Post by manintheshadows on Aug 11, 2009 13:57:21 GMT -5
I should really put some sort of preamble in here, but I've just spend ages formattingthe bastard and just want to get it up and out there (missus). There is plenty to be happy about here.
Weren't there some shows professionally filmed back in 2007? I'd be interested to know if anything is going to come of that.
- Yes there was, and no there won't!
We filmed the Gramercy Theatre show in NYC and one of the nights at Bush Hall.
The NYC show was shitty all round, I think we had a bum night in my opinion.
The Bush Hall show DVD looks great. But in true Soulsavers fashion, nobody checked the audio was being recorded properly....
whatever happened to Ian?
- He never really existed, his identity was created to give the band a tax-break.
Is there a possibility of a tour to Australia anytime soon and if thinking of it - please NO festivals!!!! Thanks
- Not at the moment to be honest. I don't think there has been a big demand for us to go down, so no promoters have every really shown any interest in bringing us down. If we did come down, I presume it WOULD be for a festival with multiple bands, that way the promoter is not taking a big risk flying us down to play. Festivals give you a captive audience to annoy, we're pretty fucking good at that.
The Cashbah in San Diego "now records select live shows, making them available for sale on CD immediately following the show at the club as well as for download at www.emusiclive.com"
Will that be done for the Soulsavers show?
- I didn't know about that. Nobody there offered that to us so I guess not.
If they offered us that deal & it gave us the option to approve the recording, I'd consider it for sure.
What Lanegan solo song did your hear first, Kingdoms of Rain or what?
- Solo track? What's the first tune on Whiskey, River Rise? It would be that then.
How did the collaborations with Mike Patton and Gibby Haynes among others come about? Were the songs written with those folks in mind? Or was it a matter of "hmmm this guy would sound good on this song" then you go out and get them?
- No, they were done first then myself & Mark talked about who we should ask & those guys' names came up.
Both myself & Mark knew Mike anyway, and Gibby was an old friend of Mark's who came down to our NYC show.
Have you ever considered covering one of Mark's Screaming Trees songs, like 'Grey Diamond Desert' or 'Dollar Bill'?
- I considered a couple of Trees tunes for the last tour. I liked the idea of either Gospel Plow or Sworn & Broken, but they never really went past the idea stage. They are amazing songs, and sometimes if you don't have a good idea as to where to take something it's best to be respectful to the song and leave it alone.
What other Mark solo songs have you considered covering on a Soulsavers album?
- We actually recorded the whole of Whiskey For The Holy Ghost in a few days off on the road once, it sounds really great.
It was something we did to kill some time for fun, it'll never see the light of day.
Something for the archives box-set in 2025.
Are there any other artists that you've considered collaborating with?
- Musicians or vocalists?
Yeah, a shitload. That was the whole point of this project. Something to avoid the regular conventions of working with a band, something that allows us to work with lots of people we love & respect.
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Mogwai are both bands i'd love to work with.
I have a unfinished track i recorded with Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys on guitar, he's amazing i'd love to do more with him.
Would you be interested in recording a third Soulsavers album (your fourth) with Mark? If you were to use Mark again, who else would you like to have collaborate with him?
- I'm sure that myself & Mark will work together again down the line. Be it as Soulsavers or something else.
It's a pleasure to work with the guy.
But i think the next thing we both do will be something different.
That's kinda what we do.
As far as Soulsavers goes, our studio door is always open for him whenever he wants to enter or leave.
Do you ever plan to release a DVD of your live performances?
- I'm not gonna rule it out, but we have no plans to record one in the near future.
How many songs did you record for Broken that didn't make the album cut?
- There was a few, maybe 3 or 4.
Do you plan to release any b-sides or exclusive songs with 'Broken'? (Similar to the iTunes release of 'Blues Run The Game' off your last album)
- I'm sure a couple of them will surface via that route.
How did you convince Mark to play with you first time?
How did you convince Mike Patton to play with you and Mark?
- I don't think they were ever convinced
Was Broken recorded with everyone together or did everyone did their own piece and send it to you?
- Most of it was recorded together, there was the odd thing that was done separately but that just tends to happen when your making a record like this. i'd say 90% was done together.
Will It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land ever be re-released on vinyl? It's impossible to find anymore.
- Really? I thought it was still available, I don't know if it was ever available in the US, but I'm pretty sure it's still available here in Europe. (Foz Edit: the mp3 edition of It's... seems to be relaunched on August 17 in the UK, maybe the vinyl version will follow)
Since the line up keeps changing, would you describe yourself as an actual band or more as a vehicle to lend your production talents for other artists to take advantage of?
