Here's the full Whiskeytown press release from Outpost. Personally, I wouldn't
knock his ability to craft songs on the piano until I've heard it. Of course
the Iha thing is kinda pathetic. It seems like there's always someone else
willing to bask in that boy's aura. -- NW
<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHISKEYTOWN RECORDING FOLLOW-UP TO STRANGERS ALMANAC; ALBUM BOASTS
PIANO-HEAVY ARRANGEMENTS, NEW DIRECTIONS IN COMPOSITION, GUEST JAMES IHA
WOODSTOCK, N.Y., Jan. 25, 1999 - "Strangers Almanac was the kind of
record where you close your eyes and go to this place that's very sad
and really scary. It had a floating-in-space quality," says Whiskeytown
singer-songwriter-guitarist Ryan Adams of the band's last album. "This
record is as realist as the last record was abstract in that there's a
more direct assessment of my fears."
Adams and longtime musical co-conspirators Mike Daly (pedal steel, lap
steel, 12-string, electric piano, organ) and Caitlin Cary (fiddle,
vocals) have been teetering away from traditional composition of late.
"This record has opened the door for us as a songwriting team," Daly
explains. "And as musicians, we're taking the established style of
Ryan's songs and pushing it a lot further, pushing the songs to the
fullest place they can go. A lot of that has had to do with Ryan
learning how to play piano and me being able to handle some of the more
conventional instruments. We're really moving beyond our comfort zone."
Though they remain committed to the "American rock" that made them a
critical favorite, Whiskeytown is now bringing to the fore influences
that had receded somewhat. These include The Clash, Joe Jackson and The
Zombies. Echoes of The Band and Adams' customary Keith Richards-Exile
on Main Street-American-country blues swagger are also in evidence.
Overseeing the new disc is producer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns
(son of legendary producer Glyn Johns), with Grammy nominee Trina
Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow) serving as engineer. Comments Johns, whose
credits include albums by Emmylou Harris and Jon Brion, among others:
"What's got me most excited is that Ryan is willing to take the
traditional concepts of record-making and expand on them without falling
back on the easier ways of expressing himself. As a result, the record
will be more immediate and challenging to the listener."
Among these expansions are Adams' growing facility with Wurlizter organ
and piano and increasingly sophisticated grasp of arrangements and
composition. "I'm backing off more now and letting the music convey the
emotions I used to depend on the lyrics to spell out," Adams explains.
"That way I can get a lot closer to capturing the moments that tear me
up - those terrible, nostalgic things I'm always arriving at, maybe a
bit late due to excessive verbiage."
Adams' relocation to New York City and his "coming out of the dark" has
allowed him to research his interests in music and art and life more
fully. This experiential blossoming is represented in the 40-odd songs
Whiskeytown is currently recording at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock,
N.Y. Once a church, the facility is packed with hundreds of
instruments. "It's hard not to just pick up all this stuff and let it
flow," Adams admits.
The record-in-progress also reflects the presence of Whiskeytown fan and
Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. Though Iha joined the band in
Chapel Hill at a surprise show at Local 506 and in London at the
Borderline (where Whiskeytown cranked out a Buzzcocks-esqe rendition of
Iha's "Be Strong Now," from his solo album, Let It Come Down), Adams
says Iha's participation in the studio arose casually. "I met James at
the Troubadour in L.A. at one of our shows and then again in London,"
the Whiskeytown frontman reports. "He drops in for dinner now and again
in New York, and we sit around and talk about The Band till we're blue
in the face. We had a fishing trip planned in my home state of North
Carolina and it turned into a studio session in Hoboken, N.J., that
lasted for a week."
"It's a blast hanging out with these guys and getting to make records,"
Adams continues. "The trick is to make one that we're all proud of and
that other people can dig, too. This is the third time around, and
honestly, I'm pretty glad to be feeling I've got the hang of things."
Whiskeytown's legion of devoted fans will be able to hear this
accomplishment for themselves when the band's new album, tentatively
titled Go Bye Bye Music (Outpost Recordings), is released late this
summer.
Outpost Recordings is a joint venture with Geffen Records, which is
owned by Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com), a unit of The
Seagram Company Ltd., a global beverage and entertainment company.
>>
