#i actually wrote in syllabic verse guys!

[thisisfubarproductions]

INTERVIEW. 051 - CRAIG WEDREN

How do you approach writing lyrics? Where do you draw inspiration from? Has it changed from STT to your solo work?

My approach to lyric-writing varies depending on the venue. If I'm writing a song for a movie, I often employ more 'traditional' song craft and lyrical clarity.  This was exciting and challenging to me after Shudder To Think, where I took the opposite tack, opting instead for more natural, impressionistic juxtaposition of images that tickled or frightened me, kind of like a David Lynch film, but using words. My upcoming record, 'Adult Desire' is what I call 'Domestic Surrealism' and lyrically (as well as melodically) ranges from the most direct, to the most abstract writing I think I've done.

How did you come up with the end verse of X French Tee Shirt? Did the melody or lyrics come first or both at once? Do those lyrics have any particular meaning to you or is it more a stream of consciousness? 

I wrote X-French Tee Shirt at my dad's apartment on an acoustic guitar (like many of Shudder songs).  I had a digital clock/cassette player next to my teenaged-bed into which I would jot ideas. I knew I wanted to make the simplest twisted song ever, with as few chord changes as possible, and let the vocal melody and rhythmic hiccups give the song character and texture.  For the end verse/outdo/chorus/whatever-it-is, I remember I was thinking vocally about Joni Mitchell -she packs so much challenging and satisfying info into her melodic and syllabic flights. But that was after the melody had evolved -I was like 'Oh -Joni Mitchell!'  the lyrics were stream-of-consciousness, but I worked them to a point where the stream was satisfying to me, emotionally and image-wise. so I couldn't tell you what its 'about' in the literal sense, but it feels right, and somehow meaningful to me intuitively, like seeing shapes and shadows out of the corner of your eye.

I have a gig poster with Foo Fighters, Shudder To Think and Wool on the bill - How did STT go down with Foo Fighters fans? And do you have any specific memories of Wool? They’re an overlooked band I think. 

Shudder To Think generally antagonized Foo Fighters fans, and both we and Foo Fighters LOVED IT.  For Foo Fighters' final encore, I would join them for a very straight, rousing and un-ironic version of 'Lovin Touching Squeezin' by Journey.  Fans HATED it. Except the ones who LOOOOOVED it.  Those were our people.As for Wool, I loved them, and I agree they're overlooked.  I don't have any specific memories, but I always loved SCREAM, and thought Wool was a great evolution from that band. The Stahl bros ROCK.

If you had to choose one standout moment from STT original run what would it be? 

My favorite Shudder To Think era was 'Get Your Goat' into 'Pony Express Record'. That was when my songwriting and singing style really crystallized -no compromises- and when band members were all on the same page.  One unit.  One mission.  Although the lineups are different on those records (Mike Russell on drums, Chris Matthews on guitar for 'Goat';  Adam Wade on drums, Nathan Larson on guitar for 'Pony Express') those records feel like a kind of coalescence of what we were about.

Does Epic Records still have the rights to Pony Express Record? Do you think there’s any chance of a reissue? It’d be cool if you could collaborate with Dischord to reissue the STT albums including the Epic releases similar to what Jawbox did with their major label albums. 

Ian MacKaye and I have been talking about how to re-release some of those records.  I would particularly like to get my hands on the multitracks of Tenspot, Funeral At The Movies, and Get Your Goat and do a little remixing, now that I know what the fuck I'm doing.  Particularly on Tenspot and Get Your Goat, a lot of detail and power -particularly in Chris Matthews' AWESOME guitar playing- is muddy.  So we're trying to track those down.  Fingers Xd.  Ditto Pony Express, but that doesn't necessarily need remixing.

Whats the deal with the pictures of you and Adam Wade in a studio last year? New STT? (C’monnn) 

I wrote a lot of new Shudder parts two Winters ago, and Adam and I started working some of them out, but then life/career/family intervened.  The rest of the band -Stuart, Nathan- were down, and basically said 'send us stuff when you've got the ideas together'!   But aside from me and Adam, we all live in different parts of the world and have very full lives, so its really a logistical question.  I just finished a super-busy school year's worth of film and TV work, plus am finishing my new record, so I'm about to dig back into the new Shudder stuff and figure out the best route forward.  David Wain and I have talked for years about making a movie (a narrative, not a doc) based on Shudder To Think music, so that may be the best forum for it, particularly given Nathan's and my 'day job' scoring films.  Or else just to release singles as we finish the songs.  We'll see.  Suffice to say its a priority in my heart(:

How did you transition from a band situation to scoring films? Did you learn as the work came along or did you have a good understanding of the process before you started?

Growing up, I always had a home studio (first a 4-track, then an 8-track, now a sweet backyard facility called 'Pink Ape Studios') where I would make relatively experimental, atmospheric jams that people said sounded like movie music.  When I got to college a lot of my friends were in film school, and needed music for their student films.  I was the only guy they knew who was like a 'real' musician in an actual band with actual records, so I would sometimes make music for their films or theater pieces.  This group went on to become The State, an when we graduated, Shudder To Think signed to Epic and The State hooked up with MTV.  Again, they needed music, so I occasionally wrote for their skits (not to mention the theme song, which features Nation of Ulysses!).  After Pony Express Record, Shudder To Think started to rupture, and we could see that there was little future for us on a major label, at least if we wanted to stay creative and weird and happy.  We were all pretty big film buffs, and around that time -the end of the '90s- some of our friends were making their first feature films.  Our buddy Jesse Peretz made the film 'First Love Last Rites' for which he asked us to compose songs and score.  It was the perfect escape hatch, and led quickly to Lisa Cholodenko's debut 'High Art' and writing songs for 'Velvet Goldmine' by Todd Haynes.Sadly, that booster shot wasn't enough to keep the band from fraying -Nathan's and my relationship in particular had sadly corroded- and we parted ways.  But Nathan and I continued on our respective paths.

What are your favourite movie scores?

Oh boy -big question.Mica Levy's score for 'Under The Skin';  Bernard Herrmann's 'Vertigo' score; and pretty much anything by Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone come to mind.And the way that David Lynch uses sound design as score is my faaaaavorite thing.

What plans do you have for 2017?

My new album 'Adult Desire' will be out at the end of the Summer, and I'm creating an album-length video accompaniment.  Its melodically very direct but sonically the most experimental thing I've done.  I love it and am very excited!I'm starting a record label called 'Pink Ape Recordings' which will be releasing soundtracks by my composing team, Pink Ape.  I'll be continuing to perform and develop 'Sabbath Sessions' which is (loosely, very loosely) meditation music I create using just my voice and looping pedals.  And I intend to get the new Shudder songs together!  Plus of course continue forays into film and tv music, which is a dream a get to live every day.

[vfdxy]

Water

In my dreams I come to you like the rain, pulsing through my fingers into gardens of so many prayers. Lover, please pardon my clumsy hands. I try to sleep in vain, You brush away my insecurities, You answer with the slap of flesh on flesh in a student housing apartment, fresh with January possibilities.  In darkness you pulled down my pants and said “Let me go,” my name an oration on your lips (or was it condemnation), and my body became a riverbed. I am inside you now, swaying gently. You told me I came to you like a tide. When I left, the water rose, and besides inside anyone, you breathe differently.