Lucas Hicks. Photo by Jenny Rose Lara

I think the world of Lucas Hicks and when the opportunity to talk to him for 11 questions came up, I jumped at the chance. I first met Lucas in 1998 when his band at the time, Pacer, graced the cover of What’s Up! (they broke up that month). Since then, I’ve followed and loved his music, including his most recent bands The Gallus Brothers and The Shadies as well as his time square dance calling. He plays with passion and love, all the while struggling with his health. The way Lucas lives his life should be an example to all of us. Enjoy.

Brent Cole: What music projects are you in?

Lucas Hicks: HELLO MY NAME IS Lucas Hicks. I play in: The Gallus Brothers-Goodtime Ragtime blues with a guitar and a suitcase. The Shadies-Old Time! Bluegrass! Country? Rattletrap Ruckus-Accordion led waltzes, rags, paso-dobles and tangos. Jill Brazil-Soft Rock Cafe with a twist. Square Dance Calling-pretty much what it sounds like. I’ve also been known to tour with The Crow Quill Night Owls, Maria Muldaur, and Le Serpent Rouge and I’m starting to teach private lessons on a variety of instruments. I feel lucky to play with a variety of really talented people.

BC: Musically, what are the similarities between the jazz freak outs of Pacer (your amazing band from 1997) and the Gallus Brothers? How did you get from point a to b?

LH: I play music that is fun for me and I’ve always enjoyed a variety of music. Pacer was over-rehearsed, expectation-defying weirdness but it was incredibly fun for us as performers, so I think it was fun for the audience. The Gallus Brothers is incredibly fun for the two of us and our goal is for that to be infectious. In music school, I was burning out playing saxophone in a practice room for hours every day and struggling to admit to myself that I hated bop, which is what I was expected to study. I bought a banjo to have something to play just for fun and it was a gateway instrument to all the other roots instruments and genres I’ve become more focused on over the last 12 years.

BC: Tell everyone the story of how my favorite band, Jill Brazil, got its start.

LH: I was 19 and Pacer had broken up. Lyle Morris was drumming in a new project that I was trying to put together but we couldn’t make a bass player stick until we called Ian Voorhees who I had always liked the look of but had never played with. Immediately after our first awesome rehearsal we got a call from you about an upcoming show. Ten days and nine rehearsals later we played our first concert. Eventually we got Tony Gilmore on guitar and damn if it wasn’t love. The line up has changed a bit but the love is still there. And the Milli Vanilli covers, soft rock cafe style.

BC: How did it feel to play with Jill Brazil again after all these years? Did it feel good switching gears and playing sax again?

LH: It felt great to play with Jill Brazil. I love that band and the guys in it and I’m continually surprised and grateful that we can still fill a venue with a rowdy enthusiastic crowd. It’s a cathartic experience. I love the music. I love kicking and screaming and stage humping and it somehow being entertaining. We’ve played a couple of shows since the 3B closed and they were full and fun, but once we played at the Shakedown, we came back to life in the way that a band does at a great venue with a great crowd.

As far as playing the saxophone goes, I have a hard time with that instrument, intellectually. When Jill Brazil started, saxophone was the instrument I happen to be most capable on so that’s what I played, but I was always trying hard to make it sound like something else. Saxophone gets a bad rap, and it often deserves it. An early review described Jill Brazil as math rock with Kenny G… And I think it was meant as a compliment. Hopefully we’ve lived that down and folks realize that we are not the worst thing in the world, which I imagine would be math rock with Kenny G. Of course I understand we have a hard sound to describe which is why I’ve given up and I just say something smart ass like Soft Rock Cafe or Milli Vanilli Cover band.

BC: Throughout the years of playing live, what is your favorite memory from the stage?

LH: Holy crap. Too many, so I’ll toss a couple off the top of my head. Any Jill Brazil 3B show. Or the time Devin (from the Gallus Brothers) and I had about 30 pairs of giant old lady panties thrown onto us with the words Gal-Ass written on them. Devin finished the song with one hanging off his face. Or when I played solo banjo to a crowd of 4,000 rowdy Mexican cowboys in Michoacan at a jaripeo (bad ass rodeos that are also cowboy raves with live music). Or when I was frenched by a giant rubber horse mask while playing accordion for a drunken belly dancer. Or when tiny kids are frozen in amazement when they hear a live banjo or accordion for the first time. But honestly, any truly attentive and appreciative audience makes for a great night.

BC: What musician or person in Bellingham do you look up to the most?

LH: I’d have to say Jordan Francisco. The music scene at large doesn’t know him as much as it ought to. He’s an old school Bluegrass guy, via Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Monroe and he’s the best banjo, guitar or mandolin player in that genre that you’re going to find anywhere near Bellingham. He got me started in that genre on banjo and continues to be a source of inspiration. He’s a pretty brilliant guy all around and one of the most memorable and generous characters I’ve been lucky enough to call a friend, which I think is saying something.

BC: You’ve spent a fair amount of time on the road, where is the farthest from Bellingham you’ve played? What did you take from that show?

LH: Without looking at a map I might say the Yukon, or Michoacan Mexico, or somewhere on the East Coast, but metaphorically the farthest place I’ve ever played was possibly this private gig for the owner of Joe Boxer. We had been hired to play his son’s 12th birthday in Marin, CA, but what twelve year old wants to listen to old blues music by some weirdos in hats? We ended up playing a private concert for his mom in her enormous kitchen while she cooked and we got paid an embarrassing amount. Kinda bizarre. That’s quite a ways from what I think of as a quintessential Bellingham show.

BC: What is it about life on the road that draws you to it?

LH: The chance to play music every night is pretty huge. I guess I often do that at home too, but touring brings you closer together as a band and as friends, and puts you in a situation where there is no distraction from playing. No one is calling off rehearsal or too busy, you are just moving from one performance to the next. Plus rolling into a town that you may or may not know, and being able to immediately connect with a whole crapload of people through the show has got to be one of the best ways to get to know a community.

BC: As someone who has lived in town for years, what is the one thing that you love here more than anything else?

LH: There are so many unique elements in Bellingham that contribute to its inimitable personality. Of course the creative scene is what usually gets me excited, but there’s a long list of different elements that contribute to that scene being possible. As Bellingham grows, some of the things that used to be on that list have gone away, but there are certainly new things being added all the time and that is a testament to the tenacious creative spirit of this town. People come out to see live music here. They go see plays and buy handmade goods and art from folks who live here. It sounds so obvious, as if it should be that way everywhere, but it’s not. Bellingham is one of the good places in that way. It’s a good place in many ways.

BC: You’ve been battling cancer for several years, how are you feeling?

LH:I’ve gotten used to functioning pretty well with a large amount of background pain, but there are definitely good days and bad. Bad days can be very bad, but I know it could be worse, so I try to appreciate the good days. I have essentially run down all the current medical treatment options for this incredibly rare disease, so now I’m just treating the symptoms as well as possible. As far as I know, things are not getting worse, which I’m thankful for.

BC: How has your illness affected the way you approach music?

LH: It’s ever evolving. At first, going through a potentially life threatening, disabling illness cracked me open emotionally, which made me fragile but also tuned me into how lucky I was to live the life I had up to that point. Everything was beautiful and meaningful and untenably momentous . As sad and terrifying as it was, it clarified what was essential and important and wiped away my doubts about what I was doing with my life. I’m still trying to live that life, but I don’t feel it with the same raw urgency as before. That level of desperate passion is difficult to maintain, but in a lot of ways I’m putting those ideals into practice better now than when I was writhing in the fearsome uncertainty that is the early days of cancer diagnosis.

BC: When you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?

LH: A truck driver. I liked the smell of diesel. Probably a fireman too.

BC: If you could have lunch with anyone living, who would it be and why? Today?

LH: My brother Van. Because he rules.

The Shadies play every Tuesday at the Honeymoon from 8 to 11 p.m. The Gallus Brothers perform Dec. 3 at the Shakedown. Catch the Square Dance with Lucas at the Wild Buffalo on Dec. 11 starting at 8 p.m.

