Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
I never thought of that.  It's interesting.
  

    
Clarifying the name -  first of all the band is called The Love
(times) Nowhere.  Came to me in a dream, no intentional Dylan
reference, though there must be one, because I've heard the association
before.  I really liked the aesthetic of the written name; 7 letters
on each side of an X has a very balanced and focused look.  It's also a
yin/yang type of thing, dark and light, love vs. evil.  We basically
end up with a bunch of nothingness, and the universe challenges us to
create our own meaning, or live without it.  Too much?  I'll stop
now....
  

    
> though there must be one, because I've heard the association
 before.

"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is one of Dylan's greatest songs.

Thanks for the clarification.
  

    
Listening to tracks at the web site right now... haven't received the CD
yet...
Like what I'm hearing so far... pedal steel on the epynomious track?
would like more info on who's who and who plays what at the web site...

I'm hear and I'm listening because I've really enjoyed Adam's participation
on the Well every since he's been participating on the WELL -
sure wish I could be at the Bottom if Hill the 21st... but it is not be
(3000 miles away 'n' all...) 'twould be great to hear y'all live and meet
and greet my community in the flesh as I've not been able to (I played
a WELL gathering ca. 1986...) for a long time ...

appreciating the posts about life on the road ... I've been there brothers -
and, it does have it's charms... I actually think its charms outway its
curses... we used to call I-5 "Purgatory" ... and don't complain too much,
back in the day (voice get's feeble and strangely acquires Southern 
Appalachian accent) we didn't have Starbucks to complain about...

looking forward to my 13 year old drummer/guitar player son's impressions
of your music...
  

    
I enthusiastically invite everyone, WELL and non-WELLish, to join this 
conversation.  Non-WELLfolk can send questions of interest to 
inkwell@well.com and I will ask ze band.  Thanks!
  

    
Gabriel wrote:

> Around the time
 I was learning I was very in to sixties rock music as well; Rolling
 Stones, Greatful Dead, Pink Floyd, Traffic, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane
 (Jorma Kaukonen was my guitar hero, Embryonic Journey anyone?),
 Quicksilver, and all the rest.


Obviously, those are some pretty heavy predecessors.  I remember talking 
to a kid on the way to a Dead show circa 1989 or so.  I asked him to name 
all of his favorite bands, and he enumerated a list very much like the one 
above.  I remember thinking, "Well, those are all fantastic records, but I 
had them when I was in highschool myself, and this kid is 15 years 
younger.  Wouldn't it have been weird to ask some teenager what his 
favorite records were in 1969 and getting the answer, 'Frank Sinatra, 
Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington'?"  Here's my point. I *still* listen to 
Sinatra and Ellington myself, because those are great recordings.  But 
what was it about the great groups and innovators of the '60s -- from the 
Beatles to Janis to Hendrix to the Dead, on and on and on -- that made 
them such enduring models so many subsequent generations?

And, to stir the pot a little, what are the downsides of having models 
that powerful endure for so long in the culture?  Isn't it the job of the 
younger generation to KILL THE IDOLS of previous generations?
  

    
I just had a listen to your CD, "Odyssey," and must say that you have
an immediately catchy sound, but with depth and texture.
The deeper parts are where I get the Pink Floyd connection, but the
pop sensibility reminds me at times of Jules Shear (Jules and the Polar
Bears). Its a rich combination allowing for you guys to create your
own identity, your own polished sound.  Very nice, IMHO.
  

    
A couple questions for Adam.  I noticed there is a different name on
the Odyssey CD for the drummer.  These guys aren't sucking you into a
Spinal Tap thing, I hope.

Also, in addition to studying poetry with Steve S., I noticed you
studied with the Haight poet Charles Potts, now from Walla Walla and
never from Patterson. I met Potts at a reading he gave at the Mad
Linguist in Prescott, AZ a few years ago. He embossed his signature
into the book I bought.  

Does your poetry writing and study translate into you writing lyrics.
And are you going to be penning lyrics for this group? 

Finally, since I just went through a gauntlet of personal Inkwell
questions myself, I am assuming that you and the band members are all
in your mid or late 20s.
  

    
Lots of questions to answer!

I'll have to check out Jules Shear.

Yes, I joined TLXN in the summer of 2005, right after they'd recorded
Odyssey. But I played the CD-release party for that record at Cafe Du
Nord, etc. etc. but we had already written new songs together and
recorded "Into the Fire" a few months later.

