Jeff Crowder, our patron saint

http://adequacy.net/interview.php?InterviewID=92

A sunny day greets me this fair morning. I have slept surprisingly well, and life seems to be smiling upon me as of late. For today is the day I begin my interview with one of the most interesting artists' I have come across in some time: Long Knives' leader Michael Kane.

It doesn't seem that long ago, but it is nearing a year, when their debut seeped itself into my consciousness. You must understand, I am constantly surrounded by new music. Not just the albums I review for DOA, but I buy my fair share as well. Hip hop, heavy metal, Americana, indie, you name it, I listen to it. So for me to write such a glowing review for a virtually unknown artist, well that should say something.

Their sound is a tumultuous schism of Americana and indie rock, with an undercurrent of buzz. It is rare that a band can find it in themselves to show restraint, especially a band filled with talented musicians. For the good of all of us, Long Knives have done that.

The songs of Michael Kane emit a sense of knowing one's self well enough to properly give the words texture. Tuneful, but not overbearingly so, their debut is a stunner.

Long Knives was/is Michael's brainchild. During a period of unemployment, he took his obsessive love of music, and decided to teach himself guitar. Unable to play anyone else's songs, an original artist was born. Slowly, but surely band members have been added and subtracted ("6-7 bass players" according to Michael). But through the haze, and crippling stage fright, he persevered. And in 2005, the band self-released their debut. For a band that has only played a dozen or so shows in their existence, the album is remarkably poised and shows a true sense of melody and songcraft. Over three months of correspondence between Michael and myself, this interview was formed.

DOA: What do the readers of DOA need to know about Long Knives?

Michael Kane: We're nobodies operating with NO budget, no label, no management, no promotion and very little in the way of critical or fan enthusiasm. And we play in Atlanta, a town not exactly synonymous with the experimental indie/folkie stuff we play.

DOA: What music has influenced the current sound of the band?

MK: We take all types here. Lately I've been super psyched on bands like Psychic Paramout and The Twilight Sad and some ambient stuff like Stars of the Lid and Tim Hecker. Then there's also days where I listen to nothing but Black Flag or the Beatles... so I guess everything and nothing at the same time. Evasive enough?

This is gonna sound weird but a lot of the ideas for songs come from two really random places: When I'm at work, there's a lot of computers and gear where there's this constant pink noise whine of like a couple of hundred fans going at once. After an hour or two of hearing it the noise sort of dissipates and little melodies start to appear and if I am daydreaming just hard enough, I begin to hear all sorts of arrangements and if I'm lucky I'll still have the music in my head when I get home and I can hum into a handheld or start trying to get them worked out on guitar. Also, I have an old really loud truck with a small really shitty stereo so sometimes when I'm on the highway heading home I'll have the radio on and I'll hear this great song under the din of road noise and I'll turn the stereo up and it's a completely different song. If disappointment doesn't get the best of me, I try to remember the song I was hearing and get it out when I get home.

So, I have all these song sketches lying around and I'll occasionally play them for the guys and if one fits, we start to work on it. Lyrically I try and listen to a particular melody or song sketch and just see what mood strikes while I'm listening. Sometimes a flood of lyrics comes and a song is started. It's an involved and tedious process and leads to some band arguments because immediacy is what a lot of music is about and here I am miserly dribbling out a song every now and then. I'm not saying that a particular band or song hasn't been ripped off along the way though

DOA: What are the key albums that have shaped your life?

MK: All of these albums wrecked me when I heard them and I still listen to all of them regularly

Misfits- Evilive

Black Flag- Damaged

Bad Brains- s/t

Bonnie Billy- Master and Everyone

Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska

Fugazi- 13 songs

Drive like Jehu- s/t

Crooked Fingers- s/t

Sonic Youth- Sister

Jesus Lizard- Goat

Swirlies- Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

Medicine- Shot Forth Self-living

Jawbreaker- Unfun

Mogwai- Young Team

Neurosis- Souls at Zero

Pixies- Doolittle

Shudder to Think- Funeral at the Movies

Spiritualized- Lazer Guided Melodies (or S3's Perfect Prescription)

Unwound- Fake Train

There's actually many more, but this isn't a myspace profile.

DOA: Tell me your opinion about drugs in music.

MK: They seem to go well together, hmmmm? As a band, we don't party too serious. A couple of us hardly drink. I'll just say problems are easy to develop and can be tough to shake sometimes.

DOA: In today's musical landscape, where do you hope Long Knives fit?

MK: We tend to be a bit out there for people who like singer-songwriter fare and we're a bit trad for those who like experimental or "difficult" music. So, we're stuck just outside of being a commercially viable or critically relevant band it seems. I find people have a very immediate reaction to our stuff, one way or the other. Love it or hate it. The songs are personal to me so I hope we don't fit in, I hope we stick out and are memorable. But I don't know...

DOA: With the advent of downloading, why should we buy CDs?

MK: That's tricky. CD quality, both in terms of the quality of discs/ packaging and the quality of the music contained on/ in them has been lagging for years. File-sharing has enabled kids (mainly) to bypass the eventual buyer's remorse of buying a terrible top 40 album or $20 import-only single with 3 songs on it and has forced bands and labels to start putting out quality product. I think people will start buying CDs and records again. I remember when home taping was killing the record industry in the 80's and the industry is still here so I call bullshit on file-sharing as the great satan of the music industry. Kids still go to shows and buy shirts and tour EPs and whatnot, so I don't see it as a problem. Conversely, how many bands would never have seen the light of day without the ready availability of downloadable music?

I personally prefer the tactile experience of records to CDs although I love my iPod.

DOA: Tell me your views on the current administration, and if that will influence any of your songwriting?

MK: George Bush is an embarrassment- like having your shithead uncle suddenly running the country. I don't see us as a politically reactive type of band. Did I mention we're from Georgia? Michael Stipe got booed here at an REM concert for badmouthing Bush. We're unpopular enough as-is. The sky does seem to be darkening a bit though.

DOA: What has helped you the most in overcoming your crippling stage fright?

MK: Whiskey - Irish. I'm still a mess on stage. I hate being up there, until I'm off stage and then I'm all "I wanna do it again!"

DOA: In your opinion, what is the best American band out right now?

MK: No way. How's a top 5 sound?

Akron Family

Grizzly Bear

Mastodon

Animal Collective

Wilco

Do not miss any of those bands. they are quite good

DOA: If you could have five people, living or dying, over for a drink, who and why?

MK: We're all dying. UFC's on. I think I'd have Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Matt Sera and fuck it - Joe Rogan while we're at it.

DOA: During the two years it took to make your debut, which hurdles were the hardest to clear?

MK: We had no budget, and I had 1 condenser Mic, an old Mackie board and no studio monitors or anything even approaching a proper studio to work with. Anyone who listens to the record and then sees what I was using to record it is like "What is wrong with you?" It took forever to record, longer to mix and actually the record still hasn't been mastered.

DOA: What can we expect from Long Knives in 2007?

MK: I'm working on building out a home practice space/ studio. We have a ton of newer, better material we want to start work on. So look for at least an EP this year. Otherwise phone me and tell me to get off my lazy ass and get to work.