GHOST iN THE MACHiNE
BLAiR OF ABSiNTHE JUNK TALKS TO ROCKWiRED
ABOUT THEiR DEBUT LP LiViNG GHOSTS
FiNDiNG A HOME iN NASHViLLE
AND MAKiNG MUSiC THAT STANDS OUT

APRiL 9, 2010

iNTERViEWED BY BRiAN LUSH
Every time I speak to someone from Nashville, the town sounds sweeter and sweeter. SAMANTHA GIBB (the producer of the 2008 documentary ‘A NASHVILE STATE OF MIND’) opened my eyes to the alternative rock undercurrent that exists beneath the country music capitol. Pop rock princess KATIE KERKHOVER confirmed GIBB’s findings in a recent interview and now after speaking with BLAIR – the vocalist, violinist and keyboardist of the world-infused hard rock band ABSINTHE JUNK – I’m there! With the release of their debut CD ‘LIVING GHOSTS’, ABSINTHE JUNK stick their collective fingers up at what BLAIR refers to as the “cookie-cutter” mentality that is prevalent in the world of rock.  “I would rather [make this kind of music] than be one of those bands that runs into the studio and does a cookie cutter song that sounds like everything else.” says BLAIR “Sometimes it takes several days or several weeks for us to get a song right... It’s a lot of work but at the same time, I think it’s worth it because I would hate to do all of this and sound like just another popular rock band. I can’t stand that stuff. There’s too much of it.”

ROCKWIRED spoke with BLAIR of ABSINTHE JUNK over the phone. Here is how it went.

You are the second artist from Nashville that I’ve interviewed in the past couple of weeks.
Oh really?

Yes. Do you know KATIE KERKHOVER?
Yeah.  Haven’t actually met her yet but we’re on the same scene and we cross paths quite frequently. She’s a very good singer!

Nashville seems like the ideal place to start any kind of band.
Oh yeah. Because of the recording industry that’s here, there are so many options available. It’s unbelievable.

The CD is great! Now that it’s out there for people to hear, how do you feel about the finished work?
I’m incredibly proud of it. We had pretty much a year of creative gestation. We worked really hard to get it where it is and after hearing the finished product, I’m incredibly proud of the band and I’m proud of everyone that got to work on it. It has definitely surpassed my expectations quality-wise and production wise.

It also sounds as if you guys have come a long way in such a short amount of time. The band is only a year old now, right?
It’s kind of relative because the band was started in July of 2008 and it just went through so many reforms. You could say that it actually started a year ago but it’s been going on for a little bit longer than that.

How did music begin for you as an individual?
Oh man! I sang before I spoke. I know that much. I was self –taught every instrument that I play. I taught myself how to play piano at eight and saxophone at eleven and viola by twelve through the help of ADD. I’ve picked up cello, violin, bassoon, clarinet, oboe and bass guitar. You name it, I picked it up. It’s been a life long passion for me.

Before this band, was there a succession of bands for you?
Not really. I lived in Texas before moving here and my primary gig in Texas was being a blues saxophonist for a house band. That was pretty much all that I did. I never really had my own project or anything like that. I moved up here and it was like ‘Let’s just try something!’ That was how it went.

What drew you to Nashville? Was it a music gig or-
It wasn’t that at all. I had friends up here and my life in Texas was just getting old and stagnant. I called my friends up and said ‘You know what? I need a change! I need a plane ticket!’ I set foot here and I haven’t left since and I’m very happy to be here.

Talk about the genesis of the band. How did it begin?
It started out as a folk rock – and in some respect a blues rock – kind of band back in July of 2008 and then slowly as I got more of a say in the band, the sound got to be a little more progressive and a little bit strange. That was around the time that JEREMY joined. He helped in the expansion of the sound, given his ability to try new things. As we were working on our first EP –which was a collection of six very eclectic songs – PATRICK became involved and he actually owns a studio here in Nashville called REEL LOVE RECORDING COMPANY. He got involved in the project and produced the EP. Over time, All of these people filed in together. I also sing in a PINK FLOYD tribute band and I stole the bass player from that project for a while as well as the drummer. We all sort of fell into this project. That was how it got its sound. We all kind of drifted in from different facets of life and brought in our influences.

