story by Justin Marciniak
Thank Canada.
Because the gentle giant to the north supports its scene, American
fans of indie rock and power pop benefit. Fueled by government money,
a foundation called Factor bestows grants and loans upon Canadian
artists in need. The latest success story seems to be A.C. Newman,
who is better known as Carl Newman, the leader of The New Pornographers.
The Vancouver, British Columbia, resident received a loan to record
his first solo album, The Slow Wonder, as well as a marketing and
promotions grant to spread the word.
"I'm trying to get a touring grant, and I might be getting one,"
Newman says. "People seem to think that once you've got your
foot in the door, you're just a shoo-in. Because they've already paid
for my record, and they've given me money to market and promote it,
in their heads, they're thinking, 'Let's go all the way with this.
Let's support him.' I'm hoping that's the case. I'm not going to find
out for a few weeks…I'm hoping it works in my favor."
So around the time Newman and his band drop into the Bottom Lounge
this month, he might be on a tour supported by two opening acts as
well as Factor's Canadian cash. Between legs of his first solo tour
and other interviews, Newman talked to Chicago Innerview about the
surprises and happy accidents that strike him while making music.
Released in June, The Slow Wonder comprises several songs Newman thought
were not quite right for The New Pornographers but wanted to record
anyway. Although he had fairly complete demos for about half of the
songs when he recorded them, he chose to start recording the other,
unfinished songs as well.
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NEWMAN'S INNER VIEW
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"You never know what to expect when
you put out a record under your own name and hit the road
a few weeks later."
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"I just trusted in my instincts that something good would come
out," he says. "About half of the songs on the record were
rehearsed beforehand, so I got the rhythm section down. But then,
the other half, I just started by myself and just built them. I like
that method. I think I'm going to use it for the next Pornographers
record as well. It's good to have two different sets of songs that
you come at from a different way and have different vibes. Sometimes
when you sit down with a band, and you just pound out 12 songs, it's
hard to make them varied enough. It's good to come at the songs from
a different angle, so the record has a couple of different feels."
For example, he built the single and lead track, "Miracle Drug,"
from merely strumming the chords to a beat. Newman says he stumbled
upon an interesting structure with a recorder and a "Chuck Berry
riff" on guitar where a proper chorus would fall in typical songs.
"Sometimes, you have a clear idea of what the song should be
like, and you're always disappointed when, at the end, it doesn't
match exactly what you heard in your head," he says. "So
it's nice when you don't have any preconceived notions of what the
song should be like, and it just takes form. And you go, 'Wow, look
at that. I wasn't expecting that.'"
Listeners familiar with The New Pornographers will not be surprised
to hear songs such as "35 in the Shade," "On the Table"
and "Secretarial." The multiple-part harmonies, immediate
hooks and power-pop paces would fit on a New Pornographers record.
On the other hand, the fairly linear lyrics and seemingly content-driven
music of "Come Crash," the looseness of "Drink to Me,
Babe, Then" and the interesting instrumental flair, such as the
fiercely rocking cello of "The Town Halo," throughout the
record might surprise fans.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the tempo. Although it does not suffer
from a shortage of rock songs, The Slow Wonder coincidentally founders
in the slow lane. The diverse tempos open the arrangements to trumpet
solos, textured percussion and more acoustic guitars, but they also
create occasional lulls.
Still, one of the slower numbers is one of Newman's finest songs
with his most powerful lyrics. In the first verse of "Come Crash,"
his characters compare their relationship to a car crash. Piano, minimal
guitar and sparse drumming sustain the dramatic mood. Newman uses
another meaning for crash when he sings the chorus, "Christine,
come crash on my floor." Fittingly, rolling drums and aggressively
plucked guitar strings crash through the speakers after that smooth,
alliterative line.
"That was kind of an accident, I think," Newman says about
the crashing instruments. "That was handy that the music came
crashing." The "Come Crash" lyrics were not accidents,
however. And that is significant because Newman's songs sometimes
resemble nonsense. For instance, the chorus of "On the Table"
is "Do, re, mi, innocent," but the bridge is, "Now
the plain blondes are playing along with you."
"Sometimes I kill myself trying to make something really linear,
trying to make a clear narrative," Newman says about the "plain
blondes" line. "And then after a while, I just go, 'Oh,
fuck it. I think this line sounds really good, so I'm going to stick
it in there even though it's hard to connect it to the rest of the
song.' And that was one of them. I'm sure it can all be linked together
somehow. We can stick some first-year English student on it. They'll
be able to figure out the connection."
Even though Newman took a laid-back attitude into the recording studio,
his touring band can re-create the record almost note for note. On
a West Coast tour in July, the tightness surprised him. So did the
van problems.
Near Los Angeles, the 15-passenger rental van broke. But Newman saw
his girlfriend, who is from San Francisco, for two extra days - a
pleasant surprise. "You never know what to expect when you put
out a record under your own name and hit the road a few weeks later,"
he says.
So if Newman's van breaks down again, and he has to cancel the Chicago
show, go ahead. Blame Canada.
A.C. Newman will play with Rogue Wave and The Neins at the Bottom
Lounge August 6.
Listen to an mp3 of A.C. Newman's "Drink
to Me, Babe, Then", courtesy of Better Propaganda.