Rachel Ballard

Rachel Ballard

Rachel Ballard

Robert Blake: A Long-Forgotten Truth tells of the adventures of an 18-year-old, but it also paints the picture of Gail’s reflective teenage years. What were you reading between 14 and 18? What has stuck with you from that time period and influences you today?

Rachel Ballard: I read On the Road while traveling through Europe when I was 18. That certainly had a big impact on me. In fact, I remember finishing the book in a Florence pensione, and then cradling it against my chest all night while I slept. I loved Richard Bach’s books when I was that age. I also liked a lot of the classics that we were reading in English class, Shakespeare, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men. I was the dork whose hand always shot up first in any vaguely literary discussion.

This novel was written as your graduate thesis. The nature of such a project welcomes feedback and revisions. Do you long for the freedom of Jack Kerouac writing On the Road on a single coil of paper over a three week period or do you thrive within the revision process?

Well, Kerouac wrote On the Road in three weeks after ten years of painful false starts. Also, in that three week period, he was self-medicating quite a bit. But yes, I’m sure it’d be very gratifying to crank out an American masterpiece in three weeks. As for my own ‘lil book, I don’t know if I thrive on revisions, but this book would not exist without them. The amazingly supportive community at the Rainier Writing Workshop, PLU’s grad program in creative writing, helped me immensely in finding my way to the right revisions. As you’ve read several versions, Robert, you have seen some of the changes it’s undergone. I think that my sometimes hazy memory is, as well as a hindrance for obvious reasons, sometimes a help in writing. If I forget what the last version was like, it’s easier to have a fresh start with the thing. Also, it’s always nice to be able to hack away at big sections when they just aren’t working.

Were the plot and characters of the novel dancing in your mind before you put the pen to paper or were they revealed in the writing process?

The protagonist, Gail, was definitely in my mind from the start, as was Tommy, who for some reason came to me fully formed. He was probably the biggest driving force behind the book, at least at the beginning. I had to create a whole landscape in order for him to exist. I can’t say that the plot has ever been more fully formed in my mind than “A car breaks down in a small town.” Everything else that happens in the story came out through writing it.

Was there an outline for this novel before the first sentence fell from your fingers?

No. I employed outlines to keep the timing of events straight in my head, but not until after I had written several drafts.

You’ve been working on this novel for years. Do you ever forget that Gail and Tommy are characters? Have they become friends? Do you ever think of them being upset with you when you they get rewritten? Did anyone get written out of the novel… does it haunt you?

No one significant got written out of the novel, at least not that I remember. Whenever I rewrite a character, it always feels like expanding on what was already there, or finding the “right” motivation underneath whatever seemed not-quite-right and needed to be rewritten. So I guess I’d imagine/hope that the characters are grateful. At least they should be, dammit! And I think my attachment to Gail and Tommy as characters is similar to that of characters in books I’ve read and loved. It’s certainly deeper, as I’ve spent more time writing this book than I have reading any one book. But it’s that same sort of feeling, where if you want to make them feel real, you have to be inside that fictional realm, whether it’s by reading or by writing.

‘Truth’ is a road novel with very little road time. Have you driven Duluth to Everett? Did the drive inspire the novel? Can your readers expect a follow-up novel telling about an adventurous night in Browning, MT?

It’s true that the breakdown and subsequent events occupy the bulk of the book, but I still think it qualifies as a road novel because the highway is the bloodline of the story. I have never actually driven Highway 2, which is Gail’s route, but I have taken the Empire Builder, Amtrak’s East/West route from Chicago to Seattle several times. This route parallels Highway 2 most of the way between Minnesota and Everett, where Gail’s journey takes place. And yes, riding that route was hugely influential in my feelings about the landscape and what it has to offer. The first time I took that route it was the final leg of a cross-country train trip that I did at the age of nineteen. I basically went in a big circle around the country, south to L.A., east to New Orleans, north to Boston, finally westward. I had along my Walkman and a bag of cassette tapes, and I wrote furiously in my journal. The wide Montana expanses and the bleak, singularly-American towns along Empire Builder’s route echoed this deep-seated nostalgia that I’ve always possessed. Riding west felt like the best sort of homecoming.

I have no plans for a sequel, and my only experiences in Montana have been on railroad station platforms, so I feel ill-equipped to attempt what you’re suggesting. But you are more than welcome to try it, Robert!

Tell us about your ideal working day. Pen and paper, typewriter, or computer? If computer, how do you keep yourself from checking email and other cyber distractions?

My ideal working day includes waking up at the civilized hour of 9 a.m., drinking tea until fully awake, and reading during breakfast of a fried egg and toast, or maybe just toast if I’m feeling lazy. I like to enter the writing frame of mind by looking over what I’ve written the day before, and I usually have a soundtrack for whatever I’m writing. A Long-Forgotten Truth had several, but towards the end I was listening obsessively to Gregory Alan Isakov, who’s played in Bellingham twice in the last year or two and I’ve missed it both times for very legitimate reasons, but still, sigh. It’s painful. After I’ve turned off the music and started writing, if it’s a really good day I’ll write until I realize it’s late afternoon and I’m ridiculously hungry. As this is my ideal day I’ll romanticize and say I get back to work after lunch, editing what I wrote that day and being relatively satisfied with the results. Obviously, this ideal working day would require me to be independently wealthy, which I am not, yet.

Regarding my working medium, it’s taken me a while, but I’ve arrived at a formula that seems to work best for me, though it’s time-consuming. I hand-write my first drafts in relatively cheap unlined hard-bound sketchbooks. I have a borderline obsessive preference for the Pilot G-2 pen, fine-point black ink only. I type my first drafts and often do a little editing while I type. And yes, the internet distracts me, but I persevere. Sometimes.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you need a quiet space to hear the words in your head?

I think music is as great an influence on what I write as literature. The book, in fact is structured like an album, with tracks instead of chapters and an A side and a B side. It’s not an epically long novel, and it wasn’t until after I’d written it that I realized how much it resembled an LP in its structure, with individuated chapters all roughly the same length and a “flipping-point” about halfway through.

As I mentioned, I often have a soundtrack that really embodies the feeling that I’m trying to create with what I’m writing, so I’ll put on some songs before I get started. Once I start writing, I can’t listen to any music with words, or it distracts me. Or worse, I start accidentally stealing turns of phrase from my favorite lyricists. Sometimes I steal a phrase or two on purpose, but that’s different!

How many writing projects are dancing around in your head? Can you give us a preview of the novels to come?

Right now I’m working on my second novel. The working title is ‘Hamster Blues. It’s basically a love letter to Bellingham. I also describe it as my hipster Lolita. It’s about a twenty-eight year old musician who falls in love with a young singer who is not quite as creepily-young as Nabokov’s Lolita. There will probably be some familiar locales to many What’s Up readers, but I can assure you now that any resemblance my characters bear to actual ‘Hamsters will be purely coincidental! After I wrote a self-indulgent book about the North Cascades and Minnesotan landscapes I’m so fond of, I decided to write a self-indulgent book about the town and music scene I’m so fond of. I’m having an awful lot of fun writing it.

When you receive a generous advance for you next novel, where will you choose to live while you write? (Excluding Bellingham)

Okay, if I had to leave Bellingham, then I’d happily spend a year or two on the Mediterranean. Or perhaps hang out in Chile. I’ve been wanting to go back since I visited there in 2004. The problem with being so nostalgic is that I always want to return to places I’ve already been and sometimes that supercedes going somewhere new. But yeah, I’d probably leave the country, at least for a little while. I’d also like to live for a year in a place that doesn’t really have seasons, or rather, that summer is the predominant season.

Dinner for two. Cocktails first, then wine with dinner. Which writer, living or dead, will you be dining with?

Oh geez, that’s so hard! I’d have to go with Michael Chabon.I’ve read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh at least six times. It is a brilliant first novel. His other books, such as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, may be even more brilliant, but I feel a real affinity with first novels right now, for some reason… I think a lot of the best fictional characters are not necessarily likeable, but you care about them anyway. Chabon’s got this amazing way of making people compelling who may not even be that likeable.

