A Conversation with Colin Linden (continued)

PM: Although really incredible guys, these are very complicated cats, all three, and with Charlie, probably all four.

CL: You said it!

PM: There's got to be some rough spots on the road. How do you guys deal? What's your modus operandi for when things get difficult in one way or another?

CL: Well, just remembering that you're friends, first and foremost, that's the main thing. But also, this is sort of uncharted water for us in a lot of ways. We've never done anything before that really tested it being fun, because we've never done an extensive tour in America before. And when we've done tours in Canada--we did an across Canada tour with Merle Haggard, and the livin' was easy. All you have to do is show up and hear Merle, get on the bus and have a good sleep, and we were rested and happy and all that. It's been a little bit more of a challenge doing this tour, because we're going places where we are not as well known, there are longer drives, we're doing more stuff ourselves. But it's all fine.

PM: Who's driving?

CL: Charlie and Stephen do the driving. Stephen is driving today. We're driving back to New Rochelle tomorrow night to split up our drive to Boston. We're driving back to New Rochelle after the show tonight, staying there just to get north of Manhattan so we can have a shorter drive tomorrow. Charlie is going to drive tonight, and Stephen is driving today.

PM: I thought it was really hilarious how defined the guitar rules are. Tom has the drum set acoustic approach, he acts like the snare lots of times. [laughs] A little bit of high hat, but mostly snare.

CL: That's exactly accurate. I've actually given that description to other people. Yeah, snare. And Steven has the bottom end and the big acoustic thing. Charlie really understands how to get that.

PM: It's amazing!

CL: And I play the coloration stuff.

PM: Somehow Charlie gets the drum set acoustic thing going on so there's a big bottom, but also he gets the click going on on the top.

CL: Yeah, that's very true. Part of it comes from the fact that he has mixed a lot of rock bands, and really good ones, but also he's a huge fan of Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, and all kinds of old country music. He's been listening to that stuff all his life, so he has a pretty deep knowledge of music. It really helps us out a lot. It's one of the things that makes us, as a three-piece, work as well as it does.

PM: It was fun talking with you guys--I know a little bit about you and a little bit about Steven, but it was really a trip to meet Charlie and to get up with Tom Wilson. Tom Wilson is an extraordinary guy.

CL: He is. And he's a heavyweight.

PM: Yeah.

CL: He's a heavyweight songwriter, a heavyweight musician.

PM: Big time. His low notes absolutely shook the floor, I mean, literally. You could feel it halfway up your leg, and that was freaky.

CL: Yeah. He goes deep.  continue

print (pdf)     listen to clips      puremusic home