Giant Steps

Howe Gelb makes his way from Tuscon, Arizona . . . to Kilkenny come the end of April. The oblong rock n roots puzzle that is his band, Giant Sand, are one of the star attractions of this year s Carlsberg Rhythm And Roots Weekend.
Expectations are high on the back of their new record, Chore Of Enchantment, a little flower of a record which unfurls slowly and subtly. This will be a return visit for Giant Sand s rhythm section, John Burns and Joey Convertino, who last year gave the performance of the festival when they brought their other band, the Tex-Mex mariachi combo, Calexico, to town.
As for Gelb, this is his first time here since his solo show in Whelan s last year (a show he remembers with such affection that he asks if I know anyone who has a recording of it. . . so bootleggers of the world, make yourself known!). Then he came across as a mad professor in his musical lab, scurrying around a stack of effects pedals with a walkman, a guitar and keyboards and playing us recordings of ABBA songs sung in Hindu by a pair of Pakistani sisters (or was that just the drugs?).
The new album is also full of sideways sonics on an almost Beefheartian scale. Which begs the question: how does Howe write the songs? Do they come out fully-formed?
"There s usually three different ways that they happen," responds Howe. "One is like a birth, it just comes upon you it s coming out, ready or not. Another one is there ll be something puzzling that you ve been tossing around for a couple of weeks. And when you re finally done dragging this thing around, you decide you want to have this thing out now. So you put together a few thoughts right then and there.
"Other times, you end up welding two or three completely different ideas into one and that s always entertaining. It has something to do with some kind of sonic boredom. Like a pharmacist, you say OK, that s enough of this, let s have a little of this, and we don t want too much of that because you don t want to be responsible for an overdose ."
Gelb s low-key, almost whispered vocal tones mark him out as one of the most distinctive singers in American music today. Giant Sand certainly don t seem to be walking in anyone else s foot prints.
"I m done listening to music," declares Howe, when I ask him who he s been listening to of late. "I don t have to listen to any more music. I ve put in many many years. Now it s all happenstance. There s other ways to find it than going out and seeking something out. Somebody might give me a tape or I might hear something on the radio. . . it finds you somehow."
Is it that you don t want your own music to be unduly influenced by what you hear around you?
"No! Usually, it inspires! Usually, it delivers some reason to live. It s life-saving stuff but if you just let it happen, it will find you."
Chore Of Enchantment was recorded in three different States, using three (very) different producers John Parish (of P.J. Harvey and Harvest Ministers fame!) in Tuscon; Kevin Salem in New York; and the legendary Jim Dickinson (Rolling Stones and Big Star!!) in Memphis. In fact, the Memphis sessions took place in the very same Ardent Studio where Bell and Chilton wove their magic.
How did Howe come to work with Jim Dickinson?
"That was pure record company logistics," he answers. "They offered him up. I found it kind of interesting so I gave it a shot."
What was Memphis like?
"It s kind of sticky! It s sick with its own vibe."
You didn t feel the weight of history bearing down on you recording there?
"Not in an oppressive sense, just in a natural state. If you go back and listen to some of the tracks on Glum, specifically John s drumming, he played in a way I d never heard him play before. That album was recorded in New Orleans. I knew he was picking up something. It s a natural occurrence. If you re sensitive, that s one of the perks. Usually, it s a big drawback, but it does mean you end up picking up on the vibes around you."
How did Juliana Hatfield end up singing on the album?
"God bless her!" pipes Howe. "She
happened to be in town for a few days so I dragged her down there. (John) Parish had already mixed the thing so I didn t want to mess with her. I just bounced it down to the two-inch tape the way it was from the DAT and put
Juliana on two or three tracks on the two-inch and then mixed the whole thing back to a DAT. That s why if you listen really close, there s a little extra hiss!"
Ah, Howe's beloved hiss! His 1999 solo album, actually called Hisser, was defiantly ablaze with the holy crackle. You love hiss, don t you, Howe?
"Yeah! The world is done with hiss. It s gone digital. And I miss it; there s a warm feeling about it; a splendid little dollop of white noise that I think is good for the soul and system."
Amen.
Chore Of Enchantment is out now on Independent Records. Giant Sand play the Carlsberg Rhythm And Roots Festival on Sunday 30th April in Kilkenny. Tickets are available from Irish Heartbeat -phone: 056 23244.