Terse for fears

Mark Lanegan is an iconic figure in alternative rock and has had a glittering career, but he doesn’t appear to enjoy discussing his achievements a great deal. Certainly, going by the decidedly terse responses he offered your correspondent during a recent phone interview, “loquacious” is not among the adjectives you would use to describe the singer.

Lanegan was talking – or, rather, talking very little – to Hot Press about The Gutter Twins, his new project with former Afghan Whigs’ singer Greg Dulli. During my research for the interview, I became concerned that Lanegan might not be the most garrulous of individuals after reading an article on The AV Club site.
In the intro to a joint interview with him and Dulli, it was stated that the publication “had learned the hard way that outsiders will never understand the bond between twins, fake or otherwise.” Unfortunately, Lanegan wasn’t much more receptive to Hot Press’ queries. I began by asking him about the genesis of The Gutter Twins’ album, Saturnalia, which apparently had been written over the course of a few years.
“We did a couple of songs a few years ago, then we did another couple a year later. Then we didn’t do anything for a year, then we finished it.”
You’d been working with Greg Dulli in the Twilight Singers. Had you wanted to do a project where it was just the two of you for a while?
“Yes, that was the case.”
There wasn’t anything beyond that?
“We enjoy making music together, we enjoy each other’s company, so why not?”
There are always a lot of religious references in your music. Where does that aspect of your work come from?
“I like old gospel music, so maybe that’s where part of it comes from.”
Do you admire artists like Leonard Cohen, who use similar subject matter?
“Who isn’t into Leonard Cohen?”
Lanegan wasn’t any more talkative on the subject of past collaborations. I asked if he’d enjoyed his time as a touring member of Queens Of The Stone Age.
“Of course. They’re my favourite rock band and close friends of mine, like brothers.”
How did that relationship begin?
“It started when Josh played in my old band, Screaming Trees.”
Did you meet him through touring?
“I actually met him when he came to play in the band.”
Did you invite him to play with you?
“He was suggested by a friend of mine, and a couple of the guys in the band had already met him and played with him.”
Had you ever toured as a kind of guest musician in a band before?
“Well, I’d toured with my own bands.”
But had you ever toured with somebody else’s project, as it were?
“No, that was the first time.”
I concluded by asking Lanegan about working with Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic on his first solo album, The Winding Sheet. I mentioned that Nirvana are my all-time favourite band, although this barely seemed to register with the singer.
“They were good friends of mine, and I always enjoy working with my friends.”
Do you still see Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl?
“I saw Dave quite a bit when he was playing in the Queens, and I saw Krist a few years ago. I’m not generally in Washington state.”
Did you enjoy the Seattle scene in the early ’90s?
“You know what, man, that was so long ago I have hardly any memory of it. I like to stay in the here and now.”
Thus ended the interview. The Gutter Twins play Dublin in April, and it’s likely to be a great show. Just don’t expect too much between-song banter.

Saturnalia gets a live airing at The Ambassador, Dublin on April 5.