Joanna Newsom

Have One on Me
Drag City

In an era when single-song downloads are dominating music sales, dropping a two-hour opus sprawled over three discs is probably the worst possible business decision. But if you’re holding your breath hoping Joanna Newsom is going to dumb it down so she can sell a few extra tracks on iTunes, you might as well exhale.

Have One on Me, the Nevada City singer/songwriter’s third album, isn’t just remarkable for its heft, but also for its craft. The album spreads 18 songs evenly over three discs with nary a chorus to be found. This is free verse poetry set to meandering, richly layered music, making this album an intimidating listen. However, those lucky (or brave) enough to immerse themselves in Have One on Me will be rewarded. Elegant string arrangements, spare percussion and Newsom’s virtuosity on her signature harp work in perfect concert with Newsom’s intimate vocal performance. Spend time with Have One on Me, and it will certainly spend time with you.

Newsom’s approach may be avant-garde, but her subject matter is familiar. Much of the landscape of the album is rooted in Northern California. The title track alludes to Irish-born dancer Lola Montez, for whom Mount Lola, the highest point in Nevada County is named; and “In California” references Milk Lake, also in Nevada County. In more general terms, subject matter treads the well-worn paths of love, God and death. But Newsom can paint even these commonplace themes in the freshest colors. In “Easy,” Newsom sings sweetly in an ode to a lover, “Honey, you please me/Even in your sleep,” before closing with the eerily endearing (or perhaps just plain eerie) lines “You must not fear/You must meet me, to see me/I am barely here/But Like a Bloody Mary/Seen in the mirror: Speak my name/And I appear.” “Ribbon Bows” struggles with questions of the divine. Newsom ponders, “God, No God. God, No God. Sweet appraising eye of the dog, blink once if god, twice if no god.”

Similarly, there are no easy answers on Have One on Me. Everything’s open for interpretation. Newsom’s lyrics sheet, wonderfully laid out in this beautifully constructed box set, has as many twists and turns as her music. It’s worth the extra digging to discover the roots of the songwriter’s more esoteric references—at the very least, Have One on Me could very well expand your vocabulary.

Sonically, the album shows a different side of Newsom. The pixie-led forest nymph found on her previous full-length Ys seems to have ditched the moonlit meadows for grittier environs. Songs such as “Soft as Chalk” and “Baby Birch” have more in common with Cat Power’s The Greatest than they do with pastoral poetry. And the change of tone has done Newsom well. There’s a directness and confidence in these tracks that provide real punch, ensuring that this lengthy album never becomes too wistful.

Not surprisingly, some of Have One on Me‘s most alluring moments occur when Newsom puts down the multi-instrumental arrangements and relies simply on her harp and voice. “’81″ is one such number on which Newsom makes measured, cascading rolls across her harp, singing in her alluring falsetto, “Meet me in the Garden of Eden/Bring a friend/We are going to have ourselves a time.“ Well, with an invitation like that, there doesn’t seem all that much to be intimidated by now, does there?

Pocket for Corduroy Reunites, Ponders Next Step

Long before Nevada City, Calif. attained national notoriety as a hotbed for the anti-folk scene of the mid-’00s—a breeding ground for the disciplined howls of the Russian River kids—the city’s musical landscape thrived not unlike that of the monolithic post-punk scene in Sacramento. In the late ’90s and into 2002, Pocket for Corduroy erupted like Vesuvius on an unsuspecting Pompeii, eschewing conventional rock ‘n’ roll chasms to forge an inventive urgency to their sonic explosion. In five years they played alongside some of underground rock’s biggest bands (or those who would go on to become some of its biggest bands)—Pinback, Guided By Voices and The Velvet Teen, among others. And then in 2002, it was over.

Pocket for Corduroy—Andrew Hodgson (vocals, guitar), Dan Elkan (vocals, guitar), Peter Newsom (drums), and Thad Stoenner (bass)—splintered into myriad other projects, including Black Bear, Daycare, Millionaireplanes, Holy Smokes, Hella, Casual Fog and Newsom eventually recorded and toured with Devendra Banhart. Elkan and Stoenner have been busy with the experimental pop-psych of Them Hills as well, but it wasn’t until an old friend, publicist and booking agent (the absolutely darling Jesse Locks) asked the band to play for her 30th birthday party that the band decided to dust off the PFC catalogue and reunite.