- I guess it was meant as a 'project', but feels like a band nowadays.
What can we expect setlist wise? (mostly for the American tour)
- You'd think by now we'd know, but I really don't know.
I guess a mixture of old shit we're tired of playing, along with some new shit we haven't figured out how to play well yet..
What are the chances of Will Oldham getting more involved on a possible next album?
- You never know..... Will is an talented cool guy, I'd love to work with him more at some point.
What microphones and setups did/do you use with Mr Lanegan? does Mark have ay preferred mics/pre-amps/comps etc or did he just come in and leave all that stuff to you?
- Ha. OK, the trainspotter shit... Studio-geek time.
I really like to record Mark through a U67, I think he sounds great through that.
The Universal Audio 2610 pre-amp & their 21176 compressor both do a nice job too.
What's the Soulsavers recording setup, specifically- software/hardware of choice for composing/producing?
- Actually Cubase SX for most recording & arranging.
Pro-Tools for vocals.
What kind of touring set up can we expect to see this year? the same as 07, plus Red Ghost?
- Nah, it's all change this time around.
It's a more stripped back band for this tour.
Rich Warren on guitar is the only current remaining member from the last route.
Martyn LeNoble is in on bass this time around, Rosa is joining us on keys & vocals.
Kev's schedule with Spiritualized was looking pretty busy, there is a chance that he may be called into the studio with those guys towards the end of September. So he had to bow out. I was pretty sad about that, people come & go in this band thats just the way it is. But he's not just an great drummer, he's a great friend. He's a good guy to have around & definitely brings out the better side of me.
But, we have a great replacement in Colin. He's a really incredible drummer & I think he's gonna blow people away when they see him play.
He's a really special player & think he's gonna fit in just fine.
I would like to know a bit more about the Broken sessions, were the "collaborators" involved in the writing of the songs/ choice of the covers?
- Mark co-wrote most of the record with us, Rosa co-wrote 'By My Side' with us.
Who came up with the Lanegan/Oldham crossed cover thing? Did they chose what song to cover? (By the way, I love how both of those turn out!)
- Was my idea to do, both both those guys picked which tune they wanted to do.
Is Lanegan an official permanent guest of the band? (I'm thinking like the QOTSA situation)
- I guess so. As I said before, I'm happy for Mark to come & go as he pleases with this band. That door is always open & I'm always happy when comes in through it.
Is there anyone you wanted to work with for the Broken sessions but didn't happen? Anyone in mind to collaborate with in the future?
- Yeah, we came really close to getting Willie Nelson involved but it unravelled at the last moment, which was rough. But it would have meant holding everything back for a few months for that window to maybe open again & I wanted to get the thing out. But I'd love to try to make that happen again.
Whatever happened to the double album?
- I think we set out with the intention of a double record, with one disc being Marks disc & the other being a disc with a female vocalist. We tried out a lot of girls before Rosa came onto our radar, and by that point the reality of finishing a double record had hit home with me I guess. But i think it's good to set out with a big target & then see what happens. Most people make pretty short records now, and a lot of the people I know would class the length of record we're putting out as a double still... In fact a number of people have said we're giving too much away on this one record, that we should have held even more back. But i'm happy with it, I think it runs from beginning to end nicely, if we'd trimmed any more track the album would not have worked as well as it does.
Any plans for a release of the record in South America in the near future? What about a tour?
- Not at the moment I'm afraid.
Italy's release date?
- Ha, I don't know. But sometime this month for sure.
What other Mark solo songs have you considered covering on a Soulsavers album?
And if any others were considered were any of them demoed?
- As I said earlier, we cut the whole of "Whiskey.."
Why does it seem like you guys have such a hard time getting your records released in the US?
- I don't know, it's the only country in the world where we are on a major record label, so you should be able to get hold of them pretty easy..... right?
Assuming this question will be answered before the album comes out....What can we expect from the Broken bonus disc from roughtrade.com?
- I think it's a mix from a radio show we did.
Any plans on making video(s) for any of the songs a la Revival ?
- Yes.... for 'Unbalanced Pieces'. Shooting is about to start anyday now. It won't be as 'grand' as Revival as times have changed any no label is gonna spend $$ on a video anymore. But it sounds like it'll be cool.
It's August 3rd today, how did you manage to not have this album leak already? That's impressive in these times.
- I know, right? Well... It doesn't really exist. We've been fucking with everyone.
Nah, we went to great lengths & cost watermarking the promos etc
Are you still producing/remixing for others, or is writing/performing your own work more of a fulltime occupation these days?
