How are you approaching the new record?
The equipment is a Ramirez nylon string [guitar], a [Shure] SM81 [mic], an AKG 414 [mic] (at the 12th fret) through a [Rupert] Neve [Designs] 5012 preamp, Neumann TLM 103 through a BAE 1073 [preamp], and an Apogee Quartet [interface]. I'm renting a friend's house right now, and the room isn't treated or anything, so I close mic and go in dry with the good equipment. Dry as a bone going in ensures that I play it well. I will add compression, post fader, for adding backing and vocal tracks later, but not to tape. When I need people, I'll go to them and bring my mics, pres, and interface. I'm not sure where I'm going to mix this one yet, because I like to get it outside of the computer through proper outboard gear.
I assume you are happy in both the analog and digital realms?
The piano and drums I have done in the past have to go to tape. I like those to hit tape a little harder than you are supposed to. This is an acoustic record, so it's not an issue. Even though there are plug-ins for it these days, it just can't be faked. Or at least I'm not willing to compromise.
Did you complete the instrumentation for these songs in advance?
Usually I'm pretty organized, but with this I don't have arrangements. I'm going to make it an acoustic-based record, with some cool textural sounds.
Walk me through a typical creation.
I have a Moog Little Phatty [synthesizer] that I use instead of an electric bass. I might also use it for textural pads. Matthew Nelson, who has played with me on other solo records, will play guitar, and also Eric Johnson, the old Archers guitarist, will come play on some, which is weird because this is not loud rock music. These are meant to be sparse arrangements, so there will be layers for mood and atmosphere. Both Matt and Eric are great at that sort of thing – I'm excited to hear what they do. I'll give them the acoustic guitar part with a proper vocal take [to play to]. Those will be exactly like I need them in order to tell the mixing engineer where to focus. I feel that when you mix, if you have too much shit it gets problematic. Mixing is about what the focus is, so for pop it's about the vocal. For this kind of folk music, it's about the guitar and the vocal. Buried vocals might sound more urgent, and that was the sort of thing that worked in the Archers of Loaf, but that's a different thing than what I am doing here.
The arrangements on Eric Bachmann last year are wonderful. Were those fleshed out with players while recording?
No. I went in with Jeremy Wheatley on drums, and we had rehearsed. We did it at Echo Mountain [Recording] in Asheville, North Carolina, and Jim Georgeson engineered. We hit 2-inch tape for the drums and piano, and I took that home in Pro Tools and added guitar. All the doo-wop vocals were arranged in advance, and I had purposefully left space for them when they sang.
When you were making music with Archers of Loaf in the '90s, did you know you had this kind of singer/songwriter in you?
Yeah, absolutely. I've always been a big fan of Harry Nilsson, Lee Hazlewood, Glen Campbell, and '60s and '70s baritones. I would say since Vee Vee [the second Archers of Loaf album, from '96] on I knew I could do it. I knew it was a voice that I had, and in the Archers I wasn't really using it. I'll admit that I was afraid to do it in the '90s. I was afraid to not be in a "cool" rock band, but I loved performing. I couldn't have come out of the gate with a song like "Mercy," and I didn't have the capacity to write a song like that for a while. I was fitting in with my friends, which is a fine thing to do for a while. Eric Johnson and I had a great time creating textures with guitars in the Archers of Loaf; and Matt [Gentling, bass] and Mark [Price, drums] created a great bed for us to do it. They were such a great rhythm section, and the reason why we sounded the way we did on top of it was because Matt wasn't playing the root [notes]. He was playing the whole chord without the roots. That combination is called chemistry, and that's something that the Archers had; and now that is over, for the most part. We might do something, but it's been difficult to find again. That's mainly my fault, because I'm always writing new songs and not sticking around with the same people. I've learned I'll have a certain amount of control, but not absolute, and I have to embrace that and let that guide. Let it take me where it will.
Are there records that inspired you as a solo singer/songwriter?
I am definitely a fan of [Bruce] Springsteen and [Leonard] Cohen. Lyrically, Cohen was the man; especially the first record [Songs of Leonard Cohen]. Around '96, I think it was You? Me? Us? – the Richard Thompson record. Also a lot of Townes Van Zandt and Bob Dylan. A lot of those records aren't sonic marvels. People criticized Van Zandt's production for how square it was, but it didn't matter because he was such a good songwriter. Any live recording of his, where it is just him in a room with a guitar, works because that's how it was designed. One record that had a huge influence on me for its production was Caetano Veloso's Transa, as well as Os Mutantes and Gal Costa. Those records are just so free, and there is an energy to everything, even when guitars might be a little thin. I was a saxophone major at Appalachian State [University] in '88 and '89, and my teacher gave me Joni Mitchell's Blue and Transa by Veloso. Outside of school I was more into Television and Sonic Youth, so I'll admit I didn't come back to it until later, but then I really fell in love with Gal Costa. All that speaks to the fact that a big personality is always going to shine. You could record Nina Simone on a RadioShack microcassette and it would be cooler than all the fanciest gear and [someone with] no personality. It can be hard, if you are an artist with humility, to convince yourself to do that.
I think the Brazilian influence speaks to why you approached instrumentation on the Barry Black records the way you did.
Yeah, the "there are no rules" vibe certainly was imparted early. I might use more textural things, as well as found sounds on the upcoming record.
What do you think of when people say singing can be a bit like acting? That if you put on a persona it may come through cleaner and more confident?
