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

Reid Reflects (on the evolution of four sophomores, Strangefolk)
by Jeff Waful - waful@unclesammy.com

Reid Genauer is the lead singer of one of the fastest growing bands in the country, Strangefolk. Their blend of "strange folk" and psychedelic jamming has been attracting huge crowds from coast to coast. I spoke with Reid last month from his hotel room in Buffalo.

JW: Let's start back at the beginning and talk a little bit about when the band first formed at the University of Vermont. Was there any kind of a vision that this was ever gonna be a full-time thing or was it just sort of a day to day evolution?

RG: Gosh, it's a hard question to answer. You know, I think it was like anybody who plays guitar...sure there was that thought in the back of your mind, envisioning yourself as a rock and roll star and just kind of the American dream aspect, but it was never really like a reality. I never really thought it would come into fruition. Not that we're rock and roll stars, but you know what I mean, we didn't think we'd be doing this as career-type thing. It slowly took shape.

JW: Was there a certain event or a certain time period where all the sudden you guys realized that it could become a full time thing and decided to throw all your eggs in one basket and just go for it?

RG: I think it kind of evolved. We found some success in Burlington among our friends; our fellow UVM students. That definitely boosted our confidence to know that people actually found some validity in what we were doing. There were all sorts of momentous occasions, but another big one was just graduating college and saying with almost blind stupidity, 'this is what we're doing.' You know? It was that simple. It was just a decision.

JW: So when did the whole Strangefolk organization first start out? You work with guys that were just friends of yours. They certainly didn't have much experience. Did they just sort of learn as they went along?

RG: Yeah, Brett (Fairbrother), Sam (Ankerson) and Andre (Gardner) were just kind of there and we never really knew what the titles were, you know, in a typical rock organization. We just knew, kind of loosely, what we had to get done. People just started doing it and the tasks just slowly got done. People learned what it was that had to happen and we're still learning, you know?

JW: Yeah, because certainly now you're playing major league venues, you have the record deal and you're making a lot of decisions on a business level. Was it ever intimidating? Did the band's success ever grow too quickly?

RG: No not really. We've definitely worked hard every step of the way. We've fought for it, you know? So generally, it feels deserved. But, certainly it's intimidating at times. I mean, it has been and still is. I guess the more you do it, the more you realize this is the same process only in different atmospheres, you know what I mean?

JW: Definitely. I spoke with you last year and I remember you talking about the first time you played Boston, you looked at the Somerville Theatre and said, "wow, I can't imagine if we'll ever play there." Now all the sudden, you've moved past that. You did two sell out shows there last year and now you've moved on to the Avalon. How does that feel? Do you ever just take a step back and smell the roses?

RG: Yeah, I mean when we do stop to examine it, it is certainly pleasing. I always use this analogy, but it's a good one: You can't imagine being in sixth grade when you're a third-grader. And then you get to sixth grade and you move on to eight grade. You don't necessarily look back at sixth grade and think, 'holy cow, I can't believe I'm in eight grade,' it just a natural transition. I think a lot of the transitions that we've experienced physically, organizationally and musically are comparable to that equation.

JW: Okay, let's use that analogy. What grade is Strangefolk in now, musically speaking?

RG: Tough to say. I'd say we're sophomores in high school or something like that. Or maybe, actually...sophomores in college.

JW: You've done the whole grass roots thing. You guys are obviously a touring-success. Can you talk about the thought process that went on within the organization, leading up to the record contract? I'm sure you had many more offers before you actually made the decision to sign with Mammoth.

RG: The thought process was that we had always assumed that at some point we would have a record company and I don't know whether that was our own limitations or if in fact it is a necessary component of success. For one reason or another, we just sort of assumed that we would have a record company behind us. The truth of the matter is, it wasn't like we had hundreds of offers. Usually what does happen is once you do start seeing offers, a lot of times, bands will use them as leverage to try and go out and hunt down other offers and then sort of play the companies off each other. In this instance, we were pretty self-assured that a deal would come around at some point, whether it was this one or not, that was to our liking. We made it clear to them (Mammoth Records) that we were happy with where we were and that we were succeeding by ourselves. We said, 'this is what we think we're worth and these are points that are important to us, both financially, creatively and control-wise, and if you can accommodate those needs then we won't look any further. Basically, treat us fairly and we'll treat you fairly'...and they did.