There’s no telling how long this reunion will last. As you’ll read in this exclusive Submerge interview with Elkan, the band does have one other show booked aside from the private affair of Locks’ party, at Harlow’s on Sept. 10 with By Sunlight, Bright Light Fever and Silian Rail. But one thing’s for sure: Sacramento is in for a reawakening of one of the brightest bulbs in its flickering history.

How did it feel to be back in the same room rehearsing with all of the original members of Pocket for Corduroy after seven years?
We all currently live in the same town again and are all still friends, but for whatever reason don’t get to see each other that often. I mean, we see each other at shows and barbecues and such. We’ve all played music with each other in some combination or another, but never the four of us, never playing these songs that are all between 8 and 12 years old now.

Being back in the same room with everyone, playing the old songs, felt very natural, actually. In the first practice there was a lot of smiling and laughing. Something about it feels very familiar, but at the same time there’s nothing about getting back inside of your brain of 10 years ago that is not bizarre. The way we wrote, the way Andrew and I formed the guitar structures; all of it feels pretty foreign. That being said, a couple songs into the first rehearsal and it sounded exactly like what you might expect: a Pocket for Corduroy practice.

Do you see the band possibly moving on with some more shows if the first two are very successful?
Great question. None of us know the answer. The original plan was to rehearse and play for Jesse’s birthday [on Sept. 12]. I think we figured that if we were going to put the work in for one show, we might as well do one more. I don’t think it’d feel right to any of us if we didn’t play a Sacramento show this time around. We received so much love from Sacramento at the time we were a band. It really did feel like home every time we played, sometimes even more so. We changed our plans and added another show for that reason. At this time we’ve got two shows booked and that’s it.

We hope the shows are successful in that we hope that some people (including ourselves, and hopefully some new faces) have a good time and enjoy the flashback. My hope is that anyone who wants to check it out will be able to. I’m not sure if any other measure of success with the shows would affect our decision to play more, one way or the other.

In what kind of musical climate do you find Pocket for Corduroy reuniting (if even briefly), and do you find a similarity to the contrast of how you fit in when you began and even now during this reunion?
I haven’t really given much thought to the musical climate in regards to Pocket for Corduroy in 2009. I haven’t considered the context, because I don’t feel like there is one. The fact of the matter is that we started this band about 12 years ago now and the last time we played was over seven years ago. This is a band, like any other, from a time and place. A lot of people have told me over the years that they thought we were ahead of our time and referenced that they felt that following our breakup, there were a lot of bands that were very successful with a similar but more commercial sound than we had at the time. I don’t agree, but I’ve never been a great judge of my music in that way. I never felt like we fit into any scene then, and I certainly don’t feel like we fit into what’s going on in music now. We were always just trying to write good songs and never identified with any genre or fad, probably as a reaction. Maybe that was our mistake. Depends on what you’re going for, I guess.

In what ways did you attempt to distance yourselves from the artistic mark you left with Pocket for Corduroy when you began Them Hills?
I don’t think I ever tried to distance myself stylistically from the work I did with Pocket for Corduroy. I feel like my approach has always been the same. I’m always trying to write a better song than the one I just wrote. When I started Them Hills, I definitely and consciously made the decision to have less going on, hence the three-piece, but other than that, I don’t feel like I’ve made any attempt to distance myself drastically from anything I’ve done musically in the past.

What is on the horizon currently for Them Hills?
We just finished a new Them Hills record that we’re calling Process. We recorded it all on analog tape with a friend of mine, Manny Nieto, in Los Angeles. He did a bunch of work on the last Breeders record, Mountain Battles. We were sold with the sound of it and made arrangements to go record it with Manny, raw style. We are looking for someone to help us release the record on CD and vinyl, but in the meantime we’re pre-releasing it ourselves by having the first half of the record available at shows on CD and the rest of it available soon digitally through the iTunes music store and other digital retailers. It’s already up on Emusic, but iTunes is slow to get it happening. We’ve been laying low-ish but we’re planning on playing out a bunch, and we’re excited about the new record and are getting ready to start writing the next one.

