Over the course of almost 15 years playing their unique brand of sludgy thrash metal, Jason Landrian and Rafael “Rafa” Martinez—otherwise known as San Francisco two-piece Black Cobra—have toured the world with some of metal’s most legendary bands. The band has also released five full lengths, including their latest, the much-anticipated Imperium Simulacra, which came out Feb. 26, 2016 on French label Seasons of Mist.
But Black Cobra’s longevity and success in the international metal scene hasn’t really changed the band’s spartan approach to being on the road. Driving between Reno and Salt Lake City, Utah, two of the stops on the band’s string of headlining dates ahead of a nationwide tour with Bongzilla, vocalist/guitarist Landrian explains that beyond just covering all the bases musically, the two-man team also typically still cover all the logistics of being on tour themselves, from driving to loading gear to selling merch.
“It’s a little bit difficult sometimes,” says Landrian. “But we’ve kind of got it down, to be honest. Not to pat ourselves on the back but we’ve been doing it for a while. We know the drill, so we’re pretty good about being quick getting off stage and getting behind the merch booth.”
When it came to releasing a follow-up to 2011’s Invernal, however, Black Cobra definitely took their time. The result is Imperium Simulacra, an album that adheres strictly to the band’s stripped-down, two-piece approach, without sacrificing an ounce of heaviness. Though Imperium Simulacra certainly has its stony moments and a smattering of psych overtones, Black Cobra avoid over-thinking things, opting instead to keep their tempos brisk and their riffs diabolical.
With Black Cobra and Bongzilla set to swing through Sacramento’s Starlite Lounge March 7, 2016 we talked with Landrian about the band’s history, their current tour and the process behind creating Imperium Simulacra.
You’ve toured with pretty much every band that a band playing your kind of music would want to tour with. Does it feel like you guys are sort of a band’s band in terms of groups wanting to take you on tour?
We’ve been very fortunate. It’s hard to give a concrete reason as to how or why certain things come down the pipe for us, but it’s awesome. Of course we want to tour with bands like Yob, Bongzilla and The Sword. All the bands we’ve toured with have been really great. We just feel really fortunate that we’ve not had too many, if any, bad tours. Actually, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad tour. I mean, some tours are bigger than others. But we’re always in good company.
You’ve also run the full spectrum over the years, though, as far as playing huge festivals and tours to playing really small venues in the middle of nowhere. Is there some nuance between the two, in terms of the way you play?
I think inevitably there’s more energy there when the crowd is, like, more crazy or when there’s more people there, but we try to bring the same level of energy for any size crowd we play for, whether it’s at Hellfest, or a hometown show or somewhere in the middle of the country. We play intense music and that kind of makes the energy sort of inevitable; we’re gonna put on an intense show or do our best to do that.
Is it nice to have some fresh material to play with the new album?
For sure. That’s sort of the noticeable thing about these shows leading up to the Bongzilla leg of the tour is that we haven’t actually played a lot of these songs live before. We were playing one song, “The Messenger,” on our last tour with Yob and, I mean, we’ve been rehearsing them for a long time so we feel pretty comfortable.
But it’s nice to get a little work in before we get to the main leg of the tour. We’re playing almost all the songs from the new album, trying to vary it up a little bit each night. It’s nice to play some new songs, but also play some other ones that people are more familiar with too.
Was it part of the plan to take five years in between this record and the last or did it just sort of turn into that?
Yeah, it kind of happened. It wasn’t like we made a conscious effort like “Hey we need to take a really long time off.” There were some personal things at home that we felt like we needed to be around for. When you’re a musician that goes on tour a lot, you’re not at home a lot. So there are things there that sometimes you need to be around for, so that was part of it. Another part of it was we wanted to not burn ourselves out and put some space between tours. But that being said, we really stayed busy during the last four, I guess five years on paper. Imperium Simulacra was recorded last June, so that album’s been done for almost a year now. But with things like release schedules and finalizing artwork, those things take time. And we didn’t want to rush anything. Those things all sort of take time. And before you know it, it’s like, “Whoa, it’s been five years since our last record.”
