September 2, 2009 at 11:29pm
MATT DRISCOLL: THE FOGHORNS TALK … AND TALK AND TALK >>>
Earlier this week, in preparation for their CD release show this Friday at Bob’s Java Jive in Tacoma, I got a chance to correspond â€" via e-mail â€" with Bart Cameron and Katie Quigley of The Foghorns â€" a band self described as “mavericks of anti-folk.†Seriously good â€" both live, and in interview, as I found out â€" The Foghorns are a band you don’t want to miss â€" meshing non-boring folk with Icelandic roots, a dab of punk ethos and a spritz of Wisconsin charm to create one of the most buzz-worthy bands that’s hit town in some time.
Here’s how it went. …
WEEKLY VOLCANO: Take a minute to explain the progression of this band. Wisconsin, to Iceland, to Seattle â€" it's been covered, but still, it's of interest. How did you get to where you are today, and did you envision this when you started? How heavy is the Icelandic influence, and how does that show up in the music? What's one thing about Iceland everyone should know? How about Wisconsin?
KATIE QUIGLEY: Well, I think only Bart really knows … and I think he likes it that way. Everyone in the band knows bits and pieces of the story ... probably not the same bits. I mean, we all know the gist: Bart moved back to Wisconsin after a rough time in New York, met up with the Firchow boys and wrote some songs. Then he moved back to New York and played those songs with a bunch of Brooklyn bluegrassers (now known as the Jones Street Boys) and at some point thereafter he landed a Fulbright and moved to Iceland, where he played for three years â€" getting electrocuted and playing with a bucket player (just like it sounds) â€" who eventually became the first foreign-born member of Icelandic Parliament, before moving to Seattle and meeting Rich and I. I might know more here and there, but it really doesn't matter. What is, is what Bart has managed to do by only really providing these bullet points in the plot: he's allowed each musician, and even every listener, to fill in the pieces by themselves. I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but this has allowed me to almost romanticize the "story" of The Foghorns ... and in turn, the songs themselves: Maybe Bart was a hitman and "Rose" was his partner. Maybe it was really him in "North Dakota" who said, "Help me God." Maybe he just sat on the couch for a year after having his heart broken and dreamt up these stories ... Either way, he lets you decide. And as a musician helping tell these stories, whatever I believe becomes another element ... I become another character in his "novel" and for the "reader" there is yet another possibility of the truth.
I can't speak to how directly the songs are influenced by Bart's time in Iceland, but I can only imagine that they would be. Otherwise, we have two Icelandic members ... which absolutely influence the songs ... I'm not sure I could pinpoint how or what they do that is particularly "Icelandic" but I'm sure if the right person was looking ... they'd find it.
One thing everyone should know about Iceland: Icelanders aren't "cute." They eat whale and puffin and rotten shark and sheep face. When you (you sad, sad American) have managed to become intoxicated and reach for the nearest glass of water … they mix vodka, water and a vitamin fizz until you've sobered up and are prepared to continue. And if a sheep rolls down a hill, they kill it and have it for dinner. Perhaps you've seen Björk and you think they all wander around in swan dresses and speak in sugary-sweet Icelandic accents ... but to assume all Icelanders are the same, would be a big mistake. (P.S. it’s pronounced B-YUR-K … I think)
I don't know too much about Wisconsin myself, but I know the Midwest in general has heavily influenced Bart's songwriting, this album in particular.
BART CAMERON: I don't tell these stories because they're awkward. All of it has been intense as it went along, but it's hard to summarize. Here's the history, leaving out some personal stuff.
VOLCANO: Talk a little about Diamonds as Big as the Motel 6? It sounds like it was a long time in the making (if I'm not mistaken). Take me through a little journey of the creative process. Did you have a goal in mind when you started, or did it just turn out how it turned out? Have you had time to digest it yet, and are you satisfied with what you came up with?
CAMERON: I had a concept, this particular concept, for about five years. I did a popular album in Iceland called So Sober. It had these brutal angry drinking songs all focused on Iceland with lyrics like “this is a bad place to be sober and awake.†I wanted to one day do something more focused and composed about the decisions you make when you're grown up, the compromises you make.
I wanted an album like a short story collection along the lines of the Anderson book Winesburg, Ohio. And I wanted a full, live band sound, not the bedroom recording style.
I recorded all the songs ... quite a few times. Mostly on a four track player where I'd play all the instruments. I did that for two years. Then I pulled this band in, mostly members of Blue, Pig.
We did a live show in my basement for friends and recorded that â€" about half the tracks are from that. We recorded another three with the band live, then going back and adding vocals. Then we used a track from the four track, and a track from when I first was hanging out with Rich, and he recorded me with a guitar in his basement.
I believe most songs on the album were recorded, sometimes in different keys, about a dozen times. And five songs I wrote for the album were cut.
This is everything I could do with songwriting. When I listen to it, though ... I thought this would be our ultimate accomplishment. This would be something that after 15 years of playing music, I'd have a pinnacle. But it really sounds to me like more of a beginning than anything. That surprises me.
[Bob’s Java Jive, Foghorns CD release show with Former Foxes, The Variety Hour, Phantom Fireworks, Friday, Sept. 4, 8 p.m., 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]
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Really nice album. I have already purchased Vedder's Album. Listening to the song of this album,...
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about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
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about 5 Things To Do Today: Art Chantry, DIY home improvement, "A Shot In The Dark" ...
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