But if you’re opening this up to songwriters, I will state what’s patently obvious to anyone who has ever spoken to me for longer than five minutes. Bob Dylan. Hands down. The title of the book is from his song Something There is About You, off his Planet Waves album. Dylan’s been my biggest artistic influence. Whether or not he’d be a good dinner companion is open to debate. Truthfully, I’d probably just giggle nervously the whole time and drink too much wine anyway, but that’d be fine with me.

If you’re not going to use your old title, can I call my first novel Let This Town Recede?

This is one of the pitfalls of allowing your friends to read your drafts! Well, Robert, I did hold onto it as a track (chapter) name, but yes, you are hereby bequeathed Let This Town Recede, and all the Browning, MT adventures of my characters. Have at it!

What’s your fuel? Coffee? Tea?

I love tea. My favorite is PG Tips, an English tea that gets as dark as coffee if you brew it long enough. I love caffeine but get pretty hopped up on even a single cup of black tea, so yeah, sadly, no coffee for me. Every once in a while, I think it’s a good idea to drink red wine while I write (only in the evening hours, of course!) and I certainly think what I’m writing is brilliant while I’m doing it, but later, I find that’s not always the case. My handwriting is bad to begin with, so it’s sometimes very entertaining to try to decipher what I’ve written under the influence.

For more information, visit rachelballard.net. Her book launch party will be held at The Ridge on Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. She will appear at Village Books on Sept. 23.

Sean Meyer in all his Scary Monster glory. Photo by Juniper Jones

This month in our 11 Questions Interview I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sean Meyer aka Scary Monster, whose David Bowie Tribute band has garnished rave reviews at capacity filled local gigs. Meyer and I spoke about what it’s like to be Bowie and many of the other fabulous things he is up to these days. We had so much fun we went to 13 questions…

Boris Budd: Describe how the Scary Monster persona has developed both internally and in public.

Sean Meyer: Jeez, that’s a pretty meta question! In short, I’m a dude playing a dude being played by another dude. The Scary Monster “persona” is a take on the Ziggy Stardust persona. I enjoyed how Bowie used the Ziggy apparatus to both comment on rock stardom and indulge in it. Those kind of contradictions are interesting to me. I also once had a band mate who would “get into character” before shows which I thought that was the lamest thing ever, so now of coarse, I’m doing it too!

BB: Tell us about yourself.

SM: I am an art enthusiast! The one thing I know I have in common with David Bowie is we are huge fans of music and art of all kinds. As a kid I was way into comics and cartoons and wanted to be a pen-and-paper kind of artist. Eventually my older brother, Chris Meyer gave me a guitar and my rabid fandom latched on to music. I tried to imitate Bowie’s numerous guitar proteges. It took me almost two decades and some time at a music school to discover I’m not a very good guitarist, so I moved on to the final frontier for artistic types: movie making. I still consider myself more of a fan of movies than an actual filmmaker as can be seen in the numerous homages that tend to show up in my Trailer Wars contributions. Now I just cycle through stages of being excited about drawing, music, and movies. Oh, and I play in a Bowie tribute band, so there goes my credibility as an original artist!

BB: In terms of “Bowie” time periods, what is your favorite era for the singer and why? Please include some of your favorite songs.

SM: Of course it comes in phases. I’ll be super pumped about Lodger and the Berlin era stuff then the next day decide that my desert island album would be Hunky Dory. The time where his music became most important to me was the define-yourself-chapter of my adolescence. Bowie happened to be making darker industrial sounding music at that time (Earthling and Outside) that my best mate Brendan McCreary got me into and it just clicked for me. The reinvention aspect is always what gets me reinvested in Bowie as an artist. To a teenager that’s super relatable. Ya know, “F#!k you mom and dad! You think I’m this way? Well I’m not. I’m like THIS now!” The 90′s stuff will always be the era of his music that I love the most, though very few “hits” came out of that time. Some of my favorite Bowie songs at this second are “Life On Mars?”, “Absolute Beginners,” “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” and “Slip Away.”

BB: Did people tell you that you had these Bowie “tendencies” or did yo always know deep down that he is who you really are or need to be?

SM: HA! No. This whole thing started cuz I have two different colored eyes and Bowie has an enlarged pupil that makes his eyes two colors so people often make the parallel. That was the kernel of inspiration. The rest is manufactured. It’s funny dabbling in the tribute/cover band side of music because I meet a lot of “impersonators” who have totally lost the plot and think they ARE who they play. It’s frightening how some of them live the character even off stage. That’s why it’s Scary Monster not David Bowie and I don’t talk with an accent on stage. It’s just a costume party. Once the mask comes off, it’s back to my normal life as plain old Whitney Houston.

BB: Are you suprised when you fill a room in Bellingham with people of all ages?

SM: I’m grateful and thrilled but not surprised. It’s really the magnetic power of Bowie’s music that fills the rooms. It helps that we don’t suck, but really it just a matter of the band and the people who come having good taste.

BB: Let’s talk about your band The Super Creeps. How has the group, and for that matter the overall performance evolved since you began the project?

SM: Pretty cracking band, eh? When this started I made a dream team list of my favorite musicians in Bellingham and tricked them all into joining! I played with Walt Burkett in a country band in Sedro-Woolley and I knew I wanted him on bass. He’s SO solid! Phil and I played together in some Loyal Sinners and Dissonics projects. Best drummer in Bellingham! I met Ken through our original guitarist Scott Green. I play with Bobby in So Adult, but have been a fan of his since high school. Kessa and Annaliese are both childhood friends of mine. Being able to cherry pick such a motley crew like this and then watch them gel over time is a fan-boy’s dream come true. They just keep getting better!

BB: Please tell us where you get all the snazzy on stage outfits?

SM: All the costumes are made with loving care by an amazing seamstress called Ell Barton. She is available for costume design and creation and can be reached at contactingbarton@gmail.com.

BB: Have you considered inviting David Bowie to a gig? Imagine Bowie, Iggy Pop and Bucketz hanging out at Plan B. Have you at least sent him a video? Please elaborate.

SM: He’s been to a few gigs. Honestly he always seems a little unimpressed. Bucketz and him get so caught up in playing Buck Hunter that I don’t think he even knows we’re playing.

BB: Where do you see Scary Monster and The Super Creeps headed in the future? I think you would be massive in Vegas or even Broadway.

SM: We are making great effort to take it to that next level. It’s easy to get caught up in all the other projects everyone in the band has, but thanks to the response of the last few shows I think we’ll be more focused on moving forward in the coming months.

BB: Tell me about some of your other musical projects. What other local bands are/have you played in over the years?

SM: I currently act as So Adult’s bassist and Joe Olmstead’s personal towel boy. I also write for a great new band that I’m super excited about featuring ex members of Connecticut Four, Brownes Condition and The Arcadians. That band will be performing live soon! I did a few years with an electro pop band in LA called Stefy. I also played guitar in Inger Lorres’ revival of The Nymphs. Loads of funny stories about those two bands!

BB: Have you ever walked down Railroad Avenue in your Bowie attire and been stopped for autographs? If no, is it something you would consider?

SM: I would be too afraid. There is something called an Insane Clown Party or something that works on Railroad Avenue and I’m pretty cool with letting them do all the public performance on that row.

BB: You are active in the Bellingham film making community. Please tell us about those endeavors.

SM: I worked on the local short “Ball’s Out” by Mikiech Nichols and Ryan Covington as well as “Donuts” directed by Chris Patton. I also participate in a monthly film festival called Trailer Wars that is very dear to me. It is a sensational opportunity for ANYONE to try their hand at movie making by creating a three minute trailer for an original film idea. Through it I have witnessed people wander in as first time media makers, sweep the festival, and inspire folks who have never made anything in their life to pick up a camera and participate.