Have you found it’s built a certain amount of suspense and anticipation around the album?
Yeah, it seems so. People are like, “Wow, the long awaited album.” I’ve seen that here and there. It’s nice that it seems like people are anxiously awaiting it. And we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback so far, from people that have heard it. We never wanted to rush anything, writing-wise. So we did take our time, more than usual. But it’s nice to hear that people are excited to see us play new songs. It’s been a really good, warm reception.
With that extra time, was there a temptation to add more layers to the record, or expand things a little instrument-wise? Or were you pretty tied to the two-man principle?
We’re always of the mindset that when we write something we’re gonna play it in front of people live. So we want to make sure that we can execute everything in the live setting as well as the studio setting. We never want to get too crazy with something that we couldn’t pull off live. But at the same time, we’re always thinking about expanding our sound. We like a lot of different types of music, so it’s nice to bring all of those influences in, but in a way that still maintains the core of our sound. We always want the sound to evolve, but we want it to evolve organically.
There seems to be a sci-fi theme on Imperium Simulacra. What was the inspiration behind the songwriting on this record?
Rafa was really into reading some Philip K. Dick stuff and reading some Ray Kurzweil stuff, about how we’re approaching the possibility of singularity happening, where technology could surpass human advancement. So that was kind of the catalyst for a lot of things we wrote about. But we’re also just really big fans of science fiction in general, so we took a lot ideas from that, but also worked in our own thoughts, and stories that we imagined. And there’s always kind of an undercurrent of chaos and destruction in most of our lyrical content on all of our records [laughs], so I think it fit really nicely with that as well.
Looking at the routing for this tour, it looks like a pretty long one.
I think it might be the longest one we’ve ever done. We’ve done a six-week tour before, but I don’t know that we’ve ever done a seven-week tour and I think this one’s right around seven weeks.
Can that get grueling at a certain point, especially being that there’s only two of you?
We both go into something like this knowing what’s expected and what we’re going to do. By the end, there’s definitely some “I can’t wait to get home” kind of thoughts. But it’s nice to be out of the road. We like touring, we like playing shows, we like playing music in front of people. There’s that aspect of wanting to sleep in your own bed, but it’s also nice to go from town to town, playing music. It can burn you out, where you want to take a little time away from it, maybe. But there’s always a point where we’re ready to go back and slug it out on the road again.
Check out Black Cobra, alongside stoner metal legends Bongzilla, Lo-Pan and Against the Grain March 7, 2016 at Starlite Lounge, located at 1517 21st St. in Sacramento. This show is 21-and-over, and starts at 8 p.m. For more info or to purchase advance tickets, go to Atlanteancollective.queueapp.com.
After forming in late 2003, releasing an EP in 2004, and touring the West Coast on and off for a few years after that, regional indie/punk/queercore duo Butch Vs Femme went on what they thought was going to be a permanent hiatus. Then in August 2014, drummer Kimberli Aparicio and keyboardist/vocalist Chavez D’Augustine decided to get the ol’ band back together for some shows and even more exciting, to finally release a full-length album titled Eat Yr Heart Out.
“It feels great to be back together,” the band recently told Submerge. “When we first started Butch Vs Femme we were both pretty young and probably didn’t make the best decisions for the band. We made some awesome music and knew that there was a strong connection between us. We always had a lot of fun playing together but we just kind of grew apart.”
Now that they are back together, the duo says they have a clear goal of what they want.
“Even though the songs for Eat Yr Heart Out were written eight to 13 years ago we still play them with the same amount of energy and passion. We love these songs and it’s about time they got recorded!”
Eat Yr Heart Out is 10 tracks total, one of which (“Down for Me”) is streaming for free on the band’s website Butchvsfemme.com. The album will be available for purchase on CD or by download card at the band’s Sacramento release party on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Starlite Lounge (1517 21st Street). The show will also feature opening sets from two other solid local acts, PETS and Ghostplay. Doors open at 8 p.m., cover is just $7, 21-and-over only. Welcome back, Butch Vs Femme, the local scene has missed you!
