Five Records With… Rhett Miller
Posted on | October 16, 2009 | No Comments
I had the chance to talk to Rhett Miller the other day before his show with Salim Nourallah at the House of Blues. The always exuberant front man of the Old 97’s released his third, self titled solo record last summer, and it is not to be missed. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
“My parents were into the Kingston Trio, and I got into it as a young kid. I think about what I love about playing – so much of it is the energy, to be able to translate a song into this thing that gets everyone in the room. This was recorded at this little folk club in San Francisco, all acoustic instruments, and they just ROCK, just really high energy. The between song banter is so funny – I quote this line all the time — they come back from their encore and he says “You can tell by the speed of our return that that exit was fraudulent.” I just love that.”
“I love Willie, I’ve gone on his bus several times and gotten to be good friends with Mickey Raphael, his harp player. I admire him so much because he is a writer first — he could easily stay home and live off the royalties from any one of his hits, much less all of them. He does lots of weird stuff, but at this point, he’s earned it. He is a great interpreter, he does other people’s stuff and it doesn’t seem like a cash grab.”
“Making this last record with Salim Nourallah, we listened to London Calling a lot. I thought my new record was going to be quiet, and it ended up being very rock and roll. We were torn about the sequencing, something I love to do but something that usually ends up being pretty difficult. This album is a masterpiece, and so is the title track that opens it, which goes into “Brand New Cadillac”, so you have back-to-back rockers. We ended up putting “Nobody Says I Love You Anymore” as the opening track, and it goes into “Like Love”, and they are similar, with the big drum things happening, and it felt so right.”
“Thinking of songs I wish I had written, its easy to say something like “Waterloo Sunset”, which is just genius. Lately, I’ve gotten familiar with several Okkervil River songs that have had that effect on me. It’s really high energy, but so simple at the same time.”
“I really love Telegraph Canyon, from Fort Worth. Their new record is great, really big, very cool. I watched them sound check the other day and they were like “We’re getting some feedback from the tiny dog piano”, like its a completely normal instrument that everyone has. A great big orchestrated adventurous sound.”
Rhett Miller – I Need To Know Where I Stand
Five Records with… Danny Balis
Posted on | October 9, 2009 | No Comments
I had the chance to talk to Danny Balis the other day. Balis fronts the King Bucks and recently released his first solo record Too Much Living, and is probably better known as the producer of the award-winning Hardline on KTCK in Dallas, Texas. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
“Merle Haggard’s live records, “Fighting Side Of Me” and “Okie From Muskogee” made me want to pursue a career in music. They were both very rushed and unedited live albums from the early 70’s. I never remember not listening to these albums…a real country show: short, the hits, some covers, guest appearances, instrumentals, good stories between songs. It’s what i aspire to do with my sets now.”
“I always admired Bill Withers – he was very understated, and came off as a real stand up guy. His “Live at Carnegie Hall” record shows a minimalist soul man in the 70’s when R&B was alot of glitz. I love the way the recurring theme in his instrumentation was the acoustic guitar, but this is not country, it is pure soul. It just oozes out of your headphones.”
“While I was making Too Much Living, I listened to a lot of Townes Van Zandt, particularly “Live at the Old Quarter”. Those songs had a familiar feeling that I was going through at the time, and the poetic lyrics were a real inspiration to dig deep and not go with cliches. There is a fine line between creating beautiful poetry and making ham-fisted metaphors. Townes knew that difference.”
“I wish I had written “Return of the Grevious Angel”, in my opinion, the greatest country song ever written. Reeks of heartache, the road, and self abuse. Plus, Emmylou…what else can be said?”
“Phosphorescent’s “To Willie” is something I have listened to a lot lately. This is an indie kid that did a tribute to Willie, but he absolutely owns it. He took the difficult task of covering classic songs that don’t necessarily need to be touched and made them his own. When I hear it I really believe they could be his own tunes. His version of “The Last Thing I Needed the First Thing This Morning” still makes me weep and I actually like it better than Willie’s.”
Danny Balis – If You’re Trying To Kill Me
Throwback Thursday – Jerry Jeff Walker – Ridin’ High
Posted on | October 1, 2009 | 5 Comments
1. If there is one thing of emphasized throughout Jerry Jeff Walker’s music, it is the importance having a good time. Though he is probably best known for his Viva Terlingua live record (and its recording of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother”), 1975’s Ridin’ High might be the best representation of his freewheeling style. Recorded live in the studio, Walker’s underrated Lost Gonzo Band provides an unmistakably boozy sound, epitomizing the carefree lifestyle that ran through Austin in the 70’s. Part cowboy, part hippie, and full time philosopher, Walker and his band created a record that still evokes the same feeling today.
2. “Public Domain” (written by Gonzo members Bob Livingston and Gary P. Nunn) sets the tone for the record in both sound and lyrics. A wheezing mix of saxophone, dobro and group vocals surrounds Walker’s assertion that all music is public domain – and that “your policies will kill you.” Strong words from a songwriter, but knowing Walker’s attitude, his stance is not too surprising. Seguing into a hard-charging version of Willie Nelson’s “Pick Up The Tempo”, the song reads almost as a self-critique of Ridin’ High, though not quite as curiously as “Pissing in the Wind”, which finds Walker and his ne’er-do-well bunch of friends wondering if he “should have ever put the record out at all”.
3. I have no doubt that Jerry Jeff would love to write a real serious song, if he could manage to keep it together that long. His rambling lifestyle bleeds into every part of this record, even affecting the track sequence. A regal reading of Guy Clark’s “Like A Coat From the Cold” reads as mostly sincere, though it sits next to Walker’s own “I Love You”, where he promises his new wife Susan both “diamond earrings for your fingers” and “big sparkling rocks for your nose.” Knowing where to point the finger for his lack of ambition,”Pot Can’t Call the Kettle Black” finds Walker acknowledging that he is just like his old man, from his wandering eye to his gambling ways. Jerry Jeff is wise enough to know that nothing gold can stay, as the groovy “Goodbye Easy Street” mourns the inevitable passing of good times.
4. One thing that Jerry Jeff will commit to is the fact that he won’t conform to any rules or limitations. His ability to pick and write great songs and his understanding of the exuberant feeling that music should create all come together on Ridin’ High, summoning a brilliant, drunken snapshot of an long-gone era.
Jerry Jeff Walker – Public Domain
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