NEWSLETTER

Are you interested in old—like pre-20th-century—music?

Not so much these days, but yes, I liked old music. I suppose I’m like a lot of other people in that my life has been a series of obsessions. One of them was Gregorian music. I was completely obsessed with it and did nothing else for two or three years. It’s very hard to explain. I wasn’t particularly religious. That aspect of it kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies.

But it was strange. I had this very rich musical life but it was all going on inside—all by my lonesome.

How’d you get into it?

It started innocently enough. I wanted to be musically literate so I took a class in counterpoint. On the first day of class we were given the assignment to write a cantus firmus—basically a series of whole notes—the idea being that you learn to weave other melodies, gradually introducing half notes, quarter notes, suspensions, and the rules that apply to their “common usage.” It’s all very dull and complicated. Anyway, a cantus firmus is a sort of theoretical version of a Gregorian melody. I eventually got interested in contrapuntal music too, but that was an obsession away. I was way too happy to have discovered the Gregorian stuff to be bothered with anything else. I think my counterpoint teacher thought I was retarded.

What do you like about reading old music?

I like the simplicity of it and the miracle of having it jump off the page as a living, breathing entity. I love that combination of simplicity and scope—tiny and huge at the same time. I so admire that.

You worked as a church organist. Tell me some things you liked about that.

I liked being up high. The organ was way up in the choir loft. I’ll never forget the first day I climbed up there to try out for the job and I looked down behind me—a good 30- or 40-foot drop—and it was like, “I love this! I want this!” And I liked playing an instrument with rearview mirrors. You know you’re playing one big serious motherfucker of an instrument if it’s got to have a rearview mirror. It was nice playing an instrument where you can play the melody with your feet if you want to.

It also gave me an unusual opportunity to get to know some very smart people who were people of faith. I realize now that’s kind of rare. Let’s face it. For the most part those who allow themselves to be perceived as faithful are morons. So I’ve always been grateful that I got to be friends with that rare and wonderful thing—exceedingly intelligent people of faith. It’s kind of funny. Being an organist—not a member of the parish or a member of the clergy—was a good thing. Priests, the good ones anyway, like to hang out with people who aren’t trying too hard to get into heaven. I also liked having the music connect with people’s lives in important ways at important times: birth, death, marriage, bingo...

I just have one more question: How’d you get to be so darn lovable?

It’s actually a lot of work. I have to practice doing cute dances all day long. I spend countless hours in front of a mirror smiling sweetly. I devoted years to the study of Shirley Temple movies. While the other hermaphrodites were out playing their hermaphrodite games, I had to stay indoors memorizing the lyrics to “The Codfish Ball” and “Animal Crackers in My Soup.”

But wait, I have a question for you, Matt. My favorite song on the album is “Fresh Out of Candles,” but I went into the recording session hating it and not wanting to do it. Will suggested letting you and Andrew have a go at it, and the two of you created a whole new groove for it, a completely different feel. For me that was the turning point. From that moment on I felt good about the whole record.

Wow, thanks!

So my question is: What happened? How did you do that?

I think we just broke the tempo out of its original shuffle feel.

You seem to have a really good way of working together, you and Andrew.

I’m glad you think so. Andrew and I used to do this thing where one of us would play an instrument and the other one would sing, and we had to make up a song on the spot. Maybe that process made us better at playing together and improvising in a song context. We’ve made up some real gutter-ball songs!


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