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more. Our inspiration was the transitional<br />
stuff between folk and blues—before rock<br />
and roll really exploded—and we found<br />
some great touchstones for how our album<br />
could sound from recordings by blues guitarist<br />
J.B. Lenoir and folksinger Josh White.<br />
Though it’s perhaps an obvious modern<br />
comparison, the White Stripes and Black<br />
Keys did not influence this record.<br />
These songs are very intimate, and<br />
they’re done live in a continuous take<br />
with no overdubs. Did you have to hire<br />
a studio cop to prevent you from adding<br />
more guitar?<br />
Before I made this record, this level of<br />
starkness would have scared the hell out of<br />
me. Would I have to turn into a Chet Atkins<br />
or a Tuck Andress if no one else is holding<br />
down the chords when I solo? But rather than<br />
figure out how to do everything all at once, I<br />
just adjusted my internal thresholds to say,<br />
“Okay, that’s enough music.” It’s like an ego<br />
thing to think the music you’re making needs<br />
more guitar. I had to cut some ego loose, and<br />
try to listen to the tracks more like an outside<br />
listener. So I’d play a melodic solo and<br />
let the space just be. That was the big takeaway<br />
on this project—less me is okay. And,<br />
you know, I realized records that are more<br />
spare draw my ears in more. When everything<br />
is played really explicitly, I almost<br />
feel like I can tune out for a few seconds,<br />
because everything is being taken care of.<br />
But when the music is very sparse, it’s like<br />
the listener’s imagination becomes part of<br />
the band, because they’re filling in the gaps.<br />
So, just like the tiny house movement,<br />
are you now a disciple of minimalist<br />
production?<br />
I just think that musicians shouldn’t<br />
be afraid to make records that are raw.<br />
Sure, there are a lot of massively produced<br />
albums out there, and a lot of artists try<br />
to emulate them. But I don’t believe you<br />
can imprint some big idea from an album<br />
you love onto your own record if you don’t<br />
have the budget, the insight, the songs, or<br />
the production chops. But you just might<br />
be able to figure out how to make smaller<br />
stuff sound big. Just talk to the microphone<br />
and tell your story. g<br />
JANUARY<strong>2018</strong>/GUITARPLAYER.COM 15
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