The lone wolf howls: a conversation with Shooter Jennings

By Brent Owen

LEO: You’ve always been critical in regards to the current state of country music. What exactly do you think is the problem with the way things are?
Shooter Jennings: It’s not that I’m critical, man. It’s just the state that radio is in right now is a very strange place, and it’s not very welcoming to people like me. It’s just come around to a time when the industry has a grip on it, but I believe the artists will have their time again. I kinda feel like it’s not that any of the artists out there aren’t credible – I mean, they’ve all worked. It’s just tougher for guys like me, but I think it’ll come around.

LEO: Who’s to blame for the fact that guys like you who are making real country music are having a hard time breaking into what should be a country music market?
SJ: I don’t know, man. I don’t know who’s to blame. I don’t know if we should just point the finger at the industry – it is what it is. They all operate on a self-maintaining system. Most of the time artists like us, that are always tried and true, we have work and breakthrough ourselves, because they never come looking this stuff.

LEO: Is there anything worth salvaging on mainstream radio – do you pull out Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw albums?
SJ: I like Brad Paisley a lot … I always have. I like the songs he writes, I love his guitar playing. I love Alan Jackson, I still buy his records. There’s a lot of different people that are good, and there’s a lot of diamonds in all of that coal. It’s few and far between, because it’s all built on relationships between labels, producers and songwriters; they all scratch each other’s backs; that’s just how it is. I guess all the genres are in a bad place, it’s not really just country. Rock is in a really bad state – the only thing that’s thriving is hip-hop, and that’s pretty hard to break through … at least from what I hear.

LEO: No Shooter Jennings rap album coming up then?
SJ: No. (chuckles) No, I don’t think so. I did, however, toy with the idea of getting Chuck D. to be on the next record, because I love Public Enemy. I’m kinda thinking something like that would be really cool.

LEO: So why do you still play country music?
SJ: They don’t say they like me – but they accept me and my existence. I put out a record not knowing where it was going to land, and it landed in country. I play music that is influenced from all over the place. But country is a huge influence – there’s a lot of country on our records. I feel like The Wolf is a really country record, but I paint with really broad strokes and draw off all of them – I don’t try to categorize it.
But that didn’t really answer your question.
It’s like, they know I’m country. When I walk into a room full of rockers, I’m just another country guy, ya know what I mean? Even though I’m as rock as a lot them – they just see what I do as country no matter how I hard I try to make it anything else.
My influences aren’t old classics. I mean, I listen to new stuff, like I keep up with new bands that are cool. Like the Raconteurs record (Consolers for the Lonely) that came out the other day is like my favorite record – I’m so flipped out and so excited over it. It’s given me all kinds of hope hearing that record. Because it’s one of the best records we’ve heard in years, and it’s the best sounding record, too. Dude, I mean when you hear it, you’re going to lose your shit, it’s so good. It’s worth every fuckin’ penny – I got it at midnight the day it came out.

LEO: You sing a lot about your father on all of your records. Musically how much of him is in what you do?
SJ: A lot. I mean, a lot of him is in me, period. I was very close to him, and he had a relationship with music that I loved and admired; and I feel like I had a lot of years with him while I was making music. But there are certain things that are very home to me when I hear his music. His music was so on the edge at the time – that’s what sounded so cool – there was nothing about it that was cheesy or produced or anything. It was just hardcore cool, mixing rock and country. Hank Jr., too, he did the same kind of thing. Taking Rock and Country for the first time putting that association together – I just felt like that was really … important.

LEO: How has becoming a father yourself affected your music?
SJ: Oh, a lot. I’m already pretty deep in the new record, and there’s definitely a lot of stuff about her and how she changed my life or whatever. But at the same time I’m seeing the world differently now, in this weird way. I don’t know how to explain it but I see it differently. It’s kind of mimicking her face in a way but it’s also like she’s a blank slate and this is the world she’s seeing. So I kind of view myself a little differently, I view my life a little differently, and it just really set me on straight as to what my purpose is here and the importance of staying true by what I do.