- I'm into the idea of producing other bands if the right thing comes along.
But it has to be something I really wanna do. Life's to short to work on a project for a few months if your not 100% into the band & the people as individuals.
How did your film work with the Guerilla News Network (the soundtracks to Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge and American Blackout) come about?
- I can't for the life of me remember!!
That's a bit shabby on my part, but I can't fucking remember!!
Any more Soulsavers Soundsystem CDs planned?
- Not at all. My head is just not in that place at the moment. (DJ)Format twisted my arm to do that last one with him & doing shit with him is usually fun so I agreed, but as for being motivated to do any more. Just not gonna happen. I don't have the interest in going there anymore.
Mr. Machin, why layer so many tracks over what is basically an excellent song, to the point of distracting from its strongest elements--the vocals, words, and basic song structure? You've been so good at highlighting the simple and powerful elements of songs, especially on your previous album, on both the instrumental and vocal tracks. It seems perhaps you added a bit too much to the aural soup on this track ("Death Bells")?
- Ha well, save the best until last.
I spotted this & thought I'd move it into the pile for ya as you didn't really feel like you wanted to ask me directly.
Well lady, that's what i do as a producer.
Sometimes I strip the track back to it's bare bones when I feel it serves the song to do that.
Sometimes I don't.
I can't imagine approaching every track the same way, that would be really fucking boring.
I do what I believe to be appropriate for each individual song.
I'm sorry if that is not exactly how you'd have liked me to approach that tune.
But at the end of the day, we are all entitled to our own opinion.
Lots of bands that I love and respect record tunes that I think suck sometimes.
But, I wouldn't dream of sitting around giving my opinion about it on the internet.
I'm not self important enough to think my critical analysis of their work is what other people wanna hear.
I'd rather spend my time doing something with my life positive, like being creative rather than being negative about another persons work.
Maybe your insight into studio production could just improve our work if we worked together...
Shit, we'll fly you in next time we start writing, you can make sure we don't fuck it up again.
Quite. So there you have it. There's still a couple of last minute bits & bobs that may/may not get answered, and if there's other questions raised from the above then thanks to the occasionally-wonderfully interactive nature of the internet, then something might come of it.
I just want to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has taken part in this, and of course thanks also to Rich for taking time out of his hectic pre-tour schedule to do this for us. Thanks!
Weren't there some shows professionally filmed back in 2007? I'd be interested to know if anything is going to come of that.
- Yes there was, and no there won't!
We filmed the Gramercy Theatre show in NYC and one of the nights at Bush Hall.
The NYC show was shitty all round, I think we had a bum night in my opinion.
The Bush Hall show DVD looks great. But in true Soulsavers fashion, nobody checked the audio was being recorded properly....
whatever happened to Ian?
- He never really existed, his identity was created to give the band a tax-break.
Is there a possibility of a tour to Australia anytime soon and if thinking of it - please NO festivals!!!! Thanks
- Not at the moment to be honest. I don't think there has been a big demand for us to go down, so no promoters have every really shown any interest in bringing us down. If we did come down, I presume it WOULD be for a festival with multiple bands, that way the promoter is not taking a big risk flying us down to play. Festivals give you a captive audience to annoy, we're pretty fucking good at that.
The Cashbah in San Diego "now records select live shows, making them available for sale on CD immediately following the show at the club as well as for download at www.emusiclive.com"
Will that be done for the Soulsavers show?
- I didn't know about that. Nobody there offered that to us so I guess not.
If they offered us that deal & it gave us the option to approve the recording, I'd consider it for sure.
What Lanegan solo song did your hear first, Kingdoms of Rain or what?
- Solo track? What's the first tune on Whiskey, River Rise? It would be that then.
How did the collaborations with Mike Patton and Gibby Haynes among others come about? Were the songs written with those folks in mind? Or was it a matter of "hmmm this guy would sound good on this song" then you go out and get them?
- No, they were done first then myself & Mark talked about who we should ask & those guys' names came up.
Both myself & Mark knew Mike anyway, and Gibby was an old friend of Mark's who came down to our NYC show.
Have you ever considered covering one of Mark's Screaming Trees songs, like 'Grey Diamond Desert' or 'Dollar Bill'?
- I considered a couple of Trees tunes for the last tour. I liked the idea of either Gospel Plow or Sworn & Broken, but they never really went past the idea stage. They are amazing songs, and sometimes if you don't have a good idea as to where to take something it's best to be respectful to the song and leave it alone.
What other Mark solo songs have you considered covering on a Soulsavers album?