Charles Potts was my poetry and life mentor as a college student,
connecting daily from afar when I was attending the University of
Pittsburgh. He actually came to our show in Oregon a few weeks ago and
it was great hanging with him.

I am in my mid-20's, but Gabriel and Brett are both in their early
30's.

And Steve, you're right on with the Miles Davis reference, according
to the Village Voice blurb on The Love X Nowhere earlier this year: "If
you like melody, these guys are for you. But what really sends me is
the 13-minute 'Spill The Ink,' which drifts along like Miles Davis
discovering shoegaze music and Television at the same time."

As far as Ginsberg managing Dylan, I just remembering hearing that in
high school, but I think it was more of Ginsberg having some grand
goofy scheme to manage Dylan in the 60's (around the time of
"Subterranean Homesick Blues"). Don't think it actually happened.

And downsides to having powerful models endure for decades? I'm
immediately thinking of Sonic Youth. They've been doing it for almost
30 years and, unlike many powerful models, are NOT a nostalgia act.
Each album is an improvement on the last and their concerts are always
incredibly heavy on the new stuff. What I'm getting it at is that when
a band endures so powerfully for decades, their fans would rather just
go see them, or just buy their records and keep up with their career
instead of being turned on to bands that might be influenced by said
band.

BUT, as I am reminded so often when seeing modern jambands, what
stands out (and what competes with the enduring models) is a band that
uses their influences as inspiration rather than blueprint. They take
what they love about the enduring models and do something completely
different with it.

Sonic Youth was partly (though profoundly) influenced by the Grateful
Dead, but (unlike most jambands) you can barely hear it in their music.
It's the ethos (unpredictability, danger, connecting songs, doing
long, spacey free-form jams and utilizing an overall mixture of dark
and light) that Sonic Youth took from the Dead, rather than taking from
the Dead that you should wear tie-dyes, utilize a hoola hoop and sing
happy songs.

Oh! And being a poet translating into being a lyricist? Hasn't
happened yet, no matter how I've tried. It's soooooo different. I did
point Gabriel and Brett to my poetry in hopes of using some of it for
lyrics, but nothing has come of that yet.
  

    
That's very well put, Adam.
  

    
Hello everybody, seems i'm a little late to the party.  Read once
through everyone's post to get an idea of where yer at, which is
everywhere!  So I'll dive in somewhere... 

The town of Patterson.  Christian's everywhere.  Road food.  Slipping
into southern accents.  Impromptu frisbee golf games.  5 guys in a
van...hilarious!  I found something of myself out there.  It felt
natural for me to live that way and i enjoyed all aspects of the road. 
Being on task and on time, meeting new people.  it's repetitive but
rewarding for that brief flash when the amplifiers are warm and the
spirit moves.  I like it, and i hope the handful of people in
attendence did, too.  That was the bummer, empty venues and garbage
bands.  But you gotta start somewhere.

As far as describing what forged my musical identity, the allusion to
Bowie is a great start.  He borrowed from all over without hiding it,
while at the same time had his own powerful identity.  I like that,
it's alchemy, no?  as an early teen, my cousin's kevin and peter hughes
played me some punk rock and then band's like The Cure, Depeche
Mode...these bands i still listen to now, especially The Cure.  Robert
Smith I think has the most unique and powerful voice. not to mention a
great lyricist and under-handed guitar style.  I remember listening to
'Faith' back then and having the most vivid, epic mind flights based on
the dark, seemingly romantic mood of the music.  then there came
punk/metal rebellious phase.  not a lot of that stuck musically, just
an attitude, maybe.  I guess acid changed what i was listening to after
that.  It really was all about the Pink Floyd.  My uncle Paul gave me
my first cd for christmas and bless his soul it was 'Ummagumma'.  did I
spell that right?  The dense psycadelia on those first four songs
pretty much killed me.  I'd trip with my Michael and we'd stay up
looking at album covers and learning to all those old works.  Hendricks
was big for me at that time, too.  I remember thinking that he sounded
so young and free.  Huge skills, huge hands, huge affro.  Nutty-ass
clothes, even for that time.  Then into high school i fell into a long
in-depth Rush phase that i don't like to talk about and hopefully
hasn't affected my musical identity too much.
I worked as a bus boy my junior year and made friends with a co-worker

