.

Arie: What were you doing in your lives during this time when you weren’t practicing? Did you have a job to uphold, were you in school…?

Noah: Well, Adriel and I are both finishing up university degrees. Adriel is studying mathematics and I am studying philosophy. During the time of the writing and recording of A Year To Demonstrate, Adriel and I were meeting, marrying, honeymooning and reading a lot. We have tried, and will continue to try, to not work jobs.

Arie: Where did your name come from; what’s the story behind it, if any?

Noah: Elanor is the first fruit of my sister’s womb. She’s great fun and we decided that it would be harder to tire of a “band name” if we named ourselves in honor of a person we dearly loved. Elanor is four now.

Arie: So now the three of you are together and you’re starting to put the pieces together. Who writes the songs and where do the ideas for the songs generate from?

Noah: Adriel and I are indeed together now, despite contrary rumors. In the past I have had all the ideas, but lately the tide is turning and Adriel is beginning to write some truly remarkable songs. We are definitely collaborating more now than ever, and I hope that the trend continues. Those who have seen us live lately can attest to the force of Adriel’s vocalization and melodic sensibility.

Arie: Your music takes on such incredible Radiohead-like form. Do you see it? Where do you think you get some of your music sound from in comparison to other bands?

Noah: I honestly don’t get the Radiohead comparison. Although, A Year To Demonstrate was a different musical time for me and I would be lying if I said that Hail To The Thief and Amnesiac were foreign to me at the time. I think that we are influenced mostly by Debussy and Rufus Wainwright. These days I am really trying to spring off of romantic solo piano music, things like Debussy, Chopin, and Rachmaninov. Mixed in with that is a healthy portion of Dylan, Gillian Welch, and The Wandering Sons; timeless songwriting of that sort. I listen to Rufus a great deal; he seems to be bringing those two strains together masterfully.

Arie: How did your first gig go, and who was there? How did you feel during it and afterwards?

Noah: Well, Adriel and I had both had a lot of experiences playing out before we met, I honestly can’t remember the first. The first time we performed together was a few years ago, before we were engaged, before The Elanors existed; Adriel accompanied me at a solo show at the Catacombs in Madison, Wisconsin. Great friends there. It was a beautiful night and the promise of future collaboration was immediately recognizable. We were in the aura of new love.

Arie: Obviously there was quite a romance going on at this time, seeing as you had gotten married to each other. How do you feel that things have changed since then, having become closer as a couple, and do you feel that it feeds into your work? (I must say, I believe that there is sincerity in your songs, which could be due to the love that you two have for each other. I’m curious to see your opinion on that!)

Noah: Thank you. The songs on A Year To Demonstrate are largely about the beginnings of our relationship, they came out of a very sincere place, no matter how cliche. Our close friendship feeds a lot into the songwriting process. Adriel is a good critic. It helps very much to have someone immediately present who is willing to be honest about the aesthetic effect of the art one produces. We have thus far been able to do that for one another. We have a lot of other great friends who play that role with us as well — I am grateful for those people. Cory of The Wandering Sons, Ron of The New Kentucky Quarter, Dan of Judah Johnson/ Dr. Sax — these people are of incalculable worth to us.

Arie: Where have you been playing at lately and what are you anticipating?

Noah: Being students we remain tied to the Midwest for most of the year. That will change this May, until then we will continue to play for our wonderful friends in Champaign-Urbana as well as tour out long weekends within a day’s driving distance. We are being booked by the Urbana Booking Company’s Seth Fein, which has been a magnificent relationship, affording us a lot of wonderful opportunities. We anticipate travelling full time come May of 2006. We don’t know what to expect exactly, but we are excited for the possibilities.

Arie: Who have you been sharing the stage with most recently? Who would you like to play with?

Noah: Cameron McGill, The Wandering Sons, The New Kentucky Quarter, Headlights, The Ditty Bops, The Castanets, Ida, The Beauty Shop. Like to play with: I think that Adriel might say The Innocence Mission and Gillian Welch. I say Lhasa De Sela and Rufus Wainwright.

Arie: How did the album come to be? Did you go to the recording label or did they find you? How did you feel when given the opportunity to record an album?

Noah: Isidore found us, we found each other really in the back of a cafe in August 2004. We shared a bill with the label’s founding project Joyful Sorrow. They wanted to put a record out with us, so we sat down the two sets of demos that I had recorded at home over the last year. We settled on the songs that are on A Year To Demonstrate, Steven (father of Isidore) mastered them and off they went.

Arie: What was it like going into the studio for you? How long did the album take to put together?

Noah: The album was unconventionally brought together, like I said it was a compilation of about a year’s worth of demos. There was only one day in a studio outside of our home and that was in abother home studio (far superior to ours) in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. That said, most of the demos that ended up on the release were recorded within a three-week period in the fall of 2003. I recorded them in a dank corner of our basement apartment; I really didn’t know what I was doing.

Arie: When the debut was released, what were your first thoughts?

Noah: Oh God, can we take it back! Mostly, self-deprecating things like that. As time has passed, I have gotten more comfortable with it. It is a snapshot of a time in our lives, we have moved on from there. Although, I’m sure that there are a number people who have connected a great deal with the album. I am also aware that some of these people will not like where we go in the future. As the Tralfamadorians would say, “So it goes.”

Arie: Have you heard yourself on the radio yet? If so, how was that experience for you?

Noah: I have not, as a matter of fact. I know that we are being played in town at fairly regular intervals, but I don’t catch enough radio to hear it. I’m sure when that day comes I will giggle like a middle school girl at the water fountain.

Arie: And where did the album’s title come from — what’s its significance to you?

Noah: The album title, which I have already hinted at, is just a formal, quasi-poetic way of saying “a year making demos.” It has other connotations which I support. I like that the title gives hints to the record’s unrefined nature. I like as well that it speaks of beginnings. Sort of like a child demonstrating a magic trick that all the adults can see through.

Arie: Where do you plan on taking it from here?

Noah: Our second album is in the process of being made with Daniel Johnson (of Judah Johnson and/or Dr. Sax) in Detroit. Hopefully we will be bringing it to completion late this summer for a late fall/early winter release. We are looking for the right label match for this record. We’ll see. I am excited about the progress and I think that this record will be a great step forward for us. The record has a bit of a Lover’s Rock feel (for those familiar with Sade): an aesthetic that we are very intentionally pursuing for this project. I think it will be at once surprising and familiar for those who know our live performances. We of course have the third album in mind, which (as it stands now) will be very familiar to fans of our live approach. We will be delving as deeply as we can into the open romantic piano sonata approach. Bows will scrape. Tape will crackle. Wood will creek. Melodrama will flow like the cool sea.

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