- We actually recorded the whole of Whiskey For The Holy Ghost in a few days off on the road once, it sounds really great.
It was something we did to kill some time for fun, it'll never see the light of day.
Something for the archives box-set in 2025.
Are there any other artists that you've considered collaborating with?
- Musicians or vocalists?
Yeah, a shitload. That was the whole point of this project. Something to avoid the regular conventions of working with a band, something that allows us to work with lots of people we love & respect.
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Mogwai are both bands i'd love to work with.
I have a unfinished track i recorded with Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys on guitar, he's amazing i'd love to do more with him.
Would you be interested in recording a third Soulsavers album (your fourth) with Mark? If you were to use Mark again, who else would you like to have collaborate with him?
- I'm sure that myself & Mark will work together again down the line. Be it as Soulsavers or something else.
It's a pleasure to work with the guy.
But i think the next thing we both do will be something different.
That's kinda what we do.
As far as Soulsavers goes, our studio door is always open for him whenever he wants to enter or leave.
Do you ever plan to release a DVD of your live performances?
- I'm not gonna rule it out, but we have no plans to record one in the near future.
How many songs did you record for Broken that didn't make the album cut?
- There was a few, maybe 3 or 4.
Do you plan to release any b-sides or exclusive songs with 'Broken'? (Similar to the iTunes release of 'Blues Run The Game' off your last album)
- I'm sure a couple of them will surface via that route.
How did you convince Mark to play with you first time?
How did you convince Mike Patton to play with you and Mark?
- I don't think they were ever convinced
Was Broken recorded with everyone together or did everyone did their own piece and send it to you?
- Most of it was recorded together, there was the odd thing that was done separately but that just tends to happen when your making a record like this. i'd say 90% was done together.
Will It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land ever be re-released on vinyl? It's impossible to find anymore.
- Really? I thought it was still available, I don't know if it was ever available in the US, but I'm pretty sure it's still available here in Europe. (Foz Edit: the mp3 edition of It's... seems to be relaunched on August 17 in the UK, maybe the vinyl version will follow)
Since the line up keeps changing, would you describe yourself as an actual band or more as a vehicle to lend your production talents for other artists to take advantage of?
- I guess it was meant as a 'project', but feels like a band nowadays.
What can we expect setlist wise? (mostly for the American tour)
- You'd think by now we'd know, but I really don't know.
I guess a mixture of old shit we're tired of playing, along with some new shit we haven't figured out how to play well yet..
What are the chances of Will Oldham getting more involved on a possible next album?
- You never know..... Will is an talented cool guy, I'd love to work with him more at some point.
What microphones and setups did/do you use with Mr Lanegan? does Mark have ay preferred mics/pre-amps/comps etc or did he just come in and leave all that stuff to you?
- Ha. OK, the trainspotter shit... Studio-geek time.
I really like to record Mark through a U67, I think he sounds great through that.
The Universal Audio 2610 pre-amp & their 21176 compressor both do a nice job too.
What's the Soulsavers recording setup, specifically- software/hardware of choice for composing/producing?
- Actually Cubase SX for most recording & arranging.
Pro-Tools for vocals.
What kind of touring set up can we expect to see this year? the same as 07, plus Red Ghost?
- Nah, it's all change this time around.
It's a more stripped back band for this tour.
Rich Warren on guitar is the only current remaining member from the last route.
Martyn LeNoble is in on bass this time around, Rosa is joining us on keys & vocals.
Kev's schedule with Spiritualized was looking pretty busy, there is a chance that he may be called into the studio with those guys towards the end of September. So he had to bow out. I was pretty sad about that, people come & go in this band thats just the way it is. But he's not just an great drummer, he's a great friend. He's a good guy to have around & definitely brings out the better side of me.
But, we have a great replacement in Colin. He's a really incredible drummer & I think he's gonna blow people away when they see him play.
He's a really special player & think he's gonna fit in just fine.
I would like to know a bit more about the Broken sessions, were the "collaborators" involved in the writing of the songs/ choice of the covers?
- Mark co-wrote most of the record with us, Rosa co-wrote 'By My Side' with us.
Who came up with the Lanegan/Oldham crossed cover thing? Did they chose what song to cover? (By the way, I love how both of those turn out!)
- Was my idea to do, both both those guys picked which tune they wanted to do.
Is Lanegan an official permanent guest of the band? (I'm thinking like the QOTSA situation)
- I guess so. As I said before, I'm happy for Mark to come & go as he pleases with this band. That door is always open & I'm always happy when comes in through it.
