Formed in Minneapolis in 1985, the original line-up of The Jayhawks released two albums (The Jayhawks and Blue Earth) on their local Twin Tone label before signing with Rick Rubin s ultra-cool American Recordings roster in 1992. Since that time the band s old-school hybrid of Big Star harmonies, Burrito Brothers pathos and Petty grievances has found favour with critics and layfolk alike.
However, in 1995, after the release of the group s last album Tomorrow The Green Grass, longtime Jayhawks co-frontman and songwriter Mark Olson departed to pursue a solo career, frustrated by the group s ever-mounting debts to their record label. After a period of uncertainty the remaining members decided to regroup and persevere: if the outfit s remaining songwriter Gary Louris had any intentions of following Olson, they were quickly dispelled when he realised I already had the best band I could think of waiting for me .
Eschewing the usual extended demo-ing process, the band holed up in Terrarium studios in Minneapolis in May 96 and got right down to the business of recording their first post-Olson work with new producer Brian Paulson (Beck, Wilco, Superchunk) replacing longtime Jayhawks helmsman George Drakoulias (Screaming Trees, Black Crowes). Drakoulias did find time to mix the record however. Featuring cameo appearances from the likes of Matthew Sweet, violinist Jessy Green and percussionist Pauli Ryan, The Sound Of Lies, features some of the best work of the band s career.
When the Jayhawks came to Dublin to play a show at the Olympia Theatre, I met up with the band s two remaining original members Louris and bass-player Marc Perlman. By their own admission they are a dour pair Louris looks like the long lost brother of both Tom Waits and Tim Burton while Perlman affects the lank and laconic demeanour of a dyed-in-the-wool heartland rocker. To begin with, I asked Gary to explain how the departure of Mark Olson had affected the band.
He was obviously a major part of the band so it was a big deal when he left. However, this band happens to have a lot of talented people and it caused us to reconfigure in a different way and gave us some new life cos I think we were a bit stagnant in what we were doing. So it gave us a good shake and also allowed everybody else to contribute more, made it even more of a band than before when it was a singer/songwriter type of thing. You can ask Marc about that, you can listen to his bassplaying on this record compared to the other records it sounds like he s been playing licks that ve been bottled up inside him for years.
I think everybody just had a chance to play more interesting things, admits Marc. And the songs just lent themselves to people playing around them a little more .
There seems to have been more room for music like yours since the grungers all bit the dust. I m thinking about you and Wilco and so on.
Complaint rock will always be here, continues Marc. That and image. You know, Gary and I were having a little joke on the way over here about putting a couple of breasts on us and selling more records. It s really sad, but guys dig cute women who play music.
I m sure if we had that Gwen what s-her-name from No Doubt as our lead singer we d probably sell a lot more records, moans Gary.
There are a few bands that are, production-wise, a slightly more pasteurised version of what we do that did make it really big, claims Marc. The Wallflowers are a really good example. Their production values are very high and they re a little slicker and it s a little less adventurous but they ve got really good songs. And they ve got Jakob (Dylan) who s a pretty good-lookin guy.
If I looked like Jakob and I had breasts then we d really be onto something, deadpans Gary. Don t print that! (OK then, do print it Ed.)
What s the biggest difference between playing Europe and the US?
Well, considers Gary, the hotel rooms are smaller. The audiences are a little more well-behaved, a little more of a concert than a party. You end up with a lot of strange currencies in your pocket and the food is a bit bizarre. The audiences will applaud and cheer and then they ll stop and there s total silence. In the States there s people always talkin and trying to pick up girls and the band is almost there to the side a little bit, as entertainment. People seem more focussed on you here.
A lot of people come expecting to hear certain songs, claims Marc. And when they re paying to get in you want them to be happy, but one thing we re not going to become is the Jayhawks jukebox. n