From 2006 to 2010, the regional folk/Americana band Silver Darling enchanted fans locally as well as up and down the West Coast via extensive touring, sharing the stage with such greats as Jason Isbell, Damien Jurado, The Cave Singers and others. Silver Darling released one full-length album (Your Ghost Fits My Skin) and an EP (Wrap Around My Heart) via Davis-based indie label Crossbill Records, and they even landed on one of the covers of issue No. 16 of Submerge! When the group ultimately disbanded, frontman Kevin Lee Florence, who now lives in Portland, Oregon, began focusing on his solo career. He has now released his first solo album Given on Fluff and Gravy Records and is preparing for his long-awaited return to Sacramento for an all-ages gig at Insight Coffee Roasters (1901 8th Street, Sacramento) with local guitarist Ross Hammond on Saturday, March 21, 2015. “Flecked with folk influences, finger-picked guitar lines and distinctive harmonies provided by his sister Kelly Florence, Given falls somewhere between Sam Beam’s hushed, vivid folk and [Paul] Simon’s own conversational, quirky lyrical genius,” his bio reads on Kevinleeflorence.com. The album was recorded almost entirely live in the hip and artistic Echo Park area of Los Angeles at Fivestar Studios, where artists like Father John Misty, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the band Dawes and have also worked. Given features a slew of world-class musicians, including Florence’s personal hero, Garth Hudson of the legendary Canadian-American roots rock group The Band, as well as bassist Jon Button (Sheryl Crow, Robben Ford), drummer James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens, Bill Frisell), and guitarist Danny Donnelly. Hit up Spotify or Florence’s website to hear a stream of Given. We highly suggest taking in the whole thing; but if you’re in a hurry, make sure to at least check out the album’s ethereal opener, “Alone and Everything,” and the single (track 3 on the album) “Peace Like a River,” which has a really cool psychedelic Beatles-esque stomp to it. The March 21 show at Insight kicks off at 7 p.m. and is just $5 at the door.
When Dean Haakenson of local indie/folk/rock outfit Be Brave Bold Robot hit us up to inform us that they had made an “eclectic, weird new album” called Press E to Continue (the name devised by the top donor on the album’s Kickstarter campaign) and that it has a “couple rap tracks” on it, we couldn’t help but be intrigued. So we downloaded, pressed play to continue and freaking loved it! From the opening track, a folk-y ode to their hometown appropriately titled “Sacramento,” to the actually impressive hip-hop collaboration with local rapper Mr. Hooper “Grown Ass Man,” to the eight-minute-plus closer about being young and doing mushrooms called “Sonerda.” With Press E… BBBR has got us again, hook, line and sinker. BBBR is celebrating the release of the new album with a big show at Fox and Goose on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. The show will feature an early singer/songwriter set, then go into a premier of the “Recipe” music video by Matt Brown, then into the sure-to-be-diverse BBBR set, leading up to a closing set from local psychedelic rock band CFR. Cover is just $5, 21-and-over only. Hit up Facebook.com/bebraveboldrobot to keep up with the group’s shenanigans.
Even though their sound generally fits the bill, to call Yo La Tengo an “indie band” would be a great disservice to the legacy they’ve built over their nearly 30-year career amongst their cult-like following. Members Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew have forged their own path, landing on critics’ best-of lists countless times, playing the world’s best concert halls and festivals as well as the diviest of dives. Earlier this year the group released their 13th album, Fade, and it is being hailed as one of their best albums in years. See Yo La Tengo live on Sunday, May 12, 2013 at Harlow’s (2708 J Street). Tickets are just $20 in advance, available at Harlows.com. Show starts at 9 p.m. and is 21-and-over. For more information on the band and to sample some tunes off of Fade, visit Yolatengo.com.