Is there anyone you wanted to work with for the Broken sessions but didn't happen? Anyone in mind to collaborate with in the future?
- Yeah, we came really close to getting Willie Nelson involved but it unravelled at the last moment, which was rough. But it would have meant holding everything back for a few months for that window to maybe open again & I wanted to get the thing out. But I'd love to try to make that happen again.
Whatever happened to the double album?
- I think we set out with the intention of a double record, with one disc being Marks disc & the other being a disc with a female vocalist. We tried out a lot of girls before Rosa came onto our radar, and by that point the reality of finishing a double record had hit home with me I guess. But i think it's good to set out with a big target & then see what happens. Most people make pretty short records now, and a lot of the people I know would class the length of record we're putting out as a double still... In fact a number of people have said we're giving too much away on this one record, that we should have held even more back. But i'm happy with it, I think it runs from beginning to end nicely, if we'd trimmed any more track the album would not have worked as well as it does.
Any plans for a release of the record in South America in the near future? What about a tour?
- Not at the moment I'm afraid.
Italy's release date?
- Ha, I don't know. But sometime this month for sure.
What other Mark solo songs have you considered covering on a Soulsavers album?
And if any others were considered were any of them demoed?
- As I said earlier, we cut the whole of "Whiskey.."
Why does it seem like you guys have such a hard time getting your records released in the US?
- I don't know, it's the only country in the world where we are on a major record label, so you should be able to get hold of them pretty easy..... right?
Assuming this question will be answered before the album comes out....What can we expect from the Broken bonus disc from roughtrade.com?
- I think it's a mix from a radio show we did.
Any plans on making video(s) for any of the songs a la Revival ?
- Yes.... for 'Unbalanced Pieces'. Shooting is about to start anyday now. It won't be as 'grand' as Revival as times have changed any no label is gonna spend $$ on a video anymore. But it sounds like it'll be cool.
It's August 3rd today, how did you manage to not have this album leak already? That's impressive in these times.
- I know, right? Well... It doesn't really exist. We've been fucking with everyone.
Nah, we went to great lengths & cost watermarking the promos etc
Are you still producing/remixing for others, or is writing/performing your own work more of a fulltime occupation these days?
- I'm into the idea of producing other bands if the right thing comes along.
But it has to be something I really wanna do. Life's to short to work on a project for a few months if your not 100% into the band & the people as individuals.
How did your film work with the Guerilla News Network (the soundtracks to Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge and American Blackout) come about?
- I can't for the life of me remember!!
That's a bit shabby on my part, but I can't fucking remember!!
Any more Soulsavers Soundsystem CDs planned?
- Not at all. My head is just not in that place at the moment. (DJ)Format twisted my arm to do that last one with him & doing shit with him is usually fun so I agreed, but as for being motivated to do any more. Just not gonna happen. I don't have the interest in going there anymore.
Mr. Machin, why layer so many tracks over what is basically an excellent song, to the point of distracting from its strongest elements--the vocals, words, and basic song structure? You've been so good at highlighting the simple and powerful elements of songs, especially on your previous album, on both the instrumental and vocal tracks. It seems perhaps you added a bit too much to the aural soup on this track ("Death Bells")?
- Ha well, save the best until last.
I spotted this & thought I'd move it into the pile for ya as you didn't really feel like you wanted to ask me directly.
Well lady, that's what i do as a producer.
Sometimes I strip the track back to it's bare bones when I feel it serves the song to do that.
Sometimes I don't.
I can't imagine approaching every track the same way, that would be really fucking boring.
I do what I believe to be appropriate for each individual song.
I'm sorry if that is not exactly how you'd have liked me to approach that tune.
But at the end of the day, we are all entitled to our own opinion.
Lots of bands that I love and respect record tunes that I think suck sometimes.
But, I wouldn't dream of sitting around giving my opinion about it on the internet.
I'm not self important enough to think my critical analysis of their work is what other people wanna hear.
I'd rather spend my time doing something with my life positive, like being creative rather than being negative about another persons work.
Maybe your insight into studio production could just improve our work if we worked together...
Shit, we'll fly you in next time we start writing, you can make sure we don't fuck it up again.
Quite. So there you have it. There's still a couple of last minute bits & bobs that may/may not get answered, and if there's other questions raised from the above then thanks to the occasionally-wonderfully interactive nature of the internet, then something might come of it.
I just want to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has taken part in this, and of course thanks also to Rich for taking time out of his hectic pre-tour schedule to do this for us. Thanks!
and yeah i can't wait till 2025 either.
I really enjoyed the read, thanks everybody