{"id":269,"date":"2010-06-23T05:45:40","date_gmt":"2010-06-23T10:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=269"},"modified":"2010-06-23T05:45:40","modified_gmt":"2010-06-23T10:45:40","slug":"the-jason-falkner-interview-part-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2010\/06\/23\/the-jason-falkner-interview-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jason Falkner Interview: Part Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

(continued from Part Two<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Jason Falkner: The Early Years<\/strong>
\nAnd the fun of making records is a theme to which Jason Falkner<\/strong> often returns. Like many artists who have their own singular identifiable talent, he\u2019s a big music fan. Falkner is a major student of pop music. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than on his collection of covers From the cover songs of the second disc of Everyone Says It’s On<\/em> (2001). His cover of Joni Mitchell<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cBoth Sides Now,\u201d in particular, is brilliant. And its inclusion suggests that young Falkner\u2019s musical education was rather broad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a very eclectic, interesting upbringing,\u201d he admits. \u201cFirst of all, when I was very, very young — three, four, five years old — I had a tiny turntable. And my dad, who’s an artist, thankfully had some very interesting albums. He had Piper At the Gates Of Dawn<\/em> and he had a couple of Love <\/strong>records. He had Crosby Stills Nash & Young<\/strong>‘s D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu<\/em>, he had some mid-period Procol Harum<\/strong>, and he also had records by people like Taj Mahal<\/strong> and experimental people like Steve Reich<\/strong> and Terry Riley<\/strong>, so I grew up with that. Those were my first impressions. I was a little tiny kid listening to Syd Barrett<\/strong><\/a>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that,\u201d he says, \u201cis quite a powerful thing to unleash on a completely malleable mind. A little bookmobile came to school when I was a little kid, and I went \u2018I want Beach Boys<\/strong>.\u2019 I had heard the Beach Boys on the radio, and it was such an immediate kinship with that music. So I got Endless Summer<\/em> (1974), the double LP retrospective, at the bookmobile! And that was when I was six years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

But listening was only part of the equation. Falkner\u2019s formal musical training began early as well. \u201cI started classical piano lessons when I was five — because I guess I showed a real proclivity to piano — and so I was in some pretty intense classical piano training from about age seven until I quit when around 15 or 16. So that is an influence that can’t be ignored, really.”<\/p>\n

Not,\u201d he laughs, \u201cthat I’m doing baroque pop music or anything like that. But it\u2019s an undertone that will always be there. And it also has to do with the way that I arrange, and the way I hear countermelody and all that stuff. I was just indebted to all of that classical music that I was just choking on. You know, I had to practice every single day for nine years.\u201d<\/p>\n

So take equal parts early pop music fandom, classical piano studies, and\u2026FM rock. Falkner mentions \u201cHeart<\/strong>, of course Led Zeppelin<\/strong>, and even early Van Halen<\/strong>. I mean, the first Boston <\/strong>record, I love that one…I love <\/em>that one…I had it on 8-track, and then my sister — who\u2019s a couple of years older — had a boyfriend who actually turned me on to a lot of stuff. He had a friggin’ 8-track that you could record compilation 8-tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was yet another piece of the puzzle, provided by that guy with the 8-track machine. \u201cHe had this mysterious device, and he compilation tapes for my sister. And he gave her one that was just basically a \u2018New Wave happening\u2019. Elvis Costello<\/strong>, Squeeze<\/strong>, Joe Jackson<\/strong>, Blondie<\/strong>, the B-52s<\/strong>. And oh, I hated <\/em>that when I first heard it. Because it just didn’t have the big, fat sort of guitars that I had liked. I knew it was the antithesis of the whole kind of arena-rock kind of vibe, definitely.\u00a0 But one day my sister was just playing the tape, and Elvis Costello came on. I said, \u2018Holy shit! That’s speaking to me way more than any of this hard rock.\u2019 I just totally totally got it one day. Then I got into my odyssey of very obscure English art new wave, or what I call \u2018expelled hard-rock.\u2019 Essential Logic<\/strong>, the Monochrome Set<\/strong>, the Fall<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Songs by some of those artists crop up on Falkner\u2019s Everyone Says It\u2019s On<\/em>, a highlight of which is \u201cSong From Under the Floorboards,\u201d originally by Magazine<\/strong>. Falkner says that \u201cMagazine just ripped my head off. And Howard Devoto<\/strong>, what an anti-singer. Magazine is like a Martian soundtrack, and yet it rocks and is totally jagged and angular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falkner\u2019s musical likes seem driven not by when they came out, or how popular they were (or weren\u2019t), but rather simply by quality. \u201cYou know, it’s weird,\u201d he observes. \u201cI discovered punk and new wave, and then went back and really got into ’60’s garage and then ’70’s garage, and then got really into the obscure 70’s rock bands like Sky<\/strong>, and things like that. I never really trusted what was put in front of me by \u2018the machine.\u2019 Because I know The Machine and I know the people who run the machine. Idiots!\u201d<\/p>\n

