Posted on Friday 16 January 2009
As a long-time fan of the Jayhawks as well as the solo output of both Mark Olson and Gary Louris, the below interview sits as one of my favorites pieces to grace space on MoB. I’ve already lauded their great new record, Ready For The Flood, and now get under the hood for a look at it’s creation and what comes next.
Could you lend some information on the recording process of Ready For The Flood? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?
Gary Louris: Lessons learned, no….lessons incorporated, yes. I am very very proud of the early Jayhawks recordings. I believe that Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass were to some of the high points of the Jayhawks career. But artistically, whenever one can record the performance live it is more of an aural ‘photo’ of the moment, and I have always been drawn to the moment. For me it was Sound Of Lies that introduced me to the magic of live vocals. On Rainy Day Music I finally bought into the reality that while playing live one sings around one’s guitar playing and plays guitar around one’s singing. I know for a fact that Mark loved this method and it was one of the elements that drew him to the homegrown quality of The Creekdippers. On Ready For The Flood Mark and I sang and played face to face, sans headphones, imperfections and all…..a moment, a day frozen in time. I believe when an artist can record in that way…i.e…as simply and as live as possible it is the ultimate emotional experience. I will never forget those days in the studio, and people may dissect it and criticize it, but for me it was what it should be…two people in a room making music with and off each other and having it captured in all it’s imperfect splendor.
Can you describe the process/decision of making another record with Gary?
Mark Olson: Gary and I did a tour together in the spring of 06 and we really liked the sound of the two of us singing with two acoustic guitars. We said, if we’re gonna do this again, let’s make a new record in a similar vein.
Did you each bring songs to the first sessions or were a lot of the songs written together?
Mark Olson: We got together in the summer of 06 in Gary’s garage and worked for one week straight; we basically build the songs up together part by part. There were some lyrical and melodic ideas we both had coming in, but the final cd is a tandem effort.
How did Chris Robinson come to produce the new record?
Mark Olson: He is a friend from our days of touring with the Black Crowes back in the 90s. He always treated us well on the road and has great knowledge of folk and where it meets country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. He happened to be in Minneapolis by chance and met up with us there when we were writing the songs for the record.
What approach or view did he bring to the project that is reflected on the final product
Mark Olson: He encouraged us to really go for the two guitars and the singing live in the studio approach. Gary and I had never made a record this way, where we sang everything live together. Now that we have I’ve found that I really enjoyed doing it this way.
I’ve read that you and Mark wrote songs for a film around 2001 that were never used. Are any of the songs on this record resuscitated from those sessions? If not, will those songs ever be heard?
Gary Louris: That is not entirely true….on that day in the desert in 2001 we wrote two songs….one is mostly forgettable and the other was in our minds the start towards our new relationship…Say You’ll Be Mine, which ended up on Mark’s magnificent December’s Child.
My favorite track on the new record is “Bicycle.” Can you shed some light on that song in particular? What inspired it and when was it written?
Mark Olson: It was written in Gary’s garage during our session there. The song is about what it is like to be dependent on bicycle transportation in America where everything is geared towards the car, and how that feels to be riding when you probably ought to be driving.
2008 just came to an end. We saw a lot of great concerts and heard a lot of great records. Anything from last year that really stood out for you?
Mark Olson: Yes, I thought that Devon Sproule both live and on cd was exceptional. I saw her at the Maverick Music Festival in the UK where we both played last summer.
Gary Louris: I must say that I had a great night seeing The Black Crowes with Vetiver in Minneapolis at First Avenue in December of 2008….great friends just kicking it…I have to be a bit of a fan and mention how much I love Vetiver and The Sadies……otherwise, no….to be honest I don’t get out much. I am not particularly proud of that fact, but it takes a lot more to wow me nowadays…..but I am ready to be wowed….
The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?
Mark Olson: I like Myspace and Facebook in the sense that it gives the audience a chance to catch up on tour dates and practical stuff like that. I usually use the internet for catching up on the news and reading my emails, mostly it’s about schedules and logistics. I hope this doesn’t sound too old fashioned but I still prefer the records too!!!
Gary Louris: I truly believe that computers and the Internet are like alcohol or drugs…in moderation they can be helpful in certain situations, in excess harmful. I embrace technology to a point, but I always go back to what is elemental to existence…what has made life worth living for thousands of years? Technology has not done what it was intended to do….it was supposed to make life easier and give people more leisure time to explore themselves and the world. What has happened is that now people are expected to do more, and work wherever they may be. People seem to have less time to ponder and think and appreciate. On the other hand one cannot deny the beauty of being able to call up any subject and reference any lateral tributaries…..This leads to endless dispersions which in the end leave one at a loss….in the end it is pure OVERLOAD. There are too many options, too many possibilities and sometimes it is just better to focus the brain on a few…In fact peoples brains and brain patterns are being changed and not necessarily for the good…You are asking the wrong person if you are asking if the world is getting better. What was the question again? Oh yes……I prefer when people had to work to seek out things, to be rewarded for real discovery instead of a clink on a link. I will never EVER justify people getting music for free…maybe if you are built to tour or are like Radiohead and can afford to give music away…..Maybe words of a bitter old man but I miss the old days before things got reduced to a google and a download….the quest, the road of discovery is as important as the end result….I think it hurts….any short cut is detrimental..period…
In February you’ll hit the road in support of Ready For The Flood. Will this tour be just yourself and Mark? Outside of the songs that make up the ones on the new record, where will (if any) other live material draw from?
Gary Louris: This tour will be primarily Mark and myself….I love the person and the playing of Mark’s girlfriend Ingunn and she will be playing djembe and other assorted percussion on a number of shows on this tour. I can’t say enough good things about her. I would be interested in adding people who played on the record, such as the amazing Jason Yates on organ and the incredible and undeniable force George Reiff who played bass on our record, along with the intriguing and unaffordable Ben Peeler and Jimmie Hey on assorted string instruments and drums respectively, but whenever we add players it begs the question…why not the Jayhawks? That is a tough one …The Jayhawks to me were so amazing that it almost seems sacrilegious to try and make that happen again…maybe in once-in-a-while setting but as a day-to-day this is what i do thing it might take away from what it was…..anyway…I am babbling…We will always perform old Jayhawks songs…we are proud of them and for Mark and I they are still exciting to perform…..We feel like our career was cut short prematurely, by our own hands, and we really never have performed them in a live setting like we wrote them…two guys with acoustic guitars…We may tap into our own solo records but mostly it will come from what Mark and I have done TOGETHER.
Previously: From The Crowd | Mark Olson – “Blue”
Previously: Review: Mark Olson/Ben Kyle @ Cafe Montmartre
Amazon: Ready For The Flood
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Myspace: Mark Olson & Gary Louris
MP3: Mark Olson & Gary Louris – “Doves & Stones”