LEO: Do you think you’re the bearer of the torch lit by Waylon, Willie and the boys?
SJ: I don’t know if I would say that about myself. I’m just doing exactly what I want to do and I’m very excited and continuing to make more music. I feel like we’re just hitting our stride and this is as close to my personality as you can get.

LEO: Is it difficult to write a country song among the hipsters and daily hustle that comes with living in New York City?
SJ: (Big laugh) I’m only there part of the time, and it’s actually just as dirty as any ol’ town. Really, I’m holed up in our apartment most of the time when I’m there – I’ve usually just got a beer and a guitar. But it’s a great town.
I love living in L.A. too – I’m back and fourth between the two places – I love L.A. for the scenery, for how open it is, the weather, and all of that stuff. But there are things in New York that you just can’t get anywhere else. And I’ve always been somebody who wants to experience it all, so I think I’ve kind of set my life up that way, to some degree – to be right in the thick of it. I don’t like being isolated somewhere; it makes me feel like I’m bitching out on something.

LEO: On the new album you cover Mark Knopler’s “Walk of Life. That’s unexpected to say the least. Why that particular song?
SJ: Partially because it was out of the blue. I thought it was a cool idea to do something like that, because we hadn’t really done any covers except for a Hank Jr. song for iTunes. It was just sitting there playing one day and I was like: “Oh, what if we did this song?” Just because it was on, that’s why I liked the idea so much. But then I fell in love with the song in a totally different way once I understood kinda what it was about. I just felt like we could make a real thumping, honky-tonk kind of thing with it

LEO: The Wolf seems to be a metaphor on this album. What does it mean to you?
SJ: A lot of making this record was me accepting myself as an outsider to some degree. I had a lot of issues going on in my life, and I was basically just sorting them out on record. The Wolf is kind of an analogy for feeling like a wolf in a pack of dogs – like the Ugly Duckling. But Ugly Duckling would have been a lot less tough of a name for the album.
But I kinda came to terms with all of that during the process of making the record. Then went out and made something really raw and really country … I was just feeling it. I really wanted to cut a solid exploration into all of the influences and really make the country as authentic and cool and real and heartfelt as possible.

LEO: “Tangled Up Roses” is one of the best country songs I’ve heard in years…
SJ: Thanks man, I really appreciate that. I wanted that as the single but the label said “This Ol’ Wheel” is goin’ — so I was like, alright, we’ll see what happens.

LEO: … Well obviously the song is about a passionate however, tumultuous relationship …
SJ: Yeah, I had a lot of friends jammed into these kinds of situations, and I felt like they could relate to it. Because it’s very true, that’s how my relationship has been, but at the same time, there’s nothing else like it.

LEO: … So how does Drea (De Matteo, The Sopranos star and Jennings’ longtime girlfriend) take to hearing a song like that? Is she embarrassed to have your dirty laundry aired out in that way?
SJ: Nah, she’s like, “That song’s gay!” (laughs). She’s like, “I wanna hear ‘This Ol’ Wheel’” or whatever. She’s funny like that. I love her. The dirty laundry doesn’t matter to her. She doesn’t give a shit, she just laughs it off.

LEO: How autobiographical is a song like “This Ol’ Wheel”?
SJ: Oh, absolutely 100 Percent. It’s three very big phases in my life where I was up against major conflict and feeling like I had to start over and keep pressing on. All three verses are very specific as to what was going on in my life. It’s kind of a song about perseverance.

LEO: Who was “Old Friend” written about?
SJ: Yeah, it’s a tribute to all of my old friends. But there’s a guy I’ve known since I was about 8 years old named Matt Reeser, and he’s been my best friend. We started my first band together, or one of ’em, which he ended up movin’ and wasn’t there the whole time; but he formed other bands. We used to live together, too. But now he lives in Nashville, so when ever I’m in town I roll through there. So I wrote that song to show my appreciation for him being a friend to me.

LEO: How come there was not a “Manifesto No. 3” on The Wolf?
SJ: (He laughs) I guess you’ll just have to wait on that one. It has to be right when I get ’em, that they deserve the title.

