Eighteen years since their formation, the Jayhawks might finally have the breakthrough album they have been destined to record with Rainy Day Music — as if still being a band for almost twenty years isn’t an accomplishment in itself.
The Minneapolis based Jayhawks are practically alone amongst their peers from the burgeoning alt-country scene of the late 80’s earlier 90’s, that took Johnny Cash and commingled them with a bit of The Byrds, Neil Young, and Joe Strummer. Their 1992 release — Hollywood Town Hall, which featured the single — “Waiting For The Sun” — was acclaimed as an Americana masterpiece by critics. The edgy canvas of pop, country and alternative within 1995’s Tomorrow the Green Grass followed, and propelled the band’s following with the hit single — “Blue.”
Over the past eight years, many believe the Jayhawks have struggled in maintaining their musical identity throughout numerous line-up changes and rapid sound experiments. However, you have to realize that the band is only persevering through the changing motions that allows one to remain creatively healthy and strong. Although comparisons to their contemporaries like Wilco have run deep, the band has never shied away from developing itself as a rock and roll band first and foremost, while never over concerning themselves with pleasing the critics. Recording on Lost Highway Records alongside Cash, Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams have not hurt the band’s stature either.
1997’s Sound of Lies and 2000’s Smile were the Jayhawks prior two recordings and the first following the departure of founding band member Mark Olsen, who left soon after the release of Tomorrow the Green Grass. Louris grabbed the reins and pushed the band in a innovative direction that caught die-hard fans off-guard and gave the critics a springboard to find fault. The comfy confines of their Americana roots-based sound was replaced with dark, polished and detailed produced results, including shiny keyboards, looped drumbeats and orchestrated pop; that in the end caused many to long for the comfortable simple Americana melodies of prior Jayhawks releases.
With Rainy Day Music, produced by Ethan Johns, (Counting Crowes, Ryan Adams) Gary Louris and the Jayhawks have flown back to their roots and have re-established themselves for what originally made them most endearing to their fans. The new recording is a collection of hooky harmonies that elicit the un-troubled two-part harmonies of the Eagles, and the personal acoustic folk Neil Young. It’s an album that can stand the test of time and ignite your spirit. Although these melodies sound sweet and soothing Louris will be the last to fully admit it’s not all doves and rainbows. “Although I think this record sounds sweet, if you listen to the lyrics they are not as quite as sweet as they appear on the surface.”
he founding members of Louris on lead vocals and guitar, and Marc Perlman on bass, still remain at the heart of the Jayhawks. Tim O’Reagan, who joined five years back, remains behind the drums, while newcomer Stephen McCarthy contributes a touch of the heartland on steel/lap guitars and banjo.
The single for the smooth sailing “Save It For A Rainy Day.” is getting steady national radio air play, and the band even had the privilege of playing the tune on the Late Show with David Letterman a few weeks back. While recently returning from a European tour, and presently gearing up to hit the road this summer with fellow roots rockers The Thorns, the Jayhawks are flying mighty high.
We had the chance to converse with the Jayhawk’s soft-spoken leader Gary Louris about: Crosby Stills and Nash, Rainy Day Music, record making, and the future of the alt-country super group — Golden Smog, amongst many topics.
On your recent European tour, how did your songs from Rainy Day Music go over with the crowd across the ocean?
We [played] Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, England and then Scotland, which was kind of the end of our acoustic tour, and it was something we were going to do before our record came out, and then I got sick and they still wanted us to fulfill our obligations. So the thing about the Jayhawks seems to be that no matter where we go, there’s always somebody there to listen. Each record has its country that it resonates with, at least with critics. This one is too early to tell, but we played the songs off the record and we got the strongest response out of anything we played, which is very fulfilling.
Rainy Day Music is loaded with hooking vocals and lyrics. It almost feels more Tim Hardin or Tom Rush, in a folk sense, than say Neil Young or Bob Dylan?
Well I probably have a little bit stronger of a pop sensibility, but I think of Dylan and most of all of those guys as being pretty much “popsters” in their own right, they certainly wrote hooks. They may have been clothed somewhat in folky clothes, but they write pop songs. I may try and break out of what I am, but I can’t, I’m basically a pop musician at heart with very heavy leanings towards what I would consider soul music. Whether it’s white soul or black soul, whether it’s country music or the blues and so forth, I always try to incorporate that within pop music. But because there are always more than three or four chords in our songs, it tends to take it out of the tradition of the straight traditional format.
“Save It For A Rainy Day” begins with the line — ‘Pretty Little Hairdo, Don’t What it Used To’ — that opening line has the makings of a true classic, like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s opening line — ‘Big Wheel’s Keep on Turning,’ in “Sweet Home Alabama.”
