Andy Brawner’s Time Since Western has been on heavy rotation here at MoB since giving A Sun Goes Down our Homegrown treatment. I had a chance to talk with the former Pale Young Gentleman about branching out on his own for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.
Could you lend some information on the recording process of A Sun Goes Down? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?
I recorded and mixed the record almost entirely in a spare bedroom in my house in Milwaukee. The whole process took probably a year, even though most of those songs had been around longer than that. The only thing not recorded in my house is the drums for “Bottom of the Sea,” which I recorded at a friend’s studio up in Green Bay. I actually tracked drums for a bunch of songs that day but later decided not to use those drum tracks. Maybe those mixes will surface some day; sometimes I hear them and think I should have put those on the record, but I guess I opted for less conventional sounds, like the damaged drum machine on “Northern Down,” or brushes with distortion or whatever. As strange as this sounds, some of those decisions happened when Jeff Brouws agreed to let me use his photograph for my record cover. I had been searching for something to really anchor the aesthetic of the record, and knowing that shot would be the record cover changed everything. It has so much heat in it…it seemed wrong after that to use too many standard drum sounds. I needed sounds that sounded like that shot looked — sounds that had been exposed to as many different forms of heat as possible, if that makes any sense. As for whether I learned anything I can apply to the next record, maybe.
One thing is that I want the next record to be looser musically, but tighter and more refined in terms of its vision. I’m really loving the human process of playing gigs with a band. Mike Krol and Andy Thiele are awesome, and our perspectives mesh in an interesting way, and I hope we can make the next record as a band. I think that would give the looseness I’m looking for.
What’s the best and worst part about being an musician in Wisconsin?
I don’t know if I can answer that, but what’s funny to me is how different Madison and Milwaukee are. I live my life between those two cities. Milwaukee is one version of Wisconsin, and Madison is a totally different version. It’s almost insane that those two cities both represent Wisconsin. Madison might as well be in Northern California. I love Wisconsin and I love being a musician here. If there’s anything bad about it, it’s that nobody (me included) is audacious enough. So many musical endeavors in this state seem to have an inferiority complex. I think we all need to believe in ourselves a bit more, and believe in each other. That sounds kind of corny, but for all I know, confidence is the only difference between Milwaukee and Portland.
What was the last show you went to see as a fan?
The Roots at Summerfest, same day we played there. Amazing. I grew up playing drums, and Questlove is one of my favorite drummers ever. They did this 20-minute version of “Masters of War” that was pretty mind-blowing. I wish I were a rapper sometimes. I want rhythm to matter more in my music.
You were one of the original members of Pale Young Gentlemen and played on their self-titled album. Was it a difficult decision to go out on your own?
It was really hard. I love those guys and I love their music, and it was an exciting thing to be a part of. So much momentum, so much belief that they can take it wherever they want to take it. They are a Wisconsin band that does not have trouble believing in itself. They are confident enough to think they should be reviewed by Pitchfork or whatever, and the confidence fuels the quality of their music, and vice versa. I love that. But I knew I had to pursue my own thing or I would explode. The first line on my record is “Now that I feel OK, I will play this song for you,” and that’s sort of what that’s about. Like, now that I’ve finally cleared the decks and gotten myself into a position to make my statement, here it goes. I hope it came out the way I wanted, the way I heard it in my head. I hope other people feel the feelings when they hear it that I felt when I dreamed it up. I really do.
If you were to cover and entire night’s worth of someone else’s material whose would you choose?
Dylan. I could try to be cool and name someone obscure, but if you’ve gotta play one artist’s stuff for any length of time, Dylan is perfect. So much to mine from, so much music that’s just fun to sing and play, so many absurd, amazing images that make you smile when you sing them. I love Dylan. I’ll change my mind, but lately I’ve been thinking “Highway 61 Revisited” is far and away the best record ever. I digress…
Time Since Western will perform at The Frequency in Madison on Friday, Sepetember 26th and the following night at Milwaukee’s Mad Planet.
Myspace: Time Since Western
MP3: Time Since Western – “Feathers”