Falkner has developed his own theory about influential musical artists. “You’ve got to dig really deep to find the stuff that’s influencing the stuff that\u2019s widespread. Behind most musical trends and scenes, there are the pioneers who are influencing the pioneers of that scene. Often for every band that became influential, there was another band they saw and they said, \u2018We wanna be like them!’ They\u2019d be a collective of people who would be bold enough to say \u2018I’m gonna rip them off!\u2019 And they\u2019d also have the personality type that is going to ensure that they’re successful. They\u2019re gonna do anything it takes by any means necessary to beat everyone. It’s competitiveness that I think most people who are \u2018innovators\u2019 actually possess. Real innovators are too busy innovating. They’re too busy with their head in the clouds creating the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with Sir Paul<\/strong>
\nSpeaking of magic, in 2005 producer Nigel Godrich<\/strong> called Falkner to ask him if he\u2019d be interested in doing some session work. Falkner and Godrich had worked together before \u2013 Godrich produced Can You Still Feel<\/em>? — so they were very familiar with each other\u2019s abilities and work habits. Falkner picks up the story. \u201cNigel called and said, \u2018I’m producing Paul McCartney<\/strong><\/a>, and I would love it if you could come down and be around the whole time and play guitar. I’m thinking about tracking with just a trio, you and Paul and Jim Gadson<\/strong> (Beck<\/strong>, Bill Withers<\/strong>).\u2019 He\u2019s a bad-ass. So that was the trio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falkner\u2019s most recent album at the time was his Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em> (2001). He recalls, \u201cA girl who worked at Sony was at a party in New York, and she overheard Stella McCartney<\/strong> talking about Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em>. This girl told Stella that she worked at Sony. Stella said, \u2018yeah, I love that Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em>.’\u00a0 She said, \u2018I’m going to send it to my Dad.\u2019 So a few years later when we were in the studio, I was thinking \u2018maybe there’s a chance Paul knows that, and would recognize that that’s me.\u2019 But he didn’t know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falkner continues the story. \u201cAfter the second day I had the CD in my pocket, and I was waiting for the moment when I would feel comfortable enough around him that I would say, \u2018hey, check out what I<\/em> did!\u2019 And I also thought, \u2018I want to give this to him with enough time so that if he does listen to it I can get his reaction.\u2019 I didn’t want to give it to him on the last day. What — he’s gonna call me<\/em>? So I gave it to him and he said \u2018Ah, yes!\u2019\u00a0 And I said, \u2018Yeah, man, I did it in the same studio where we are right now. I played every instrument, mixed it, produced it myself and all that stuff. What you think?\u2019 I told him that I know there’s so many of those posthumous Beatle things, and that this is not one of those. This was done with a different attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he freaked out!\u201d Falkner gushes. \u201cI didn’t see him for about five days, and I came back into the studio and he was just \u2018Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em>, then. Nice one!\u2019 And then he would not stop talking about it. He\u2019d say to people, \u2018You oughtta hear this guy!\u2019 He told me to my face that he was flattered that I made this record and he said, \u2018You probably know our stuff better than we <\/em>did.\u2019 It was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I saw him a couple of months later, at a listening party for the record. Just me, Paul, James Gadson, and the president of Capitol Records. And we’re listening to the record, and the president of Capitol Records starts brown-nosing — you know, \u2018Best thing since Ram\u2019\u00a0 and all this stuff. Then Paul said, \u2018I was in New York with Heather, in a friend\u2019s boutique. Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em> came on the speakers and I ran up to my friend and I said \u201cI know <\/em>him!\u201d\u2019 And the president of Capitol looks at me and says, \u2018Holy shit!\u2019 And I’m like, \u2018I know! He’s<\/em> excited to know that he knows me<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 You know, and it’s outrageous. It’s unforgettable. It’s life-changing. Paul sent me a really sweet note that I still have hung up on my wall. And it said \u2018I’m enjoying Bedtime With the Beatles<\/em> between naps.’ It’s just amazing. So I had a real cool kind of connection with good ‘ol McCartney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Collaborations<\/strong>
