A Conversation with  Allison Moorer  (continued)

AM: Actually, I've gotten more radio on this record than I've ever gotten before. And I'm not sure if that's because it may fit a little bit better into the Triple A format, or if maybe I'm just getting more attention, or whatever. I mean, of course, I'm not exactly on top of the charts, but every little built helps.

PM: Yeah. You're on top of their charts. I mean, for what it's worth, you're pretty near the top of the Americana Chart.

AM: Yeah. And I'm getting some support from places that I previously couldn't get any. But it's just great.

PM: Like you say, one reason is that it's getting marketed to the right people.

AM: Exactly. It's not getting lost. I didn't hand a record to people who didn't know what to do with the record. [laughs]

PM: Yeah. And even if it's loud or it's grittier, it's still Allison Moorer.

AM: Right.

PM: So yeah, let's talk about this new record, because it's really, really cool. I love the sound you got on The Duel.

AM: Thank you.

PM: How did you and Butch decide to have this kind of a sound and put this kind of a band together?

AM: Well, we didn't know what sound we were going to get. We just knew that we needed something that would go along with the lyrics.

PM: Ah.

AM: Something that would express what these lyrics are all about.

PM: You had these stories, you had these lyrics, and you were looking for the sound for the lyrics. That's fabulous.

AM: Yeah. Because it wasn't so much, "Well, we want a record that sounds like this." I knew that I wanted to do something where it felt more like a band, where it was a little bit more raw, a little bit more stripped down, because my last studio album, Miss Fortune, was a huge production.

PM: Right.

AM: And I love that record. I had a great time making it. But I kind of wanted to just do a 180.

PM: Right.

AM: We knew we wanted to work with R. S. Field again, who I just love and adore, and I consider him part of my family. I just adore him.

PM: Yeah, and on top of being a frickin' genius.

AM: Yeah, there's that.

[laughter]

AM: We talked Bobby into playing drums. [Co-producer R. S. Field was also the drummer for the sessions.]

PM: That's so cool! When was the last time he was playing drums? Was it with Webb [Wilder] or with--

AM: I think so. He said it was like 18 years ago.

PM: Wow!

AM: But for some reason we just knew he could do it. So he had worked a little bit with John Davis at the time, who everybody knows from Superdrag.

PM: Right.

AM: And he's just brilliant.

PM: Boy, he played a lot of great stuff, wow.

AM: Yeah. And Adam Landry, who did all the lead guitar, was a guy that I had found because I was looking for a guitar player to go out and do an acoustic tour with me. I said, "I want somebody new, and I want somebody who is not afraid to go out and do two guitars but still have it rock." Because a lot of people you put in that situation and they'd be delicate about it.

PM: Yeah.

AM: Not Adam. And I'm not delicate about it, and I needed somebody who felt the same way. It's two guitars, it can rock. You know?

PM: Absolutely. And where did Adam come from?

AM: Adam is originally from Maine, and I guess he moved here about six years ago. He's 27 years old.

PM: And how did you run into him, then?

AM: I got turned on to him because I was looking for a musician. And actually, a guy from my management company found him.

PM: Amazing. And sometimes it helps to just be from another place.

AM: Uh-huh.

PM: Yeah, even at that show at Tower Records, he rocked like hell.

AM: Oh, yeah, he's great. He's amazing. He's my right arm. He really quickly became my right arm. And I really depend on him because he's dependable. [laughs]

PM: That's indispensable in a band, where you can count on a guy to--you know he's going to take care of it.

AM: Uh-huh, it really is.  continue

print (pdf)     listen to clips     puremusic home