Local promoter Brian McKenna recently confirmed the much-hyped garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes for a Sept. 14 gig at Harlow’s, and we here at Submerge could not be more stoked. This in your face, rowdy-as-fuck band had one of the most blogged-about sets at this year’s Lollapalooza, recently toured with Sacramento’s own Deftones, and will soon embark on separate stints with Iggy and the Stooges and The Flaming Lips. You don’t score gigs like those unless you’re doing something right. The Los Angeles-based group has local ties in bassist Jonathan Hischke (pictured on left), who has played with and/or toured/recorded with such local-ish bands as Hella, Agent Ribbons, Casual Fog and a ton of others as well as national acts like The Mars Volta and Broken Bells. If you’re a fan of spastic, energetic, borderline obscene live performances, you’re going to want to mark your calendars for this one, as lead singer Teri Gender Bender is known to throw shoes into the crowd, spit a lot and douse herself in fake blood–you know, the whole nine. Hischke and drummer Gabe Serbian (formerly of The Locust) get down too, which creates a sort of chaotic, yet somehow controlled vibe. It ought to be interesting seeing a (hopefully) primed and drunken Sacramento crowd react to their onstage energy. I’m forecasting much spilled beer, intermittent mosh pits and a high possibility of stage diving in Harlow’s near future. Show is $8 in advance, 21-and-over only and doors open at 8 p.m. Opening the show will be locals I’m Dirty Too and Diciembre Gris. For more information, visit Harlows.com, Abstractsacramento.com or hit up The Beat or Dimple Records to score tickets.
The Detroit Cobras Scour the Archives and Revitalize Long-Lost Hits
The Detroit Cobras are good at what they do. So good, they kept the critical media scratching their collective temple as to why the band struck a familiar chord, but the origins were not quite traceable. Four albums and a gang of singles deep, the Cobras’ garage and R&B nostalgia earned them the company of their most-beloved songwriters and a friendship with a particularly notable Grammy Award-winning, Detroit-raised producer.
“We’ve never reported ourselves to be a cover band. It’s not like we’re doing Motown review and I’m coming out with my hair in a beehive doing Supremes songs,” lead singer Rachel Nagy said. “Once one critic found out, other critics started raving, but we never said we wrote them. It’s not a hidden issue.”
It’s been four years since Tried & True, making my first inquiry quite obvious–what’s the haps on a new record? Turns out, the Cobras are waiting on fellow Detroit native Don Was, a man whose production is well worth the delay. If the name is not ringing a bell, perhaps these will: Lyle Lovett, Iggy Pop, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks and The Rolling Stones.
“The whole Don Was thing is kind of nebulous right now. He’s a very busy man.” Nagy said. “We’re talking about maybe mid- to end of summer to start recording. We may even do it backwards now that all the hip kids are putting out singles. Just start putting stuff out as we record it.”
While the Cobras wait for Mr. Was to grace them with his time and expertise, we took to discussing the meat and potatoes of the Cobras’ next step in being the best darned (cover) band around. With the cat out of the bag and old songwriters coming forward at their shows, it’s an exciting new time for the band, in which perhaps an original or two might sneak into the tracklisting.
It’s been a while since the last Detroit Cobras record. What’s the motivation going into the new record?
Maribel Ramirez: Being able to record a little better. We make decent records, but we’d like to take it a little further than we already have–make it more powerful. We’ve done a decent job by ourselves. In talking to Don [Was], it’s something we both want to do.
Will there be a shift in the bands that influence the music?
MR: It’s digging deeper. It’s almost attitude-wise, you know what I mean. We’re a little more grown up and we still want to make a dance record, but dance by our definition.
Rachel Nagy: Was said to us, “Look, I won’t do this if I don’t know what to do. If I don’t understand this and don’t know what I can bring to you guys, I won’t try to fake through it or turn you into something you’re not.” And that’s what we needed to hear.
Does the band feel pressure of possible misrepresentation, considering the songwriting process is built upon previous works? Do you ever get approached by disgruntled fans or the original songwriters?
MR: You’d think we would have, but to tell you the truth, most people don’t know the records. People aren’t really going to come up to you and tell you negative things anyway. When we cover a song people go looking for it. Most don’t say, “Hey, I know that.” When we were in Europe, it was cool to see the effects of having done this. People come out and say, “Let me show you what I’ve got.”