\nInveterate readers of liner notes will see Jason Falkner\u2019s name on a lot of other people\u2019s albums. Like Air<\/strong><\/a>, Beck<\/strong>, Dennis Diken<\/strong><\/a> and Pugwash<\/strong><\/a>, to name but four recent projects. \u201cI don’t really pursue any kind of session stuff,\u201d Falkner admits, saying his studio session work is almost always with or through friends. \u201cThe McCartney stuff, that was through a friend. And I had known Beck for a long time; we’re friends, and I\u2019ve worked on four of his records, pretty extensively. And I worked on Charlotte Gainsbourg<\/strong>‘s new record. Beck was producing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t really put myself out there in that regard,\u201d he says. \u201cIt’s not something that I love <\/em>doing, though I like <\/em>doing it, and I’m fortunate enough to be able to<\/em> do it. I’m able to go in and just do what I do, and everybody’s very happy. Nobody’s saying, \u2018hey play more like\u2026\u2019 whatever. So I’ve got a little kind of collective of people that I work with pretty regularly, and they call me all the time to come and do stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live Dates<\/strong>
\nSometimes Falkner calls on other people himself, putting together a band for live dates, but there hasn\u2019t been a Tour of North America sort of thing in a long while. \u201cIt’s not for a lack of want,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut I plan to do that this year. I’m gonna try and book some West Coast stuff. And I really want to get to the East Coast, because I haven’t played there in ages. I don’t know about a full-blown band tour all across the country, but certainly the two coasts. And maybe I\u2019ll go to England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the old joke goes, Jason Falkner is big in Japan. \u201cI’ve been going to Japan every year for three years, and that’s been miraculous. I don’t end up making a lot of money, but I don’t spend any money.\u00a0 It’s all paid for by the label, because that’s how they do it there. Theoretically I should be coming back with $10,000, but I end up coming back with 500 bucks!\u00a0 They make a lot of money off of me when I go there, because they book two places that hold more than 400 or 500 people, in each city, 2 nights, and tickets are like 75 bucks there! So do the math. I think,\u201d he laughs, \u201cthat there’s a lot of cash being made, and I really don’t get any of it. But they pay for all of the flights, and they put us up in our own rooms and drive us around and all that stuff, so it’s a great experience. And next time I go I’ll get paid, goddammit!\u201d He laughs heartily.<\/p>\n

All Quiet on the Noise Floor<\/strong><\/em>
\nFalkner\u2019s album I\u2019m OK, You\u2019re OK<\/em> came out in Japan in 2007, and finally got domestic release two years later. That album\u2019s followup is All Quiet on the Noise Floor<\/em>, released in 2009 in Japan, but still not out in the USA. \u201cThe whole early Japanese thing is going to end with this record,\u201d Falkner promises. \u201cFrom now on it’s gonna be a simultaneous release.\u201d So when can North American fans expect this fourth album of new material from Jason Falkner? \u201cSometime here in the late summer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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(continued from Part Two) Jason Falkner: The Early Years And the fun of making records is a theme to which Jason Falkner often returns. Like many artists who have their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","cat-41-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}