INTERVIEWS-10INTERVIEWS-10
From "UNDER THE SURFACE" Issue #5 by ADRIAN PANNET
If 2000 was the year that finally put Howe Gelb’s Giant Sand on the global map, then 2001 is most definitely the year of the Howe. Not content to bath under the glory of Giant Sand’s ‘Chore of Enchantment’ album triumph, Howe has hit an almighty wonderful prolific patch. Spending much of last summer recording at home with only the occasional intervention of friends, relatives and passing strays, Howe carved out no less than three albums worth of solo material. A sublime selection of solo flights of invention and imagination.
For the first time in Howe’s decade straddling career, he sounds truly at home with his muse. Not bothered about passing fads or fixations (not that he’s ever really been a fashion conscious subjector) or constrained by the parameters or responsibility of a regular band line-up, Howe has made everything sound impossibly natural. The heat of his desert home of Tucson, Arizona has expended itself to one of its warmest hearts. There is no misery to Howe’s new work, any punishment or cynicism. He sounds like a man immaturing gracefully with age and embracing his life-affirming appreciation of all things playful, sweet and soulful.
His grasp of words is more wonderful than ever. The life he puts into old words is breathtaking. His rich rugged voice spins out his words like the wisest weaver of wisdom to ever hit the dusty desert plains of Arizona. His lyrics are pure poetry in mortal motion. His musical prowess is matched only by his disappreciation of conformity. Howe is just as happy lolloping his upper limbs across the piano as he is strumming his heart across strings whilst stomping the strangest of effects pedals. Capable of idiocy-free idiosyncratic experimentation or simple pop splendour.
After many happy months conversing with Howe across the keys, satellites and servers of the web we chose one grainy grim January weekend to swap some thoughts and theories. Over four e-mails this sprawling epic interview unfurled and found its way on the path to these very pages. All the know Howe you need and even more besides.
How are you getting along?
Good enough I think.
Has the aftershock of Giant Sand ‘Chore of Enchantment’ been one of the best times in your career? You’ve certainly not been idle.
I wouldn’t mind thinking of it that way. Time now to get going and clean the house of all the songs that have been cluttering up the place since the aftermath of that time period.
What made you decide to record solo again, was it simply a matter of killing time at home while John and Joey were off touring as Calexico or were you eager to record almost solo after the hassle of recording ‘Chore’?
I had been putting off doing anything solo for the last decade or so because of the pressure of having to make sure everyone in the band was making a living. Now there is plenty of time to work on that and not have to worry about John and Joe.
Given that you’ve got three solo albums rolling out about now, I take it that you’ve tumbled into a prolific patch? What do you think has brought this on? Have you regained the work rate you had going at the start of the nineties?
Well it is always a matter of what you consider a song to be. When songs come over to apply for a position, the requirements are not that stringent. You can never tell when a bad song might turn good if you give them a little encouragement. So we hire a lot of delinquent songs here. But when the recording of ‘Chore of Enchantment’ started, it was the first time I ever went blank and didn’t care about those things so much. Rainer had just died. I couldn’t find the way back for a long time. Now it is a good idea to make up for some lost time and maybe flood the market. So this year I will be releasing five records.
The first, ‘Down Home 2000’ is a solo tour only CD recorded mostly alone and is available now. The second, Giant Sand - selections circa 1990-2000 on V2 and Loose Records, will be out in February and is a collection from the past decade, some songs that were impossible to find. The third, ‘Confluence’ will be out in March, and is the official solo follow up to ‘Hisser’ on Thrill Jockey [and Loose]. Fourth, ‘Lull Some Piano’ is just a piano record with no lyrics and will be released in and around all that.
Fifth will be the new Giant Sand album ‘Musty 4 Me’ which should be out in October or so, but might be mostly covers ....even covers of Giant Sand. And as we speak ‘Hisser’ has been released for the first time in Germany on Glitterhouse. And all these records will be available through our web site giantsand.com where we finally have the ability to accept credit cards to alleviate the dilemma that our overseas friends have had trying to pay for the stuff.
‘Confluence’ is obviously the flagship of the solo flotilla, how do you feel it differs from ‘Dreaded Brown Recluse’ and ‘Hisser’?
‘Dreaded Brown Recluse’ was not really a solo record at all. We had out so many Giant Sand records that it was just a way to put something new out by calling it something else. ‘Hisser’ was a crawl back out of a big pit...and done mostly at home in the weeee weeeeeeee hours. And very hissy. ‘Confluence’ is more fun and has more contribution in it. But it is like two rivers of thought converging into one happy current of waters remaining and leaving at the same time. Not too deep. Not too shallow.
Who else dropped into chez Howe to lend a hand?
John Parish, Kevin Salem, John, Joe and Nick. Grandaddy barely did.
What are the pros and cons of recording an album at home? Is it hard to stop tinkering away on songs without the time/money limits of a proper studio? Do you know when to let go?
That’s a very good point. I have seen that happen. Without realising it, you can keep recording and recording, and end crashing into what should have been the next record. But that is part of the art. Knowing when to start. Knowing when to keep looking. You are never right until way after you ever let it go.
