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Interview with the Jayhawks

90.7 WFUV Radio New York City / March 28, 2000 / WFUV DJ Rita Houston hosting (RH)

RH: ...some 15 years later these guys have taken the roots, now they're hanging out in the trunk of the tree, the limbs, the branches, the leaves. They're doing all sorts of things and redefining the sound of the band as they roll on . Talking about the Jayhawks. They're our guests live in Studio A with a new album due out early May. They're going to play some new tunes for us and we'll going to get it rolling by playing the title track from their forthcoming album from the Jayhawks here's "Smile" on FUV. (plays "Smile" from CD) Jayhawks our guests live on the radio, howdy fellers! (they all say hi) I'm using fellers in the general sense of the word because Jen's over there on keyboards.

Gary: She ain't no feller! (everyone laughs)

RH: "Fellers" is a term of endearment in my little world.

Gary: It's kind of like "guys."

RH: Yeah, "Hi fellers." Great new batch of songs and it seems the "Trouble" of Sound Of Lies has been replaced with the "Smile" of Smile. Did you get all happy on us and stuff?

Gary: Uh, yeah kind of.

RH: That's beautiful.

Gary: They say that you have to go the bottom to come up, you know and I don't think in this case it means sappy and bad. A lot of people make their best records when their just down and I don't think we had to do that.

RH: Great new batch of songs. Sounds like you had a lot of time to work these songs out...

Gary: (laughing)That's an understatement.

RH: A big turning point for you between Sound Of Lies and this new one was building a studio where you guys could really mess around with the songs and let them grow and pour water on them and see what happened with them.

Gary: That's exactly the case, we embraced technology a bit, the label was nice enough to send us some cash and we actually spent it on gear as opposed to personal use. We bought a few A-Dats as they call them or D-88s, and pressers and right breeze(?) and a board, drum machines and actually learned how to use them. I was really proud of the band because we actually used what we bought and we were able to play around with the songs, rewrite them, fool around with the arrangements ideas so that we've never been more prepared in our lives to go into the studio.

RH: I guess there's always a question of when a song is finished and when it's done. It seems like you have really taken that quite seriously because all you guys are great songwriters and I imagine you can churn one out and it's a damn good song. But it seems like with this batch you really and I imagine it's having a studio to work in that used to be your practice space.

Gary: That's part of it. But you hit the nail on the head, I think we really left nothing, no stone unturned. We really poured over the songs, and a lot had to do with our producer, Bob Ezrin who's kind of a legend. He listened to our demos and just said those aren't good enough, those are great ideas but they're not done. I'll work with these guys, I love how they sound, I love how they sing, the songs are going somewhere but they have a lot of work to do. That was kind of shocking, we sent a lot of songs and then even after that, we'd sent him a lot of songs and at the end when we were getting ready to record he said I still think you're three songs too short. So we had to go work on some more. For me he fingered me and said you know I think I know what kind of songwriter you are. You're an inspired kind of songwriter and I was like, hey thanks! No, I mean you only write when you are inspired, you're not willing to do the nuts and bolts of songcrafting.

RH: There are some nods of recognition in the room, like yeah he was right Gary, that is the kind of songwriter you are.

Gary: No they're just laughing at me for some other reason.(everyone laughs) Each day brings another new humiliation point.

Marc: Each day you give us something else to be joyful about.

RH: Gotta love that. Jayhawks with us live on the radio here on FUV. You want to play one?

Gary: Yeah, this is a song actually Marc Perlman...(Marc corrects him as to what song they are doing) Oh that's right! He had NOTHING to do with this one. (everyone laughs) This is actually the first single and it's called "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me." (They perform "I'm Gonna Make You Me" live)

RH: So good. The Jayhawks live with us on the radio here at 90.7 FM WFUV. You write these choruses that can in the case of the new album, just wipe a huge fat smile across your face. Some of the past Jayhawks albums and some of the past tunes can just bring you to tears. You write these beautiful emotional choruses that you can't help but have some reaction too. Is that where it starts for you Gary, a chorus?

Gary: Not necessarily, not always the chorus. Definitely a beautiful melody is what gets me going. Words are equally important but usually we start with a melody.

RH: It's remarkable because you think, well who else does that? You know I was thinking who else can we compare this to in terms of that kind of songwriting. You know your tunes are "big" you know, I couldn't really think, I thought maybe Oasis, they don't stop with their songs, they go and go and go. Are there any that come to you, of people that work in a similar vein as you?

