Interviews

Ah, the life of the rock star: adoring fans, packed gigs, fame, global travel, and . . . Montessori schools? Such is the happy life of Jimmy Chamberlin. He's been involved in music for 38 years, most famously as the drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins and most recently with his new band Skysaw. His time as a musician has given him a unique perspective on the role of the songwriter in society, a role that transcends merely traveling from city to city playing music. For Chamberlin, it's much bigger than that.

According to him, the songwriter, like any other writer, has a duty to "put the sophistication back in society." Chamberlin does his part: he reads constantly, often three or four books at a time, and makes sure that his young children see him reading so that they follow suit. As a result, they've become bookworms (his 8 year-old has read The Hobbit). And this brings us to his children's Montessori school, where he sits on the board of directors and champions the importance of reading. Chamberlin's love of the written word is not surprising, given that his favorite writer is Emily Dickinson.

Alternative, RockBen OpipariJune 28, 2011jimmy chamberlin, no one can tell, skysaw Comment

Paul Banks, Interpol

Matador Records, Post Punk, Rock, Indie Rock, InfluencersBen OpipariJune 23, 2011 Comments

Neil Finn, Crowded House

With an empty house and some much deserved peace and quiet, what's an empty-nester to do after the kids are no longer running around the house? Some want to travel the world. Others want to just enjoy the domestic tranquility.

This is not what Neil and Sharon Finn did. In fact, they did the opposite.

Instead of globetrotting or listening to the sounds of silence, they made more noise. To be sure: when it comes from the voice or the pen of Neil Finn, it's never noise. You can dispute the talents of many people in music, but of this fact there is no arguing: Finn is one of the most talented songwriters ever (listen to any Crowded House album and you'll see what I mean). The Finns' new project, Pajama Club, is the result of red wine and lots of time. With the kids gone, Neil and Sharon needed something to do. Maybe the house was too quiet. So Neil picked up the drums and Sharon the bass--instruments out of their comfort zone--and began jamming. Playing the rhythm section is an odd way to start an album, but if anyone can pull that off, it's Finn.

New Wave, Pop, 1980s, InfluencersBen OpipariJune 21, 2011crowded house, fall at your feet, neil finn, pajama club, sharon Comments

Laura Stevenson, Laura Stevenson and the Cans

After close to 100 interviews for this site, artists have given me a variety of answers as to why they write songs. Some just enjoy playing music, a pleasurable experience as an end in itself. For others, it was probably rooted in those Suzuki method piano lessons that their parents made them take. And, of course, for still others music is an emotional outlet, as it is for Laura Stevenson, of Laura Stevenson and the Cans. Music has helped Stevenson through some dark times, times so dark that she did nothing: her phone went unanswered, her bills went unpaid. But songwriting is a cathartic process for her; she expresses topics that she hasn't even told her therapist. I don't think writer's block will ever be an issue for Stevenson, since, in her words, she has "decades" of material from which to draw.

Folk Rock, Indie Rock, Don Giovanni Records, Singer/SongwriterBen OpipariJune 15, 2011laura stevenson, laura stevenson and the cans, sit resist Comment

Ivan Howard, The Rosebuds

Here's the secret to the success of Ivan Howard's songwriting: television, physical activity, and great literature. Sure, at first blush they seem disparate: the vacuous life of the couch potato, the discipline of the athlete, and the intellectual curiosity of the bookworm. But they all legitimately contribute to Howard's creative process and the crafting of those wonderful Rosebuds' songs: the TV (it can't be a show he actually pays attention to) distracts him from the subject matter he's writing about, running and basketball are his periods of creative meditation, and the books are the source of the band's natural imagery.

Much has been made of the story behind the making of The Rosebuds' latest release Loud Planes Fly Low. Howard and Kelly Crisp make up The Rosebuds. They divorced after the release of their fourth album Life Like. But they continue today as a songwriting duo, now just as bandmates and friends. Loud Planes Fly Low is the product of the emotional output and coming to grips with the breakdown of their relationship. It's been covered enough in the press, so I'm not going to do it here. Besides, there's enough wonderfully original responses in this interview to sustain a fresh narrative.

Merge Records, Indie RockBen OpipariJune 13, 2011ivan howard, ivan rosebud, kelly howard, kelly rosebud, loud planes fly low, merge records, the rosebuds Comment

Taylor Goldsmith, Dawes

In at least one high school English class this year, Taylor Goldsmith's writing has been taught alongside the classics. It's a tribute to Goldsmith's songwriting and storytelling that one English teacher discovered that the themes of Dawes' debut North Hills mirror the themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. After talking to Goldsmith, none of this really surprises me. He's ridiculously well-read, devouring the classics (I have a PhD in English, and I admit that I haven't touched some of the authors he's read). His method of songwriting is unorthodox, at least among the 90+ songwriters I've interviewed: he often starts the songwriting process with the title, he doesn't like to use nonsense syllables as placeholders when he starts crafting the lyrics, and he writes each song with a fixed topic in mind. All of this is what makes him a great storyteller and what draws comparisons to the Laurel Canyon scene.

