MUSIC INTERVIEW paid back in the first two years. That’s better than our Western style banking system!
Ben Lee On Femininity, Family & Charity record and why you dedicated it to Venus? The themes of this album really center around USTRALIAN INDIE SONGWRITER the idea of the feminine. As a society, we are quite Ben Lee has never been one to spend out of touch with the feminine. We value strength, too much time worried about popular rational thinking, and achievement, without much musical trends. For the past 15 years he has been concern for compassion, nurturing or creativity. quietly, confidently churning out his own brand of I wanted to make an album that was dedicated to folk/indie pop and managed to amass a solid core of these qualities. Venus is the ultimate symbol of followers who have been followthese qualities – The Goddess ing his every move. AS A SOCIETY, WE ARE of Love and Beauty. His latest record, The Rebirth QUITE OUT OF TOUCH How long have you been workof Venus, a fitting tribute to ing on these songs? feminine traits, will certainly not WITH THE FEMININE. The oldest ones, ‘Rise Up’ and disappoint those who have been WE VALUE STRENGTH, ‘Surrender’ were written about following Lee all along. His lyrics RATIONAL THINKING, five years ago. ‘Sing’ was writare just as witty and intelligent as AND ACHIEVEMENT, ten while we were mixing the those on Grandpaw Would, the album. The rest fell in between. WITHOUT MUCH 1995 debut that first introduced CONCERN FOR Lee to the record buying public, Was this a particular difficult COMPASSION, but with the energy of his later record to write? records. Additionally, a portion NURTURING OR No. Writing is best when it’s of the proceedings from The CREATIVITY. I WANTED easy. Rebirth of Venus will be donated TO MAKE AN ALBUM to FINCA International Village What was the inspiration for “I Banking program, a non-profit THAT WAS DEDICATED Love Pop Music”? A fantastic TO THESE QUALITIES. that offers small business loans song, by the way. to the poor. I wanted to juxtapose my love for inane bubbleLee spoke with us recently about his new record, gum pop with my desire to be aware of issues facing the decision to donate some of the proceeds to this the world and the desire to be part of positive non-profit and the likelihood of a reunion with Ben change. Somewhere in the grey area between those Kweller and Ben Folds. things is a truth about the power of music.
BY JOHN B. MOORE
A
The new record is called The Rebirth of Venus. Can you talk a little bit about the theme of this
You’ve had a lot of big changes in your life recently with your marriage and step-daughter. Have they
added to your appreciation of women? Looking after a kid has taught me to be more in the moment and to be more open. I don’t really think of Kate as a little girl, but as a little person. I grew up surrounded by women so I never felt they were that different. Can you talk a little about your decision to donate a percentage of profits to FINCA? FINCA is involved in micro-loan - giving small loans to people below the poverty line – in third world countries so that people can start small businesses. FINCA is particularly involved in a program that helps women in small villages start their own businesses. These businesses can radically transform a community. It felt like a great initiative to align the album with.
You’ve done a little bit of acting in the past. Is that something you’d like to do again? Sure if the opportunity felt right. I actually just optioned the film rights to an Australian novel called “I Dream of Magda” that I’d love to turn into a film. I spoke with Ben Kweller recently and he spoke about how much he enjoyed working with you and Ben Folds. Any plans to tour as The Bens again? What was that experience like for you? I loved it. I’d do more bens’ recording and shows anytime. There’s nothing like being in a studio with two of your favorite songwriters. Anything else you want to add? Thanks for the support.
