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Western State Hurricanes
Print Assaults
and Unsalted
Butter
8/18/98
Interview By Deanna Knudsen
Weather
alert for the Seattle area: prepare to be rocked by
the Western State Hurricanes.
Bands
just don’t create energy and buzz instantly; it
just doesn’t happen that way. It takes time for
the musicians to become comfortable as a group, and
develop a distinctive sound for themselves, with
awkward moments along the way.
That was
until the Western State Hurricanes played their first
show. Since their debut before a sold-out crowd in
May, the Hurricanes have impressed a great number of
music fans. When listening to them the first time,
you’ll instantly notice elaborate, dueling vocal
harmonies between the two singers, accompanied by a
perfect blend of traditional and indie rock. The
Hurricanes have depth to their lyrics, distinctive
vocals, music that packs a punch, and stage presence
to boot -- all within the first three months
together. The word is definitely out: this is the
band to watch.
How does
such a young band seemingly have it all? I recently
got together with John, Stephanie, Michael and Bo of
the Western State Hurricanes to find out.
Let’s
start out by finding out more about the Western State
Hurricanes. When did you come together as a group?
John:
I was in a band called the Bun Family Players, and we
had played a show with Algae, that featured Stephanie
as the lead singer and guitar player. Over the course
of a couple of months, Stephanie and I got together
and played acoustic guitar. Then, my band split up,
Stephanie and I got together every once in a while,
to play some songs and sing. I think the thing we
liked was our voices primarily.
Michael:
I was in another band called Jeffrey Nothing, with a
mutual friend of John and [myself]. He brought me to
the Bun Family Players, and I went, "I want to
work with that guy". I brought Bo to a show
later, and it’s fair to say he was impressed.
Slowly but surely we got the three of us into a space
together.
John:
Michael and I got together and played with some other
people, but it never really gelled, although Michael
and I did. Michael brought Bo in on one occasion. Bo
is in another band, Severna Park, so Bo couldn’t
really commit any time. We had a really good time, so
we got together maybe once a week, and just jammed.
Meanwhile,
Stephanie and I were playing more and more. Stephanie
recorded me, just playing a few songs on acoustic
guitar, and she disappeared with it for a month or
so. She came back with this fully orchestrated tape,
where she had played the drum machine, the keyboard,
lead guitar, harmony vocals. She had taken this
little tape that didn’t even have any rhythm to
it, and had made this fully formed, fleshed out
music. I was pretty astonished by that.
She and I
had been working independently, while Bo, Michael and
I were playing periodically. At some point, we all
ended up knowing the same five or so songs. And so
naturally, I guess it seems natural now, but at the
time it was a little bit like "Oh hey, what an
idea. Why don’t we all get together and
play." I think as soon as we played together as
a four-piece, it was obvious that there was something
unique about it.
Stephanie: Originally
the whole thing at first it was just to make a
record.
John:
Yeah, to do a demo, in order for me to find musicians
to play with, because everyone else was committed.
But as soon as we started playing out, I think the
general consensus was that it was a pretty good
thing, so people started making more space for it in
their schedules. Now, I don’t think any of us
feel like we’re looking for other musicians.
It’s a pretty solid arrangement, and we feel
like we’ve got something with spectacular
chemistry.
Michael:
Both musically and off the playing field.
Stephanie:
Yeah, definitely. That’s one of the reasons for
me why it’s more enjoyable than other projects
I’ve been in. There’s no crud --
everybody’s fully formed, and there are no drug
habits or flakes. There’s this myth that you
can’t have a life and be in a rock band, and
without dysfunction that happens in a band.
Western
State Hurricanes is a relatively new band, and people
always ask "what are they like?" How would
you describe the sound to someone who’s never
been to a show before?
Bo: I think we draw
equally from really traditional, American rock and
pop quirkiness, and experiment with more intricate
songwriting. A big feature that would strike any
listener is the powerful vocal presence of John and
Stephanie. It’s not someone up there whispering
their internal confessions between notes. It’s
really involved with a lot of harmony. In this day
and age, vocals, and often melody, are often an
afterthought. That’s not the case with us
really.
John:
Especially when you talk about the complexity of
songwriting. We do spend a lot of time and effort on
intricate vocal melodies, but not at the expense of
writing substantive songs. The thing about our
interplay is that Stephanie as a harmonist
experiments with a lot of different types of harmony.
She doesn’t limit herself to only singing on the
chorus - she sings throughout. We really take a
co-vocalist approach to a lot of the verses.
Stephanie:
A lot of times, I choose harmonies because of
particular words you choose - maybe because I like
the way that it’s pronounced. [John’s] a
really good lyricist.
I
hear your first show (5/2/98 Breakroom) went over
really well - you played for a packed house! What was
that like for your first time out?
Stephanie:
That was a wild, weird thing for a first show. It was
packed.
Bo:
Yeah, a big show -- Sycophant has a really huge draw.
Michael:
Which generated massive fear in my person... I
don’t know about you guys...
