Jim Macpherson is a Rock Icon
Jim Macpherson is a rock icon. To me. And he should be to you, too. I’m going to try to put something into context here. Do you know that by the end of 1993, there were only 623 websites in existence? Literally, the Internet was a novelty. MTV “VJ” Adam Curry registered MTV.com and ran it himself as an unofficial side project. And a band from Dayton, Ohio called the Breeders (a side project for Kim Deal of the Pixies) released a record called Last Splash. 20 years have passed by since this happened. Drummer Jim Macpherson did not respond to an ad on Craigslist to join the Breeders. Joining the Breeders “I was playing in this band with my friend Nick and he said he knew where Kim deal of the Pixies lived. We could go put flyers in her mailbox for every show we had to see if we could get her to come. Kim saw us, asked Nick if he wanted to do some demos. He said ‘yeah’ and she said ‘well, can we get your drummer too’ and that’s how it all started.” “I was doing demos for Last Splash… Kim asked me, ‘Hey, you wanna see how you do with Josephine (Wiggs)? We got asked to do some shows and we’re going to need a drummer, and we’re going to make a new record. You want to see if it’ll work out?’ I said ‘yeah’.” “Kim kept telling me, ‘You’d have to be doin’ this to really play music because you realize there’s not a whole lot of money in this,’ which was true.” “I asked what were some of the shows and she said, ‘Well, Nirvana asked us to open for them in Ireland on the Nevermind tour.’ I just played Canal Street Tavern for 150 kids and my first show with the Breeders is in Dublin, Ireland in front of 15,000 people, opening for Nirvana.” “That was before we even recorded… talk about getting thrown in…” Recording Last Splash With the calculated pseudo-perfection of 80’s hair metal a couple of years in the grave, people were using this word grunge all of the time. Mostly because record labels, corporations, and media need to label things. So in January 1993, the Breeders came to San Francisco to record what would become their classic album Last Splash. “We had most of the tracks written and a good foundation down.” “One day me and Josephine would go in and lay down our tracks and then they (Kim and Kelley) would want to lay down their parts right away. So it was recorded on a song...
2012: The Year Of The Wurster
Since the world did not end a few days ago, anyone who writes about music and popular culture will now have to review the past year and tell us all who’s best. In the world of The Best Drummer In The World , it would be hard to find a better wrap up for the year than declaring Jon Wurster Drummer Of The Year 2012. Factually, this title could have been bestowed upon Jon for any of the past 20 years as he has played great drums on great records and toured with great bands for the bulk of these past 2 decades. Through the heyday of indie rock Jon recorded and toured relentlessly as the drummer of Superchunk to the point where even I refer to him as “Jon Wurster of Superchunk” But this title has become too narrow a moniker for Jon. As of 2012 Jon Wurster of Superchunk is also (very much in no particular order) Jon Wurster of The Mountain Goats, Jon Wurster of Bob Mould band, Jon Wurster the comedy writer, Jon Wurster playing with Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar, Jon Wurster recording with Spl:t S:ngle with Jason Narducy and Brit Daniel (Spoon, Divine Fits). Giving Jon 35 “days off” in 2012. I spoke with Jon a couple of weeks after seeing my first Mountain Goats show at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The Best Drummer In The World: With so many projects, was there a point where you decided to become “The indie rock go-to drummer”? Jon Wurster: “It just kind of happened. After Superchunk kind of ‘went on hiatus’ in 2002 I played in a couple of bands that were very different than Superchunk…more like ‘roots rock,’ which is the kind of stuff I played before I joined Superchunk. In Jan of ’86 I was living and playing in bands near Philadelphia. My brother was in college in Winston Salem, NC and I auditioned for and got a gig with this band from there called The Right Profile (named for the Clash song of the same name) who were a sort of cross between The Band and Exile-era Stones. I liked that kind of music when I was younger but by 1985-86 I was really into Husker Du, Replacements, Minutemen, R.E.M., that kind of stuff. I was 19 and within 3 months of moving down there and joining the band we were signed to Arista by Clive Davis. In the summer of 1987 we started making a record with Jim Dickinson and that kind of went south halfway into it. It just wasn’t sounding the way we, or JIm, for that matter,...