How did you find out about the organization? I read about them online. The great thing about micro-loans is people right across the political and economic spectrum agree that it’s the best available system of giving aid at the moment and they have a huge success rate. Most of the loans are
MUSIC INTERVIEW
The Sideman Cometh
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. On His Burgeoning Solo Career BY JOHN B. MOORE
R
OGER JOSEPH MANNING JR. MAY not have the name recognition of a Kanye or Thom Yorke, but chances are you’ve listened to him for years without ever realizing it. Along with putting in time in highly influential bands like Jellyfish, Imperial Drag and Moog Cookbook, Manning has backed up everyone from Beck and Morrissey to Johnny Cash and Glenn Campbell. His arrangements can also be heard in movies like “Lost in Translation” and “Team America”. Working as a musician for the past two decades, it’s a bit surprising that Manning didn’t put out his first solo record until just a few years ago. He’s just released
his second solo record, the eclectically brilliant Catnip Dynamite. Despite a slew of new projects, Manning found time recently to talk to us about the new record, the potential for a Jellyfish reunion (don’t get your hopes up) and the legacy of power-pop. What can you tell me about the songs on Catnip Dynamite? Hopefully that a lot of my longtime fans, even my Jellyfish fans, will find the journey of this album fascinating. Other than lyrics, which were new, the tracks exist in some form from the last 20 years, going from ‘86 to ‘06. Going through and revisiting and rearranging these musical sketches was a personal journey in my musical life and I feel this captures who I am musically. Do you feel a lot more pressure working on a solo record rather than being part of a band? Not at all. Being in a band is a wonderful collaborative process and a whole experience in itself. With solo material I am able take some things in stride along with my other ventures. It gives me the ability to revisit ideas at my own pace as with Catnip Dynamite where I thoroughly enjoyed excavating demos, sounds and arrangements. You’ve been involved with a number of great bands that just put out one or two amazing albums before disbanding (Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook). Do you go into
these projects knowing they will just be around for a short time? Good question and I don’t know at the time, that would be like dating a hot girl but give the relationship only a two year limit. I go in with my all to make great art, great music. With so many variables on any given day with the collaborative process you just have to relax and be ok with the hurdles life tosses at you and you have to navigate the relationships with fellow creative types. I had the privilege to work with two brilliant lyricists/songwriters and the personal reasons we began and eventually went our separate ways were similar. Working with this personality type has been an exploration of my own psyche to what drives this collaborative process and it overall drives the challenge to stay positive, to stay in a loving frame of mind no matter who you are working with in music or in life. Have you ever thought about getting Jellyfish back together - even for just a handful of shows? Everyone would have to clearly be at 100 percent to make it a positive experience. I’ve remained in contact with everyone throughout the years and we have all moved on musically. It still blows our minds to this date to hear this ongoing love for Jellyfish. It was a miracle to even get signed and to make the music we loved to make during the heights of the Grunge era. Are you surprised that Power Pop is having a bit of a resurgence again? If it’s having a resurgence, that’s beautiful news. Perhaps, where previously Power Pop melodies have been so unfashionable, in these times of economic woe and strife, people want a song they can tap their foot to in the car on the way to work. Music has been
so segregated, not the big fun house party, there are Indie Rock camps, Power Pop camps, etc. so gone are the days of everything goes. At the end of day, all I can do is show up and make the music I love to make. What music are you listening to nowadays? A big fan of new things. I’ve been listening to Midnight Juggernauts for awhile. I love anything Justice puts out these days. I love the MGMT record and the new Santogold. Do you plan to tour behind the new record? Unfortunately no. Finances and logistics given the current U.S. market make it sadly just not viable. I have done a few Japanese tours, definitely a different scenario that works well in that market. What other music projects are you working on? All kinds of cool stuff. Currently working with an artist from China, Joanna Wang. We are rehearsing for a series of live shows in Hong Kong. I am working on sessions for another new Glen Campbell release. Also, I do have windows of my schedule where I am open and want to explore opening up my services to work on projects that may come from fans or upand-coming groups that thought maybe they couldn’t reach me. I’m accessible thru my website and am now on eSession as well. Any plans for more solo records? Well of course! I’m still in Catnip Dynamite mode so I haven’t sketched out a timeline yet to take a breath and disappear into the writing room for awhile. Catnip Dynamite was just released so give it a listen, take your time with the new album and enjoy. PG 27 • insiteatlanta.com • April 2009