Local artists from every medium have begun to take part and it is not uncommon to see a Bellingham music scene celebrity grace the screen. The next screening night is May 26 at The Pickford Film Center with a Best Of The Year event at Boundary Bay on the March 27. You can see how to participate and when to attend by finding Trailer Wars on Facebook, visiting the Pickford website or checking in at www.trailerwarsbellingham.org. Trailer Wars truly is my favorite thing going on locally these days.

BB: What is it like to be married to Iman?

SM: I bet it’s a real pain in the neck! HA! Get it? Cuz she’s a really tall super model and men are always complaining about their wives so it’s like a double entendre… oh never mind.

Stephen Ray Leslie

Over the last ten years, Steve Leslie has been the driving force behind one of Bellingham’s best alt-country bands, Chuckanut Drive. Filled with soulful melodies, storied lyrics and tragic songwriting, the band was an ever-present rock in the ever-changing music scene. Recently, primary songwriter, Steve Leslie opted to break up Chuckanut Drive and go it alone, with a backing band. Now called Stephen Ray Leslie and the Crooked Mile, this Bellingham alt-country force is ready to take on the town and the world, one fan at a time.

Brent Cole: Tell us about yourself. What’s your background and how did you come to live in Bellingham?

Stephen Ray Leslie: I was born in Houston, TX in 1976 (Urban Cowboy Era). We migrated to Tulsa, OK when I was 9 or 10 years old and lived down the street from Hee Haw cast member Gaylard Sartain. Just before I was to start high school, my family and I uprooted once again and moved to Lake Stevens, WA.

Washington’s live music scene was just starting to blow up in the early 90′s and my brother and I dove head first into some local garage bands. At 19 years old I found myself playing in an early emo band called Bloomsday. We were lucky enough to get a record deal with an indie label out of southern California and began playing around Washington with bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Damian Jurado, and Pedro the Lion. We released two albums, toured the US twice and promptly broke up.

Disillusioned with the music industry, I decided to move to Bellingham, go to school, and get a degree in anything other than music. I wound up at Western in the Journalism department fighting the urge to start a new band. (Bellingham is not exactly the best place to go if you’re trying to get away from music.) I lasted a few months before I broke down and started jamming with the guys who would eventually make up the early version of Chuckanut Drive. (That’s the short story. Buy me a few beers if you want the long one).

BC: How long have you been playing music in town, and can you tell us about the bands you’ve worked with?

SRL: I guess I started Chuckanut Drive around 1999 and have been in the band ever since. I’ve had many members come and go over the years, but the name has stayed the same until now.

BC: Chuckanut Drive recently called it a day. What can you tell us about that? Was there a specific reason or had the band run its course?

SRL: It was strange, after 10 years of writing songs for Chuckanut Drive, I was starting to have writers block. I would sit down and try to write a song for the band and nothing would come. I spoke to a friend about my dilemma and he asked if I had ever thought about doing a solo album. I decided it was a good idea and immediately went home and wrote four songs. Bang… just like that the writers block was gone.

It’s funny how psychological songwriting can be. I guess over the years I had begun to put a certain expectation on myself as to what a Chuckanut Drive song was supposed to sound like and it was keeping me from doing anything new. Instead of writing a song with a certain band in mind, I’m trying to just write for the song and let the band do what they want with it. It’s been very liberating for me as a songwriter. The band was also going through another line-up change and it seemed like a natural time for a name change.

BC: Tell us about your new project, Stephen Ray Leslie and the Crooked Mile. How does it differ from Chuckanut Drive?

SRL: I don’t think the songs are all that different from Chuckanut Drive songs, it’s just that the songwriting process has changed for me. The songs are still in the same alt-country style that Chuckanut became know for. Also, I am wanting to play more acoustic solo shows and the name change gives me the flexibility to play either solo or with the band.

The new band seems to be more on the same page than previous line-ups. We all want to make a living playing music and have set our lives up in order to tour, etc. I’m very lucky to be playing with such talented guys: Ryan Roulard (bass), Stell Newsome (guitar), Steve Norman (pedal steel), and Tom Forster Jr. (drums).

BC: What are the short term places for the new project? Recording? Touring?

SRL: This month we’ll be recording an EP in Bellingham and playing several Northwest shows. We’ll be at the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern on May 22. We’re also working on a West Coast tour for the fall.

BC: What about long term?

SRL: The long term goal has always been the same – to make a living doing something we love. We also hope to get over to Europe within the next two years. The Europeans have a deep appreciation for Americana music. Chuckanut Drive sold more records in the Netherlands than we ever did in Bellingham.

BC: Have you been able to draw on your time in Chuckanut Drive to help get shows for Stephen Ray Leslie and the Crooked Mile?

SRL: Yes and No. I still have the same contacts I had as Chuckanut, but on more than one occasion a club has booked The Crooked Mile and listed Chuckanut Drive on the bill. I think it will just take time for people to get used to the change.

BC: Musically, where do you draw your inspiration from?

SRL: After Bloomsday I started digging into my own roots and the roots of American music. I’ve always been drawn to southern music. There seems to be an urgency and lack of pretentiousness about the music. My earliest musical loves were Louis Armstrong and Willie Nelson. Later I dug deeper into country songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt and Hank Williams. I’ve always loved the storytellers.

BC: How is it working as a solo artist with a band compared to being one member in a band of five people. Is the dynamic different with your name on the marquee?

SRL: I’ll let you know when someone actually puts my name on a marquee. In fact, I’ll probably even send you a picture. No, going with my name is really just a strategy to play more music. It’s not always economically feasible to bring a whole band to every show. There are place you can’t play with a band that I’d like to explore. I’m hoping this change will expose more people to the music and bring new faces to band shows.

BC: Outside of Bellingham, where is your favorite place to play? Where’s the farthest place from Bellingham you’ve played a show?

SRL: For quite some time Ballard has been our home away from home. You’ve got The Tractor, Conor Byrne, and The Sunset Tavern all within a couple blocks of each other. I guess the farthest place from Bellingham that Chuckanut Drive has played would be Chicago or Nashville. Bloomsday made it as far as Florida.

BC: Unlike many people in the music scene, you’ve stayed in town over the years. What’s kept you in Bellingham?

SRL: I’ve always loved the musical energy of Bellingham. I’m sure it has something to do with the college keeping the scene youthful, artful, and supplying a revolving door of fresh talent. That being said, it can be hard to keep a band together for more than a few years if you are playing with students who will eventually graduate. It can be equally hard to make a living in this town after college because you are competing with student wages.

Everyone I know in the music scene who has stuck around has really had to struggle for it. We’ve all developed a bit of a kinship because we’ve all struggled together over the years. Most of us end up starting our own businesses because wages are too low working under someone else. You started this magazine, James Hardesty opened the Green Frog, I started a remodeling business, and I have many friends who give music lessons.

The bottom line is that you have to really WANT IT in order to stick around Bellingham. I think you can feel this passion in the local music scene and culture. Even though geographically Bellingham probably isn’t the best place for the style of music I play, I can’t think of another place that I’d rather live.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of the town?

SRL: Music, movies, good food, good beer. good people. I guess I could sum that all up with the word Culture.

BC: What’s your favorite Bellingham music memory? Either playing a show or seeing one.

SRL: There are too many to count. Some of the early Sadies shows at the 3B Tavern come to mind. Opening for Fred Eaglesmith and Jason Isbell have to be up there. Lately I’ve been blown away at some the acts coming through the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern. It’s hard to believe that on a Monday or Tuesday night I can walk into that tiny bar and see the likes of Hayes Carl, C.R. Avery, or Joe Pug. The only thing I can figure is that great songwriters like to walk on peanut shells.

BC: Any final thoughts?

SRL: No, I think I’ll end it with the peanut shell line.

For more information about Stephen Ray Leslie, visit myspace.com/stephenrayleslie
Catch him live at the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern on May 22.

Petunia and the Vipers

Chances are if you have lived in Bellingham for at least a year, than you are familiar with the moniker Petunia & the Vipers as they play once a month at the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern. At first it may seem like a familiar sound but I assure you, there is nothing quite like the music of Petunia & the Vipers and judging from our brief interaction, there is no one in music quite like Petunia.

