August Issue Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts

Strangefolk Introduces The Chic Nile Rodgers
To Its Garden of Eden

by Dean Budnick

---

Strangefolk has been rather busy this summer. You may not realize it since the quartet has been out of the spotlight (a number of fans have lamented the fact that the band was unable to join its friends on the Summer Session tour), but in fact the group has been in and out of the studio, working on its follow-up to Weightless In Water. This release, which is tentatively scheduled to appear in late January or February is being produced by noted musician and studio stalwart Nile Rodgers. Strangefolk will return to the live setting with gusto on September 4th and 5th, hosting its fourth annual Garden of Eden festival (for more information visit www.strangefolk.com). This year's event will be further enlivened by a performance from Vermont's acclaimed Bread and Puppet Theater as well as music from the Gordon Stone Band. Guitarist Jon Trafton took a few minutes to speak about Strangefolk's studio efforts, Eden and also to reflect a bit on the group's origins.

DB: Let's jump right into it. The band is in the studio right now with Nile Rodgers. How did that come about, how did you select a producer?

JT: What we first did was we assembled a list of people that we would like to work with. We listened to a bunch of albums and received a whole lot of suggestions from friends who would say "I checked out this album and I think that the sound was particularly cool and I could hear you guys translated through that medium." So we sent our press kits to producers or their managers and received calls back, or not, and proceeded from there. Then we set up meetings. We narrowed it down to a few people, met them on the road, had dinner and chatted. They were all really great and they all had their own assets and attributes. It was really difficult but in the end it came down to the person with whom we felt the best, and that was Nile Rodgers. Actually, his involvement began as a fluke. A friend of ours, Pete Shapiro [owner of the Wetlands], called him up and asked him to check out a show when we were in the city. He came out and liked what he saw, and the energy of the crowd. He was really enthusiastic and it felt really good to hang out with him to hear what he had to say. He also has an impressive track record that covers all sorts of different styles so we were excited about that. When he expressed interest in producing the project we pretty much jumped for that.

[Nile Rodgers first became known for his work as songwriter and guitarist for the band Chic. He went on to produce a number of works by varied artists including David Bowie (Let's Dance), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Jeff Beck (Beckology), Stevie Ray Vaughan (Family Style), Mike Jagger (She's The Boss) and many, many others.]

[In terms of his involvement, Shapiro explains- "What happened was one day I just happened to be watching VH1 and I saw Nile talking about his background. I knew that Strangefolk was in the process of finding a producer, and I thought that this would be an interesting combination, to bring together his sensibilities which are grounded in 70's classic funk but obviously extend much further, and mate that with the grooves of Strangefolk. So I contacted him and invited to join me at Strangefolk's next show which was at Bowery Ballroom. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it because he was playing on Letterman that day but as it turned out he was able to be there, we saw the show and he just got it."]

DB: What do you feel are his strengths as producer? I'm sure you've heard any number of jokes about the next Strangefolk album being a disco disc.

JT: Nile makes some really good suggestions, and he's also a really good coach and an inspiring character to be around. He has such an amazingly good ear, as does his engineer, so I trust their judgment. The most important thing may be that they are just so enthusiastic. I remember when Luke was laying down some stuff on drums, Nile would just sit down next to him, bob his head and listen "yeah, yeah, right on, that's it." There's something about that- he's definitely a good coach and an inspiring figure.

DB: What specific impact do you think he'll have on particular songs?

JT: We're still only about halfway through so it's hard to get a sense of the final results but so far what I think people will notice is that he's a really good vocal arranger. There are some really cool subtle harmony twists that he suggested that I think really accentuate the vocals. But there haven't been any compositional arrangement changes or anything like that.

DB: I heard that when you went in to lay down the basic tracks, most of them came in on the longer side.

JT: I was surprised with that. Nile is known as being this hit-making guy from some of his earlier work, and I was thinking "this is going to be quite a pairing, here we are a band that plays fifteen minutes tunes on stage, going into the studio with him." But when we went in there, he wanted us just to play how we play. He told us not to cut anything short, and not to do anything different, just to go in there and try to capture what it is that we do.

DB: Philosophically, what's your attitude towards creating a studio album? I think that at times fans can unfairly criticize a band for going into a studio and not stretching out their songs the way they do in the live setting.

JT: My philosophy is that it is a studio, it's not a stage. The stage is the place where we can really step out and let the song breathe. You always want to do that but the studio is more about trying capture the magic that a song hopefully has, and translating that. Anybody who writes songs can hear the whole song and all the parts in their heads, and being in the studio allows us to make that happen, to realize some of the things that we would have liked to have done or would like to be able to do. That's kind of nice.

DB: I would imagine that it becomes harder to translate a tune that is open-ended in the live setting but nonetheless at its core is a good song. Have you encountered any issues along these lines in the studio this time out?

JT: "Walnut" is one that comes to mind. It is really long as it stands. When we play it live there are some parts where we go, where the energy comes out, and now I'm trying to think of those and get something going, to express all the best parts. I will admit that I am slightly apprehensive about going in an taking a seven minute solo, I am trying to be a bit more concise and focused in my playing rather than just taking this long journey unless it's really worthy.

DB: Have you been recording older songs or newer ones?

JT: We have a few really new ones and some older ones too because there are so many of those we haven't recorded. We like to dip into those.

DB: Here's a basic question which one of your fans asked me the other day. Why does it take so long to record? Why can't you create an album in a day or two?

JT: The drive for perfectionism. The whole premise of the studio is that you're in there trying to create something that is a permanent record, and there is sort of a desire to reach a little bit higher level since it's something that you're going to have to remember yourself by and that others will remember you by. Also being more of a live band there are some days when we might be tighter than others, and when you put that under the studio microscope you might find that the kick drum and the bass were just a little bit off. Between capturing a performance that's right on and a performance that also has a lot of magic and power, that can take a while.