"The rain disregards any agenda of the stars."
‘4 Door Maverick’ (1998)
Was recording all this new solo stuff a looser process compared to anything you’ve done before? Did things really differ that much from recording with a full band? Did you sit on these songs a long time before you recorded them or do you sit, play and press record?
No. They collect themselves. I try not to lose them along the way. Then, drag them out for display.
What kind of things got dropped into the bubble of the melting pot on this solo selection? There are quite a few weird effects…
For a while I liked to use 2 or 3 mics when I would play. I had one going through all the guitar pedals at the same time the guitar would go through them. Then if lean closer to one mic then the other I can get a distorted sound from the vocal, or perhaps some delay…whatever I got going on the guitar at that time.
It helps a lot. It is always different. I have had one customer write to us that she thought her CD was defective because of all the distortion on the first song [on ‘Down Home 2000’]. I have seen a review in the newspaper on a show I did mentioning that it was a good set, but too bad the PA system kept having problems. There were no problems. That was me.
It’s interesting that you describe ‘Confluence’ as a more fun record. I really feel that most of your recent stuff is full of love for life. Even though ‘Hisser’ and ‘Chore’ both had traumatic backgrounds they both still project optimism and the appreciation of simply wonders. How would you describe your outlook on life, are you a positive person?
Well, if you are working, then it is an act of positive energy. It is when you don’t work, don’t reveal, don’t say a word that it means you are in danger. There is one basic rule here on the planet. Everything is surfing on waves. Sound waves. Light waves.
Up and down they go and come at you. We all surf them. If you are at the low point of a wave of bad luck, don’t despair, the next wave is just coming. Up you will go. Just don’t get too happy at the top of the wave. You are heading back down now. Zen out and enjoy the ride. Laugh at loud for crying out loud.
Have your children brought you a fresher look on life? Would you be happy to be described as immaturely nicely with age?
Well, it would go with my grey hair better then not. My children have a laughter that is pure remedy. There is way too much weight work most of the time, too much gravity…. but that laughter is a fine moon walk.
From the preview of the record and from your solo show ‘Blue Marble Girl’ is a key track, what is that song about? Who provides the female vocals on the ‘Confluence’ version?
Well sir….that was a song about any town you live in and love. And the stuff that can be put to rest. The stuff that can be celebrated. The imagery is very clear. Maybe you need the lyrics to see how clear. Obviously, there was a crystal meth operation out of a small trailer that had some people dealing with the devil, and there would come a time when you would have to refuse the fuse of the same old strung out cracking Christmas Lights, and that there was more love then you could imagine at the time between the girl and the boy as they weaved in and out of the city life. But it only gets figured out when your looking back on it and it then might as well be okay to blame it on anything except what slipped through your own hands …...like powder. And the girl(s) singing on that is my wife, Sofia.
What made you opt to tackle ‘I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’?
I heard it on the radio coming home one night. I lamented not having a better ear to figure songs out. When I got home I was angry about that and decided I would figure that song out no matter what. And it was so easy. And I rejoiced. And I could not help falling in love with the way the mind works and its application.
"Dear diary, I’m a grown man why should I be writing to you?"
‘Dear Diary’ (2000)
‘Dear Diary’ is a song that intrigues me from ‘Down Home 2000,’ what is that about?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, choke. That was just something that came up in my throat and spit itself out so I could get on with the songs that were patiently waiting in line to come down the pike. Sitting there on John Parish’s couch in Bristol. Sounds like some kind of coming to terms with the war within and dealing with the crossroads at the same time.
"Heading out where no water flows.
She’s setting up camp.
Well hid and fully exposed"
‘Actual Desert, Rose’ (2000)
‘Actual Desert, Rose’ from the same album, is a very soothing song. What is the sentiment at play on that track?
That is a very old recording….well, maybe 3 years or 4. When I was working alone trying to come up with some new stuff for ‘Chore’ that I would never use. John came in later and plopped drums over the drum machine I used then. I think it was about a movie idea someone mentioned to me. And I had happened to have these fresh chordings that I liked…so it is about nothing really - just being out there.
‘Down Home 2000’ also features ‘Horses Always Coming’ redone for the second time as ‘Horses Still Coming.’ Why did you want to try that again, is it a favourite of yours?
It is such a good story that never got delivered as well as it could have. This was a live take from a radio show I did a year or so ago. The very same radio station that I started recording at in 1976. If it wasn’t for that place I may have never gotten in to it at all. It was real weird to go back there and do a show for them. Real weird. But it was a fine clear version of the song, reaching over to hit the piano now and again while I played guitar…and all done on a beautiful ancient ribbon RCA ribbon mic. All I really want is for Johnny Cash to record this song before it’s too late…that’s all I want. It is great love beyond the boundaries of this life, that song is.
"He never got her name and she would never toss it twice.
They clung to what mattered and drunk in the entice."
‘Always Horses Coming’ (1991)
Do you think that you are finding your own natural voice as a lyricist? Do you think you have defined your own style? Do your lyrics come easily?
