The Waxwings Interview

The Waxwings are a band who have mastered many rock styles. Excellent songwriters and performers, their new release, Let's Make Our Descent, is one of the finest guitar rock releases of the year. Gritty and melodic, the recording is another step in the growth of one of melodic rock's shining statrs. They approach a guitar rock record without retreading lame cliches, rendering their sound seemingly fresh and new. It was James' pleasure to chat with the band recently...ed.

JB: This is your third record. Do they get any easier as you get more
experienced?

I don't think records get any easier as you go, but this one was a lot of fun to make. It had been about two years since our last record was released and during that time we had run into some trouble with our last label. We weren't even sure when or if this record would find a home, so we were just trying to keep busy. We never want to repeat ourselves from record to record, so that is always a challenge. Instead of thinking about it too hard, we just changed a few things. We recorded Let's Make Our Descent in Detroit at Grand Studio with our friend Brendan Benson. We have known each other for a long time so there was a freedom in working together. I knew he wouldn't hesitate to push us to do things differently. In a lot of ways we feel like we were starting over. so I'm anxious to see where that leads us. We are already working on our next record and I think that will be an important one for us.

JB: You've also added more instruments like saxophones on this album. That
slide guitar work on "Expected Of You" is a new touch as well. In what way
do you think the band has grown?

Since we recorded in Detroit, we had the opportunity to work with some other musicians from the area. Brian Olive from the Soledad Brothers played the saxophone and Pete Ballard from Bulldog played the pedal steel on Expected of You. I think that we have grown in the fact that we aren't afraid to try new things or make a record that we knew people might accuse of being just another retro sounding record from Detroit. It's pretty obvious that we are influenced by music that was released from the 50's -70's, but we are not trying to re-make those records.

JB: What is something that you think you accomplished on this record that
might have been missing on the first two, if anything.

I never listen to our records after we finish them, so it's hard for me to accurately say what I think might have been missing from the two previous ones. I just have a tendancy to react to what my feeling is after playing the songs live for a while. I guess in a vague way, Let's Make Our Descent is more about feeling and creating a sound than earlier records.

JB: Pick one thing - a song, a part of a song, a lyric, etc -that is your
favorite thing on this record and tell me why?

I would have to say that I really like Steady As Starlight because I can hear Brendan's influence on it.

JB: For a "pop" band, this record doesn't seem overly concerned with the
traditional verse, verse, chorus, verse, etc. structure. Was that a
conscious decision?

I don't think it's a conscious decision to try unusual song structures. I am just led that way when I write. Sometimes I wish the songs were a little more traditional and not so schizophrenic.

JB: I sense that the songwriting in the band is quite collaborative and not
just in a "music by the Waxwings" in the liner notes sort of way. Describe
the process a bit.

Usually I will write a song and when I want to figure out how to present it, I work on it with the band. I get overcome with options and it's good to see how the others react and how they want to play it without thinking about it too hard.

JB: A number of the songs build to a guitar solo or noise fest or something
like that to close them out. Again, is that a conscious decision or does it
just come from jamming in practice or something else?

I think that on Let's Make Our Descent we had a tendency to be drawn towards a live representation of the songs which resulted in those build ups.

JB: Play "Answer the Critic" In my review of the record I wrote: "The sound
of The Waxwings now isn't quite as bright and chimey as it used to be.
Rather the songs seem to be a bit more reliant on the riff or the groove
rather than the hook. More Faces than The Raspberries." Was I on the mark
with that comment? How would you describe the "new" Waxwings sound?

I would say that you were on the mark with your perception of the sound of the new record. We have been through a lot over the past few years and I think that naturally shaped the sound as well. Where the first record was a little more thoughtful, this one is more of a gut reaction to things. I tend to think of our songs as part of one ongoing record and certain aspects of our personality are going to be more evident at times.

JB: Was there a particular sound you knew you were going for before you even entered the studio? Were there particular records you wanted to emulate in terms of sound and tone?

There wasn't a particular sound we tried to capture other that what we sounded like as a band. We did a lot of the record straight to an 8 track tape machine so we played a lot of the basic tracks together. Brendan has so many great amps and guitars that we just found combinations that inspired us to play and pressed record.

JB: The vocals aren't buried in the mix on this record, but they do sit a
bit further back than one would normally associate with a pop band. Any
particular reason behind this?

If there is a criticism that I have of the record is that we didn't take as many chances as it felt like we were at the time. In hindsight, I would have liked to bring the vocals up in the mix a little.

JB: Let's talk about Brendan Benson. I know you have much respect for him
and I see that he's playing with you on the tour. How would you describe
his role in the recording of the album?

Brendan is great to work with because he would challenge our ideas. He would often suggest that something about a song could be better and we would start exploring options. In the end it either took the song in a direction that we weren't expecting or it solidified our original idea. Also, Brendan did a lot in terms of helping with backing vocals and getting us away from certain tendencies.

JB: When I interviewed you after "Low To the Ground" came out you said that you would like to build on the sound of that album's closing track, "It
Comes In Waves." That was quite atmospheric, almost Brian Wilson-esque, and actually a pretty good segue into "Shadow of the Waxwings." Would you ever try to predict what the next Waxwings record will sound like?

I have already started working on songs for the next record, but it's a little early to say what it will sound like. Once again it will be a reaction to what happens to us over the next few months. All I can say is that I hope it is a defining record for us in the sense that it has elements of our earlier records, but takes us someplace new.

JB: Being on Rainbow Quartz now, do you expect to tour in Europe or at least reach some areas you haven't been before?

We had the chance to go to Europe in May and it was an amazing experience. It seems like we were the last band from Detroit to go over, but it was worth the wait. Fortunately for us, Shadows Of... was re-released (or released) in Europe and the label(Schnitzel records) brought us over. We plan to go back in November or December when Let's Make Our Descent is released. Rainbow Quartz is great at giving their bands opportunities to play in different territories and getting their records out in those markets. Before May, none of our earlier records were released overseas. It's amazing to me that it took so long since England has been so appreciative of music coming out of our city, but it wasn't important to our old label.

JB: Do you have any "we're huge in Denmark!" type stories? Are there
certain geographic regions that seem particularly in tune with your music?

I'll get a chance to see how our records are doing when we go back. Shadows was only out for about a week when we went over last time, but I heard we were in the Top 5 on a commercial radio station in Austria.

JB: When we spoke before (way back in 2000) we also talked about why it
seemed that harder, more aggressive bands were getting all the press and
radio while bands with melodies and songs were forced underground. Do you
see that changing at all?

I am really excited to see how things unfold for bands like us in the coming years. There are a ton of talented bands in Detroit alone that haven't been noticed yet. Blanche, Brendan Benson and The Sights all have records coming out in the near future and I think they will challenge perceptions of what Detroit bands are supposed to sound like.

JB: Finally, for better or worse, a lot of people found out about The
Waxwings when the infamous Bobsled letter was leaked onto the Internet. Any thought to including it the liner notes? Or maybe a dramatic reading of it for a hidden track?

So many people think we should include the letter in some form on the artwork of our records, but it's already been a couple of years since it happened and we would love to move on. Then again, AC/DC included letters they got in school on one of their records and it's great.

Click here to read James' review of The Waxwings: Let's Make Our Descent

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