who was also a dj at the college radio station KDVS.  we'd share a 40
after work and sit in the restaurant smoking cloves and talking about
music.  He lent me a small stack of cd's and thank god he did.  Love
and Rockets, Ride, The Pixies.  Around that time I had written my first
few songs and recorded them one night in the Unitarian church with my
4-track friend, Jason.  the natural reverb in this church was amazing. 
I don't even know if I have that recording still.  My dj friend played
the whole thing on his radio show.  That felt pretty good.  Bowie came
into the picture then.  Randomly bought a Bauhaus tape, 'Swing the
Heartache' BBC sessions.  So these are my earlier influences.  As well
as a steady diet of traditional sho-biz numbers that i was made to
learn thoroughly  as a member of the high school jazz choir.  Not that
I borrow from that but it has to have an effect,   the pop song
structures and such.  
  

    
>>> from Gabriel: the band is called The Love (times) Nowhere.  

I think when most of us get a chance to hear a band that has real
potential to make it big, we get in your camp and root for your
breakthrough and success.  After hearing your CD this morning, I
honestly think you guys have that shot.  As for the way your band's
name is right now, I think this might get in the way.  This is just my
opinion, but I've been seeing the name in The Well now for a
week-and-a-half and TLXN took some time to stick in my aging hippie
brain.  The fact that you had to explain that the X was 'times' is also
an indicator that you must have had people ask you "are you guys with
The Love Ex Nowhere band?". (This reminds me of the blip on "The Wall"
album where the reporter asks, "which one of you guys is Pink?)  

Why not just "Love X" as an easier to remember name that still has
ambiguity and mystery attached?  After all, the Chicago Transit
Authority became Chicago to no ill effect. FWIW   
  

    
I mentioned my cousin Peter Hughes without saying that he plays in
'The Mountain Goats'.  They're becoming quite popular.  All the
cousin's from my mothers side whose family's settled out west play
music.  

Adam isn't lying when he says I have a computer allergy, although mine
isn't nearly as bad as my brother's.  It's a big step to use capital
letters.  please excuse any future grammer train-wrecks.

Also want to say that I'm really impressed with the whole WELL set-up.
Good job, this is fun.
  

    
>>> what was it about the great groups and innovators of the '60s --
from the  Beatles to Janis to Hendrix to the Dead, on and on and on --
that made  them such enduring models so many subsequent generations?

I'm not sure that's it necessarily, although it sure seems there's way
more great popular music recorded now and in the 60's than there was
in the 40's.

But the 60's really brought change in intergenerational music. My son
and I listen to a lot of the same music. Our parents listened to
completely different stuff than we did for the most part.

Rock and Roll has become the great leveler. Everybody likes it. And
the 60's musicians pretty much established the canon.
  

    
Didn't Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Co. establish the canon? Talk
amongst yourselves...

Just to clarify -- the venues on tour weren't ALL empty...we had some
great nights musically with hundreds in attendance, some great nights
musically with a dozen or so folks watching, and even so-so nights
musically with a dozen folks in attendance, which are the nights that
stick in your gut for a while. 

And Brett's brother is Michael Chulada, who plays keyboards in TLXN.
That's what he meant in the line "I'd trip with my Michael and we'd
stay up looking at album covers and learning to all those old works."
No, "my Michael" isn't drug slang. ;-)

And the name thing? People are constantly calling it "The Love 'Ex'
Nowhere" and we really don't mind...believe it if you need it, call it
what you like. As Gabriel said, there isn't much meaning behind the
name, and the "TLXN" moniker works just fine too. 

As an aside, we've had some hilarious translations along the way:
people calling it "The Love BY Nowhere" or even "The Love TEN Nowhere,"
as if we're using roman numerals.
  

    
Hendricks? As in the Carl Hendricks trio from Pittsburgh? I didn't
know he was a big influence on you, Brett. Oh...you must've meant
Hendrix. :-P
  

    

After having a mac and learning not to say OS ten, I always say "ex" for X
now, but I laughed to read on your website that it's sposed to be "times" !

I love that long "Spill the INk" cut, by the way.  Fine for working on
spreadsheets and wishing you were driving an open highway...
  

    
> Didn't Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Co. establish the canon? Talk
 amongst yourselves...


Heh, indeed.
  

