Another SBS write up/ interview

[LouisvilleGreg]

This one is from the local indie record store, Plan 9's website. Enjoy, greg

 

 

Up, Up and Away - Wilco

By Gary Graff

April 2007

 

 

 

Jeff Tweedy always envisioned Wilco as a band more than a collective. So, he says, it's been a bit disconcerting to him that the group'"which he formed in 1994 after the dissolution of the acclaimed Uncle Tupelo'"has burned through several different lineups over the course of their six studio albums, including the new Sky Blue Sky.

 

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," claims Tweedy, 39, who remains from the original lineup along with only bassist John Stirratt. "I always anticipated a band that would stick together for a long, long time. You really don't want to get used to that kind of abrupt change. I would never set out to do it this way.

 

"You think, 'Wow, it can't happen every f*ckin' record, can it?' But it did. And I think it's cool that we've at least embraced it many times in the past, so we know it can work out. It gives us a lot of confidence to move forward, and hopefully the new people will be just as good for us."

 

Those new people'"guitarist Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, Stirratt's partner in the Autumn Defense, on keyboards'"have actually been with Wilco since 2004, right after the group recorded its last album, the two-time Grammy Award winner A Ghost Is Born. This particular lineup of Wilco, which also includes keyboardist Mike Jorgensen and drummer Glenn Kotche, made its debut on 2005's Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, an album that demonstrated why Tweedy and not just a few fans consider this the best version of the band yet.

 

"It's pretty f*ckin' monolithic, man," Tweedy gushes. "It's great. There' s a whole new level of proficiency that I'm really, really knocked out by. Everybody is putting in a ton of work we haven't had time or inclination to do in the past 'cause everybody's really invigorated by Nels and Pat.

 

"You know, there's been change in the music from record to record. That kind of change we've learned to trust and embrace, and I think it's benefited us. But changes in personnel, there's a lot more work; you have to learn different dynamics and start from scratch and really form almost a new band.

 

"But we're feeling confident, invigorated. We're exploring more with a little more improvisation'"just jamming, kinda creating some sonic landscapes to hang out in. It's pretty amazing."

 

Cline was certainly a surprising choice to become part of Wilco. The Los Angeles-born guitarist is best known as a free jazz player who worked with the band Quartet Music and his own Nels Cline Trio and Nels Cline Singers as well as with cutting-edge artists such as Charlie Haden, Tim Berne and the late Eric Von Essen. But he has strong underground rock credentials, too, including work with Sonic Youth, Mike Watt and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins' Banyan. He's also played with Willie Nelson.

 

"Nels is a guy I'd known for, like eight years," says Tweedy, who was Wilco's sole guitarist on A Ghost Is Born. "He's been on the road with us before, in other bands. I just always thought he was one of the greatest guitar players I'd ever heard, and I wanted an opportunity to play with him."

 

After multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach left Wilco in 2004, Tweedy quickly brought in Jorgensen, but also saw the opportunity to expand the band even further. "We just kind of were sitting around thinking of people who might be interested in joining Wilco," he recalls. "Nels was one of the first people we called. And Pat's just a great guy and an amazing musician.

 

"Everyone's been invigorated by [the change]. It really has given us a new life."

 

Tweedy says that Sky Blue Sky'"which Wilco produced themselves at their Chicago studio, the Loft'"was "the easiest Wilco record to make," and it's a bit less avant-tinged and more directly accessible than either A Ghost Is Born or its notorious predecessor, 2002's Yankee Foxtrot Hotel. The songs, however, continue to dig deep into Tweedy's psyche and personal perspectives.

 

"It seems like a tough time in the world to really feel confident about the future," he explains. "It causes people to wonder who they are and what this is about'"the big questions really seem to be jumping out at you these days. A lot of our core beliefs are being questioned every day.

 

"But I think there is still room for spirit, for having some kind of spiritual awakening and growth. And I think there's still room for beauty and hope. I think that's the stuff you commit yourself to as a process."

[cryptique]

Gary Graff is an interesting guy ... I hear him on the radio pretty often.

 

He's exactly the kind of guy I'd expect to be able to write a Wilco article without mentioning addiction or Krautrock.