What is your overall goal with regard to this reunion? Would you like to record again, tour again, play again with this band?
The initial goal was to play for Jesse’s birthday. It turned out to be a great excuse for the four of us to spend some time together again, which has been great. We’re going to try to throw together a limited release, a CD that will compile all of our recordings plus a few more that no one has heard. We’ve got a couple shows to play. We want them to be cool. That’s really it as far as we know right now. Though, it has been pretty fun so far!

Nevada City’s Newest Secret

It’s no secret that small town Nevada City, Calif. is full of beauty and mystery. Home to just about 2,500, Nevada City is largely populated with tall pines, Victorian homes and boasts over 93 nationally historic buildings and landmarks. The town is also no stranger to talent, as it has been the hometown of many international and local musical acts (such as Drag City’s darling Joanna Newsom, folk artists Alela Diane and Mariee Sioux, and experimental band Hella, to name a few). Outsiders are intrigued by the town’s mystifying influence, as a rush of talented musicians and artists have emerged over the last few years. It would seem then, since the town has such an abundance of talent, that there would be an underground scene bursting with eager crowds and packed venues. Submerge recently spoke to Casual Fog’s frontman—and sole constant member—Ryan Donnelly, about his musical background and the lack of a scene in his hometown.

On your Myspace page, it lists the main band member as “Ryan Donnelly,” but also lists a variety of other names. Who is Casual Fog? Is it mainly just you or you and a number of other musicians? Does the lineup change consistently?
I’ve spent the last nine or 10 years or so writing and recording songs at home, arranging songs with the instruments I had access to at the time. I didn’t start playing shows consistently until three years ago. I first started playing shows by myself, and eventually with a band that consisted of friends I’ve had for years.
The first line-up that has become what the band is now was Thad Stoenner, Dan Elkan and Neal Morgan and we played our first show at After the Goldrush Records in Nevada City. Since then the band has also consisted of David Nicholson, Ben Milner, Jonathan Hichske and Pete Newsom. David B. Torch, Matt Gotchalk, Ryan Schwarz, and Brook Caballero have also played some shows. The lineup changes depending on who is around and has time to practice and play shows.

I know it’s a difficult question, but if you can, describe your music or at least what other people have used to possibly describe your sound?
I’d say my music reflects my own curiousity, and that curiousity sounds like the different kinds of music that have influenced me in my life, and sounds that have caught my attention.

You are based out of Nevada City, a prominent place known for creative talent. What makes the city so special? What do you think of the music scene in Nevada City?
I personally don’t think there is a scene really. I think anybody who lives here would agree with me that there is not really a scene. There are a lot of artists and musicians here but just not enough venues to play at or people who come out to shows. Nevada County has been one of those types of places where people have been making music and art for quite along time. I’m not really sure why.

You’d think it would be very different, being that there are so many artists who are from Nevada City.
Yeah, you would, but there are just not enough venues to play at here. I think that people have the wrong idea when it comes to this place. And I think that out of town bands get very disappointed when they come here, because they are expecting some huge crowd at their shows. It’s unfortunate but true. That is why many bands and artists from here go and play in either Sacramento or the Bay Area.

What are some of your favorite projects out of Nevada City or even in Sacramento?
Them Hills, Aaron Ross, The Full Cody Feiler Experience and You’re Welcome!

I’ve noticed that you have a few shows coming up in Nevada City, Sacramento and San Francisco. What are some of your favorite venues to play in all three cities?
The Chief Crazy Horse Inn and the Basement in Nevada City, Old Ironsides and Cafe du Nord and the Make-Out Room have all been fun.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
Brian Eno, just to see what he would do and hopefully figure out how he did it.

What are some of your future plans for Casual Fog? Future shows you are looking forward to, an album, or tour coming up?
Right now I’m hoping to book more shows around the west coast. I’m also starting work on another record.