Originally published on Swizzle-Stick.com
The club where Damien Jurado and I are to meet to do an interview is relatively quiet an hour or so before the opening band is supposed to start doing their thing. I show up and look around, noticing mostly post-collegiate types sipping their happy hour priced beers before heading home for the evening. David Fischoff, who is touring with Damien at the time, is setting up an amplifier and taking in the aura of the club, maybe hoping to get a sense of what is in store for the remainder of the evening. As I glance around the club I notice a giant of a man standing next to the CD jukebox pumping dollar bills in and selecting punk rock classics. He’s simply dressed — a white t-shirt and dark shorts. Is this the same person that I’ve heard gently picking away at his acoustic guitar and singing folk songs that bring to mind quiet mountain towns in the depths of West Virginia on the SubPop release Rehearsals for Departure? As I’ll learn a few minutes later, when I interupt Damien as he’s writing a letter, it is the same person. From initial appearances, Damien is a quiet man, and the fifteen minutes or so that we spend talking to each other backs that up. The following is the brief conversation that took place.
Your name is often mentioned in the same breath as many of “new folk” singers such as Elliot Smith, Will Oldham, David Bazaan. How do you think you fit into that scene?
How do I fit in to it? I don’t think I really fit into it. I listen to Will Oldham but he’s the only guy that I can relate to in a musical sense. People like Elliot Smith, I’m not really a fan of. I mean I’ve played shows with him before, but I don’t think we’re alike at all. I think he’s more pop oriented and I’m more folk oriented. I think the same can be said of Will Oldham as well. I don’t if I would necessarily call it folk. I think what I do is folk.
How does Rehearsals for Departure differ from the rest of your material?
The first record was a little more pop oriented but I think that was because of pressure from the label. This new record they let me do what I wanted to do and go the direction I wanted to go, more folk stuff.
You’ve put out stuff on Sub Pop and Made in Mexico. Is that it? Did you ever release anything on Tooth & Nail?
They just licensed the first record I did. I’m also on Rykodisc is England as well. That’s nice.
Does Rykodisc let you pick out stuff from their catalog?
Yeah. I just came from there a few weeks ago. I got the Nick Drake boxset. I got this band called Cubanismo. I got this Odetta record. Stuff like that.
From sound alone, many of your songs are rather somber, as are many folk artists. What was the last thing that really made you happy?
Happy? Uh . . . I can’t remember the last time I was actually really happy. I don’t know, it’s been a long time.
Would you say you are a serious, introspective person?
Yeah, I think that I am. I think that I’m very serious. There’s always room for being non-serious. I’m a cut-up as well.
How do you think your friends would describe you?
A little bit of both. I tend to be a little more serious than a cut-up, a little too serious at times.
As you travel across the country, do you ever get lonely?
Yeah. It gets lonely. I’m married and have lots of friends at home.
You must have some pretty good stories about the generosity of your fans. Is there any one story that really stands out in your memory? Do your fans ever take you home and feed you or give you a place to stay?
That happens quite a bit. It’s mostly people I don’t know, which is kind of weird at times because I don’t know what to expect. There are some people that I do know that have offered me places to stay as well.
What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?
I like to all kinds of music. I listen to a pretty strict diet of traditional folk music.
Is there anything in your collection that your fans or friends would be surprised to discover that you own?
No. They probably wouldn’t know some of the stuff I own. I do like David Bowie a lot. Okay, I like Metallica. (laughts) I like all their stuff. I like a lot of hip-hop music, a lot of old school punk, but mostly I like folk music.
You worked with Ken Stringfellow (Posies) and Sarah Shannon (Velocity Girl), among others, on the new CD. I can deduce that you know Ken from Seattle, but how did you hook up with Sarah?
She was actually a pretty good friend of Ken’s. I had never met her previous to the recording. She was over there for like 3 hours and did her vocals takes. We hung out for a little bit and then she went home. I didn’t really know her that well.
What kind of collaborations between Damien Jurado and David Bazaan (Pedro the Lion) are sitting out there right now just waiting to be released?
There’s not really any collaborations. The only collaborations that are going on are, at local shows, he and his band, will play background for me sometimes. They’ll be my backup band. David is actually going to be recording my new record for Sub Pop. And I’ll most likely play on his new record as well. As far as side bands nothing is really in the works.
Weren’t the two of you in a band together a long time ago?
Yeah, a band called Coolidge, which was basically an emo band. We were in a punk band in high school. I did my thing, he did his thing, and that is where we are at today.
It seems to me that you probably share fans with Pedro the Lion.
Yeah, we do. We have a lot of the same fans. There is more of a buzz about his band than me, basically because I do it myself. My music is not really popular. Dave’s music is more indie rock. I don’t really play that stuff. I don’t think it’s a real popular form of music today.
What do you think of the way Sub Pop is headed these days? They are putting out more solo, acoustic type things.
They’ve gone on so many directions. They’ve been putting out a lot rock records lately. That’s fine. That’s what they are known for. I’m doing another record for them and I know that Mark Lanegan has one coming out in September.
Do you like playing solo? Would you ever like to tour with a backing band?
I’m not opposed to it. I don’t think I’d ever tour with a backup band because it gets real expensive. I have more control if I do things solo. I don’t play well with bands. I think that’s one of the great things about Pedro the Lion. If I did play a show and I did want a band to back me up, they know the songs, and they could come out and do it. I’m comfortable with them and they are the only guys I’ll ever play with. I have friends that play accordion and I have friend that play horns and piano, so it’s not just Pedro the Lion. It’s individual people as well.
When it’s all said and done, how do you want people to remember you and your work?
Uh . . . I don’t think they will remember me. If they did, I would hope they would just appreciate the stories that I tell. I don’t think they are songs. For me, I don’t consider myself more of a singer or sonewriter as much as I do a storyteller who just happens to use a guitar. That’s how I want people to remember me I guess.
Be First to Comment