(laughs) Well when you write a song, the first thing you want to do is get your own hair to stand on end. While that is undeniably a beautiful melody, there is no question about it, that’s just the way I write, I kind of circle the kill. I come up with a lot of ideas and keep revisiting them until I kind of circle in and I realize and figure out for me what is definitely a strong song. Some people it works for, some people it doesn’t, but they work on one song until it’s done and then will spend days on it. I don’t work that way and for some reason the music you hear is what you get out of that. It’s kind of a strange process, I don’t think I’m the only person who does it.
It seems your lyrics came together rather easily on this album?
I tend to [write] what comes initially, or what I tend to think of as songwriting as being…to get into a Zen-like situation. And not necessarily by sitting in a room and crossing your legs, but maybe catching yourself before the fact your conscious mind is working, and trying to do as much as that as you can and come back and do some maintenance work, which is my least favorite thing. It’s the crafting side of the song-writing, the tightening up and the re-writing. If I had my way I’d do that a little better.
This record is a perfect example of less is more. And going from a five piece to a trio, obviously the glass is more full than empty right now.
Well thank you, I really don’t think of it as a trio. The trio is hard to explain to people, it’s very clear to me but confuses everybody else. For a long time we had trouble finding the whole band, or band members that lived in the same city. After being together this long, we’re kind of tapped into everybody that we know here. So we started working with people like Steve McCarthy who lives in Richmond. And when we first started this acoustic thing, it was a way for us to tour as simply as possible and it was always with the idea we’d do it till the record came out and then the four-piece would kick in with possibly a five-piece if we find the right fifth person. So, in a way we were forced to be a three-piece and felt it was beneficial musically for us and the audience as well.
The middle of the road success for artists like Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and Wilco has helped propel more roots orientated music to new audiences. The Jayhawks are right with the pack and riding the momentum with them. Are you a fan of these contemporaries?
Yes. I’m a fan of all those bands, and what I respect about all those bands is that they are doing it, and they have a very unique stand on what they are doing. None of it’s quite traditional, everything has a bit of a twist to it and that’s what I like. It’s not like they are just following some script in what it’s like to be in a roots band. A lot of those people you mentioned came from rock backgrounds, not necessarily Lucinda, and that’s why the music will never be straight country. I’m a fan of all those bands and I’m a big fan of our label, which has really helped to break this kind of music and lift it to different levels. I’m competitive, and would like to outsell all those bands (laughs). Ironically though, when we were making this record I was like, ‘I don’t care what anybody thinks, and I don’t care what it sells.’ Of course, that all goes out the window when the record comes out.
Well the album debuted at #51 on the Billboard Top 200. Do you look at this as good marketing?
I think it’s a great record label, cause we’ve made what we may consider one of our most non-commercial records, in a time where the music business is down and when we are completely unfashionable, and yet we have the best week. I attribute that to the record company, and being a great company and knowing what they’re doing.
And you got to play the David Letterman Show last week too.
Yeah, we played Letterman last week and I’m looking forward to getting out there and getting in people’s faces as much as possible.
“Save It For A Rainy Day” was your opening single, although I would have predicted “Tailspin.” How do you go about choosing what song is the initial single for a new release?
I would have to leave that for the smarter people in the business. I take care of the music and they take care of the business. If we were a little bit better businessmen, we’d probably be in a little better position right now, but I’m a very disorganized person and am always working on three or four things at the same time and have a hard time focusing, so I let other people do that stuff. So everybody at the record label and management just thought that was the catchiest song on the record. I personally have other favorites, I prefer “Tailspin” or “All The Right Reasons”. I like “Save it for a Rainy Day,” but prefer “Tailspin” myself. I think you or I might be in the minority.
You guys opened up for Crosby, Stills and Nash earlier this year. Was it tempting to get Graham Nash up to sing background vocals with you? Obviously his voice would have blended in perfectly with many of your new songs.
Not really. I’m not like a huge Crosby, Stills and Nash fan. If I were, Graham Nash would probably be the last one I’d be most intrigued with, but that’s not personal, but musically, I’m just more of a fan of David Crosby or Stephen Stills. Ironically, I’m probably closest musically to Graham Nash in my style, because coming from The Hollies, he’s got that British music sense and I think I have that myself too.
Do you think your voice gets better with age?
I do. It depends on what you want to read. If you read our website, we have a certain person on there who likes to tear me apart and he thinks my smoking cigarettes makes my voice rougher, and yet I like it with a bit of an edge. My best vocal I ever did on record I’m convinced is “What Led Me to This Town,” and that was done with a polyp on my throat. Not that I want another one, but the reason why the vocals may sound a little rough at times is because it was done completely live and those were the takes. I didn’t re-sing those songs, and that’s what I think makes the record more emotional.
