BASS DRUM OF DEATH

Hi John and thank you for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.

Firstly, congratulations on your latest record, Say I Won’t. What is it saying to the world?

Thanks so much!  Mainly I think it’s just announcing that we are back and trying to do some new things and push ourselves while still retaining the ethos and vibe of the first couple of records.

You have stated that your previous albums were quick-fire records. Quickly produced and hastily thrown together with little time between concept and production. Within that heat of the moment and prompt outpouring of ideas and sounds, what creative essence did you tap into to churn out such rapid tracks that each, in their own right was, and remains, brilliant tunes?

Mainly just boredom, I suppose! I always wanted to keep moving and touring, and the best way to do that was to bang out a record. The way I recorded the early ones lent itself to that as well, a lot of the songs were completely recorded and mixed in under 3 or 4 hours, so I just kinda flew by the seat of my pants a bit. Nowadays, I’m always trying to keep that feeling of spontaneity that I had early on, while also doing a little bit more thinking through the songs.

Conversely, Say I Won’t comes from a much longer gestation and is far broader in its eclectic style and delivery. How were your creative processes tested by piecing this record together in an altogether different way to what the listening world knows as John Barrett and Bass Drum Of Death?

Well, first off it was working with a lot more people. I started writing/demoing it with my brother Jim Barrett, then worked it out live with our drummer Ian Kirkpatrick, and then finally all three of us went and recorded it with Patrick Carney at his studio in Nashville. It was a lot of sessions kinda pieced together, and we just tried not to lose sight of what we wanted the songs to be. It was a super fun process though because I feel like all of us trusted one another completely, and I feel like that comes through on the recordings.

Working in a collaborative manner on this record, compared to your usual method of doing it all by yourself, must have been a liberating yet limiting experience. What was one of the greatest surprises throughout the recording process, and what did you miss about operating in the solo space?

Honestly, one of my favorite parts was being able to sit on the couch and listen to Jim or Ian play their parts because that meant that I didn’t have to play them! Also they were way faster at getting takes than I would’ve been, so that was definitely a good thing.  I still demo a lot of stuff solo, in the same way that I did at the start, the only difference is now I bring those to the band instead of calling it finished.

On a technical level, can you share with us some of the pedals and fx you harness that help shape your signature sound?

On the recordings, we used all sorts of wild pedals that I honestly can’t recall them all; Pat has a crazy collection of gear that we were able to go nuts with. My live setup is pretty simple, I use a ’67 Greco 910 guitar through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, and my go-to pedals are my MXR analog delay, my electro-harmonix micro POG, and my Fender footswitch for amp distortion.

What songs on the album really resonate with you and for what reasons are they particularly
significant?

I think ‘Swerving’ and ‘Say I Won’t’ are a couple of my favorites, because they kinda came together last minute in the studio. We had the general idea, but it didn’t “click” until later in the process of recording. It’s always fun when that happens and was a great example of all of us collaborating and getting the songs to a place that we were all stoked on.

Lyrically, you had a lot more time to work on each track and (perhaps fair to say) were in a different head space. Can you explain how the confluence of maturity, your fifth album, a return to Mississippi, and an unfettered approach all played their part in Say I Won’t?

I think mainly it was moving back to Mississippi, where I had a lot more time to think and figure out what I wanted to say and how to say it. I had plenty to write about after living in NYC for seven years. I’m still a procrastinator when it comes to lyrics, though, a lot of the lyrics were written in the studio; I just had a lot better of an outline to go off of.

Touring has been such a large focus and driving force behind your work, and specifically, what was it about hitting the road that was so important to you?

At first, it was simply just being able to travel, to get out of town. It’s changed over the years for sure, but I’ve always thought it’s been super important to physically play in front of as many people as possible, and seeing people react to our shows never gets old, especially all over the world. One of my favorite things is knowing a band’s record(s) and seeing them pull it off live, so we try our best to do that every night.

Following on from that, what have been some of the remarkable shows you have played and what was it that made them so memorable?

One of my favorite music docs is “the year punk broke”, so some of the festivals we’ve played in France have had that vibe and have been super fun, kind of “pinch me” moments. Also, this past year when we performed “GB City” in full for the 10-year anniversary, that was something we haven’t done before, so it was great to pull that off and have it be received well.

Having been over a decade since your first release and your creative baptism. What has been the one constant music has provided you throughout the years, throughout the changes and throughout the ups and downs?

An escape, an identity, and a reason to get up in the morning and get after it. There’s always something new to do!