|
|
|
|
Dandy
Brown interview for
Q: Congratulations on the new album. It is one of subtle beauty and grows upon the listener after each listen. Many people say that the best albums are the ones that don't grab you immediately, but rather stealthily creep up on you when your back is turned. Do you feel "Dos" is one of those albums? A: Thank you for the compliment. I know that albums that turn out to be my favorites can go either way. Sometimes, I feel immediately that a collection of songs grabs me emotionally, and there are other times when it is just as you have put it . . . they sneak up on me after a few listens and find a place in the heavy rotation. When I think of albums that had that "sneaky" effect, I think of things like most of the Thin Lizzy repertoire. Man, it took me a few years of hearing those records to finally catch on to what those guys were doing and the subtle beauty behind the power of their music. If in some way "Dos" can be compared to that kind of situation with someone else, then I think that is incredible. To tell you the truth, though, all of the songs on "Dos" were able to immediately connect emotionally with me. The best thing about that statement is the fact that I personally only wrote about a third of the record, and Mike Riley and Country Mark Engel brought in songs that I immediately thought were incredible. I really don't think that any artist walks away from the studio saying to himself, "This record is really going to sneak up on people." There has to be an immediate connection with the music, or why waste the time tracking and releasing it? There have been sessions where I didn't get exactly what someone brought in immediately, and where I was blown away once I understood it, but with "Dos" I felt from the beginning that these were all accessible songs that spanned the range of musical genres . . . and in many ways that was always my vision for the project. Q: How do you think it compares to the first OdD effort? A: In a lot of ways it is very easy to compare the two, and in others the entire emotion and what the records mean to me are extremely different. With the first Orquesta release, I feel that in many ways none of us, including myself, were ready to accomplish all the things I hoped to achieve with it. While I love the songs on that record, and it remains a very personal statement of the emotions I felt when I first saw the desert, there is something about the sound of that batch of songs that makes me believe we were trying too hard to find the spirit of that session. We actually rehearsed more for the first release than we did for "Dos," and, to me, the second record sounds more like a practiced band than the first one. On "Dos" I think we threw more caution to the wind, and the groove was just easier to find that way. Sometimes it takes laying back off of something to allow it to come to you. Of course, we had more time to write songs that went along with the original vision of the project, and the ability to reflect on all of the good things we found during that first session, and that probably made the songwriting process come a little more naturally. Q: What was the initial inspiration behind OdD, and how does "Dos" go insofar as achieving that goal? A: It seems like every time I do an interview, I get into these long-winded descriptions of the Mojave and what the experiencing of it has done to me. Look, I'm just an Ohio boy that got transplanted out here a few years ago, so I'm not claiming, nor have I ever claimed to be a native. Man, I get this bum rap for coming out here and somehow capitalizing on the desert, but anyone from anywhere in the world who has visited either the Coachella Valley or the Morongo Basin will tell you of the power and energy of the environment. I'm not taking away from any of the other powerful places that I have visited either . . . there are dozens of them, but I happened to attempt to record an album that was entirely influenced by the wonder and majesty of this area, and present a kind of portrait of it. That was the initial inspiration behind Orquesta. Certainly, I believe that "Dos" is a little more vivid in regard to that inspiration, not only through the lens of the present, but with the ability to reflect with time upon the past. Q: The "stoner" scene puts a lot of emphasis on community spirit. Indeed Desert Sessions is a good example of that interaction between bands. OdD seems to take that to a new level with the new sound. Is it important to you on a personal level to surround yourself with friends in the studio? A: No doubt, having friends in the studio is certainly beneficial to the overall production of the project, but with both Orquesta and Hermano, when they started, I really had no long history with a few of the members who came in to help with the recording. When I came up with the concept and original riffs for Hermano, I really had no idea who John Garcia was . . . at least on a personal level. Actually, other than me knowing Steve Earle, and Dave Angstrom knowing John from previous experiences, none of the musicians had ever been in the same room until we began recording the album. In regard to Orquesta, I had hung out with Mike Riley, Landetta, Alfredo Hernandez, and Mario Lalli occasionally over the months before we stepped into the studio, but really I didn't know any of them from childhood or anything like that. Country Mark, of course, I had known for a long long time, and that was the reason I had recruited him to move from Cincinnati out to the desert for the session. As for Pete Stahl, I only got to know him through the first Orquesta