Yeah, your vocals dominate the record?
I’ve learned how to sing better, [but] I’m still not a master technician. For having such a high, somewhat fragile voice, it really holds out and I usually don’t have a problem. I’m singing with Tim O’Reagan who has a great voice.
He sounds a lot like John Lennon
Yeah, he gets that all the time. I’m trying to get him to sing more. We just have to find more songs for him to sing, and Stephen is a great singer too.
How was it different working with producer Ethan Johns in the studio rather than with Bob Ezrin as on your prior release — Smile?
Oh, they are very different…very different guys. They are just two smart guys, but Ethan is more serious than Bob I think, while Bob has kind of seen it all, and is always wanting to break the rules. He wants to rub people’s noses in their rules and of what people expect. Ethan is more reverent to certain kinds of music, or what he believes is the right thing for the song. I think that kind of sums them up right there. Although it is an incredible generalization, but that’s one aspect.
Wasn’t your studio the Buffalo Springfield room?
That’s where I sang. I was separated from Mark and Tim. They were in a big room and I was in a room adjoining them with a window so we can see each other. That way we can keep my guitar and vocals a little bit separate. But my room was about 14 x 14 and that was the room where Buffalo Springfield crammed into and did things like “Mr. Soul.”
You just recently released Blue Earth, your first album. Has that been a long time coming?
Well, it’s been out there. I haven’t really thought much about it.
It was hard to find, something you had to hunt for in record shops
Oh, is that right? It was that hard to find? Well it was the seminal Jayhawks record where we started to define our sound. Previous to that we were kind of hunting and pecking. I remember sitting around in our drummer’s apartment with Olsen and everybody and really feeling like we were finally onto something during that period.
Do you still try and duplicate the sonic Sound of Lies and Smile sounds in the live setting?
Oh yeah, we play Smile songs with acoustic guitar. They live on their own without all the fancy bells and whistles. That’s why I laugh when people say it was overproduced, I mean, I don’t think it was.
Well, if those two were your first two albums, nobody would have said that.
Yeah, they’re comparing it. You make a record like this and they will say it’s too simple or too traditional. You can never please everyone, there’s always criticism. Some people think this is the worst record we ever made, and some think it’s the best record we ever made. I’m glad there’s no consensus. No one can say that not one Jayhawk record sucks. A lot of people hate Sound Of Lies and think it’s just a terrible record. But the people that come up to me and are the most passionate Jayhawk fans are always the ones that say Sound Of Lies is their favorite record…so that’s what I like about us, we are quite black and white.
Matthew Sweet appeared on the new record — have you worked with him much in the past?
Well, we toured a lot together, and we’re friends. I think Matthew and I are very similar people, we very kind of reluctant rock stars. We’re shy people who aren’t really comfortable with hopping up and down all the time. So Matthew and I have a very similar disposition and similar music tastes and have developed a friendship.
Do you want to continue on this roots music path?
You know what I want to do, I want to make a dark or drunk record.
Like Tonights The Night?
A little bit, yeah. I’d like to make something with that in mind and Sound of Lies in mind, something a little darker. Although I think this record sounds sweet, if you listen to the lyrics they are not quite as sweet as they appear on the surface. But I guess after making a very acoustic record, naturally I’m pushing to make a big dark electric record. But yet, taking what I’ve learned from this record and from Sound of Lies which were basically the live approach as much as possible.
Anything acoustic vs. electric — still have the urge to play rock and roll, aside from the acoustic shows?
Definitely, we’re gearing up for the next phase which is going to be. I’m excited about it because we can start pulling some other songs into the setlist that didn’t work acoustically. I think we are going to use some of the things we learned on the acoustic tour and incorporate them into the electric tour, so we may have segments of acoustic songs within the electric set, which I think will be great.
You still have Golden Smog as a side project?
I don’t think that’s happening anymore. I’ll be the one on record to say, I’m trying to put that to rest, because people ask me all the time and we’ve never been farther away from making a Golden Smog record than we are right now. I never see those guys and I don’t have any plans to see them. It’s not because I don’t like them, but we never see each other. We are all in different directions right now and two members of the band don’t live here which makes it very difficult.
Even feel like the next Jayhawks record you record may be the last?
Oh yeah, definitely. I think that is a good way for us to approach it. Lets leave them with a statement, to show they’ll miss us when we’re gone kind of deal. That helps us to get us through. I do that all the time when I tour, kind of think like this is the last time I’ll be in London. Because it’s hard sometimes and it gets you through, and you’ll come back home and you’re getting all geared up, and you’re ready to go again.
