| Interviews: | Q&A
- Feb '00 Q&A - June '98 Q&A - Dec '97 |
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| Interviews | ||
Q&A with David Schelzel - February 2000 |
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It's been a long road from the SEE album, and probably not at all what you expected. Mercury collapsed and left TOB and many other bands in limbo. Is the band completely severed from their relationship with Mercury? Do you have another label lined up, or will you remain independent? |
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The band is completely severed from Mercury and the label, as we knew it, is no more. That all went down about a year ago, and although it was a long time in limbo, we fared better than a lot of other bands at the label. We decided to release Davy Jones' independently, in part, because we couldn't quite stomach the thought of returning to the major label world. However, we may end up farming the record out to a label this year that would put it into retail- so people wouldn't have to mail order the thing and so the CD gets to substantially more people. |
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| It must have been hard--both creatively and financially--to sit idly while Mercury went through its death convulsions. Did the band go through a reassessment period because of this experience? | ||
| It was certainly frustrating for all concerned and in many different ways. | ||
| How did DJL come about? I recognize a few of the tracks ("Ayn," "Consolation Prize," and "Do You Still Remember Me?") as songs you were trying out prior to the release of SEE. Was DJL an evolution of the so-called "unreleased tracks" record? | ||
| The record contains songs that we worked on while at PolyGram, that is Mercury. Some of the tunes were lined up for SEE THE OCEAN BLUE, but for one reason or another, did not go on. So you may recognize some of the DJL tunes if you saw us live. We occasionally played them out. When we finally knew that we were leaving Mercury, we said hey, we like these tunes and the recordings we did of them, while a bit raw, have a quality about them that would make an interesting record. And I think they do. It is certainly our most "moody" record since CERULEAN. | ||
| You recorded this album yourselves. Did you find the process to be very different? Did you use any new recording techniques or approaches? | ||
| Well, yes. We were not thinking while we were doing the recording "THIS is THE record." We had no A&R or producer input whatsoever. We were at home most of the time. We were using less tracks and spiffy gear (although Rob and Oed and I have some fun things). And we were not spending ungodly amounts of cash. I think the last point is one of the ironic beauties of the record. We probably expended 1/100th the amount of time and money on DAVY JONES LOCKER than our major label records and although it doesn't reach the upper echelons of some of our previous productions, it's as much fun for me to listen to. And I have heard from many a fan who has said as much. | ||
| What inspired "Denmark?" The lyrics to me evoke a strong mental picture, much like "Questions of Travel." | ||
| "Denmark" is perhaps my favorite song of any that I have written. It is kind of the thesis of DAVY JONES LOCKER. It is my own little existential poem. The lyrics were in fact written in Denmark when the band was touring there in 1994, and although I didn't know it at the time, they were somewhat prophetic. Musically, it is the most interesting tune in large part because it came about in a very organic and inspired way and there is a bit of a riddle to it. I am curious to see how many folks unravel it. | ||
| "Ayn" is about Ayn Rand, true? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Rob's lead vocal on "Been Down A Lot Lately" was a pleasant surprise, perhaps mostly because this is the fifth TOB album and this was the first time he had a lone writing and singing credit. Has Rob written a lot of songs, or was this a unique occurrence? | ||
| Rob has written songs as long as I have known him. When I first meet him, he wrote a lot of less serious type tunes- not really the sort we were doing in The Ocean Blue. As time went on, he did write some songs we worked on as a band, but we never used them because either he didn't like them or the band didn't. Rob and I also have always had a bit of debate about the singing. He would have liked to have me sing his tunes. I have always argued the "Beatles model"- i.e., the writer sings his own song. Besides, as you can hear on DJL, Rob can really sing. Rob has always countered that my voice represented the band- I was the singer and therefore I should sing. As a fan of other bands, this does make sense to me, but for myself, I sing in TOB only as a writer singing his song. I never think of myself as a singer per se (and for good reason- have you heard me sing?!) | ||
| A lot of people are intrigued by the background vocal on "Been Down A Lot Lately." Whose voice is that? | ||
| That's a Rob Minnig secretJ | ||
| "City Traffic" has been a fan favorite at live shows for years. Why wasn't this included on DJL? | ||
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We recorded that for CBS and they own the master. We could re-record it but just never found the will. It is a very old song and I really associate that song with our early days. It was a fun number live. I always see Steve diving for those keyboards, and on a number of occasions, knocking down that ironing board. |
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| The album title, Davy Jones' Locker: a nod to a Monkee or a nautical reference? | ||
| That's the beauty, isn't it? | ||
| Many fans are saying that DJL seems to be a return to the signature sound of the first three albums (although I would say there is a hint of SEE in there, too). Would you say this is the "truest" TOB sound, since you produced it yourselves? Will you continue with this type of style, or would you be looking to experiment and expand your sound? | ||