John:
The reaction was really positive, and being on stage
with one another was really comfortable. You know,
we’ve all been in a lot of different bands, and
being on stage is a lot different than being in a
practice space. This band, however, is not as
different, and we’re much more able to take our
comfortability and translate it to a performance.
You
starting selling tapes at the Sit ‘n Spin show
(7/11/98), and the buzz around town is that it’s
great. How are the tapes going over so far, and what
was it like recording as WSH?
John:
We made the tape more to hear ourselves for the first
time. Stephanie is a good engineer, especially
considering what she has to work with. She recorded
us on four-track and made a really nice thing, but we
really wanted to go in and work in the studio. We
worked with Phil Eck, who produced Built to Spill
records, as well as many others. We just needed the
experience of going into the studio together and
fleshing it out. We never intended to take the
product and make it a debut record or anything.
It’s really satisfying - a lot of people have
had a chance to hear the music. We’re playing
shows now where people are singing along.
OK,
I admit it - I am one of them...
Stephanie:
Cool! I love looking out there and seeing people like
the Goodness kids out there, like Garth [Reeves], he
was there singing along, and so many other people are
too.
Bo:
It was really cool working with Phil Eck, and think
all of us are Built To Spill fans. It was really good
to work with him. Phil had some really great ideas,
and was sensitive to the material.
John:
We have a lot of production ideas, and have the
desire to put in horn sections, angelic voices, car
crash noises...
Stephanie:
Yeah, it’s really not punk rock. I have always
thought there are two schools of thought for
recording. Either make it as close to the live sound
as you can, while I’ve always thought of
recording as a whole other avenue of expression, and
you can do whatever the hell you want. When I listen
to a record, the first thing that pops out at me is
the production.
We
touched upon lyrics already, but there are some
curious listeners who want to know what
"Unsalted Butter" is all about. Care
to explain it?
John: Unsalted Butter
is, (not to ever use the word metaphor in a rock
music interview), but the sensation of putting butter
on a piece of corn for instance. You slather it with
butter, and you have the expectation of the taste of
a buttered piece of corn. You put it in your mouth,
and then you take a big bite. Say, you’re at
someone else’s house, and they’re a health
maniac or a hippie or a grandmother with a heart
condition. You have slathered your corn with unsalted
butter, and suddenly it’s this tasteless, lardy
experience.
Is
it really punishment like the lyrics say?
Bo:
Personally, I like unsalted butter. Put it on some
toast with some marmalade...mmmm.
John:
Well, it’s not punishment like you put your hand
on the stove or something, but it’s that subtler
punishment of having expectations of something salty
or sweet and finding that it’s tasteless.
Now,
you knew this question was coming. Those who read the
Stranger know about the new music editor, Everett True, who has made it very
apparent that he’s not a fan of the Hurricanes.
What do you think of his tactics?
Steph:
It’s a bully move.
Michael:
Personally, I am after either hatred or love. You
know, I don’t really want middling feelings.
That kind of thing is a compliment to me. If someone
is that vitriolic about it...I mean if everyone was,
I’d be a little worried. I’d rather have
someone like that than an "all right,
whatever".
John:
We don’t have any hard feelings about Everett.
He’s interested in making a reputation for
himself as someone who has strong opinions, and has a
clearly defined sense of taste. And I am sure his
sense of taste leans pretty heavily towards the Spice
Girls.
Michael:
and that’s with Ginger.
Stephanie:
You know, the thing that made no sense to me was the
title "Boy Boy Bore Bore". OK, I counted -
there was five girls and seven guys in that show. How
could it be about the boys’ club?
Bo:
Any critical evaluation of that article is really
beside the point.
John:
And we don’t mind it. We would much rather have
somebody have an opinion. Like Michael said, if
it’s a strong opinion, we’re doing our job.
If Everett True hates us, Everett True is precisely
our target audience in terms of really wanting to
maim their aesthetic sense, because Everett True is
the problem with the world.
Now,
are you sure you want that in print?
Michael:
What’s he going to do - write another bad
review?
Is
there anything else you’d like to tell us about
Western State Hurricanes?
John:
Everyone is really talented in their own right, and
also really talented stage performers. All of a
sudden I find the effort that goes into being in a
band is gone. Everyone is not just holding their own,
they’re leading the pack. In terms of skill and
musical intuitiveness, everybody’s there. I
think our records are probably going to sound
different than our shows, because like Steph
mentioned, it is a different art form, and everyone
in the band is really multi-faceted. Coming to our
shows, you’re going to have a real rock
experience. Listening to our future records are
probably going to be a different experience, but no
less hard rocking.
Steph:
Do we want to say "hard rocking"?
John:
No. It’s Metal Rock.
Steph:
Pop metal.
John:
We’re sort of bringing back Cinderella.
Michael:
Yeah, John and Bo are working on the guitar picking
John:
I don’t know - we’re not hard rock? What
are we?
Bo:
We’re Hurricane Rock.
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