07/07/2009

LITTLE TRIGGERS 2



Hello friends. This is the second in the series of “Little Triggers” posts that we’ll be writing in the run-up to releasing our Spitting Fire EP and debut album. The idea, dearest reader, is that we write about the things that inspire and excite our wretched little souls, that provide the relief we need to drag ourselves out of bed for another gruelling day, the things that make it almost worthwhile and, as a result, may have had some influence on our new record. This one’s about recording our debut album in Dallas…

We found a producer by going through our record collections and noting down the names of people who’d made the albums we’re into. Of the small number of people both alive and young enough to make it to the studio every day for a month without the help of a nurse, it was John Congleton’s name that kept cropping up. We had no idea that he was Texan and that the records we liked so much were coming out of Dallas - we just knew that we were really into his work with people like Bill Callahan (Smog), Micah P Hinson and Explosions in the Sky (not to mention Antony and the Johnsons, Modest Mouse, The Polyphonic Spree, Marilyn Manson, Erykah Badu, Bono and, to add a bit of welcome surrealism, Celine Dion). That he was Grammy nominated and fronted anarchic noise rockers The Paper Chase sealed the deal for us. A few phone calls between our managers ensued, some demo’s were despatched and, before we even had time to dust off our six-shooters, we had a producer on board and five tickets to Dallas…

For a band like ours Texas is a musical Mecca - a place soaked in an incredible heritage. For a start, some of the great Delta Blues guys recorded down there. Robert Johnson cut his legendary final 13 tracks near our Dallas Studio (just before he had to pay up on his deal with the Devil!). And that’s not even what the place is known for. There’s Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin, Waylon Jennings, Tex Ritter, Lyle Lovett, Townes Van Zandt, Lightnin' Hopkins, take a breath, Woodie Guthrie, Don Henley, Emmy Lou Harris, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Steve Earle, Boxcar Willie, Bill Haley - and we could go on for some time here, but you get the idea.

Our EP and album are infused with the influence of Texas – from the radio playing on the way to the studio, from the characters we met along the way, the people we worked with and their expectations and inspiration. Paul Alexander from local band Midlake (www.myspace.com/Midlake) contributed double bass to Old Fashioned Morphine, One Thing on My Mind and Spitting Fire, and various other local musicians popped in to help us out or just have a few beers with the strange British guys who’d ridden into town. John had recently recorded Bill Callahan and we used lots of the same gear, our hammond had just been delivered the day before we arrived – it had been saved from a derelict Mississippi church and was still full of hellfire, we had bags full of duty free rum and fags and a couple of reels of tape to play with. We hope that you enjoy the results. Best, Tom.