Gary: Well other than our fellow band members, Marc and Tim especially contribute a lot to that, in their songs they do that. Boy I'm really sucking up to my bandmates.(laughs) Nobody off the top of my head, you know some of the Wilco stuff which I like but that's a little different.

RH: And I thought Matthew Sweet, he's definitely done that with some tunes, just taken them all the way down the road.

Gary: I have a hard time finding a comparison especially nowadays. There are some older stuff I think we sound like, which I'm proud of, I don't feel ashamed. I think the state of music is not at it's high point.

RH: Sometimes you feel you've got to go back to find the stuff you connect with and maybe the stuff you really connect with isn't what's happening right now.

Gary: Well for me I was a little less angry and pissed off kind of mode that I liked. I like aggressive stuff and punk rock and stuff but in general it seems like things are little harsh out there.

RH: What are some of the older things as a writer you really connect with and feel...

Gary: Lately I've listened a lot to All Things Must Pass which was a George Harrison record. I hope I'm not stuck in the past, I think I listen to a lot, I try to buy a lot of new stuff. It's expensive out there now, there's so much stuff.

RH: When you walk into a CD store and you see an album can be $19.99 it's just like WHAT! Twenty bucks you know and it's a lot. What do you do, do you listen to radio, do you read magazines, what's your source for getting the new stuff.

Gary: I usually go, as a Minneapolis guy said but it's really true, "left of the dial." You go to the left side of the dial and it's usually you get some college station or something like that where they're playing not your usual fair, something a little more experimental.

RH: A little more adventurous, something you have a little more in common with.

Gary: Um hum, and word of mouth. I don't really read many magazines on music I'm a little out of touch.

RH: You guys were just down at SXSW in Austin. Did you get to hear any bands?

Gary: No the only band I saw, we saw, Jen and Tim you were there, this guy Johnny Dowd who's from here I believe. Somebody in Europe gave me a CD once and said listen this guy. A lot of times you put things aside and say you are going to listen to it but I didn't and we saw him down at SXSW and it was really cool. That's about the only person I saw, we were busy working.

RH: It's work! I wasn't there but I heard McGuinn came on stage and played with you guys.

Gary: We got on stage with him for one of his early acoustic sets in the afternoon and we played "You Don't Miss Your Water" which was on Sweetheart Of The Rodeo which is an old William Bell song and "Driving Wheel" which was written by...

Tim: Dave Wiffen.

RH: Tim, Tim pulling that out!

Tim: No, I had to ask Roger and then I forgot. Then I had to ask the guy at the other radio station.(everyone laughs) But now I know it, third times the charm.

Gary: Yes so that was fun. Then he got up with us and played "Driving Wheel" at our show.

RH: Do you guys want to play another one for us?

Gary: Yeah we'll play one that people might remember from 1992 called "Waiting For The Sun." (They play "Waiting For The Sun")

RH: So what you don't hear are the people of in the Cross Bronx Expressway stuck in traffic applauding. That was from Hollywood Town Hall , that was a great record one that has seen it's share of mileage here. A couple of what I think were legendary shows here in New York were both Golden Smog. First one at Tramps and the second time you came back at Irving Plaza. And the sense of reckless rock and roll spirit, I've never felt it that same way in the audience, I was screaming it was like such an amazing show. It seemed like that was the spirit of Golden Smog, was that big part? I guess all you guys were there, was that big part of it, a group unlike your own? It's kind of like having an affair, you can be wild when your not, you know?

Gary: It's partially fear, because we've barely rehearsed very much. We're just having such a good time being with these people because it is like an affair. You know it's going to be over with, it's not going to be very long and there's very little pressure because it's not your careers, just a side thing. We kind of learned a little bit from that and brought it to our band, let's not take everything so incredibly seriously so we don't have fun. There was probably some alcohol involved too. I'm not sure, not me of course...

RH: On both sides of the stage I'm here to attest. Any plans for a future Golden Smog?

Gary: Not really no. Too busy we can't really think about it. It's not like one person's busy, everybody's busy. This is the beginning of our Jayhawks record and that's the most important thing for us. It's still fun, half the Golden Smog is in the Jayhawks, so...

Tim: It's half as fun (everyone laughs)

Gary: Yeah, the other half really drags us down.

RH: I've got to tell you this new album Smile is going to change it all, you guys are going to bust in a big way after this batch of songs.