Petunia himself has been bringing ‘em into bars, churches, theatres, festivals and street corners for over 10 years professionally. There have been over 10 different band members in the last seven years that have made up a variety of incarnations of Petunia & the Vipers but it has only been during the last two years that they have officially been playing as a band with the same members and future considerations of touring the world. They hail from Vancouver, B.C. and play a wide variety of musical styles that meld into ‘their own thing’, although they draw heavy influence from rockabilly and western swing with splashes of yodeling for good measure.

Their live sets are a smattering of classic and original tunes that, combined with the dapper dress and off-the-radar stage presence, will turn you into an instant fan if you aren’t one already.

What’s Up!: Where does your broad spectrum of musical interest stem from?

Petunia: I can’t ever decide when presented with the menu. So many things in my mind seem like they could taste and look fantastic if I were to order them. I have been blessed with a stubbornness that keeps me going with the blinders on most of the time, never stopping to see where the other horses may be going, confident that where I am going is the right way. It’s fun to get lost.

WU: What got you started playing this type of music?

P: Once upon a night, a late, late night, I met a lady. She was so sophisticated in the arts of communication, possessed such fiery wit and displayed all the charm of a satin clad fakir that I was dumbfounded and enamored of her. I, was none of these – social outcast that I was at the time, and not accustomed to much conversation. I threw coffee beans all over the room to begin with, beating my drum and pounding on my chest in my own way, and shouted mostly about no things at all while we drank the rest of the night away. True romance. Sparks flew. Rather annoying it might seem to most although we two seemed to be in accordance that things had set off on the right foot(s). Three days later, she opened the Reader’s Digest country songbook to “Jambalaya” and sang and played guitar. She taught and inspired me to play and sing country music.

WU: How do you describe your sound?

P: It’s a sound, if you will, that is difficult to sum up in a few words. Recently I heard “Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction”. That sounded cool. In any case, this description is accessible to a wide audience.

WU: Have you ever been anything other than a performer?

P: I used to make 16mm film. Before that I dabbled mildly with painting and before that I mixed youthful verse with travel – then swore off books and writing altogether as falsities! I felt for a time that books and reading sullied, malformed, and in the end, destroyed true thought. I felt, arrogantly, that my own thought was important, that it was more important for one to think on their own and improvise the ‘new idea’ rather than read about the ‘new idea’ in a book and have the path to it laid out before you on someone else’s terms. It wasn’t until much later that I heard how Socrates had come to a similar conclusion in his time. Something to the effect that – eventually, with the onset of books and reading, common sense would soon disappear.

WU: Do you ever still play on the streets just for the experience of it?

P: You are right – playing on the street is always an experience. One that I am accustomed to and that I enjoy, even though the evil flavors of my thoughts and emotions sometimes take control out there. This is hard to explain in a sentence or two unless you’ve been there.

WU: How do you feel about the ever present reference to David Lynch considering he is a director and you a musician?

P: I think it an apt link. In many of his films, I sense that another era is swimming in the background, that there is more than meets the eye. Plainly viewed, one is struck with the idea that there is a strange sophistication attached to his films. A sophistication about the unknown to us. That if we walk hand in hand with what is unknown instead of analyzing it, then we can come to an honest understanding of it. Like poetry.

WU: Why is Bellingham so lucky to have you grace our stage every month?

P: Three reasons – James Hardesty and Robert Sarazin Blake are the men to thank who first made it possible for, and then encouraged us to cross the border. We thank you Robert and James. The third reason is that we feel loved in Bellingham. We thank the folks in Bellingham who come to see us play. The Green Frog Acoustic Tavern is a great sounding venue and the perfect size for a real atmosphere. The Subdued Stringband Jamboree is on my list of places, yearly, that I should be at and it’s only going to get bigger and bigger. Watch out.

I myself have a copy of their Live at the Cafe Montmartre in Vancouver CD from this year and let me tell you, it is already fairly scratched up from all the wear and tear. You simply must hear their treatments of the Americana classics “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “Wayfaring Stranger.” But make no mistake, the crowds cry out for the Petunia originals just as often if not more.

Also check out their website to get a taste of their sound or a taste of some Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It’s true, there are a few delicious recipes on their site so you can whip up some tasty treats while you listen. I’d like to know one other band that offers you so much.

Petunia & the Vipers just put out a 9-song recording called I Live in the Past and is also fresh off of their first tour to L.A. While in the city of angels they recorded in the world famous Sunset Sound Studios where Tom Waits, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones (among many others) have made records. It is due out in a few months and we can all expect big things to come out of it.

Catch Petunia & the Vipers next on Feb. 20 at the Green Frog.

For more information about the band, visit www.petuniamusic.com.

Mark Heimer of No-Fi Soul Rebellion

When thinking of great local bands one cannot ignore No-Fi Soul Rebellion, made up of Mark Heimer and his wife Andrea. Known for their rip-roaring live shows and unique approach to performing (combining pre-recorded and live instrumentation, etc.), the duo has released a number of albums and wowed crowds in places large and small.

Boris Budd: Tell us about your life. Can you highlight some signature events that occurred that may have shaped the person you are or are not today?

Mark Heimer: Major influencing factors of my life:

Marrying Andrea in 2003. Total love and support. I need that to keep me going. As much as I flaunt my artistic independence, I really don’t like to be alone. She is totally my other half. I have had other people perform in No-Fi with me, but none of them made me feel as good about it as she does and it makes the whole thing feel correct and complete.

Growing up in Alaska influenced my DIY ethic. It is the last frontier you know. You kinda have to create your own culture there if you want to be part of something artistic.

Late 80s-early 90s radio. Before I bought albums, I listened to the radio. Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Salt ‘n Peppa, Naughty by Nature, George Michael, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, MC Hammer, Milli Vanilli, KLF, that whole period when hip-hop was being appropriated by popular and rock music had a big impact on me in terms of musical aesthetics. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard, “Nasty Boys” by Janet Jackson, “Baby Don’t Forget my Number” by Mili Vanilli, and “Peek-a-boo” by Siouxsie and the Banshees are all excellent of examples (outside of standards like “Walk this Way”) of how pop, rock and hip-hop can coexist in a single composition and sound totally rad.

There is other stuff, but too much to mention and I wouldn’t want to bore anyone…

BB: Explain how the No-Fi Soul Rebellion concept was developed. How long had you tied with the idea?

MH: The concept was inspired by my desire to be somewhat autonomous in respects to how I wrote and recorded music, which I began doing myself around late 1999. I developed the performance schematic in 2000, which was inspired by the cover of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album Orange, which features a drawing of his theremin on the cover. I liked the idea of the band being symbolized by a single instrument. That is when I came up with the idea for the soul system, a bass guitar with a jog proof CD player inside that is plugged straight into the PA. It’s the original guitar that you play, but you don’t play. I am pretty sure I should probably be suing Guitar Hero…

BB: Please explain your approach to a live performance and the reasons for this unconventional line-up.

MH: I just use nervous excitement to fuel my energy and let myself be free to spazz out and express myself in front of a crowd. It’s probably very therapeutic or something. We prefer to play on floors so we can see the faces of the people in the audience and engage them on a personal level in hopes of making something special happen and letting the crowd know that we know that they are present.

BB: No-Fi Soul Rebellion has had five records released in the past seven years. What pushes you to keep writing and creating and what are the major differences that you notice from record to record?

MH: It’s actually five albums, two EPs, and a live record in 9 years.What keeps me writing and recording is my creative drive and liking to have something to share with people. As far as differences in records, what I notice most is the progression in skill at recording, engineering and musical influence. It’s a nice sonic timeline.

BB: What is your favorite No-Fi record and why?

MH: I think Terrible Muscles is pretty cool and I am still surprised that I made it when I listen to it sometimes. It has a nice mixture and balance of my influences and comes off as sounding pretty damn unique, to me anyways.

BB: Describe your recording process from start to finish. Include details about work habits, gear and environment.