No. Maybe. Yes. No. Sometimes, or never. Depends what day it is
Tell me about the instrumental piano record, what kind of stuff is it? Does it demonstrate your confidence in your increasingly accomplished piano playing?
Accomplished????? Well the songs on the record wreak of some past Viennese grandpa hauntings. But the improv that takes place is actually in the song structure as it is being played as opposed to the advent of a solo well within an already stated structure. It is meant to be an ambient thing. Something to put on to sleep to. To eat to. To make love to. To do the dishes to.
What do you like about the piano as an instrument?
Well it is such a piece of furniture, it has such weight and lends itself to the gravity of the situation.
The little slices of jazz you’ve slotted into the Giant Sand and solo albums always get overlooked. How would describe your take on jazz? Who are your jazz heroes?
I went through a slew of piano players when I was young and just buying records that were in the ‘reduced price’ bin. You get an enormous amount of great jazz then and there, must have been a sign of the times, the early 70’s were not that kind to the Be-Boppers I reckon. So I started in around some blues players, Memphis Slim and the ilk. Tripped into Tommy Flannigan, Ahmad Jammal, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, and finally found Thelonious Sphere Monk….and the search was over. I hit on the treasure must’ve been looking for. The same was true for finding Neil Young way back when or Clint Eastwood for that matter. (I always thought there was a strange connection between those three). And in a class by himself will always be Jelly Roll. Rainer turned me on to him (and Jimmy Rodgers and that changed everything way back when ).
How do you feel about the solo shows, without John and Joe at hand?
Well…some nights I miss not having something to bounce off of …especially John’s drums. My favourite thing is to play piano with John drumming. But without that, or Joe playing hide and sonic seek with me, then I use that freedom to go anywhere and do anything without the tether of having to notify the team. Just take off and see where you fly to. Blink back in an instant. Zip away in a flash. It has its utility, this solo flight.
Switching on to Giant Sand again. Was it a headache to choose the tracks for the 1990-2000 Compilation? Does it represent the best time for the band creatively?
Although I am still choosing and unchoosing tracks here at the last minute …..it is not a headache. I am trying to represent the band in a pseudo linear fashion with a collection of material that best represents and that also may be hard to find at times, as well as it being a healthy point to poke into for the uninitiated.
"She haunts me, to remind me, you can never leave your guard down."
‘Tender Trap’ (2000)
Does the period represent the time things became more inventive and less conventional?
When was it ever conventional? It was always reinventional.
Did John and Joey turn you on to new ideas and make things more than a little more special?
And being ‘turned on’ to anything by John and Joe is a big dichotomy. I have never known them as John and Joe, the collective. They are two fellows I chose to play with at separate times….many years ago. They would not know each other if it wasn’t for that.
At the best of times we would inspire each other, separately. When they chose to head off and particularise their own sound, I was too aware of where they got their inspiration….it had no mystery I could trace the lineage to so many things we had been through.
The biggest difference with them, in my opinion, is their family heritage. They both had musical upbringings that I did not. So I enjoy seeing that end of the sonic spectrum emerge more then anything they have picked up along the way, especially as opposed to having them move here to Tucson and then ‘define’ the Tucson sound….that’s a wonderfully ridiculous notion, but I like the fact that people’s ears have picked up to it within the new generation of ears emerging out there regardless.
Do you hope/expect the next Giant Sand album to differ massively from ‘Chore of Enchantment’?
I hope so. It begins tomorrow, so I still have no clue, but we definitely won’t have the luxury of all the time and coin with the V2 allowance….which in a way will be a great relief….......I am happy that ‘Chore’ got made at all, but now I am happy to not have to do it like that again.
"Swollen is the dark heart that seldom masters muster.
Happy is the hunger that still allows the flight of fluster."
‘Bottom Line Man’ (2000)
Will you come and play England again? We feel neglected!
And England is always a pleasure for us, although London can be exhausting to get into and deliver. The last time we were there as a band was a let down inspirationally. We arrived there from having two great shows in Ireland and found the rental equipment still packed up in flight cases in a truck outside the club for some reason, which we had to unload and set up and then we could not even begin to play until the theatre let out below the venue we were performing at.
All that was weird. And Calexico’s label were there to have a chat about some business, so I wonder at times if I have the full attention of everybody on board…you can hear little hints in the playing. It adds too much gravity to the weight of the performance, all the while we are supposed to be searching for the weightlessness of the set….. the slipstream…. the current current. When I returned for a solo show at the Spitz, I was fortunate to find the conjure that given night. Big relief.
Does it frustrate you a little that 2000’s critical acclaim didn’t launch a bigger fanbase?
No. I don’t have the ambition. And with age, there is due process to eliminate the things that tend to be manipulated by others’ agendas. I have always like things at a certain level of commencement. A place where it really allows good work to unfold night after night instead of the usual planned attack. That is what has allowed elongevity. Of course I know I also would not like it if it floundered below a certain level which could also disallow involvement.
If you could choose your own epitaph, what would it be?
Scenic view up ahead
"It’s the long lunge and it’s the lurch. The urge of the surge and the endless search."
‘Propulsion’ (1998)
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