In Los Angeles a person came to the side of the stage and said, “There’s a person here who says you covered one of their songs.” I remember thinking, “I thought most of them were dead?’ Who the fuck is standing at the door.” It was Jackie DeShannon [one of the first female singer/songwriters in rock ‘n’ roll]. We went to a little studio and wrote a couple of songs with her. One of the songs we wrote during that session I want to use on the next record. I at least want to give it a shot.
Have you ever had someone try to pull the wool over you and pretend to be related to one of the deceased musicians to get paid in some form?
RN: The closest thing that ever happened to that was Mickey Lee Lane’s brother. I don’t think we met him, but I think he sent us a letter. It was cool, but then died. The next thing you know we’re getting these long e-mails from his brother. He started on the whole, “Yeah, I actually wrote that and here’s some other stuff I wrote that I’d love if you guys would do.” It was very obvious that he hadn’t written anything.
The other music he was sending us was terrible. It was really bizarre shit like I don’t think we’ll be doing a dance remix of the blues anytime soon. Other than that, we’ve never really had anyone try and play us.
Considering many of these songs are obscure hits that are either out of print or impossible to find, has there ever been an interest to do more for the originals beyond the band’s interpretations of them? For example, a label that focuses on reissues or a compilation?
RN: We absolutely have the utmost respect, it’s one of the reasons we do what we do. But this is our personal jukebox. We get together, share each other’s weird records, drink some beer and play the songs we love and find fun. Other than that it was not supposed to be anything deeper.
I wouldn’t really call us collectors. I’ve lost so many records. It comes down to the difference between boys and girls. The girls run around, dance and have a good time, while the boys are the librarians discussing who begat who.
We’ll leave all the reissuing to those boys that are great at cataloging and remembering and not losing their records and not moving from a house and forgetting two boxes in the attic.
Detroit Cobras will perform The Blue Lamp on Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 9 p.m. Also appearing will be Girl in a Coma. Tickets are $12 in advance and can be purchased at Eventbrite.com.
Lite Brite, Mondo Deco, The Babs Johnson Gang
Friday, Feb. 11, 2011 – Luigi’s Fungarden – Sacramento
Thirty minutes into watching a live band, the singer tells you, an audience member, to waddle. If you’ve ever seen local duo The Babs Johnson Gang play, you’re already prepared to start shaking your ass, because if you’re the best waddler during the “Waddle” song, you are finely rewarded. This time, the band offered up a tiny trophy, which was immediately swiped by a middle-aged woman who stepped onto the stage and started swinging her hips.
The Babs Johnson Gang opened Friday night’s show at Luigi’s Fungarden with Mondo Deco and Lite Brite, a local lineup that brought a night of ass-shaking rock ‘n’ roll to the cramped all-ages music venue.
The Babs duo play music that is both grungy and honky-tonk, rock ‘n’ roll and punk at the same time, using little more than distorted guitar coupled with crashing drums. Ten or so people were standing in front of the stage at the start of their first song. The two band members exchanged messy vocals that began in rants and would crescendo into shrieking howls over the drums and guitar, and then abruptly alternate into psychedelic, reverb-rich melody. Drummer Cory Gorey piped viciously into his harmonica between singing and drumming. More people filed in to watch. Smashing away intensely at the drums, Gorey tipped over his tom and later shoulder-bumped his mic into an obnoxious swivel around his head. Unaffected, he kicked the tom away and the two carried on, rarely pausing between songs. Midway through, guitarist Tim Pronovost stepped into the crowd, beating one of Gorey’s toms and handing it off to an audience member to play before returning to the stage. By the time they started playing “Waddle,” the crowd reached to the back of the room.