LEO: “Manifesto No. 1” was probably my favorite track on the first record …
SJ: Thanks, man. I thought that should have been another single, too. But the label was like: “Movin’ on …”

LEO: Was it a little too blunt for them?
SJ: It wasn’t even that. They wanted to do “Steady at the Wheel,” which I was happy about because it was Ted (Kamp, bassist for The .357’s)’s song, and it did well. I mean, it tested well in Texas and stuff, but I thought they should have taken a chance with “Manifesto.”

LEO: When performing a highly personal song like “It Ain’t Easy” in concert, is your mind there with the audience or do you tend to get drawn back into the emotion from which the song sprang in the first place?
SJ: Well, it depends on how we’re playing it that night. If we’re killing it, I get really into it like that, emotionally. But if I’m worried that I’m screwin’ it up or something, then I just have to get through the best I can. I do sometimes get in that rush and get lost; but it’s hard to do that a lot when there’s a lot of people and a lot of noise, but sometimes is does happen. With “Sweet Savannah” though, whenever we do that one live, I always kind of go away.

LEO: What’s next for Shooter Jennings?
SJ: Well, I’m probably going to get in the studio toward the end of the summer; that’s my guess. I’m just starting it, and I’ve got a lot of it done, I’ve got the concept down; I’ve even got the artwork done for it, believe it or not. I’ve kinda got the whole thing down; it’s just going in there, finishing it, and living a little … living through some more songs, ya’ know? Basically, get that sucker done and put out.

Shooter Jennings, Eddie Spaghetti from the Supersuckers and El Roostars play Thursday at Headliners Music Hall. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Contact the writer at leo@leoweekly.com

Q&A: Stars' Evan Cranley

By Brent Owen

When I talked to Evan Cranley, bassist for the Canadian group Stars, last week, the band had celebrated the kickoff of its North American tour playing "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" the night before. He chatted about the band, their influences, and the latest album, In Our Bedroom After the War.

LEO: You all sounded great on Conan last night.
Evan Cranley: Cool. I haven’t seen the tape yet, but I hear it went well.

LEO: So in what ways did your hometown of Toronto and the band’s homebase of Montreal influence your sound?
EC: It’s a big influence on us and me personally, because the winters are so cold and very isolated there. I find that when the band is at the height of its writing cycle and the height of its creativity – it’s usually winter. I would say that we’re definitely inspired by the city around us at winter time; you just kind of huddle up, hibernate and create music. I know personally I have intentionally tried to make music sound like snow. So I think the climate and the culture of being in kind of a European society is a huge influence on us.

LEO: When you’re working on an album, is touring the penance or the pay off for you all?
EC: It’s definitely the height of the excitement, after finishing a record, is kind of showcasing your new material to people. I mean, we’re the kind of band that goes away for a year, writes a record, and then goes back on the road for like two years. For us it’s almost like two different careers. There’s studio and songwriting Stars; and then there’s the live aspect of Stars. They’re different worlds in a way. The best thing you can ask for is that people dig what you do and playing in front of people and celebrating music – I mean that’s amazing.

LEO: Describe what it is you experience when you’re playing live.
EC: I’m definitely there with the audience. I think what we’re trying to do is create a suspension that we can get people away from their lives and into this world with us. I even try to engage the audience, inviting the crowd to forget about their day or their year or their life, so they can just get lost in our stories and the way we sound. It’s like they can forget about their lives for a couple of hours.

LEO: You all are known as an indie-pop band. Isn’t that kind of an oxymoron?
EC: It depends on what you call pop. We’re independent only because we control everything we do in that way. We’re very creative with the business side of what we do, and we try to be creative with the musical side of what we do. I just think for a lot of people, pop is a dirty word, but for us it’s just the song structure we write in. We believe in powerful choruses and storytelling; and for me, that’s what pop music means. It’s more song structure, inspiration and romanticism in song. That’s what pop music is to me, so I find that they work hand-in-hand.