JW: You basically said to them, 'we don't really need you at this point, so if you want to come along, it's gonna be on our terms.'

RG: Pretty much. There were a few concessions that we needed to make, but overall, they were willing. It wasn't like we were bullying them or they were bullying us. Like I said, they treated us fairly, we made a few concessions and we came to an agreement.

JW: There's a certain percentage of your fan-base that I think got very scared by the announcement of the record deal. I saw a lot of posts on the Strangefolk fan-to-fan discussion list concerning it. I thought it was great that Jon (Trafton, Strangefolk lead guitarist) addressed all of those concerns . Were those same worries going through your mind? Were you worried about that portion of your fan-base?

RG: Yeah, we were concerned just because it's so hard to fully understand what the implications are. There's this myth, or this feeling- it's not necessarily a myth, that record company equals evil. And in many instances it does. The reason that we are where we are is because we felt like the evil that Mammoth presented was not that great at all. In fact, the positives far out-weighed any potential evils. I guess all along we felt like if we could just relay that to the people that were concerned that they'd come around.

JW: There are a lot of Strangefolk songs that could very appealing to the radio market. There's a certain portion of your audience that goes to your shows for the psychedelic jams and then there's other people that go to the shows to hear more of the 'songs'. How would you feel if MTV became interested or mainstream radio stations wanted to start playing your record?

RG: MTV is definitely not in our vocabulary right now. It's certainly a possibility, but if we were to do it, I would hope that we could do it in a way that is tasteful. You know, I saw Dave Mathews' video and I've seen Phish's video and I though both of those were (tasteful). Phish's didn't really get much play, but you know, they were both videos that basically depicted the live experience. I think that we would try to do something like that. But, like I said, it hasn't even been discussed because it's just not in our scope at this point. As far as radio goes, it would be nice to have some radio play. It's just a fine line....

JW: (sarcastic) I heard there was some station in Boston that tended to play you guys...

RG: (laughing) There was....some shitty station. {editor's note, Reid and Jeff are speaking about WERS' Space Jam, the radio show that Jeff created a few years back and still thrives under the leadership of Ken Yee and company} Again, it's kind of like, not all radio play is necessarily evil. It's just when you're over-exposed that it becomes a problem and sort of threatens your integrity. We definitely would like radio play. There are certain ways of managing the impact of that and to do damage-control and have it make a positive impact on the band instead of a catastrophic one. It's also sort of out of our hands. If people want to play your songs, you can't really stop them.

JW: How important is an event like The Garden of Eden that you guys put on? You put together everything from the ground up and you got to play as long as you wanted without set times. You basically made the rules and it was in your home state. How important is an event like that to you?

RG: Hard to say in terms of our overall success or importance to....

JW: I mean more on a spiritual level.

RG: Spiritually, for us it's great. It's a feeling of being centered and being surrounded by......it's just great to be a known commodity. For us, that's not generally the case. There's always a portion of the crowd that is familiar with us and that portion varies from town to town, but at The Garden of Eden, everyone who's there knows why they're there. And we know that and it's a very comfortable for everyone and for us, it was certainly incredibly rewarding and I hope and I think for the audience, they left with that same satisfied feeling and had an overall good time.

JW: Let's talk musically now. I've been asking you a lot about the business side of things, but obviously the most important thing is the music. I've noticed a big difference in your playing in the last year or two. What are your thoughts as far as the evolution of the band's sound?

RG: You know, it's hard to say. What differences have you noticed?

JW: Well, I've noticed that you've gotten a lot tighter. I thought at the Garden of Eden you sounded like a different band - in a good way. I thought that the new equipment that you have made you sound a lot better technically. I mean, you have a fairly new guitar, Jon's got some new effects, Luke's got the new drum kit, and there are new microphones. I thought technically, you sounded a lot better, which in turn made the band play better because when it sounds good to you, you're gonna play better. You were all listening to each other and interacting a lot better.