MH: The 5-step program for the Heimer method of song writing:

Step 1: Come up with 30-50 musical ideas.

Step 2: Leave them to sit for about two or three months without listening to them.

Step 3: Review ideas and try to make up lyrics in the shower or while driving.

Step 4: Spend the next 5-7 months trying to write and record a collection of songs and worry about every aspect of them to the point of driving your spouse insane with things like: ‘I suck at this, why do I try?’ and ‘What’s wrong with that song? I like this one!!’

Step 5: Desire to be finished with the damned album sooo bad that you put yer head down and plow through arranging, mixing and mastering with such vigor that you totally neglect to do any sort of promotion for the release and have to listen to people say for the next two years: ‘You have a new album?’

BB: If you could have What’s Up! readers hear one song you have written, what would it be and why? How can we get a copy of the song?

MH: I would have them listen to “Brother Lupine” from our new album Oh Please Please Please to prove that we have other decent songs besides “Let’s Pretend.” Folks can preview it and buy it from iTunes, or can purchase Oh Please Please Please at Everyday Music.

BB: Who are your favorite Bellingham bands of all time and is there anyone in town you dream of collaborating with on a song?

MH: I dunno if I have any all time faves. I liked Black Eyes and Neckties’ first album, but more for the nostalgia of heady days of the mid-2000′s of when we first moved here.

As far as collaborations: I want to produce a Joe Olmstead (So Adult) solo EP where Joe plays and sings and I do everything else. Also, I am pretty sure I am gonna be kicking myself for not joining Sean Meyers’ (Scary Monster & The Super Creeps, So Adult) new band. I haven’t heard them yet, but it sounds like it will be right up my alley…

BB: How do you think your wife/bandmate Andrea would characterize you?

MH: Attractive, kind and intelligent. And big in the pants.

BB: What do you think you would be doing now if you weren’t a musician? Please fantasize in detail.

MH: Graveyard shift donut fryer somewhere in Montana, Alaska or maybe Spokane…

BB: What’s next on the horizon for Mark Heimer?

MH: Writing more songs, playing more shows, releasing more albums, trying to do something to commemorate No-Fi’s 10-year anniversary, and going back to school to become a high school art teacher.

Kat Bula 10 Questions with Boris Budd. Photo by Jen Martin

Boris Budd: Tell us what inspired you to make Thimble vs. Needle. Were the songs from the record a collection of stuff you had accumulated as a songwriter over the years, or was the material a sudden burst of energy based upon prevailing events from that period in your life?

Kat Bula: You mean the album Thimble vs. Needle, which is mostly me multi-tracked, and not the five-piece band Thimble vs. Needle as it exists now, right?

For a long time I wanted to start a new band–an indie/pop/folk project that would get progressively noisier and mathier as it developed. But I had a hard time getting people to understand what kind of music I had in mind when I invited them to work with me. I had been playing in bluegrass bands (Feed & Seed, The Caved In) and Pirates R Us for so long that people assumed that was all I listened to or wanted to play. I watched David Ney go through a similar process after Pirates R Us broke up. He was writing all these songs that were not silly, not oom-pah-pah, but that was all people expected him to do. So he made this great serious album (Bright Blue) and then he was able to easily show people what kind of music he wanted to be making. After that, putting together the David Stray Ney Band was a snap. I wanted to do the same thing.

Some of the songs on my album (like “Pogo Stick”) I’d had for years, but the majority of them I wrote in the months leading up to recording. It all came out poppier and less “weird” than I had really expected, but I like it, and it did the trick as far as helping other musicians understand what I was asking them to be part of. In its current form, Thimble vs. Needle only plays about half of the songs on the album, and the newer songs are increasingly experimental.

BB: Discuss the recording process for the record. Did you work with a set line-up and what lessons and previous experiences from recording were you able to employ and or attempt in the production of the album?

KB: Most of the album is me. I did all the guitar, accordion, and vocal parts, and a lot of the violin and viola parts, before I brought in anyone else. Anna Arvan and I recorded some cello and violin parts simultaneously, and I’m convinced now that this is the way to go for an organic string sound. We did the same thing on Biagio Biondolillo’s record. Anna’s harmony vocals, Chris Stainback’s bass and percussion, and Dave Maguire’s mandolin and resonator guitar are all overdubbed.

I worked with Ryan Richardson at Golden Coin Studios, and that was a great experience. He found a balance of offering input while ceding control, that is hard for a lot of engineers I think. He also let me in the control room during the final mixing, and implemented a lot of my weird ideas without complaint. I don’t think that’s incredibly common.

Whenever I hear people complain about some aspect of my album’s mixing, it’s usually something I did to make it a little less polished-sounding. I like the way it sounds. If I ever want to make something super-polished, I know Ryan can do it.

BB: Please give the readers some background as to the number of projects/bands you have contributed to since you started playing.

KB: Do you really want a number? How about 15? I don’t really know. It’s like when young actors count the number of people they’ve made out with–do they count stage kisses?

I have been in bands since I was an 11-year-old in Spokane. Back then it was nursing homes, county fairs. The first band in which I had creative input was “Blue Moon,” a mishmash of traditional Irish and Scottish tunes and ’60s folk songs. I was 13 and Marcie, my bandmate, was 15. I played fiddle and flute, and maybe mandolin or something. Once we played a show on a stage in a grocery store parking lot for some charity. The audience was literally zero.

BB: Why did you decide to make music your life and why is it a good/bad decision?

KB: I never did decide. When I was little I had no friends so I sang, and then learned fiddle. Now I teach fiddle lessons instead of continuing to work at a video store because I get paid more to teach fiddle and it doesn’t make me want to die.

If music as life were a decision, it would be a bad one. I learned as a college music major that it’s incredibly dangerous to form your whole identity around being a musician. What happens when you work so hard that you don’t even like music anymore? Then who are you? What happens when you surround yourself with people who are better musicians than you are? Does it make you an inferior person in general?

Pirates R Us may have hampered my GPA in my last quarter of college, but I owe them for reminding me that music can be ridiculous and fun. But only as long as I keep my escape route clear.

BB: Give us some insights as to what it was like to be in a group like Pirates R Us. What kind of memorable adventures took place on the road and in the studio?

KB: One of the things I miss most about that band is that we played a lot of house shows, lots of them for people who normally didn’t pay attention to non-mainstream bands. People like to throw pirate parties. Since that band was so high-energy (another thing I miss), it was amazing to play for people five feet from our faces who reflected back that energy so intensely.

…Of course, the whole message of the band was subverting the Man, so “high energy” sometimes meant messing around rockstarishly (in pirate hats). Sometimes the audiences met us there (like the garage full of people in Moscow, Idaho that took the 110 degree weather as an excuse to get naked), and sometimes they did not. I still hear stories sometimes about what a jerk that band was. It’s funny to me; as individuals we are all so lovely. We’d have to be, would we not, to so thoroughly embrace acting like dorks?

BB: What is your take on the condition of the local music scene? What is your prescription for the preservation of the art community?

KB: It’s tempting to oversimplify this. Selective enforcement of the noise ordinance doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem as it once was, but it could resurface any time and we need to get that law changed. (Readers interested in working on this, please get in touch with me; my former B’DAMN (Bellingham’s Downtown Alliance for Music & Nightlife) co-conspirators have all moved away. You can reach me through myspace.com/thimblevsneedle.

On the more pressing problem of disappearing venues: let’s develop non-traditional venues. Please tell me one reason why the restaurant or widget shop where you work couldn’t or shouldn’t host shows during or after business hours. A lot of places really can’t, and I get that, but I think a lot more have just never considered the idea. Come up with a way to monetize it–or at least not lose money–and why not give it a go? Businesses, remember that when bands advertise for their shows, that is free advertising for you, even if you’re not actively making money from the show.

And, duh: musicgoers please actually spend money in the businesses that host music. We live in a capitalist society; make it a worthwhile business endeavor to host music and more places will host music. Especially please support the places that pay bands as the businesspeople they are. (Bands, even if you’re “not in it for the money”, if you have a draw, don’t let businesses trick you into doing their advertising for them without compensating you accordingly.)