LEO: The band seems to weave from Bowie to Barrett, Joy Division to Smashing Pumpkins, Morissey to the Cure seamlessly into something original and innovative. Are these real influences that you all draw from because they all seem to be purveyors of the kind of song structure you’re talking about?
EC: Definitely, those bands are definitely influences. I think what I have the most fun doing when we write music is making something that sounds familiar but then putting our own twist on that sense of familiarity. It’s fun to play with the influence of all of these great bands but then you put your own twist on what they do, because they did the same thing with bands before them. I think you can take a band’s creative idea and make it your own – I think that’s what’s great about pop music: Everyone’s kind of doing the same thing in their own special way.

LEO: The album title In Our Bedroom After the War is kind of misnomer. It kind of implies a sort of political urgency that isn’t there. Was this intentional to have kind of a salacious album title and when you listen to it you find that it’s not really a politically driven album at all?
EC: The title was definitely on purpose, but it kind of has two meanings though. It’s meant to inspire you politically, in the world you live in right now; and it’s supposed to inspire you in your personal life. So it can be take politically or personally. Whether you’re at war with a lover or a (foreign policy) that you disagree with – after the fight is over you’re just kind of left with your own thoughts. And the bedroom, to me, is the most intimate place you can go. You’re in the innermost sanctum of yourself.

LEO: How does everyone’s personal side projects like Broken Social Scene, Torquil’s acting, solo albums, etc. effect what you do when you get together to make a new Stars album?
EC: I think that we’re a band obviously, and we’ll always be a band but we’re musicians and artists first. What we do outside of what I call our home, which is Stars, it can only inspire new things for the group. So I love seeing Amy do her own thing, I love seeing Chris do his own thing, and Patty do his own thing; because when they come back they are recharged and ready to work on the band again. It’s easy to get burned out on one project, so you have to find inspiration elsewhere and then bring it back home. It’s only been good for us.

LEO: You all also tend to have eclectic song structure with songs like “Personal” off of the new album. Where does this askew structure come from?
EC: To break down Torq and Amy are the lyricists of the band and myself, Patty, and Chris write all of the music for it – so that’s a cool role to play. With a song like “Personal” I thought it was a really poignant song about relationships and trying to find love in 2008. And the attempt to find intimacy on the internet and trying to find intimacy in the world we live in now, seemed like a really cool story. It’s interesting. So I write music for these storytellers; which is a pretty fun role to play because I kind of get to add a soundtrack to their story. That’s kind of how I see the way that our music works – we’re providing a soundtrack to their story.

LEO: When you all released this album in September was it disheartening to be putting out a new project like this and then to see it compared by critics to your previous album Set Yourself on Fire, instead of letting it stand on it’s own?
EC: Yeah, it was kind of difficult – because we’ve put out four records and Set Yourself on Fire seems to be the only one they were comparing it to. Like we didn’t have a career before that record or something. And it’s very interesting reading the feedback – both positive and negative – because we’re a band that matter to a lot of people now. So it’s almost flattering that you get the good and the bad press from it because it means we’re affecting people’s lives on a level that we never have before.

LEO: Did you feel, even for a minute, that you might have set the bar too high with Set Yourself on Fire?
EC: No, God, No. That was a record and a moment in time. I mean, when we go back and do another record, it’s going to be something completely different from anything we’ve ever done, and I think instead putting that spin of familiarity on pop music again, we’ll just try to put that spin on ourselves and just reinvent ourselves.
If, in 20 years, Set Yourself on Fire is the one that everyone compares the bands career to, then I think that’s cool; because a lot of bands never have that [defining] record.

Stars and Martin Royle play Wednesday, March 26 at the Bomhard Theatre in Kentucky Center for the Arts. Doors are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets for the all-ages show are $20.

California Guitar Trio @ 21c Museum Gallery

By Mat Herron

Ten hours in a car will get to anyone. For California Guitar Trio and their soundman Tyler Trotter, it's getting them hungry. They've just sat down to at Rich O's Public House in New Albany, Ind., — ground zero if you want crafted, top-shelf beer, and the only place where one Bud Light will set you back about $8.