RG: Yeah, I agree with all the things you said. Definitely, I think the fact that we've been playing nicer venues, we have nicer equipment, we're in sonically better sounding rooms, definitely helps in terms of how the music is perceived by us and by the audience. Like you said, if it does sound better, you play better and if it does sound better, it feels better. So that is certainly accurate. In terms of our interaction and our chemistry, I think it's only natural that it would continue to evolve. The overall trend is that our interplay becomes tighter and more refined. The average is ascending, but there's always peaks and valleys in terms of our performance and our interaction and even our song writing. Some are better than others, for various reasons and mentally, there're always those peaks and valleys. So if the average is going up, that's great, but you just kind of gotta grin and bear it when on a given night or a given week it's not what you had hoped it would be.

JW: There must be a different mindset going in to certain shows. I mean, when you're opening up for Ratdog, you must have to concentrate on shorter songs because of time constraints. When you're headlining, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Having said that, when you are headlining, are there certain nights when you decide you're gonna stretch out more and jam or do you just go with the vibe of the room?

RG: It's definitely not a conscious decision. I think it just happens. When we feel freed by our environment, it just happens. Even sometimes when we're opening, they'll be a good thing going. It'll happen more then it would maybe on a night when we're headlining and there's not a good thing going. Some nights we just go for it and some nights we're more conservative. It's hard to say when and why.

JW: Let's talk about the making of the latest album, Weightless in Water. It seemed to me that you utilized the studio a lot more than on the first album. What kind of a process was that like? Was it more that you had all of these live shows under your belt and you used that experience in the studio? Did you also get experience in the studio that spilled over into your live performance?

RG: Definitely. I mean, between Lore and Weightless in Water we had played some 200 or 300 gigs. So that experience was invaluable. Also though, going into the studio, this was technically probably are second time in the studio, but more realistically our third. We had been in for our demo tape, which was like a three day process instead of a three month process. It's like...I like using these analogies cause I think they illustrate the point well. It' s like meeting a person. In your first meeting, you're unsure of the dynamic and of the person's personality and just how everything's gonna work. Basically the chemistry is uncharted and the process of interacting is uncharted. Then the first meeting ends and then you come across the person a second time and you're just naturally more comfortable with the individual. And it's the same with the studio, you know? The first time was really a little nerve-racking and it was really an introduction. The second time was more comfortable and I imagine it will continue with that trend.

JW: You can't be intimate on the first date is what you're saying.

RG: Pretty much, yeah.

JW: How important is your core fan-base?

RG: As far as we can tell, that's what it's all about. I feel like a lot of what we do is with those people in mind. From our organization to our nightly performances, what we really value is having people that value you.

JW: How do you stay sane on the road?

RG: We don't (laughs).

JW: Yeah, obviously when you're going on an hour or two of sleep, it's gonna effect your playing, maybe for better or maybe for worse. It must be a real challenge playing on the road all the time.

RG: It definitely is an insane process. I cannot tell a lie. It's damage control. We try to get as much sleep as we can. I think the biggest thing is just being nice to one another and understanding our unique position. That's what has gotten us through. It's like, if somebody freaks out, it's not a major event. You know, we're not talking about it for days, we're not even surprised. At this point, if somebody's freaking out, you're just kind of like, 'well, he's freakin' out'. You know? I think even in your own mind, if you're freakin' out, it's not like it's inappropriate to be freakin' out. It's like, 'it's cool.' It's necessary to explode once in a while n one way, shape or form. So that's a big thing, just being nice to each other and respecting each other.

JW: Where would you like to be in the future. Certainly things, in my mind, couldn't really be going any better for the band. How would you like to see things unfold?

RG: First and foremost, I want to continue to feel the music, you know, the magic. I want us to enjoy what we're doing and have it be a celebration and not a chore. That, I would say is our primary goal and if we can manage to do that, I think the rest will fall into place. On a more mundane level, I'd like to see us playing nicer rooms, through quality sound systems, ideally playing through the same sound system every night. I think that would be a huge step for us. I'd like us to enhance our live show, aurally and visually, keep on refining our business and our organization...and continue to entertain people; have people enjoy it.

Strangefolk will hit the road again for their spring tour in the coming weeks. Check out there web site at www.strangefolk.com