Folk Rock, Singer/Songwriter, ATO Records, Indie FolkBen OpipariJune 2, 2011dawes, north hills, nothing is wrong, taylor goldsmith Comments

David Kilgour (The Clean, and David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights)

In the late 1970s, David Kilgour formed The Clean, one of the most popular bands in New Zealand and responsible for the development of the punk scene there. The Clean were pioneers of the Dunedin Sound and one of the original signees to Flying Nun Records. Kilgour has long been recognized as one of the biggest (and most respected) songwriters and guitarists to come from New Zealand. But did you know he's also a pretty good painter, a creative outlet that also serves him well as a songwriter?

Merge Records, Flying Nun Records, Alternative, Indie RockBen OpipariMay 31, 2011david kilgour, dunedin sound, flying nun, heavy eights, merge, the clean Comments

Max Bloom, Yuck

After talking to guitarist and songwriter Max Bloom of Yuck on the phone recently, I have an image in my mind: Bloom and his bandmates jamming loudly in his parents' house, so loudly that they wake the neighbors, who come out and shout up at the bedroom window, "Turn that f***ing music down!" Typical young kids, I guess. It's almost a stereotype.

Only it's true. Bloom and co-songwriter Daniel Blumberg write and demo all the Yuck music in Bloom's parents' house. And when they play, the neighbors get angry. This house is also where they recorded the album. According to Bloom, it's the only place he feels comfortable enough to write; it's clearly where he gets his best writing done. So while Bloom is at the age when most young adults (at least here in the US) would do anything to get out of their parents' house, Bloom wants to get back in. Though he still has some trepidation about the neighbors' reaction when the band starts recording new material...

Indie Rock, Indie, Fat Possum RecordsBen OpipariMay 25, 2011daniel blumberg, max bloom Comments

Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans, YACHT

You'd be selling YACHT short if you just called them a band. Sure, Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans make music that has been praised by many, including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. But they are, in their words, "a belief system," and the two spend a lot of time on the visual aspect of the band as well: the shirts, the logos, the web design, the videos. So when you think of YACHT, don't just think of two people who make music, think of two artists. And when you read about their creative process below, it's easy to do. Their new album, Shangri-La, is out June 21 on DFA Records. Listen to "Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire)" from the album:

Synth Pop, Indie, Electro Indie, DFA RecordsBen OpipariMay 19, 2011claire evans, dfa, dfa records, dystopia, jona bechtolt, mystery lights, shangri la, single, the afterlife, yachtComment

Nat Baldwin, Dirty Projectors

Nat Baldwin has two things going for him that are unique among the songwriters I've interviewed. The Dirty Projectors' bassist lives on the coast of Maine, an environment perfectly suited to the ideal writing environment he needs in order to be creative: total seclusion. And his background as a basketball player provides him with the inherent discipline needed to spend hours in such seclusion, immersed in the creative process.

Alternative, Indie, Western Vinyl RecordsBen OpipariMay 17, 2011dirty projectors, nat baldwin, people changes, weightsComment

Marissa Nadler (2011)

It's easy to see how Marissa Nadler's experience as a songwriter is informed by her extensive experience as a visual artist. She studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received both her undergraduate and graduate degree. In fact, she started as a visual artist before becoming a songwriter. The intensity and honesty she exhibits as a visual artist manifest themselves in her songwriting, as you'll read, though poetry also influences how she writes. Songwriting and illustration, she says, is about "trying to find the beauty or ugliness" in a subject, using the artist's ability to approach that subject from a unique point of view. It's also about "compressing life into a couple of lines," as a good poet does.

Americana, Folk Rock, Indie, Indie Folk, Sacred Bones RecordsBen OpipariMay 11, 2011marissa nadler Comment

Josh Epstein, Jr. Jr.

Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott have gotten a good amount of ribbing (and worse) in the music press for naming their band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. But how is it that while Epstein and Zott get ribbed, plenty of indie rock darlings get a pass for their names? We have bands named after racquet sports, punctuation marks, makeup, and primates who live on the North Pole. There are artists named after zoo animals. I mean, I'm a huge Echo and the Bunnymen fan, but come on!

All band names have meaning in their own way. There's an element of absurdity in many of them, but there's also creativity in that absurdity. Which was kind of the point when Epstein and Zott named their band. And if you miss this point, then you've missed the very reason why they named the band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. in the first place.

Indie, Indie PopBen OpipariMay 9, 2011big hassle, dale earnhardt jr jr, daniel zott, it's a corporate world, josh epstein, quite scientificComment

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