Gary: All I know is I'm very proud of it and we have a great record company. All we can do is put it out there, I think there are people who are going to be pretty blown away by it. That's all we can do is put out what we think is our best work.

RH: Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello wrote a tune about your home town Toledo, Ohio. It's actually a funny little song.

Gary: I haven't heard it. I had to squeeze between those two when we were mixing something at Oceanway, maybe it was the Golden Smog record. They were sitting there talking and I had to squeeze my way inbetween...

Marc: Maybe that's why they wrote the song...

Gary: "Hey that's Gary Louris from Toledo, hey that's what we should be writing about!"

RH: It was that little ounce of inspiration that Costello was searching for. You guys have an Ohio tune on your record which I just love and earlier you were talking about really getting into the different rythms and kicking up the rythum, not just the classic straight ahead rock rythum. You guys definitely on this tune, it's kickin'.

Gary: Actually Marc Perlman on bass, he had three chords (plays chords) and he was playing around with the drum machine and our producer heard that. It was in the early stages of just screwing around and he said work on that song, the world needs a new modern kind of folk song. Marc looked up on the wall and there was a little drawing by Kraig and it was called "somewhere in Ohio", it was a sketch of me somewhere after a show. Do you know where it was in Ohio?

Kraig: No idea, that's why I wrote "somewhere in Ohio."(everyone bursts out laughing)

Gary: That makes sense! Then we kind of ran with it from there. It goes something like this...(They play "Somewhere In Ohio")

RH: Good one, Marc Perlman the bass player, so you wrote that solo or was it a collaborative thing?

Marc: It was collaborative. The three of us and a drum machine. Boss Rock 3 slowed down to a hundred and fourteen beats per minute and we make Tim play it...

RH: That's interesting, I know something that everyone listening does not know about you Marc and that's you're a really good dancer. I saw you during the soundcheck and you were shaking your hips and stuff (everyone's laughing) and I thought no wonder why he's the bass player and no wonder why he's the guy behind that tune "Somewhere In Ohio" because this guy can dance!

Tim: He's completely red right now.

Marc: Number one I'm the most spastic one in the band and number two Kraig and Blake both are the dancers in the band, our guitar tech and our guitar player.

RH: Yeah, no Kraig was reading the New York Times and you were shaking your groove thing during the sound check. Jayhawks live on the radio here at 90.7 FM WFUV. Their new album Smile in stores Tuesday, May the 9th, let's all say we meet at Tower Records around 9:30 in the morning and pick it up. Gary how much romanticism has been attached to the mid 1980's in Minneapolis when the Jayhawks first started. It seems now that fifteen years have gone by there's this kind of , it was a great scene, I know the Replacements, Husker Du were there, you guys were just starting out. What was it really like were you all starving and hungry or was it just this great love of music that was fueling it?

Gary: I don't think it was romanticised too much. It really was like that. Not only was there one good band but there were like a ton of good bands. Bands that you will never see the likes of again, like the Replacements or Husker Du, Soul Asylum, and there was the whole Prince thing, Run Westy Run, we got to cover all the bases here, don't want to leave anyone out. So it was really something we haven't seen since, so it was really a pretty cool place to be.

RH: Was that a part of what attracted you to Minneapolis because you were from Ohio.

Gary: No I went there because my sister lived there and I went there to go to school. Because I went to a small all male Jesuit High School I wanted to go to a big coed school you know and...

RH: Where the girls were!

Gary: ...where the girls were and what was that movie I saw that was out? The something kid with Cybill Shepherd, I remember she was at the university.

Marc: The Heartbreak Kid

Gary: The Heartbreak Kid and I saw that and I'm like, "she's cute and she's at the University of Minnesota." (laughing)Maybe if I go there I'll run into her. So I went there and a year later my sister moved away and I'm stuck there and it's 30 below. But it turns out there's this great music scene and it worked out fine.

RH: So the story was you were in the audience at the first Jayhawks gig, is that the truth?

Gary: I think I was there for the second, what was the first one?

Marc: First one we played was...(they hand him a mic, he sings "I did it my way"). According to my recollection the first one was at the Uptown Bar with Steve Reitzler.

Gary: I guess I just walked in when they were just breaking down their gear. So there was like one show where I wasn't in the band.

RH: So you were in the audience.

Gary: I was in the audience but I missed the show. I was late as usual or something. But I knew these guys from around and then I found out their guitar player, was he moving to Austin or something?