DB: On to a different topic, I must confess that you have my undying respect, because soon after you signed with Mammoth, while you were out on the road, you posted a long letter to Strangefolk's list serve, allaying the fears of your fans about the developments. To me, that immediacy is one of the amazing things about the internet. What inspired you to do that?

JT: That happened because I had a new laptop with me out on the road and I decided to check out our Fan-To-Fan to see what was going on. This was right about the time that we were to be signed and people there had two attitudes. The first was that we had made it- some people were saying "Congratulations guys, you've arrived." The other one was "They've sold out, they're not our band anymore." I thought they were equally humorous because while having a record deal does help put the wheels in motion and gives us a much bigger platform to be heard, it is far from making it. I mean I guess everyone has their own different perception of what making it is. Similarly, people have their own definitions of what selling out is. When I was hearing so much talk of us selling out, and that we're automatically going to be out of touch with our fans and playing huge places and that this was all tied in to selling out, I felt I had to address that, to tell people what the mechanics of our record deal really is and that we're still the same old Strangefolk. So far it's been about a year since I wrote that and it still hold fairly true.

DB: What did the Mammoth signing bring to the band?

JT: Basically it expanded our operations. Now we're just tied to a bigger support group. They've been a real understanding label. Originally they just licensed and distributed Weightless In Water but now that we're creating our first Mammoth-funded album we're finding out how they work. They've been leaving up to our own devices. They have really just brought a sense of security and a larger community to us.

DB: Jumping back to Fan-To-Fan, how often do you read it and what dangers are there inherent in monitoring the opinions and attitudes of your fans?

JT: I occasionally check in because I like to see what's going on although I haven't been on it for a while. It's sort of similar to reading reviews. I don't like to read good ones because they sort of give you an artificial feeling of positiveness about yourself and then the negative ones can rip you apart, and give you a really negative sense of yourself. They both just arise out of an individual's view. I have to keep that in mind when I'm reading Fan-To-Fan and that's the beauty of it. I don't like to read too much good or too much bad press, I like to keep my own views self-generating. At the same time I do like to check Fan-To-Fan especially to gauge people's reactions if we did something out of the ordinary, to see what they thought.

DB: Let's move on to Garden of Eden, which is now in its fourth year. How did that come about?

JT: The idea was that we wanted to just throw a party for ourselves and our fans- everybody who had been supporting us. We decided to do an outdoor show in a nice place and thank everyone for being there for us.

DB: How has the event evolved over the years?

JT: It's grown a little bit every year. This time it'll be exciting to have Bread and Puppet. We've always tried to have some non-musical entertainment because it can be a long day especially if you're there for the whole weekend. So when they have all day to do nothing, some people will just fill the day drinking beer. We'd like to give them something to do so that they aren't passing out before our first set even starts (laughs). Plus we have a great deal of admiration for Bread and Puppet which is a Vermont institution. Of course we're happy to welcome Gordon as well.

DB: I'm curious what it's like to stand on stage at an event like Garden of Eden where you can look out and see so many familiar faces. I've noticed that you look out into the audience while you're playing.

JT: I love to do that. Actually, I either look at my feet or I look at the people in the audience (laughs). It's fun to see old friends and friends in general. These shows have really been a marker to see how the community has spread. We've met so many people from being on the road and they've become our friends. We have this little community, which started in certain regions like New England. Then there were people who might travel a little bit to see us in the south or come west and they'd meet other people out on the road and they'd become friends. It's become this network of friendships. It's kind of cool because a lot of them travel to these shows, and it's neat to have them come together and we can all see how our little community has built up. Of course it's always fun and exciting being up on stage and seeing everyone out there dancing, and seeing old friends, old friends and far-flung friends all mingling together and having a good time. It's pretty cool.

DB: What do you think a live audience contributes to the band's performance?

JT: I really think our audience makes the show. I don't know who starts it but when we walk out there we feel them and then when we kick off and the first song hits, they usually hit us right back with energy. It really does seem like it goes in a big circle. You get such huge audience energy and then we try to give it back and usually it can just build and build and build.

DB: You and Reid have been at this for a while now. Did you anticipate that your sound would evolve to where it's at?

JT: I am happy with the way things have evolved. When we started doing it we had no plans. It wasn't like "Hey let's be a band and go out and tour the country." I would never have imagined that we would be doing what we're doing now when we just started playing together in dorm rooms and the open mikes. I am happy that the sound has gotten a bit bigger and deeper tonally. I think that those moments when I switch to electric guitar has helped my playing with Reid become a little broader and deeper sounding.

DB: Was there a moment after you first started playing with Reid when you said to yourself, "Hmmm this is pretty interesting, let's see where this will take us?"

JT: I think it was the first thing we ever did. Before we started playing together we would just go to the same open mikes at UVM Slade Hall. There was a lot of really serious talent there. It was a real happening thing back when we were freshmen. I usually just sat on the sidelines, I wasn't yet in the mode of playing in front of people, I was more of a bedroom player. But Reid would go and sing and I heard him and I knew we could work it together. That first time we ever played together, it just felt right. Our styles matched really well. We played at a party for friends of ours in Burlington. After that party it seemed like there was something going on, there was an energy. I remember leaving that party, walking home and just laughing, "Wow that really felt good I think there might be something to this." We kept doing that duo for the rest of the year and then we decided to call up Erik and Luke and make this even bigger and expand on it. The four of us have been doing this for a while now and it still never fails to bring a smile...

---

For more info on Strangefolk in the Garden of Eden, and other band news visit the group's web site, >www.strangefolk.com.