BR: Jorgen’s bass work on that is great. The way he almost doubles the vocal at times – never in your face or anything; just lovely. There’s a nice Beatlesy drift there in the middle section.
MA: A lot of people have said that; we show our influences very much on the album. There’s some Pink Floyd …
BR: Ah – here’s what I wrote – and all I wrote – when I listened to “Circus” for the first time: “Floyd.”
MA: (laughs) We wear our Floyd vibe proudly – love it. (laughter)
BR: And where did “Circus” come from? Was that another one that spawned from a groove?
MA: I think Jorgen started out with the main riff on “Circus” … and then T came up with the chorus part. Once any one of us had an idea, we’d simply roll with it. “Let’s do this; let’s try that.” It was very democratic and nothing was written in stone. Everything evolved very organically.
BR: “Deep Into Self” feels like the drum and bass are a single instrument.
MA: Yeah, that’s one of my favorite tracks; a lot of people have commented on it. It’s got such a great groove and hook – it’s a lot of fun to play live.
BR: That’s another neat mix: it goes from a real immediate, intimate sound to a center-of-the-earth deepness. Maybe that’s part of that European sound you mentioned earlier – you think?
MA: Oh, yeah. It’s some kind of European sensibility that comes from those three being from there and me … (laughs)
BR: Wherever you’re from.
MA: Right! (laughter)
BR: “Planet Pt. 2” starts off as a total freakout that’s nowhere and everywhere all at once before it returns to the central theme of “Pt. 1”.
MA: That’s right. We have so many versions of that particular song – that’s just one of them. We laid down the track and then Jorgen went back afterwards, took the parts that he thought were the best, and put them through Pro Tools to come up with what you’re hearing. We have so many outtakes of this on tape that we could make at least three more versions of it.
It’s interesting: when my son – who’s seventeen almost eighteen – first heard the record, he liked “Planet Pt. 2” the most. It kind of freaked me out. (laughs) That seems like the most esoteric, crazy bunch of music on the whole record and he loved it – said he liked all the melodies that were happening. I was really surprised to hear that from him. I thought he’d like the vocal tunes more, but that was his favorite.
BR: Hey, you know what – there are a lot of folks whose 17-year-old hardly speaks to them, let alone listens – and likes – their music. Go, Dad! (laughter)
MA: That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Can’t get a word out of him and then he texts me: “Dad – that song’s killing.” (laughter)
BR: “Trying To Be Myself” – T-Bone goes from sounding like Eddie Van Halen to moments of Hendrix to an almost Texas blues vibe – and it all sounds perfectly natural. He pulls from everywhere with his guitar playing, doesn’t he?
MA: That’s a good way to put it. We thought that would be a good piece of music to close out the record: it starts kind of softly, explodes wide open, and then touches back down again to close things out. Like I said, T’s our secret weapon – he’s really an incredible player, singer, and songwriter.
BR: I really felt kind of numb, listening to the album and thinking, “Jesus – where did he come from?”
MA: (laughs) He and Jorgen played a lot of Hendrix in Sweden – Hendrix was the shit, man. T’s favorite musical influences are Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and … I guess they have some kind of affinity for ABBA.
BR: Wait, wait … ABBA?
MA: Oh, yeah – they’ll back this up, believe me.
BR: Hmmm. Are you planning on doing any ABBA covers?
MA: No. (laughter) It’s just a pop sensibility that those guys like.
BR: Well, I guess if I give it a chance, I can see it – the hooks are there on these songs. I mean, there are some great, great jams, but there are also chunks of these songs that stick right to you because of the hooks.
MA: Absolutely.
BR: Well, I take back what I said. God bless ABBA, man. (laughter) So what’s on the horizon for POA?
MA: We’ve basically got the rest of this year to get to it before Gov’t Mule rears its ugly ass again. (laughs) We’re just working hard and working seriously on doing this. I was talking with some people from GABBAfest yesterday – we’ll be at GABBAfest in September.
I’m just kind of doing this on my own. We don’t have a manager; I’m just trying to use all of my resources that I’ve come to know over the last twenty years. With the Mule being on hiatus, I haven’t been home this long for years. It’s been great to have something to do close to home. And when you’re doing it yourself, of course, it never ends. (laughs)
Like you mentioned earlier, Stef’s office – Hard Head Management – and Kendall and Adam over there have all been a lot of help to us … they’re great. We’re just working hard between now and New Years – and we plan on keeping POA together in between Mule breaks.
BR: And the Mule?
MA: Well, we’re doing New Years, of course – and we’ll be playing Jamaica again next year, also.
Taking the Mule into the studio is sitting in the back of our heads, too … I’m not sure if it’ll be at the end of this year or at the start of next. Again, it’s been great to have the opportunity and time to do POA and know that Gov’t Mule will be back in full swing before you know it.
My plate is full, Brian and that’s a good, good thing – it keeps me out of trouble. (laughs) Or in trouble. (laughter)
No Comments comments associated with this post