Marc: Actually it was funny because Gary was wearing a one piece jumpsuit just like Blake's (guitar tech). Gary was famous actually because he was in one of the country's one or two rockabilly bands.

Gary: Safety Last!

RH: So was he really wearing a jumpsuit?

Marc: When we asked him to join? Yeah. (everybody bursts out laughing)

Gary: It was a requirement. One of those Pete Townshend things.

Marc: No he was wearing a jumpsuit and we walked up to him and said, because the word about Gary was he was quote unquote "retired." So we asked him if he knew any guitar players and of course he got offended that we didn't ask him.

Gary: I suggested myself.

Marc: And he took over basically.

RH: Good move, you really are one of the finest rock guitarists. It seems like you committed to pretty early on.

Gary: Early on is definitely the way to put it. Then after that I'm not a practice kind of guy. I practice these things (plays fast diddly, diddly...). The rockabilly things you know. Then I got into the Clarence White stuff, the Jimmy Page stuff and then I regressed and just kind of did songwriting, that was easier.

RH: I found a webpage that's dedicated to your guitar collection and I don't know if you've ever seen that but it has pictures of you playing all of your different guitars (everyone bursts out laughing). It's kind of interesting.

Marc: That's really scary.

Gary: Thanks Kraig, did you put that together Kraig?!

Kraig: I've got a lot of down time.

RH: Big fan huh, big fan. The Jayhawks with us here live on 90.7 FM WFUV. Man, I don't even have the words, we just love you guys.

Gary: Thank you very much.

RH: Do you want to play another one?

Gary: Sure, we'll go out with this quiet song. This is a song we wrote for a movie (he says "pooch", not sure what that means) , this movie that ended up being shelved and then it came out, we turned around one day and it was in the video store after about a week and low and behold our songs weren't on it.

RH: Ah, but I cried nonetheless in that film.

Gary: Oh did you?! Was it good? I actually like making fun of it

RH: Pooch, with Tom Hanks, right?

Gary: No, no, no. (everyone is in hysterics) I like that though. No you're talking about Turner and Hooch .

Marc: Love that dog.

Gary: I cried for that.

RH: That was a sad movie! Oh my god, Hooch at the end.

Gary: That and Home Alone 2 I cried for.

Marc: Yeah, they stole that from Old Yeller though.

Gary: It was from a movie called Cool Dry Place. But we wrote this song for it and it's become one of my favorite songs on the record. It's called "What Led Me To This Town." (They play "What Led Me To This Town" live)

RH: Right on, that's great. Mighty props to the background vocalist here today with us.

Gary: How about those arrangements, those fancy... rented Nelson Riddle for those arrangements.

RH: That is sweet. Jen on keyboards and background vocals, Marc on bass, Kraig guitar, Tim on drums and singing too, and Gary on guitar and vocals. Great job. I'm so moved and stuff and I don't think I'm alone. So Jayhawks live on the radio here at 90. 7 FM. All right, now for the silly portion the proceedings. A little friendly game of either/or with Gary Louris.

Gary: Oh god.

RH: We have five questions here and it's an either/or and you just have to pick one. Fruit Loops or Bran Flakes?

Gary: Bran Flakes

RH: CD or records?

Gary: Records

RH: Britney or Christina?

Gary: Um, boy. I guess I'd have to say Christina. I think Christina is more talented, god I'm not sure. (laughter)

RH: Raw or cooked?

Gary: Raw

RH: And since you are a new dad, disposables or cloth.

Gary: Disposables, that's from experience.

RH: All right, you survived. Hey we asked you guys for a guest dj pick. Tell us what you chose and why. Actually we got a couple, right? We'll let Marc, give Marc the mic again. Marc play dj for us.

Marc: (sings "I did it my way")Yeah, I picked a Patti Smith song called "Frederick" off the album Wave which is a beautiful love song to the guy that she loves. It's a beautiful song. I love Patti too.

RH: She's in our town now.

Marc: Where, tell me....

RH: And then we are going to follow it up with Gary's pick "Sylvio" from Dylan. Jayhawks new album Smile in stores Tuesday, May 9th. (Plays Smith's "Frederick" and Dyan's "Sylvio") Dylan's Sylvio, Patti Smith's "Frederick" going back to Wave . Both those picks coming from the Jayhawks, their guest dj picks here at member supported WFUV. Big thanks to the band for dropping by and playing live here, their new album Smile in stores on Tuesday, May 9th. Look for it on the radio a lot....

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