    
>>> what was it about the great groups and innovators of the '60s --
from the  Beatles to Janis to Hendrix to the Dead, on and on and on --
that made  them such enduring models so many subsequent generations?

a little devil's advocate argument here is that it's easier and
cheaper for a record company to sell their back catalog, than develop
and break new acts.  walk down haight street and look in the shope
windows.  it's commerce people, and the elevation of those musicians
and their physical images to cult status is a tried and true marketing
tool.
  

    

hi, kids. . . old hippie Deadhead here. I've listened to Odyssey and love 
the lushness and expressiveness. And I was glad that when I first put the 
cd on what came out was NOT the music of a lot of jambands of today - 
particularly, the kind of music that meanders forever but goes nowhere. It 
seemed much more polished. And accessible, yet with a tasty mix of styles.

Of course I could hear some Floyd references, but I think I heard a little 
Beatles in there, too. (Maybe from the Magical Mystery Tour era.)


My question to you is: how would I hear about you today? With radio so 
compartmentalized, with the club scene somewhat ambivalent here in San 
Francisco, how do you get the word out about yourselves (other than the 
little "Love X Nowhere" stickers that (cough) have appeared in many 
places around town). Listings in the paper don't often tell the story.
  

    
we need some of that great marketing i was complaining about in my
last post. what can we do but just forge ahead and use our collective
best judgements and intuition?  we need a label, a better booking
agency, a competent manager, a PR firm, and all the other accoutrement
that EVERY successful artist has.  to get there you need what is known
in the industry as "a break".  as we wait patiently for ours, we keep
doing what we do; writing songs, improving our musicianship, and
playing great shows to small but appreciative audiences.
  

    
We've been reviewed in SF Weekly, the Onion, the Chronicle, the
Oakland Tribune, Mesh...basically all the relevant local papers...and
you can read all the reviews at www.thelovexnowhere.com. That's one way
of gaining a larger audience.

And many local podcasts, such as the Bay Bridged Podcast and Noise
Pop's podcast, have featured us...but although we get play on
independent stations like SomaFM, KPFA and the like, San Francisco
radio (i.e. mainstream radio) is hard to crack as a band that's been
gigging hard for only about a year and a half and is just now talking
to labels about doing a debut full-length. 

Word of mouth and opening for large crowds by playing on bills with
bigger bands, like we did two weeks ago at the Rickshaw Stop for a
great NYC band called Calla, are probably the best at the level we're
at.

And....drumroll....Myspace. Myspace has been great for gaining fans
and booking shows.
  

    

I have a weird question.  A family member of a friend of mine represents
a few serious professional acts on major labels, and one thing I 
remember from a conversation at a dinner some years back was his moaning 
that one of his performers had more of a chance to really make it than 
anyone else he represented, but the singer was starting to have qualms 
that producing his songs to be more accessible, (successfully!), playing 
bigger venues and being on tour for long stretches was a less authentic 
life, not the life that the songs were about.  

If you could just click your heels and get there, how successful would 
you want to be?  Are you rooted in local community, or is that secondary?
  

    
About as successful as the (current) bands I love the most.  Meaning
being on a small but devoted label, playing and selling out 400 - 1500
capacity venues across the nation, occasionally playing to 50,000 at
summertime festivals, and releasing an album of inspired new music
every year.  I personally don't feel so rooted in local community,
because we haven't really been embraced by it.  Musically and
stylistically, we are not the "it" sound of the moment, thank god, but
a tougher road finding your audience.  Great SF bands like Deefhoof and
BRMC completely bypassed the SF scene on their way to international
recognition and stardom.
  

    
What Gabriel said, although Arcade Fire is more the model for me at
the moment.

Personally, being able to continually fill clubs the size of the
Independent, Great American and Slim's (plus play the huge festivals
and magical venues like the Greek in Berkeley) around the country  and
then the world is about as successful as I would choose to be if given
the choice between that and headlining the summer sheds, arenas and
stadiums. Past that level, I believe people want more of you, the want
a piece of you, and it's incredibly difficult (nearly but not totally
impossible) to continue a healthy level of creativity, honesty, and
even maintain inter-band friendship.

That said, we're actually eager to work with a producer on our debut
full-length, for which we already have a dozen songs written. But not
to make our songs more accessible, just to make them better. 

Personally, I wouldn't want to work with a producer who said something
like "if you change such and such about this song it'll be a hit." I'd
rather him say "if you change such and such about this song it'll
sound ten times better." Then again, if those two statements went hand
in hand in the given situation, that's a different story...