The Babs Johnson Gang was followed by Mondo Deco, one of Sacramento’s newer rock acts. The six-piece band stepped on stage looking like they walked out of a ‘60s film, sporting black and white pants, button-down shirts, suit jackets and bowties. In addition to two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, the band featured two shimmying back-up singers/dancers in sparkling attire and boots. Singer/guitarist Jeremy Green, who also fronts local band Goodness Gracious Me, has the voice of a quintessential rock vocalist, hitting shrill, high-pitched screams and low notes, too. Guitarist Kolton James’ fingers glided along the neck of his guitar, delivering smooth solos and progressions with ease. Green counted in the last song, “Mouth Without a Muzzle.” At this point the crowd was thick and the room was hot. The band delivered one more dose of heavy guitars joined with a danceable beat, riling up the crowd to clap and sing along. Then the drums and bass slowed, the dancers slowed to a sway, and the crowd sang with Green until the song came to a harmonious halt.
Enter Lite Brite. Frontman Eddie Underwood kicked off the set with a power-driven guitar riff, summoning the start of the three-piece band’s hit “Big City.” Underwood’s gritty, reverb-filled screams matched with surging guitar distortion and grinding bass conjured up an amphitheater-style performance. The Led Zeppelin influence is apparent. Underwood leapt in the air, shredded his guitar and thrashed about his mane of curls simultaneously, pausing ever so often to thrust his guitar high above his head. Sweat dripping from his chin, he turned to jam his quivering guitar up against the face of his amp, delivering pulsing feedback throughout the room. Heads were rolling in the front row by the time they played their final song, “Space Shuttle.” The guitars shot off like sirens and the massive drums rolled in. By the end of the song, Underwood was on his knees face-down on the stage, moaning into the drum mic cupped in his hands.
At the end of the show, Submerge asked Babs Johnson Gang for their set list. Gorey answered, “We never use set lists. Stick that in your Submerge.”
Roman Funerals, X-Ray Press, Winter’s Fall
Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 – Townhouse – Sacramento
Let’s face it: watching two or more hours of the same genre of music rarely keeps the full attention of any audience, whether it’s thrashy punk rock or a dose of lulling acoustic folk. The jumble of bands playing Sunday’s show at the Townhouse, headlined by Sacramento’s Roman Funerals, provided a different kind of experience instead.
Winter's Fall
I was in the ladies’ room when I heard the drums of the opening band overhead, one hour past show time. I ran upstairs in time to see the five members of the Berkeley, Calif., band Winter’s Fall onstage playing “Anyways” from their newly released album At All Angles. Thirty-five or so people were fanned across the bar and corners of the room. Wearing button-down shirts and sneakers to fit the part, it was the first time the self-described Americana, indie folk rock band had played a show in Sacramento. I was immediately caught off-guard by lead vocalist Peter Stanley’s voice, which varies between a distinctly higher, somewhat nasaly quality like Jon Thor Birgisson in Sigur Ros and a lower range like the voice of The National’s Matt Berninger. The songs lasted four to five minutes, transitioning from upbeat guitar hooks to dreamy layers of guitars mixed with synthesizers and harmonized vocals, creating a full, soothing sound that was both folk and rock. Topped off with the sweet sound of a lap steel guitar and Stanley’s voice, their songs radiated country undertones. They played “Who’s to Say,” also off of At All Angles, and “Paper Chains” from their 2008 release Winter’s Fall.
Roman Funerals headlined the show, fronted by brothers Evan and Matt Ferro of the former Sacramento band Bright Light Fever. Several local performers joined them on stage, including Kris Anaya of Doom Bird and the Alternative String Band. The set began with “Change in Weather,” a haunting opener filled with heavy drums and melancholy guitar riffs. Their songs are lyrically rich and eerie, with the brothers delivering most of the words in harmony with a sort of raw intensity, joined by their acoustic guitars. “I go to sleep at night wearing all my clothes in case the rich kids come to get me. They’ll take me away to a house on the hill and tell me lies about American history,” were the opening lines of “Secrets for Sale,” followed with booming drums, tambourine shakes and echoing “ooh ahhhs” that the audience sang along to. The harmonies joined with the percussion sounded something like Fleet Foxes but with the darkness of a Neko Case song. The accompanying keys, played by Anaya, added just the right touch of mood-setting. They played all the songs from their EP Six of Us, in addition to a cover of the Doom Bird song “Shape of Hearts,” at which point Sacramento’s Alternative String Band joined in with cellos and violins. Only the brothers and the String Band remained on stage to play their final song, “Six of Us,” a melancholy song that they noted “is about our father’s daughter’s children.” The brothers thanked the crowd for sticking around past midnight on a Sunday night at the end of set, and, with an act of generosity, left a stack of 10 free CDs on the stage for the audience to take.