Until a few moments ago, when Paul Richards, Bert Lams and Hideyo Moriya sat down to imbibe a few brews and eat a late dinner, the trio was ensconced in their van traveling from Parsons, Kan., through a hellacious Missouri blizzard. They're travelling in support of a new covers album, Echoes, the basic tracks for which were recorded at The Funeral Home in Louisville.

Who plays? Who doesn't: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy sings a cover of "Freebird," King Crimson alums Pat Mastelotto (formerly of XTC) and Tony Levin appear, but the album belongs to the trio, who treat guitars like Monet treats a canvas, adding a new perspective on classics like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (no, there aren't any vocals), and The Ventures' "Cruel Sea" (none on that one, too), and most of all, Pink Floyd's "Echoes." CGhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifT's 12-minute version, while shorter than the original, is no less stunning.

A fatigued smile crosses Utah native Paul Richards' face as he explains the band's new distribution deal for Echoes with Ryko, and discusses the possibility of working with Tommy Emmanuel's publicist to bolster sales and create even more awareness about their shows. "Touring has always been our best promotion, and we sell the most CDs, the money goes directly to us," he says. "Magazines and all that, that's still good."

Meanwhile Bert Lams, originally from Belgium, explains the method behind why the band chose the songs it did. "It was a process of trial and error. "

Though it won't be available until May, the band will be selling copies of Echoes at its shows.

California Guitar Trio plays tonight at the 21C Museum Hotel. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the all ages show at $12.

For Black Mountain, Future takes page from past

By Mat Herron

She’s a bit Grace Slick and a whole lotta evil. Amber Webber, the backing vocalist for Vancouver collective Black Mountain, lends her talents to the group’s second album, In the Future, and for the first time, sings lead vocals on its denouement, “Night Walks.” The band is out touring the country, sometimes with Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon), who opens Friday’s show. Webber had this to say:

LEO: I’ve read that the band considers In the Future a record where each member is more “prevalent” musically.
Amber Webber: Yeah, definitely. On In the Future, we all kind of … well, I sing more on it, for one. (Keyboardist) Jeremy (Schmidt), on the first album, he played on four or five songs; on this album he’s on every single song. “Night Walks” is a song I wrote with the band, which I’d never done before. It’s usually Steve (Stephen McBean) that writes. Then Matt (Camirand) wrote a bass line that sort of started “Wucan.” We just wrote the songs a bit differently, maybe.

LEO: Your songs touch on a certain classicism that seems to be coursing through rock ’n’ roll today: Bands recording to tape, recording live, playing vintage equipment. Why do you think the old is new again, with respect to rock ’n’ roll?
AW: I guess maybe it’s almost like a nostalgia sort of thing. That’s how we grew up, with that music. To me it just sounds better than a new instrument you could buy nowadays. Definitely the analog vintage synths — they sound way better, there’s no question. Old instruments have a nice warm, sort of feel. It’s just what we prefer personally.

LEO: “Bright Lights” feels, in a sense, like two chapters within one song. How did that song form?
AW: That song’s kind of old; it could’ve maybe been on the first album, but we waited on that. Steve came to practice with it one day; it kind of expanded in that synth part that Jeremy does toward the end, while we were in the studio recording. It changes a bit every night when play the whole thing through. It was definitely recorded in parts.

LEO: Four of you work in the mental health field. Are you still involved in that?
AW: We do definitely take the odd shift here and there. Right now, we’re not really working there, we had a month and a half off. We all at one point worked there full-time, but it’s not really a big part of our lives anymore.

LEO: What is Vancouver like musically now? It seems like that area is coming into its own.
AW: A lot of our friends have been playing music for a long time; it’s really something. Exciting things are happening, and that’s really cool — a lot of people we’ve known have been playing for the last 15-20 years, so it’s kind of coming to a head. A lot of people play music because it rains half the year and we don’t have a lot to do in the winter. I know that’s what I do; I get in to staying at home and writing music.