Interview: Creighton Barrett of Band of Horses
If I start this article by saying Band of Horses are singlehandedly saving music you might think I’m a paid spokesperson for the band. Aren’t we all so jaded. I guess I was pretty jaded until I fell in love with this band. Then again the world is filled with spokespersons for all kinds of crap. Creighton Barret is not. He’s a regular guy and a great drummer. And he’s in a great band. And he’s lucky and happy and he’s getting married. He kicks ass. If I told you he was a punk rock/metal guy, would you believe me? Check the video interview. Part 1 here. I usually get to ask my victims what qualities make the best drummer in the world. Instead I’m just going to justify my opening statement about Band of Horses. This will then prove once and for all that Creighton Barrett IS the best drummer in the world. Basically, I think the latest Band of Horses record Infinite Arms is a perfect record. THE perfect record (or fuckin download or whatever you refer to music formats as these days) I also notice that almost all “professional Media” guys talk about a band like its some kind of story. You may know that Band of Horses were on Sub Pop and their contract was up. They hadn’t decided who they wanted to put out their next record so they toured and put the money from touring back into funding the recording of their record themselves. So, since corporate rock is out this season, we have the fact that Infinite Arms was recorded without “The Man” breathing down their neck. Check. I wonder if it’s necessary to compare a band to another band in order to communicate what their music is like or swhat it does to you. I think the mass media and MTV have grooved this concept in so well that it happens on a subconscious level. Lady GaGa is somehow related to Amy Winehouse who was the 2006 version of the 2004 Britney Spears meltdown and it all melts together in a neverending stream of force fed crap. To say Infinite Arms is like a The Band record is not only bad grammar, it sells us all short by inviting the comparison of one piece of art to another. I told Creighton that the album is a religious experience. I’m serious. Here’s part...
Interview: Tim Fogarty of El Ten Eleven
The propulsive rhythms and postive vibes of El Ten Eleven make for a great experience, live or recorded. They recently swung through Chicago, playing Lincoln Hall. Tim Fogarty played a great show. Perhaps not as memorable as the last time they played Chicago, but how can you top a street festival concert caught in a torrential downpour? El Ten Eleven songs are chock-full of ear candy – in Tim Fogarty’s drums, gritty electronic triggers mix with massive drum sounds. You can also get your ear canals tangled in Kristian Dunn’s web of interlocking guitar and bass loops, all built up live. Armed with an array of pedals and noisemakers, An El Ten Eleven show really gets bodies moving. Even if you’re not the “moving” type. You’ll at least sway, guaranteed. The effect is hypnotic. The best part is that this huge sound is built up quite organically by just two guys. Tim Fogarty is the piston that charges the chugging 2-stroke engine that is El Ten...
Interview: David Bazan and Alex Westcoat of Bazan + Band
David Bazan recently hit the stage at Lincoln Hall with a revved-up band and recharged setlist. You’d be forgiven for expecting a morose affair. Last year he released a highly publicized “break-up with God” album, Curse Your Branches. To support it, he embarked on a solo tour, strumming a classical guitar in intimate living room shows. Bazan has always had great songs. His recordings have continued to evolve with a whack-a-mole array of collaborators. Unfortunately, the live renderings of those songs were often just serviceable. No matter how talented a rotating cast, you can’t fake the on-stage chemistry that comes from steadily playing together. As he descended deeper into his crisis of faith, retired Pedro the Lion, and embraced booze, he produced some uncomfortably shambolic solo shows. Forget all that. This incarnation of Bazan + Band fired on all cylinders. They put the pedal to the metal on “Transcontinental,” torqued-up classics like “When They Really Get to Know You,” and rewired “Gas and Matches” with gritty guitars. The band displayed the veteran chemistry that comes with a full tour under their belt. Sideman Blake Wescott provided counterpoint on guitar as well as ballsy background vocals on “Start Without Me” and “That’s How I Remember.” Young drummer Alex Westcoat completed Bazan’s shift from shoegaze to power pop with his energetic timekeeping. Bazan reasserted himself as one of indie-rock’s most articulate songwriters. He also kept the sing-along crowd on their toes with lyrical change-ups to reflect his renunciation of faith. On “The Fleecing,” he frankly replaced “why I still believe it” with “why I don’t believe it”. In a twist of convention, David Bazan has cleaned up, and lost Jesus. He has embraced agnosticism. But far from leading him into a downward spiral, he’s actually become a more powerful performer. Many of his old songs are thematically schizophrenic; ersatz morality tales full of gratuitous infidelity and misogyny that might’ve scandalized evangelical audiences, but fail to shock in a post-LaBute world. And the increasing desperation of his characters dovetailed with his own edging toward alcoholism. In contrast, the new Bazan tunes are honestly sobering. He’s retired the pulp fiction and started over with stark autobiography. Interestingly, as I interviewed him and Westcoat about the qualities they appreciate in great musicians, the word “spirituality” came up a couple times. While he may have left behind tidy religious doctrines, it’s still hard to avoid some numinous terms when talking about creative...
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