Talk about the other members and what you think each of them has brought to the table both musically and personality-wise that makes this whole thing work.
There is PATRICK HIMES and he is the lead guitarist. He also does a lot of the rhythm guitar work and the keyboard stuff in the studio. He’s basically producing the project. Personality- wise I think everyone in the band is a big hippy. We do this really hard music but we’re all hippies. He’s the fun loving happy dude that likes to play music all of the time. He brings the fun, I guess you could say. He’s kind of the founder of the sound of this whole project. He’s the one that would pick out the mics and decide on what sounds to use. Even when JEREMY was playing something he would be the one to step on this that or the other to get that exact sound. He fashioned the sound into what it is. JEREMY MILLER has been with the project since October of 2008. He’s a goofball. He does video on the side and is a very talented videographer and handles a lot of the rhythm components of the band. He’s a great lyricist so he and I collaborate a lot. MATT CLARKE plays bass.  He’s an enigma. An island within him self but that is what makes him fun. He only got to play on one track on the album (the track ASSASIN) but he’s going to be doing the whole next CD with us. For the studio album, BRIAN HOEFLICH played drums. BRIAN could imitate CHRIS FARLEY at the drop of a hat. He’s just hilarious. He’s just on all of the time. He got handed rough tracks form us and came in one day later and just nailed it. He’s a lot of fun to be around.

Explain the creative process. How do songs get written in this band?
They all start lyrically. I’ll write all of the lyrics for a song first and then I’ll sit down at the computer and think about fooling around with some chord progressions and getting some ideas fleshed out. A lot of times it will start with me in a closed room by myself in the middle of the night. Once it’s completely fleshed out and takes on a certain form, then I’ll take it over to PATRICK and say ‘Here we go!’ He usually ends up cleaning up my demos. Sometimes, they can be pretty awful. He makes it into an actual song. From there it continues on and we start adding drums and the bass. It’s a long process but it gives us the ability to be more creative and take our time to find more interesting paths to take. With all of our influences, we can’t just go into the studio in one day and get it all done.

It sounds like a committee.
No, not really but at the same time, I would rather it be that than being one of those bands that runs into the studio and does a cookie cutter song that sounds like everything else. Sometimes it takes several days or several weeks for us to get a song right like the song ‘RUST’ which took months to get right. Because of that, that song comes across as one of the most eclectic sounding songs. It’s a lot of work but at the same time, I think it’s worth it because I would hate to do all of this and sound like just another popular rock band. I can’t stand that stuff. There’s too much of it.

What songs off the album resonate for you the most personally and why?
Most of them do. Every one of those songs was written as some sort of expelling of emotion for me. ‘COMMERCIALIZED WASTE’ was about me being fed up with the music industry and that concept of the carbon copy, cookie cutter song. ‘SWEET VACCINE’ is a song that I wrote for my husband. That is obviously one of the closest songs to me personally. Every one of those songs is part of me in some way, shape or form. It came form something that was going on at the time or had happened in the past.

How have live audiences responded to the songs?
Audiences have been really receptive to it. That is probably what is so amazing about this project. We’re able to go out and play this music and know what our songs are about but to hear their take on the songs is amazing. Every person that we’ve ever talked to after a show has a different take. We’re finding all of these different ideas and stories of how individual songs have related to their lives and how it’s touched them and changed them. It’s just an amazing thing. Now our songs have all of these other different personalities.

What would you like a person to come away with after hearing this album?
Oh that one’s hard! I would hope that after someone listened to it that they would be enriched musically and would be able to come away from it with each of the songs resonating with them, then I would feel like I’ve done my job as a songwriter.

BRIAN LUSH holds a BA in Creative Writing from  the UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO. He established ROCKWIRED on New Years of 2004 and hasn’t looked back since. From January 2005 to March 2009, LUSH was the host of the weekly internet radio show ROCKWIRED LIVE. He produced the program for the AMERICAN RADIO NETWORK. As the editor-in-chief for ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE, LUSH is hands-on when it comes to interviewing and building a lasting rapport with the artists that come ROCKWiRED’s way. As a youngster, BRIAN LUSH had no idea what kind of seed was being planted by reading magazines such as HIT PARADE, HIGH TIMES, SPIN, REQUEST (remember that one?) and even ROLLING STONE (but to a significantly lesser degree). “Those were the days before the internet and being a rock journalist looked like the coolest job imaginable.” says LUSH “But reading these magazines had me imagining that one day I’d be the artist giving all of the clever answers to some poor guy with a tape recorder. Well, life has a way of surprising you. Now, I’m the poor guy with the tape recorder and asking all of the questions.”