New Album News - Back in Studio Jan 2010

[Guest Speed Racer]

At some point they're probably going to want to (or have to) spend less time on the road

 

Reminds me of that scene in Almost Famous where Jimmy Fallon's character says, "If you think Mick Jagger is going to be out there at 60, still doing his thing - well, you're sadly mistaken my friend."

[jff]

Reminds me of that scene in Almost Famous where Jimmy Fallon's character says, "If you think Mick Jagger is going to be out there at 60, still doing his thing - well, you're sadly mistaken my friend."

 

Of course, my above post assumes that they'll always play to roughly the same size audience they currently play to (where I live, that means 5,000 seat venues). That could change up or down, obviously.

[Central Scrutinizer]

The band is definitely at a crossroads. But going independent vs. finding another label becomes an issue of overhead. If the band goes it alone, they become an employer beyond just Tweedy and five bandmates and the direct hirings. It would require more hands on management of all facets -- certainly much would fall on Tony's shoulders. But each band decision begins to directly affect a growing number of people and their families. (I can't remember where I read it, but that was arguably one of the many issues that weighed upon the Grateful Dead as they became more commodity than performers). At this point in time, Tweedy may want less hanging over his head, rather than more.

 

But again, I'm just thinking out loud. It could be, too, that Jeff got a taste of a broader industry role when he worked with Mavis Staples. Maybe a label, artists, a broader role is in store.

 

As I mentioned to sexual napalm, this time in Wilco's history could be as significant as YHF, in how it impacts the music industry.

[Central Scrutinizer]

True, and they're not getting any younger. Right now, they make their money on the road. At some point (hopefully not any time soon) they're probably going to want to, or have to, spend less time on the road, and will need more of their income to come from product sales compared to concert ticket sales.

It's been mentioned in Kot's book and oodles of other places, but both Uncle Tupelo and Wilco were out on the edge of the alternative wave as far as making money primarily on the road, and became a blueprint for other alternative bands to follow.

 

Whether Wilco ...

[rockinrob]

I think the music industry is really faultering. Before it took a label to be in a band. Period. Now, like how radiohead released in rainbows originally, it is possible to have success on a big level without the label. It definitely will be interesting to see what happens with this.

 

Wilco has become a touring institution (like the dead was) with a large devoted fan base. They can play shows worldwide and draw audiences simply by announcing the show online. They dont need a big label marketing budget to be successful. I will see them every time they are within driving distance, and I know a bunch more people that feel the same way.

 

Last night in Clearwater was like a reunion for me. I saw people from all kinds of local bands, all the sound guys at the local venues, the bartenders, people that come out to see my band, musicians I used to play with. It was crazy! And everyone I talked to after the show was in a stunned state of awesomeness. The descriptions were all one words like "wow". But it is like that in every city they play in. That kind of a devoted fanbase is an extremely valuable thing when you are playing music. They are literally a good enough band to render people speechless. You don't have to market that.

[Atticus]

I can't fucking believe the band isn't on here discussing this for us to add our input

[Guest Speed Racer]

Did you not have your private meeting with the band and TMM yet? I had mine last week.

[Ghost of Electricity]

Their timing is off. It obviously should have been Wilco (the song) on Wilco (the album) by Wilco (the band) on Wilco (the label).

[Guest Speed Racer]

Their timing is off. It obviously should have been Wilco (the song) on Wilco (the album) by Wilco (the band) on Wilco (the label).

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I can't fucking believe the band isn't on here discussing this for us to add our input

Fortunately, they don't have to worry about their health care plan.

[bobbob1313]

Reminds me of that scene in Almost Famous where Jimmy Fallon's character says, "If you think Mick Jagger is going to be out there at 60, still doing his thing - well, you're sadly mistaken my friend."

 

I didn't invent the rainy day, man. I just own the best umbrella.

[froggie]

with the advent of the acoustic set in last nights concert, think we might get a stripped down, country influenced album? i think it'd be lovely.