Rocky Votolato prepares for another tour and looks toward writing a new album
It may not be “brain surgery,” but writing is certainly difficult work. Ask any working writer staring at a blank page for countless hours, and they’ll most likely tell you the same. In fact, it may certainly feel like brain surgery, because sometimes forming those words into sentences requires exhausting effort. Singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato has become rather familiar with the ardors of writing over the past decade. First working in bands such as Waxwing and now with his solo career, Votolato has shed blood on the page, crafting bullshit-free lyrics rife with personal meaning.
But Votolato doesn’t come off as overly emotional when you speak with him on the phone, nor does he seem to take himself too seriously. He’s pleasant, a regular working family man–married with two children, one of whom is about to graduate high school and head on to college, which he admitted was a little nerve-racking.
“She’s considering going to an art school–a college for art,” said the Seattle-based musician. “We’ve been looking into scholarships for that, so hopefully it will work out for her.”
Filling out financial aid paperwork is just another thing to add to Votolato’s full plate. In February 2010, he released his most recent full-length album, True Devotion, his first in almost three years. The time between 2007’s The Brag and Cuss and his most recent effort saw Votolato’s lifelong battle with anxiety and depression intensify. However, he was able to work through it. With a renewed sense of vigor, he released his latest album and has spent much of his time since on the road promoting it, playing hundreds of shows. With the distractions and tumult of life on the road, and a busy family life at home, it’s remarkable he’s able to find time to work on his craft at all–considering he, like many writers, prefers solitude while working.
“Writing is a solitary thing,” Votolato said. “If you can’t be alone, then you should never be a writer, because that’s what it’s all about. You have to be comfortable with yourself and your own mind.”
Though he does some writing while touring, Votolato said he prefers to do the bulk of his work at home where there are “creative resources” and he feels he can “fully devote time and attention to the craft of songwriting.” In order to achieve the level of solitude he requires to do his job, Votolato said that he relies on a strong sense of discipline, which is aided by the fact that he has a family.
“You have to be dedicated and disciplined,” he explained. “I get up at 8 every day, and I think the family gives you more structure than most musicians. But anyone who produces work regularly and does good work is usually working all the time and spending a lot of time doing it.”
In a recent conversation with Submerge, Votolato talked about preparing for his upcoming tour, which kicks off Feb. 18, 2011 in Portland. He also waxed eloquent about his writing process, of which he said he was “changing as an artist and figuring out more of what I want from the process of writing and what it takes to get something good out of it.” As it turned out, the plans for his upcoming tour were also in a state of flux.
You’re heading out on the road soon. What are you doing to prepare for this tour? Are you going out with a full band or will you be going out by yourself?
Well, right now that’s still undetermined, which is strange because it’s just a few weeks away, really. But I’m rehearsing and trying out people right now for a band I’m putting together. I haven’t found the right people. I’ve found the right guitar player, who is also going to sing backups, but he’s not available for this tour. He’s going to fly out to Chicago and meet me there, but he won’t be there for the Sacramento show. I’m looking for a drummer. So I could potentially have a drummer for the whole tour if I find the right guy, but I’m probably going to either do the shows for most of the tour as a duo with me and a drummer, or solo if I can’t find the right guy. Then the last eight shows of the tour, I’m going to have my guitar player come out and we’ll finish out the leg.
Is this normally how it comes together, or do you have it more prepared in advance?
