89.1 FM Interview & Performance on Soundcloud
My interview on 89.1 FM The Roots Music Project in now streamable on WEMU’s Soundcloud, which is posted below. Thanks to Jeremy Baldwin (host) and Mat & JP for having me in the studio!
Jeremy and I had a great conversation about the making of the record, the accident, and the influences over “A World That’s Bigger.” Stream the interview and performance below:
Tracklist:
1. Interview: Story about the record
2. “A World That’s Bigger” (live) (5:05)
3. Interview: Story about the accident (8:55)
4. “Girl on the Mountain, Boy on the Beach” (14:46)
5. Interview: Musical Influences, Jeff Buckley Tribute, story about “Little Drum” (18.23)
6. “Little Drum” (live) (24:10)
7. Interview: recurring motifs on the record, next shows in Ann Arbor (27:35)
8. “We’re Not Here Anymore” (30:05)
I was honored to play at the 19th Annual Jeff Buckley tribute last night. Jeff would have been 50 today.
When Jeff Buckley played his first show in Chicago at the Uncommon Ground (when it was only a coffee house) in February of 94, a huge snowstorm dumped on the Windy City. The owner of the venue was reminiscing with me how they were pushing Buckley’s Crown Vic out of the snow, and celebrated with a snowball fight.
My own first appearance at Uncommon Ground in 2012 was similar. The worst snowstorm that year hit the city while I was on Fearless Radio, and it took me two hours to drive 10 miles to the venue.
Thanks to Mary Guibert for making us appreciated and comfortable sharing her son’s beautiful music. I was skeptical to attempt Buckley’s “Eternal Life.” (He had a 5 octave range; I have 2 1/2), but Mary was cheering all of us on from the from the front table.
Buckley sang “I Shall Be Released” at Sin-E in 93. All of us should sing it, at least once. Here’s my nervous rendition:
When my wife was a child, she went through a phase of anxiety. Her mother gave her a gift, a basket of little worry dolls.
The tiny basket can fit in the palm of your hand, and the little dolls are made of string.
Together, mother and daughter would lay in bed, share their concerns, and hold the worry dolls to make all of the worries go away. My wife has kept this beautiful gift for decades.
Today, my dog tried to eat the worry dolls.
My toddler rushed to my leg to pull me away from my chair at the kitchen table–to pull me away from my computer reading post-Election news–so I could stop the dog from destroying Mommy’s worry dolls.
The dog’s stomach has digested the basket’s cover, but all of the worry dolls are safe. The worry dolls are no longer resting in their basket, covered. They are looking up at the sky.
An observant, caring child saved them.
I don’t know what this means; I just felt it was important to share with you.
May I buy you a drink, and then be offended when you say no?
This summer, I cut out alcohol from my diet. I’ve experienced a side effect to gigging that is disturbing: patrons who won’t accept “No thanks!”
I gave up alcohol–at least for now–because my body seems allergic to it, especially beer.
I rarely drank at performances before this year, anyway. My vocal cords require maintenance to be able to sing 3-4 hour hour bar gigs; but that’s only part of the story.
The other part of the story is my stomach hurts within an hour of having a beer. At my residency at mash (Blue Tractor Brewery’s basement bar) in Ann Arbor, I would enjoy my favorite porter, sip on one during the three hour gig. By the end of the gig, I felt sick.
It took me years to realize my body didn’t process beer like normal stomachs. In college, I’d watch my roommates drink many, many beers; I’d be violently ill after consuming two or three.
“Vial, you’re such a lightweight!”
I wish I could go back at tell myself that it has nothing to do with tolerance.
Anyways, this year, my stomach has been hurting me a lot. In the spring, I cut out beer. As of this fall, I omitted alcohol.
And I feel normal again! (Ok, minus the broken foot and back issues.)
However, I’ve also discovered something that makes me really uncomfortable at gigs: Some patron won’t accept “no thanks” as an answer when they ask to buy me a drink.
I’m polite and thank them, but explain I don’t drink when I play.
The patron says, “Awe come on!” Then they insist. Then they get shocked. Then they get mad. Sometimes they make fun of me.
This is becoming a regular problem now. Once a patron got so angry, I thought he was going to hit me.
For musicians who have given up drinking because of alcoholism, I respect you so much for getting through it. Peer pressure is a real problem.
So I’d like to offer everyone a reminder that when anyone says, “No thanks!” to a drink offer, just say “OK!”
The second you feel compelled to pressure them, stop it.
If it’s a musician, maybe leave a buck in their tip jar, instead? Or just say, “I like that song.”
I found out mLive ran their article (click here to read) about my upcoming Ark show and accident as I was leaving physical therapy, and saw a missed text message from Chris Buhalis:
“I’ve heard of people using saw injuries to promote their careers, but getting hit by a car just to get some publicity seems desperate.”
LOL!
Thanks to Marty Slagter for interviewing me.
Heads up Michigan music fans: Chris Buhalis’s brilliant new album, Big Car Town, is now on iTunes, Spotify, etc!
(One correction: no songs are about Dan Achen on this new record. Slagter asked about my music history and how I found myself writing about the life and death theme. I got a rambling about how great Dan Achen was as a producer, how he died suddenly before we finished recording Burning the Boats at Catherine North Studios, etc.)