 

 

lovely, but highly unlikely

[jcl236]

I'm still waiting for all those songs that they recorded in the SBS sessions that John said would be released within the year of SBS's release.

I'm pretty sure they were released. It included, "Let's Not Get Carried Away" that came with the iTunes download of the album, "The Thanks I Get" was posted on Wilco's Myspace page, some special editions came with "One True Vine" and a live version of "Theologians" and the tour edition came with the tracks "The Thanks I Get," "Let's Not Get Carried Away," "One True Vine," "Impossible Germany Live," and "Hate It Here Live" All of which we available to download from the web when you put your SBS CD into your computer.

[Vacant Horizon]

i would bet Glad It's Over was recorded then too.

 

It really is time for a non-album rarities collection with all these songs equalized and in chronological order.

[chisoxjtrain]

i would bet Glad It's Over was recorded then too.

 

It really is time for a non-album rarities collection with all these songs equalized and in chronological order.

 

Glad It's Over was released on the "Heroes" soundtrack.

[Vacant Horizon]

Glad It's Over was released on the "Heroes" soundtrack.

 

i know, but i think it came from sbs sessions. still would like to see a collection of b-sides, comp songs, etc.

[rockinrob]

it would be a cool idea. The more like the moon ep, extra songs from YHF, AGIB, and SBS plus stuff we dont even know about.

 

Id buy it!

[Ghost of Electricity]

It's a slow day and I am ready to entertain rumours about the the next record. Would someone please be so kind as to provide me with one?

[SarahC]

I heard it's going to feature a kazoo choir.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I heard they're all trading instruments. Finally we get to hear Jeff's mad organ skills.

[bennyb]

I also hear that the camel will be featured again, this time he will be trading versus with Jeff on Wilco's first stab at R&B

[Analogman]

Jeff Tweedy Talks About Wilco's Future

by Cortney Harding July 16, 2010 3:47 EDT

 

 

Most artists of a certain stature have at least one "let me tell you about the crazy music business" story. But few have had their story turned into a critically acclaimed feature-length documentary. When Wilco left Reprise in 2001, the film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" captured the angst and turmoil surrounding the band's departure and subsequent signing to Nonesuch. Fast-forward nearly a decade and Wilco is again without a label. But this time, frontman Jeff Tweedy sounds happy and relaxed.

 

While the end of Wilco's Nonesuch deal has sparked speculation that it may start its own label, Tweedy says the band hasn't made a final decision on the matter. But he does say that he's finished with the major-label merry-go-round for good.

 

As Wilco mulls its next move, Tweedy, the band's manager Tony Margherita and promoter Alex Crothers are busy preparing for the Solid Sound Festival, which takes place Aug. 13-15 at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Mass. The event, which Crothers says is enjoying brisk ticket sales, will feature performances by Wilco, band side projects and such friends as soul legend Mavis Staples, whose forthcoming album "You Are Not Alone" (Anti-) was produced by Tweedy.

 

As he prepared for his recent solo performance at the Faraday Independent Music Festival near Barcelona, Spain, Tweedy spoke by phone with Billboard about Wilco's future and curating Solid Sound.

 

Now that Wilco has left Nonesuch, how will you release new music?

 

I don't see it being drastically different from the way we put out music in the past. It seems unlikely that we will be under the umbrella of a major label or a major-label group. It doesn't make sense for us to pay somebody three-quarters of the pie for a lot of things that we've been doing ourselves.

 

On the other hand, I don't know if it makes a lot of sense for a label to upend their entire historical precedent to make things work for us when a lot of other bands really do need a lot of the things that a label provides.

 

But we worked hard to do more and more. We do all of the publicity, a bulk of the promotion, all the marketing. All of that stuff has predominantly been done in-house for quite some time.

 

When did you start doing more things in-house?