I usually have it more prepared, but the thing is, I’ve been touring a lot, so it’s been difficult to figure out rehearsal times. It’s just been my schedule. I did close to 200 shows last year, so I was on tour all year, and I was just playing solo–not really with a band, and I’ve been doing it that way for the last couple of years. It’s kind of a new endeavor to try to find the right guys. Obviously, I’ve played with people in the past off and on, but this time, I’m looking for a more solid band to have go-to guys for hiring for shows and festivals. My vision is I’d like to have a band at some point–or at least have the option if I’d like to do a tour. I would like to do this tour with a band, but I just haven’t found the right guys yet.
You mention that you’re looking for the right guys; is there specific criteria you’re looking for?
It’s kind of like dating. When you meet the right person, you just know it. Music is like, once you start playing with someone, then you know how it feels on the musical side, but then there’s also the personality side, which you just have to be a really good fit. I’m just being really picky. I can go do shows by myself, and that’s fine with me. I’d rather have the right guys instead of dudes who are just filling in. I don’t want to play with just anybody.
You say you want to get together a regular band. Are you looking for guys you can go into the studio with for another record?
Yeah, that’s been the real struggle right now. Last week I tried out three different drummers and this week I’m going to practice with a bunch of dudes from Seattle. I’ve got a band potentially put together for the album, but some of the guys aren’t touring guys. They’re just really pro players here in Seattle, but they’re a little older and have families. It’s a hard mix to figure out exactly who is going to play on the album, but I’m already thinking forward about making another record, so I really want to get that worked out before I go back on tour.
Do you have more songs ready for a new album?
I’ve probably got half a record’s worth of stuff now, but we’ll see where it ends up. I like to keep it tentative at this point, because it’s so hard to know when it’ll be ready, but I’m definitely working toward it. I’m working on the songs now, and I still have another month to go before the tour, which I’m spending writing.
Before you said what you were looking for in the process of writing was changing. At this point, what do you think that is?
There’s this metaphor that this writing teacher talks about, and it’s basically like baking a cake is a good way to think of it. If you put ingredients in, the ingredients are the details of your life, like the eggs and the flour and whatever else you’re putting in there, and the heat is how you feel about those things in your life, and when you put those things together and put them in the oven then it makes the cake. That metaphor is a good way to describe how I’m trying to think about my writing process. The details of my life go into the soup and then it comes out on the other side where it’s not vague… I really see [my songs] as poems, and I want them to be good poems on their own first. At that point, I’m sure when I’m singing them that the lyrics will be good. That’s one thing that’s changed in the process. I’m really serious about wanting the writing itself to be good or better than anything I’ve done before.
For you it’s a twofold process. You write the words and the music. Does one drive you crazy more than the other?
They both equally drive me totally insane [laughs]. The writing does the writing. It does itself when it works. You just have to keep trying. Some days, I can write a piece of music and it just comes out, and, “Oh that took 10 minutes. That’s awesome.” The next day I’m playing guitar for four hours, and I still don’t have anything I like. It’s the same with the lyrics, or writing poems. I think the thing is to keep trying and keep the flow going and try to keep the internal critic from speaking up too much. [The voice that] says, “Oh, what is so and so going to say about that? Oh that sucks,” because I think we all have that going on too. I think that everyone who is trying to be a working artist is dealing with that. So it’s all about getting creative and finding ways to break through that. It’s a struggle, man. I’d be lying to you if I told you it’s easy for me. Just because I’ve been doing it for a living and have been doing it for 10 years, I don’t think it ever becomes easy. It’s a serious political act to be honest. So few people are.
Do you ever get squeamish about the details you reveal about your own life in songs?
No, only if I haven’t done a good enough job, I feel, as a writer. You can present anything in a way that’s creative and artistic if you do it with enough skill and craft and the right inspiration. Obviously, I feel like I’ve had some successes and some failures artistically, but they’re all successes in a certain sense because it’s a learning process… We’ll see where it ends up. I’m enjoying it. I’d rather be doing this than anything else. I know that.
See Rocky Votolato when he plays Harlow’s along with Laura Gibson on Feb. 21. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $12.