BB: Who do you draw influence from musically? In life?

KB: I love when bands like Deerhoof and CocoRosie–even sometimes Radiohead–combine sweet melodies with unexpectedly dissonant or noisy instrumental arrangements. That’s where I want to go with Thimble vs. Needle. Andrew Bird is a buttkicker for me because he has such a similar skill set to mine (violin, just-okay guitar skills, singing) and he makes amazing music instead of complaining that you can’t lead a band with a violin. Peter Woiwod (Go Slowpoke), Anna Arvan (I Love You Avalanche) and Jake Hemming (Big Sur) constantly write songs that challenge my perception of what’s “good enough” lyrically and melodically. Complex instrumental bands like Rooftops, Cicadas, Pan Pan and Piano Mover inspire me to write stuff that requires my whole concentration to play. I miss that about playing classical music, or even the super-fast bluegrass improvisation I had to do to keep up with Feed & Seed.

BB: Where does you see yourself on 5, 10 years? What are your goals and dreams?

KB: Isn’t the world supposed to end before I’m 31 anyway? …I want to have or be working on a PhD. My second major (besides music) at WWU was Culture, Gender & Sexuality Studies. It probably should have just been English with a Critical Theory focus, and that’s probably where I’ll end up doing graduate work. I’d also like to do more academically with electronic music and critical musicology.

BB: What was the wildest experience you have ever had on the road with a band?

KB: I work with kids now, Boris. Isn’t it enough that there are swear words in my songs? …Pirates R Us recently received a request to go to St. John (or was it St. Croix?) and play a party for people who like to fire cannons into the air and make people walk the plank off of a nearby cliff. That sounds like it could take the cake of anything I’ve actually experienced. Even wilder than the mini-golf place in Abilene, Texas. Or the elementary school classroom in Davis, California.

BB: Tell us about your cat you love so much?

KB: As I type this, Audrey is curled up half-asleep on a Mono CD, purring. Oh–oh, now she’s licking her paw. Every little thing she does is magic.

Contact Kat Bula at myspace.com/thimblevsneedle

Fresh from a UK tour, the Fruit Bats will play Bellingham on Jan. 21. Courtesy photo

Boris Budd: The band just returned from an extensive European tour. Give us some highlights and maybe a lowlight from those dates.

Fruit Bats: The highlight was just finally being there. It’s been a while as a band having never crossed the pond. But I’m gonna have to say Lisbon was the highlight. Simply because none of us had ever been there, and we all fell deeply in love with the place; it’s one of those rare places that instantly enchants.

The lowlight? Being stuck in a snowstorm trying to cross the English Channel. One of the biggest delays in the history of the Euro-chunnel and ferries. Although we had fun; we sat in the van, drank beer, had snowball fights with a busload of Dutch high schoolers.

BB: Fruit Bats are known for their engaging live performances. Describe the special feeling you get when connecting with an audience.

FB: That feeling is hard to describe. There’s nothing cooler, though, for my money. Even if it’s just 10 people. Much cooler than playing to 10,000 who could care less.

BB: Compare the process that the group un-took during the recording of The Ruminant Band as opposed to your other records.

FB: Way more of a group process. It was the fastest I’ve ever done a record from start to finish. I think because we were all working together. Plus I was in a hurry to finish the thing.

BB: What insights have you guys acquired in regard to the music industry after being on a label like Sub Pop for almost a decade?

FB: There are no rules. There is no strategy. Sometimes you’re lucky. Sometimes you’re smart. I have no clue. It’s a great mystery. I’ve seen so many people come and go and succeed and fail and the same story never gets repeated.

BB: Describe the thrill of playing on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

FB: It’s really fun, but also the ultimate anti-climax to play on TV. It takes weeks to plan, all day to put together, and then it’s done in three minutes, which really feels like 20 seconds. But I like being on the TV. It’s a weird little thrill to be on that box.

BB: How has the Fruit Bats sound evolved over the course of the bands career?

FB: The first record came from such a kitchen sink, home recordist angle. I had no idea how to arrange things for a band. It was a nightmare trying to play those songs live on the 2001-02 tour. I enjoy making simpler rock music right now. The band has electric guitars and drums and bass. I’m into that.

BB: The group is listed as having Chicago and Portland as home bases. How does that work?

FB: Pretty easy. When you tour as much as us, you only need to meet up for rehearsal early on, then the rest is on auto pilot. I spend a lot on plane tickets, though.

BB: Who would Fruit Bats name as their main influences?

FB: 1960′s Topanga Canyon Country Rock, British Wizard Folk, 70′s Yacht Rock, any alchemical mash ups of traditional meets cosmic.

Harper Simon

Harper Simon, son of Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Paul Simon will be performing songs from his first solo record on Sunday, Dec. 13 at the Wild Buffalo in what promises to be a memorable show. Simon’s life in showbiz started early with a performance at age four on Sesame Street, and appearances as a teen with his father. He has developed into an acclaimed songwriter, musician and producer, and also plays in the psychedelic rock band Menlo Park. We recently caught up with Harper to ask some questions about his life and what makes him tick.

Boris Budd: Tell us all about the new solo, self titled, debut album and the Nashville sessions that were part of it.

HARPER SIMON: I was in Nashville and basically said, “Someone find me Bob Johnston,” and before I knew it I was there tracking with Charlie McCoy, Lloyd Green, “Pig” Robbins, etc. Working with Bob Johnston and all those Nashville session guys from the 60′s was completely fascinating and totally satisfying. The musicianship was extraordinary; their attitude towards me was so supportive. It was very special. The Nashville sessions resulted in the basic music for the songs ‘Ha Ha,’ ‘All I Have Are Memories,’ ‘Tennessee’ and ‘The Shine.”

BB: What differences in the creative process were evident when comparing the recording of the solo record to your work with Menlo Park (Simon’s other band)?

HS: They were very different processes. With Menlo Park, there were other co-writers, and it was more of a democratic process. On my current album I was able to call all the shots. Plus, even though it is a “solo” album, there are way more musicians involved in this album. It contributed to a much fuller sound.

BB: Explain your participation in the Quantum Shift concert. What was accomplished by these efforts?

HS: A friend, Suphala, who actually played tabla on this album on “The Shine”, put together a concert for Pakistani earthquake relief. I was happy to participate, and in general am happy to do anything with her.

BB: Who are your influences?

HS: For this record: The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Elliot Smith, Graham Parsons, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds.

In Life: Jean-Michael Basquiat, David Foster Wallace, Lou Reed, P.G. Wodehouse, Alex Chilton, Federico Fellini.

BB: Are the songs from the solo album a culmination of work from the course of your life or is it recently inspired stuff that made you have to go in and record the record?

HS: You might say both because although I’ve been listening to country and rock my whole life and I was influenced by all the music I mentioned above, these songs were written in a 2-year period and influenced by everything I lived during that time period.

BB: What does the concept of a record album mean to you?

HS: It’s something you want to listen to from start to finish. It’s cohesive with an arc and a structure that works where all the songs are as good as the next and everything connects thematically. An album is meant to be listened to as an album, not just as individual tracks. I wrote this record intending for it to be heard that way.

BB: What is your greatest music memory?

HS: Listen to The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic” in the back of my Mom’s Mercedes when I was 2. I also saw a Pavement concert at Roseland Ballroom in New York that was pretty great.

BB: How are you enjoying your first solo tour and what are some of the joys and pitfalls that have surprised you along the way?

HS: It’s been a very positive experience. I am blessed to have a great touring band who are a not only a great group of musicians, but also a great group of guys. I basically got to put together my dream team. These are all musicians I found by going to other people’s gigs and meeting them. They’ve played in bands for Cat Power, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Rufus Wainwright, Beastie Boys.

BB: What can we look forward to in the future from Harper Simon?

HS: Right now, I’m just at work promoting this record, but somewhere down the line, there might be a darker, dreamier, more psychedelic sound.

BB: We couldn’t help but notice your Dad in the stands of Yankee Stadium during this year’s World Series. Are you also a Yankee fan?

