Shellac's Bob Weston and cat. (courtesy of missionofburma.com)
In June, Shellac's Steve Albini was nice enough to talk to TM about their new album, Excellent Italian Greyhound, amongst other things. Bob Weston, the bassist in Shellac, as well as recording engineer for many an indie rock band, not to mention the tape manipulator for Boston legends Mission of Burma, was gracious enough to answer some more inane questions over e-mail.
In your own words, how would you describe Shellac's music?
Hard rock trio.
Has it been easier or harder to operate in the method that Shellac operates over the years? [no tours to promote records, no promotion, etc.]
Not touring and not doing promotion sounds pretty easy to me. How could that get harder?
In a musical climate where records are constantly being reissued/repackaged or bands release albums every two or three years, has the Shellac pace allowed for more creativity/freedom?
Well, we probably spend the same amount of time, or less, than most bands between albums. We simply spread our time working on it way out. If we practiced a few times a week like most bands, our recoords would come out every 6 months at the pace we work.
But we only get together for a weekend every few months. So it turns into years between records. So, it doesn't change our creativity or freedom. I guess we do have a lot more time to mull over ideas, but our time together being creative is pretty short.
Since Shellac's 1000 Hurts was released in 2000, George W. Bush and the neocons have ravaged our country. How do you feel about the current state of affairs in North America?
Eh, it's depressing, so I try not to think about it. Clearly the worst President and administration in recent history. I'm assuming (and hoping ) that it will be the worst I ever see. I couldn't bear worse. My wife wanted to move to Canada after the last election.
What are some records you've been excited about in the past few years?
Mclusky, Antelope, Medications, LCD Soundsystem (my current favorite), Swirlies (They Spent Their...), Evens, Bearclaw, Stnnng....
From a recording engineer's point of view, how hard has it been to remain in the analog domain now that everyone has gone digital?
All the rock records I make are still done on tape. It doesn't take any convincing. No band has asked me to use ProTools.
What are some bands/artists you'd like to work with or what are some records you wished you had worked on?
Fugazi.
If Shellac were an animal, what animal would he/she be?
Possum.
A number of songs on Excellent Italian Greyhound have appeared in your live sets over the years, the song "Spoke" dating back to a Peel Session in the mid 90s. How much have these songs been reworked when going into the studio? Is the songwriting process still pretty much a collaborative effort?
Nothing gets "reworked". But the songs definitely evolve over time. We play them all differently as time passes. The versions on record are simply the way we played it that day. Some don't change much. Some may change without us noticing. Some have very open sections that are meant to be different every time. [The song "Spoke"] is random gibberish, with the final word of course being "Spoke".
As witnessed at Shellac's shows, [drummer] Todd Trainer has proven himself a bona fide rock star and a sex symbol for our turbulent times. Has this created any clashing of egos within the band? Will Todd continue to contribute songs on Shellac LPs?
We all put the songs together, so Todd will of course be involved. But Todd has emerged as the true rock star in the band and that's great. It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of us.
The song "Kittypants" is about one of the cats dwelling at [Steve Albini's studio] Electrical Audio. Is Shellac an avid enthusiast of cat rock? Will this inspire a new genre of music?
Steve and I are fully cat people. Todd is an Italian Greyhound man, as you probably already had assumed.
Any last words?
Yellow light means you should slow down and stop, if you can safely. It does not mean speed up--it's about to turn red.
Also, please use your directional signals. It makes life so much easier for other drivers and cyclists.
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