Silkworm: Lifestyles of
the Poor and Fiercely Independent by Eric J. Iannelli
"Once you
start expecting anything, you’re
screwed," says Silkworm bassist/vocalist Tim
Midgett, apropos of the trio’s ten years of
modest success. With ever-growing support in
Chicago, New York and Seattle, their existing
audience might think Lifestyle, Silkworm’s newest album,
will be the Big Break into the world of platinum
record sales and screaming groupies. Not likely.
They’ve been hearing that for the past
decade.
 Million-sellers or not, Silkworm’s time together has
been a path of musical evolution, with each
milestone yielding permutations of first-rate
indie rock. Scheduled for release on August 8, Lifestyle
is an altogether different album from the very
start. Even veteran listeners will do a
double-take. Except for "Around the
Outline," the closest cousin to Silkworm’s previous sound,
the songs on Lifestyle are more concise
and incorporate more instruments. Gone are the
days of sprawling guitar solos. ("Just do it
and get it over with," says Midgett.) And
the piano that appeared briefly on Blueblood
makes a notable return, played by friend Brett
Grossman.
The opening
track, "Contempt," is indicative of the
album as a whole – five subtle bass notes
lead up to the jolt of strained vocals and a
melody powered by rock and sway. Until this
particular take, it was regarded as a throwaway
or a b-side at best. The song still isn’t
part of the live show. Yet it captures the energy
and the expansion of sound found on Lifestyle.
Drummer Michael Dahlquist describes the song as
"perfect," though they don’t
collectively plan any particular style. Midgett
says it was a deliberate choice, partly because
of the first line: "Do you like my thighs
and my feet?"
"Putting
the first two songs anywhere else on the record
wouldn’t have sounded right," he says.
"I like all
the tracks," asserts Andy Cohen,
guitarist/vocalist and one-half of the
songwriting team. "Our best record."
Best, of course, if you consider the album in
light of the band’s path of
self-improvement. Each release has typically
built and elaborated upon its forerunner.
New York artist
Hiroshi Kimura returns for a repeat performance
on Lifestyle. "He thinks he owes us
something," laughs Midgett. Kimura’s
haunting work first appeared on Firewater
when he was a struggling painter. Since then
he’s built a promising reputation and sold a
number of pieces.
As for repeat
performances, Lifestyle is also Silkworm’s second on Touch
and Go. After passing up a contract with the
Chicago label in 1996, the band considers itself
lucky to have had another chance with the release
of 1998’s fêted Blueblood. Prior to
Touch and Go, the band released Firewater (1996),
Developer (1997) and one compilation on
Matador. The sales were par for an established
indie band, but not enough to satisfy
Matador’s budget. Rarely, however, does an
indie rock income do more than cover recording
costs and pay rent. Dahlquist admits that Silkworm tried to sign a major
label contract after 1995’s Libertine;
Midgett clarifies: "It made us all feel a
little nauseous."
"We had a
chance to make a record with the Hooters,"
says Dahlquist, as straight-faced as possible.
"They would have been deeply involved in our
songwriting." Thus the plight of every
aesthete: sell out and eat or stay independent
and starve?
Signing to a
major label is "marginally tempting,"
demurs Midgett, but "we like to have control
over things. If we make a record and that
happens, great. But if you engineer it, you end
up giving away little pieces of your soul."
Dahlquist agrees: "Not if selling one
million copies would mean letting the Hooters
re-work our songs."
 Silkworm has been fortunate to
find a respectable compromise. Dahlquist is a
program manager at a Seattle software company;
Midgett is studying to be an Electrical engineer;
Cohen attends the University of Chicago School of
Law. So how does "Lifestyle" define the
album? ("Nine letters," Dahlquist jokes
– Blueblood, Firewater, Libertine,
In the West, Developer, Advantage).
It is, in fact, about that balance between art
and career, especially in a society where so much
is defined by profession. A true lifestyle, the
band argues, involves being passionate about more
than one thing and then following through. A
lifestyle and an identity are not things that can
be purchased.
Midgett brings
up the regret in "Ooh La La," a Faces
cover found on the new album. Life isn’t
always a pleasant series of accomplishments. In
order to develop a true lifestyle, "you have
to live, which means making mistakes," he
says. Some bands don’t discover the
pragmatic solution until it’s too late.
Dahlquist
emphasizes that music and career are not mutually
exclusive. And you certainly "can’t
force the issue by signing with a major
label." He prefaces a story with "You
never hear this coming from rock stars,"
then details Cohen’s two-week stint as a
touring guitarist for Bush. The pay was
outrageous, he stayed in five-star hotels and
performed in front of 50,000 fans. Midgett
explains Cohen’s analogy: "It’s
the difference between hiking an driving a really
nice car. They’re both rewarding and
they’re both ways to get places. But in the
end they’re totally different."
In actuality,
the temptation may be more than marginal. So will
Silkworm continue on minor
labels? "At this point, there’s no
reason not to," Dahlquist confirms. Which
ought to win them some respect among the indie
rock purists. That kind of thinking also helped
put them in Steve Albini’s good graces.
Nevertheless, Seattle can be a tough crowd when
it comes to local acts. Many native bands claim
that they haven’t met a positive response
until they’ve left, succeeded and returned.
"The
problem is you’re still nothing when you
come back," says Dahlquist. "Either
that, or you do well here, and eat shit
everyplace else," counters Midgett. Early in
their history, Silkworm got back from an
American tour, still dazzled and reeling from
their minor brush with success. They hit the
stage at the Ditto Tavern here in Seattle at
1:30am. "Nobody cared. Just like before we
left," Midgett says. "But it keeps you
humble when you live someplace and people
don’t think you’re hot shit."
"Chicago
and NYC both are much bigger and more interesting
cities than Seattle," says Cohen. "Same
goes for the scene in each town. That
doesn’t mean that Chicago and NYC are better
places to live, but it does mean that you get a
more discerning and appreciative audience there
than in Seattle. All that doesn't really mean
anything, though. If I had my druthers, I
wouldn’t live in any of them. Maybe I’d
go to Alaska, Cleveland, or back to Missoula,
Montana."
"I still
think we consider ourselves a Montana band. And
I’m not even from Montana," says
Dahlquist. In spite of their shows alongside
Seattle bands like Engine Kid, "we never
felt like we were part of any scene here,"
says Midgett. "None of us sounded anything
alike, but we all thought the same way about
music."
"The
’Worm’s music is a channel for earnest
expression, but what is being expressed is often
not serious," says Cohen. "That saves
us from the doe-eyed earnestness that you see
around a lot. Something has to separate the men
from the boys. We are the men."
Citing the
common band breakups, unforeseen roadblocks and
the vicious "volatile industry" of
major label music, Silkworm has traded mainstream
success for longevity. Half-jokingly, Dahlquist
says Silkworm has "been
up-and-coming for about ten years." He
figures Silkworm’s endurance is an
important characteristic.
Regardless of
the critics’ praise and the support of
well-wishers, each LP sells about 4000 copies,
just like its predecessors; good shows attract a
maximum of 500 people. And still they keep making
records.
But is it truly
simple staying power that defines Silkworm? Aren’t there some
other factors at work? Those questions are
probably best answered with the ideas behind Lifestyle.
"It’s
not as though you get bored with things,"
Midgett says, "you just don’t play the
same way you used to. I think we’re just
here and that’s it."
Email Eric J. Iannelli
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Silkworm's Lifestyle
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