LEO: You have a side project. What’s the status of that?
AW: (Drummer) Josh (Wells) and I have a project called Lightning Dust. It’s two of us playing somber acoustic stuff. Matt and Josh have Blood Meridian, which is a country-rock kind of thing, and Stephen has Pink Mountaintops. We put out the album, I guess, in June, and did a small tour, a West Coast thing, then a couple shows in Europe. We’ve been sort of fitting them in on Black Mountain tours; doing a one-off show here and there. We’re trying to avoid that — it’s kind of strange to do that at a Black Mountain show. When all this Black Mountain business is done; we almost have enough songs for the next album.

LEO: By now, I’m sure the band is sick of the phrase stoner rock being used to describe its music. What dhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifoes In The Future mean for you terms of artistic growth, and what do you hear when you listen to it?
AW: I think it’s diverse. Every song sort of shows different members’ strengths; and it was a bit more of a challenge than the first one.

LEO: In what way?
AW: We definitely gave it 100 percent effort. We just sunk into it really deep and got really creative with it. I think we’re all proud of in that way. The first album happened to come together, and it was a nice surprise.

Black Mountain plays Friday at Headliners Music Hall with Bon Iver and Phantom Family Halo. Tickets for the 18-and-over show are $12. Showtime is 9 p.m.

Contact the writer at mherron@leoweekly.com

Coliseum goes west in 2008

And now, a word from Coliseum singer/guitarist Ryan Patterson:

"Hello everyone - Coliseum is heading out this week for our first tour of 2008! We’re meeting up with a lot of great bands and playing South By Southwest along the way. We have a lot of great tours coming up, as well as an awesome headlining tour in May that will be announced shortly. We’ll also be touring Europe all of July with Converge & Integrity. We’re extremely excited about all of this!"

Tour Dates

03/07/08 Knoxville, TN @ Poison Lawn
03/08/08 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers
03/09/08 Orlando, FL @ The Social w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers
03/10/08 Miami, FL @ Studio A w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers
03/11/08 Jacksonville, FL @ Fuel Coffeehouse w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers
03/13/08 Austin, TX @ Emo’s Annex w/ High On Fire, Genghis Tron, Municipal Waste - Relapse 2008 SXSW show
03/15/08 Austin, TX @ Encore Records - 4pm In-Store
03/16/08 Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ Genghis Tron, Russian Circles
03/17/08 Tulsa, OK @ The Monolith w/ Genghis Tron
03/18/08 St. Louis, MO @ 2 Cents Plain w/ Genghis Tron, An Albatross, The Apes
03/19/08 Gambier, OH @ Horn Gallery @ Kenyon College w/ Genghis Tron
03/20/08 Butler, PA @ Meridian Vets Club w/ Genghis Tron
03/21/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas w/ Genghis Tron, Oneida, Pony Pants
03/22/08 Richmond, VA @ Canal Club w/ Municipal Waste, Iron Lung, Battletorn
03/27/08 Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room w/ Baroness, Young Widows

04/20/08 St. Louis, MO @ 2 Cents Plain
04/21/08 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
04/22/08 Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
04/23/08 Dallas, TX @ The Door w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
04/24/08 Houston, TX @ The Red Room w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
04/25/08 New Orleans, LA @ High Ground w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
04/26/08 St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
04/27/08 Orlando, FL @ The Social w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
05/01/08 Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
05/02/08 Pittsburgh, PA @ The School w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron
05/03/08 Philadelphia, PA @ The Starlight Ballroom w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron

Introducing Interstates

Some collaborations are just meant to be. Kyle Noltemeyer (ex-Guilt, Endpoint) and Alex O'Nan's latest incarnation is called Interstates. The two previously played together in a past life as the progressive instrumental trio Of Asaph, and now have photos and tunes up on their VIRB site. From their tour dates, it looks the pair is embarking on a midwest/southern tour that will take them to the likes of Abilene, Texas, Kansas City and Jackson, Miss., to name a few.