BR: How about bassist Daryl Johnson?
DL: I’ve worked with Daryl a lot over the years. He’s a genius, as well. Along with his bass playing, Daryl’s a great singer. I should tell you that he’s not traveling with us right now – unfortunately, he’s got a drug problem and he’s back in L.A. dealing with all that goes with it. I feel bad even talking about it, but let the truth be known, you know?
BR: I’ll do whatever you want me to, Daniel – should I even mention that that’s why he’s not around right now?
DL: Yeah, that’s okay by me – it’s both the truth and a real shame. Things will be going great and then something happens and we don’t see Daryl for a while. People have to decide for themselves when they’re going to go sober; you can’t just wave your arms – at a certain point, they have to tackle it on their own.
BR: I’m sorry to hear that. If knowing what this music means to the people hearing it could help Daryl in any way …
DL: Maybe so, maybe so.
BR: I know you have a string of Black Dub shows coming up. Just to let folks know, who will be on bass?
DL: Jim Wilson – a great singer and bass player in his own right. We’re lucky to have him – and at the same time, we all hope Daryl can rejoin us.
BR: How about Trixie Whitley?
DL: She’s terrific, isn’t she? She’s just a kid; she’s only 22 but I tell you, she’s a deep, deep soul. She grew up listening to the right music. Her dad was a musician friend of mine – Chris Whitley, who unfortunately died five years ago.
I’ve been a friend of the family for a while; back when Chris recorded his first record in my studio, Trixie was just three years old, you know? (laughs) A couple years back, I bumped into Trixie and her mother in Belgium. She told me she was singing and writing songs – and when I heard her, I thought, “Wow! She’s got something special.” And I’d had it in the back of my mind that I might want to try putting a band together with someone who could front it vocally. When I heard Trixie, I knew she was the one.
BR: Along with her powerhouse vocals, she plays keys, guitar, and drums, right?
DL: Yeah – she’s a great drummer. She has a great bass drum foot.
BR: Now about the basic construction of the Black Dub album – how much was cut live and how much is, as you call it, “studio rat” work?
DL: It’s a mix. “Surely”, for instance was cut live off the floor. That’s the last song I wrote – a live vocal with no overdubs. It was very reassuring to know we could still do one like that.
Other songs are much more complex. “Slow Baby” is an instrumental; much more studio rat behavior on my part. (laughs) I built that whole thing myself – I’d had it on the shelf for a while.
“Love Lives” is a track that I recorded years ago in Mexico – never finished it, but always loved it. I finally completed it for Black Dub.
Sometimes you can plan them and knock ‘em out; other times you have to crack them. It’s really a compositional process. Part of me wishes I could make a record, not play it for anyone, go out on tour, and then go back in and record it again. (laughter)
BR: That’s right; go out and live with the thing – let it get to know itself.
DL: Things always have more fire live – I know that; everybody knows that; but it’s hard to pull it off these days. But you know something? If I hit on something that has a vibe, has some magic to it, that’s enough for us to go on.
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