HS: Every boy from New York City loves the Yankees.

Kelley Darlin, Jessi Darlin, and Nikki Darlin

Later this month Bellingham will have the pleasure in welcoming Those Darlins, made up of Kelley Darlin, the group’s bassist, Jessi Darlin, who plays guitar, and Nikki Darlin, on baritone ukulele. Everyone sings, and everyone writes the awesome country, punk, rockabilly infused songs that make this band so special. I recently spoke with Kelley of Those Darlins and asked some questions about their interesting lives and passions, as they make their way on a national tour.

Boris Budd: A listener can obviously hear country, rock, punk influences in your sound. To me you guys are totally punk, even when you go country. It’s about the attitude. What are your thoughts?

Those Darlins: I think rock ‘n’ roll is about independence, energy and expressing your ideas. There’s a lot of music within each genre you mentioned that seeks to recreate the same thing over and over, so for me making music is more about seeking an individual perspective as an artist than it is trying to work within a genre. There’s definitely an attitude of social and personal rebellion in punk music… but while country music doesn’t usually try to challenge the status quo, it can be subversive in subtle ways. There have historically been some very unorthodoxed characters in country and folk music, and their sense of humor and style resonates with us and in our music. We don’t come from wealthy families with archaic social rules of acceptance, so doing things a little “backwards” or making things up as we go makes a lot of sense to us.

BB: Let’s hear all about the band’s debut, self-titled record.

TD: It was a blast to record. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my whole life, and it was definitely the best time I’ve ever had in a studio. The album is the first release on our label, Oh Wow Dang Records, which is owned collectively by Jessi Darlin, Nikki Darlin, our manager John Turner, and myself. I’m really proud of how the album sounds and of the time in our lives that the album represents. I think it’s youthful and energetic and that people really respond to it on that level when they hear it.

When we began recording the album, we were a three piece and wanted to add percussion. We were looking for a producer who was creative and fun and who not only listened to our ideas, but could work with us to execute them. We went to New York City to work with Jeff Curtin, a young and talented producer. Jeff’s an excellent drummer and overall musician and he drummed on the first half of the album. Our friend Sheriff Lin began playing with us live, and recorded drums on the later half of the album. It took about nine months total to complete, working on and off between tours, and really evolved over time as the overall sound of the band evolved. We were playing a lot of shows on the road and songs would change by the next time we were in the studio, so we even retracked some of the songs because we were way more into how they were shaping up live and wanted to capture that energy.

BB: What can an audience expect at a Those Darlins performance? What was the band’s most memorable gig?

TD: I think people should come expecting to be part of the spectacle and have a good time. Because we’re playing the same songs each night and kinda know how it’s gonna go down, what makes it really special for us is the audience that shows up and how they contribute to the show.

The most memorable show for me was in Atlanta at The Drunken Unicorn. It was the first show of the tour and we had one problem after another, then we just kinda proceeded with a “f!#k it” kind of attitude. We were totally rockin’ out and I looked up and there was a guy with his bare ass humping the front center monitor. We’ve definitely played better shows, but that one is most memorable and hasn’t really been surpassed… yet anyway.

BB: I know the band writes its music as a team. But what actually happens in the practice room when Those Darlins are creating?

TD: Usually we make some cocktails, spend longer than we should setting up, at which point someone has to take a cigarette “break” from all of their hard work plugging in and tuning, then we reconvene, then Kelley or Jessi has to pee, then we reconvene again, and we kinda look at each other and someone says, “soooo…what do you wanna play?” If someone has been working on a piece of a song, they present it to the group and we all start figuring our chords and work shopping it. Then we take another break, drink cocktails and smoke cigarettes in the carport. Sometimes it’s best not to push things, because even if we’re not playing the whole time, it’s really valuable to have the hang out time to talk about ideas and band stuff in general. It keeps us all on the same page and into what we’re doing.

BB: What’s coming up in the next year for Those Darlins?

TD: Touring America and Canada, maybe Australia (fingers crossed), lots of interviews, writing new songs, maybe getting some new guitars? (fingers crossed again), meeting lots of fun and hilarious people, working really hard and having a great time.

BB: What goes on during the course of a “normal” day in the band’s shared suburban house?

TD: Hanging out, hangovers, blueblockers, BB gun shooting, record playing, dance parties, lots of sleeping between tours, catching up with friends and family, paying bills, washing clothes, making art, cooking food… you know, normal band house stuff.

BB: Describe the influence of Appalachian life on Those Darlins music and your collective outlook. Conversely, what does New York mean to the band?

TD: Nikki grew up in the mountains of Virginia and Jessi in rural areas of Kentucky so I think they have more of a personal relationship with Appalachian life and culture than I do. I grew up in South Carolina so the culture there is much more “low country.” It’s very flat and swampy and can be kind of gothic at times, with lots of ghost stories and nostalgia. But I think our shared perspective is based on values associated with rural living, like a respect of nature and land, the importance of family, eating real food (as opposed to fast food), being creative and making your own entertainment, and the prevalence of music and art in every day life.

NYC to me means progress and is the ultimate symbol of American culture and values, such as the old “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” capitalism and “melting pot” cliches. It’s so false and true at the same time. If you’re going to find those things anywhere in America, it’s NY. It’s magical, fun and tough as hell all at the same time. I loved meeting so many diverse people and seeing how so many different people choose to live, it’s like you can have 1,000 lives in NYC. The energy is tangible and that much energy concentrated in one space can be a huge source of inspiration, just as standing in the middle of nowhere on a huge mountain can be. Both situations can be very humbling.

BB: How did Those Darlins choose their name?

TD: We started with the band name THE Darlins, but it’s already taken so we went back to the drawing board. We wanted to keep the Darlins part and came up with lots of lame variations. Jessi and Nikki were working at a screenprinting shop Grand Palace and a friend of ours, Richie who plays in Ghostfinger, threw out “THOSE” Darlins….it made sense cause it sounded like the hard girls across the tracks or specific girls one is pointing at. Jessi and Nikki printed some band t-shirts and that finalized the whole thing.

BB: I find it energizing that Those Darlins are so passionate in regard to issues of equality. Tell us about some of the things that you guys have worked on and some goals the group has collectively decided to attain when it comes to helping people?

TD: We all work with the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp in Middle Tennessee to encourage more girls to participate in the music community. The camp is part of a larger nonprofit called YEAH (Youth Empowerment Through Arts & Humanities) that runs an all-ages venue and arts space. One of our biggest commitments is helping to establish and sustain this all-ages arts center in our hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As a band, we like to play and support all-ages shows and our friends who are in bands who are under 21 by helping them find opportunities to play and spreading the word about their bands.

While one person may not be able to tackle all of the issues they are passionate about, I think one of the best things you can do is to empower young people to think for themselves and feel a sense of community in which they can participate. Then the energy you invest has a ripple effect and they can hopefully go on to improve society. I think ultimately young people have some of the best ideas, the most unique perspectives, and a boldness that can sometimes be lost through the natural process of maturing or from not having a community that encourages them to be daring and creative.

BB: Please tell us more about the camp. What impact do you think it has on its participants and Those Darlins as well?

TD: I started the camp in 2003 when I was 18 and beginning my academic career at Middle Tennessee State University. I moved there to study recording and was really disappointed in the lack of females in my production classes and in the music scene in general. I really didn’t understand why after so many years of women having vital roles in the music industry and its history, that there would still be stigma attached to being a female musician. I heard about the Girls Rock Camp in Portland, OR and had to check it out. I flew out there and taught guitar and it changed my perspective. It was an oasis of women who were all creative and I wanted all girls to have that experience.

The camp has had a huge impact in connecting people in the music scene through volunteering and attending the camp. We all met through the camp and by participating in the music community that helps make the camp happen each year. If we had formed our band in another town we may not have had the support and encouragement we found in Murfreesboro and Nashville.

Catch Those Darlins on Nov. 22 at the Wild Buffalo. For more about the band, visit thosedarlins.com.