session, and that was at the suggestion of the guys at Meteorcity. The thing that has always amazed me about these projects, though, are the friendships that sprung up between all of the members once we were all in the studio together, and how tight most of these relationships remain. Over the years I have been in sessions with people who I have known from my childhood, and sessions where I met the artists on the first day of recording. Both situations have different aspects that are great, but I have truly enjoyed the types of projects that I have been putting together over the last few years where strangers come together. The tension and energy that comes from strangers having to create together certainly pushes the limits of creativity and compromise, and there is nothing like watching something like that bloom. Q: Despite the band's members being entrenched in the "stoner" scene, it has been suggested that OdD would be better suited on some old-time AM radio station than KNAC. Again, is this your intension . . . to step out of comfort zones and to challenge yourself, and your listeners? A: I think to answer that question you would have to understand that I have never limited myself to one singular type of music, or tried to categorize myself as a certain type of musician that can only play a certain type of music. Throughout my musical experiences, I have always tried to dip my hand into every kind of music that I could imagine, and always felt a bit jaded by people who can only identify with one genre. Man, I have met so many people who are so singular of mind that they can only conceive of a certain type of music as being the "only" music that has merit. That kind of shit absolutely turns me off. Certainly, there are certain genres that don't touch me as deeply as others, but I think there is validity in all types of music . . . except maybe modern "country" music which I find, overall, to be a large bag of shit. That's another story, though . . . one where I have this terrible conception of all of these incredibly inept pop music writers invading Nashville and destroying the true essence of country music! It really drives me crazy to hear someone call a pop song with twangy vocals "country music." Anyway, I really do think that Orquesta del Desierto does push the limits of acceptance with people who are familiar with the music the artists in Orquesta have done before. I never set out with any intension to write a record that was going to be accepted by one group of people or another, but rather simply have always tried to interpret the emotions I have felt at a certain point in time. The influences and emotions that are going on within and outside of me are always in a state of flux, and in turn the music I write or produce will always be a reflection of this.
A: Definitely, everyone who has worked on the Orquesta records, both present and past, are incredible artists that have brought amazing contributions to the projects, but if there is one thing that I have learned from the past is that nothing in life remains "solid." In order to keep something viable, especially from a production perspective, there always has to be that ability to remain somewhat liquid and malleable in regard to the situations that arise when attempting to move a project forward. Certainly, I would love to see the current members of Orquesta go further with this project, both with future tours and recording, but I am no longer naïve enough to believe that anyone is irreplaceable. If that was the case, there wouldn't have been a second record. Q: Are you able to recruit these guys for touring, or is the stage show made up of "ringers?" A: In our attempts to put together shows for Orquesta, it has become a practical thing to move forward with only a seven piece line-up . . . which is entirely made up of people who were the "core" performers on the record. Everyone who performed on "Dos" has committed to touring this summer, and we are simply waiting for the itinerary of shows to be sent our way from management. Man, it is truly difficult to figure out how to put even a seven piece band on the road and make it financially viable. I would, of course, love to go out with eleven or twelve pieces, and make the live show sound exactly like the record, but practically we have had to pair it down to more of a "rock" band consisting of guitars, drums, percussion and vocals. Q: What would the dream OdD line-up look like? A: It already exists. Q: Can you explain the "magic" you feel at Rancho de la Luna? Is it evident during the recording process, or only in the finished product? A:
Using the word "magic" and Rancho de la Luna in the same sentence
is definitely appropriate. There is no other studio that I have ever been
in, and that list is in the dozens upon dozens, that has the same warmth
as the Rancho. There are definitely studios that have more high-end gear
and architecture, but I have never worked anywhere else where the artists
have felt more comfortable and inspired. The atmosphere that exists at
the Rancho definitely makes itself apparent at both ends of the process
of putting a production together. If there is another studio in the world
where the artist can walk out the front door to the majesty of the sand
and mountains, to the beauty of the wide desert skies, to the regular
glimpses of a coyote passing through, then I would love for someone to
inform me about it so that I can set up time there for the next project.
Everyone who has ever recorded at Rancho de la Luna will testify to the
wonder of that place, and the emotions it is able to bring out of an artist.
|