 

We were forced to do that early on. Even when we were with Reprise, there wasn't that much interest in promoting Wilco. We learned how to do it with what we had available to us. A lot of it has grown out of our touring-obviously, that is the main thing Wilco has been able to control. We've practically gone door to door.

 

Wilco's previous troubles with Reprise and your subsequent deal with Nonesuch was chronicled in the film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." Looking back, do you wish you'd had the options you have now back then?

 

We did have that option [to start our own label] back then, but the way people were consuming music wasn't quite there yet. We could've made that decision back then, and we certainly did make the decision to stream our record and continue to tour at the time, because we mostly wanted people to hear our new songs and be excited about them.

 

Are you talking to any other artists or looking at any other artist-run labels as potential models?

 

Not really. I know some of the guys in Radiohead and talk to them. But our manager pays more attention to the business models than I do. When Radiohead streamed their album and let people pay what they wanted, I thought that was similar to what we had been doing for years. But we didn't take the money because we were on a major at the time; we ended up giving the money to charity. Everyone made a big deal of it, but it seemed like such a no-brainer to me. The record is going to leak anyway and people are going to download it at some point before it comes out-you might as well make something rather than make nothing.

 

As you're figuring out Wilco's label future, you're also gearing up for the Solid Sound Festival. How did the concept for the festival come about?

 

We've played a lot of festivals and there are certain things you take away from those experiences, thinking, "That would be nice if we had the opportunity to do something like that." But this festival isn't exactly like any of the other ones that we've ever played. The main thing about festivals that we've enjoyed-or at least smaller ones-is that we've been able to navigate them once we're a part of them.

 

Even in Chicago when [the Pitchfork Music Festival] has been happening every summer, it's a nice, smaller-size festival that my wife and I and our kids have gone to. And this is even smaller than that. I always think of it as being when you go to a restaurant and they have a really big menu. I never know what to order; I always feel like I've been cheated. More choices [aren't] necessarily a good thing. I understand a big festival like Lollapalooza is a spectacle. It's incredible. It's not in the cards for us to ever do something on that scale, especially if we're trying to avoid a lot of outside endorsements and funding and things like that.

 

So how is the festival being funded?

 

It's all ticket sales. There are no sponsors.

 

How are you approaching the curation of the festival?

 

The original core of the festival is that it would be fun for Wilco to play a series of shows in one location where everybody else's side projects and everything else all of the members of Wilco do could be presented in the same place. We've never done that. We never all performed in all our different entities in one place.

 

In terms of non-Wilco acts, it's things that we like and artists that we'd like to see. It's comedians we'd like to see and hang out with and friends we want to be around. Hopefully if we're able to continue doing this, I would like to keep it somewhat manageable in that regard.

 

Are you preparing to record anything right now?

 

I'm on tour right now, but I'm always writing and we're getting into the studio later this month to start recording the next Wilco record. We're going to try to do what we've always done. The way we've been touring the past year, there's been a dividing line between one record and the next as there ever had been because we've been touring so intensively and we haven't been able to do any recording on the side. But this is usually the way we seem to work when we have downtime-we generally spend it in the studio.

[KansasAl]

Jeff Tweedy Talks About Wilco's Future

by Cortney Harding July 16, 2010 3:47 EDT

 

"Are you preparing to record anything right now?

 

I'm on tour right now, but I'm always writing and we're getting into the studio later this month to start recording the next Wilco record. We're going to try to do what we've always done"

 

Nice!

[Magnetized]

Great article! Thanks so much for posting!

[GasCabbie]

Now that everyone's home from Solid Sound, isn't it time we engage in some wild speculation about the new album? Thankfully there's a nice article that addresses the Solid Sound hangover, and has precisely 10 words of new information on the album:

 

It was too early to say whether or not the Chicago-based, alt-country band Wilco, which curated the three-day musical festival, would return next summer, said Katherine Myers, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

"Wilco is a difficult band to schedule, and they have a new album coming out next spring," she said.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_15799841

 

Take it to the bank!