| See, I would disagree. I know why they think that, but to put it that way makes it sound like we "coped" a sound for SEE THE OCEAN BLUE. I see as much disparity from THE OCEAN BLUE to CERULEAN as I do STOB to DAVY JONES' LOCKER. We don't calculate a sound for a record. It just happens. We do what we find interesting and we make it where we find ourselves. Oed and I, and probably Rob too, were into a lot of older guitar driven pop/ rock bands when we were working on SEE THE OCEAN BLUE, so that comes out. But I must tell you if songs like, "Slide" or "Ways & Means" are not what we are about, I am lostJ But you know, it doesn't really matter. I can't be objective anyway. Whatever we do in the future - collectively or individually- will be whatever we find interesting and compelling. So who knows what that will be. | ||
| So far the album has been publicized on a couple websites and (I presume) some promotional mailings. What other ways are you planning to promote and sell the album? | ||
| Yes, websites like yours and the Drone's have been a big help, and for more than just promoting DAVY JONES'. We are not a record label or promotion company, so we ourselves won't be doing anything more then letting people on our mailing lists know about the record. There have been a number of DJ's and press folks who have requested the record, so that is probably the only other thing that has happened. We are leaning towards trying to find a label for DJL so that it does find its way into stores and gets some promotion. We weren't quite sure at first if this would be a good idea, but so far its seems to be a very good thing. | ||
| It's coming up on three years since the band performed live. I get a lot of correspondence from folks who tell me they are big fans yet have never seen the band in concert. I imagine it would be difficult to have a tour without label support. That said, what would it take for you to do a show? ARE you planning any sort of shows? I can tell you that even if you did a local show that a lot of fans would gladly made the pilgrimage to Hershey. | ||
| We just don't know what we will be doing this year as far as performing. I would prefer to wait until and if the record is on a label to do any touring. It makes no sense to do a tour without anything new out there. We may decide to do something isolated, but the earliest either way would be this summer. | ||
| Considering that it was three years between album releases and a couple tracks came from the SEE sessions, you must still have a lot of songs queued up. Is there enough material for another full album? | ||
| There is enough material for numerous records. The question is what kinda record they would make... | ||
| What is the band doing these days? Are you recording? Practicing? | ||
| The band is not recording or practicing together at the moment. Oed and I and some friends are cooking up some things, and I believe Rob is hibernating in his new studio. | ||
| How has the time off from recording/touring affected the band? Do you meet together as much? Do you have "real" jobs now? | ||
| We have always had more to our lives than the recording and touring schedule of the band. In fact, I could never live a life dominated by either. I would have quit music as a teenager. I think it also makes for bad music- sorta eightiesontheroadBonJovi songsJ | ||
| Have you thought of working on any side projects, perhaps with Allen Clapp, or something different altogether (for example Rob's playing with the Magpies)? | ||
| Yes we have and are doing things of this sort. | ||
| Your bad experience with Mercury aside, what's your take on today's music business in general? | ||
| I am a realist when it comes to Mercury and the major label experiences I have had. I will not (in my better moments) complain about our experience there or at Warner Bros./ Sire- we were fortunate to be at both places for so long. That said, I do not ever see us going back. Things are much different today than they were when we began the band 12 years ago. For one thing, technology has fundamentally changed the industry. It has given more power to artists- both creatively, economically, and promotionally while diminishing the power of the big labels. But candidly, I never found it easy to mix "music" and "business." One always gets in the way of the other. | ||
| Considering new technologies like MP3s and home computers that allow you to record, mix, and produce music in your basement, where do you think music is headed? Are you embracing any of this new technology? | ||
| As above, yes. I think technology is good. Good only as a means though. Not an end. To the extent it gives artist's more freedom and new possibilities, it is good. To the extent it is a distraction and increases the mediocre, it's bad. | ||
| How involved are you with the Internet? Do you follow any of the discussions about the band on the TOB listserv? And if so, what do you make of some of those topics that speculate on what the band is doing, whether it is still together, etc? | ||
| Well, we all have computers and use the Internet like just about everyone else. I happen to love my Dell laptop. And Oed his iMac. I think the groups are a good thing as far as they promote a community of people who like the same music, but there is this other side. It's like living in the city or reading a newspaper. One has to be savvy. One has to be smart. Don't believe everything you hear. | ||
| What kind of music do you listen to these days? Do you have any influences from current artists, or do you look back at some of your favorite bands from the 80s for inspiration? | ||
| Actually, I have been listening to a lot of 80s music this past year that I loved growing up. I love to listen to the music of my friends. Not a lot on the charts moves me. I like indie stuff and some big stars like Beck and hits here and there. But I don't know, I don't listen much. | ||
| In more than a decade of making music and performing, what has been the highlight for The Ocean Blue? | ||
| You know it's not the charts, the videos, the TV or the radio. It's the records. The chance to make records. Walk into a store in Denmark and see your music on the shelf. And second, see your name surrounded by Japanese. | ||
| What is next for The Ocean Blue? | ||
| That I really do not know! | ||
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