ITINERARY
22
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
THISPAGE, FROMTOP: COURTESYATORECORDS;DUSTINCONDREN.OPPOSITEPAGE: KAGANMCLEOD
{ MUS IC }
Something
forEveryone
BENKWELLER
strikes the rightbalanceonhis
latest album,
GoFlyaKite
.
{
}
BenKwellerhas
American
Airlines to thank for inspiration. It
wasona flight fromDallas–Fort
Worth toLosAngeles that the lyrics
for “IMissYou,” a trackonhis excel-
lent newalbum,
GoFlyaKite
, came
tohim. “Iwas sitting inmyusual
spot, seat 21A, lookingout thewin-
dowof anMD-80,” he says. “The rain
washitting the concrete, theguys
wereout thereputting thebagson,
and Iwas thinkingabout a friend in
NewYorkwho isout ofmy lifenow.”
Over thepast decade, the
30-year-old singer/songwriter has
built a followingbasedon this type
of introspective storytelling. Andon
his fifth studio release, hedelivers
again. Recorded fiveblocks fromhis
Austin, Texas, homeat abackyard
studio called theHideout, Kweller
self-produced 11 tracks forwhat he
calls a “real album”— in that, he
explains, “it’snot a set of individual
songs.”Adding to the instrumenta-
tionare longtimeKwellerheads
(asKweller affectionately refers to
them) bassistChrisMorrissey, drum-
merMarkSteproandKittKitterman,
whohandlesDobro, accordionand
organon thealbum.
Where2009’s countrified
ChangingHorses
shone the light on
Kweller’sTexas roots, he says
Kite
is
theperfect blendof all his styles. “I
think that peoplewhodiscovered
mymusicwith
ChangingHorses
will
be satisfied,” he says. “But I think
all ofmy fans thatmight havebeen
thrown for a loop [with
Horses
]
will be, like, ‘Awesome, he’sback.’
There’s something for everybody.”
Indeed, you canhear hintsof ev-
erything fromBobDylan (“Out the
Door”) andElliott Smith (“Mean to
Me”) to Jeff Tweedy (“IMissYou”)
and the Jayhawks (“JealousGirl”) in
Kweller’snew compositions.
Alongwith the releaseof
Kite
,
Kweller also startedhisown record
label called theNoiseCompany,
whichhe runswithhiswifeand two
additional staffers. It’s yet another
step forward inhis ever-evolving
career. “This record is kindof anew
chapter forme,” he says. “I am really
doingeverythingmywayand just
staying true to themusicandgoing
where that takesme.”
And sometimes, that’sonawest-
boundplane in seat 21A.
“JOKEORALIE”
“I am recounting
a timewhen I let
someone Iwas in
lovewithgobe-
causehedidn’t love
me. Henever didme
wrong, but henever
lovedme.”
Ben
Kweller’s
Essential
Texas
Playlist
Growingup inGreenville,
Texas, BenKweller says a
number of LoneStar State
performers shapedhimas an
artist. Hegivesus a sample,
but notes theomissionof
local legendsWillieNelson
andStevieRayVaughn,
explaining, “Wealreadyknow
howmuch they rule.”
—J.M.
1.STEVEMILLERBAND
“Rockin’Me”
2.CENTRO-MATIC
“FidgetingWildly”
3.BUDDYHOLLY
“Everyday”
4.ZZTOP
“I’mBad, I’mNationwide”
5.UFOFU
“People to theAir”
6.OLD97’S
“Question”
7.GEORGEJONES
“YouGottaBeMyBaby”
8. JERRYJEFFWALKER
“L.A. Freeway”
9.ROYORBISON
“YouGot It”
10. SPOON
“TheUnderdog”
11.EDIEBRICKELL
&NEWBOHEMIANS
“What I Am”
12.WILLISALANRAMSEY
“Geraldineand theHoneybee”
Beyond
Epic
SHARONVANETTEN
givesabehind-
the-scenes lookather lyricallydriven
album,
Tramp
.
—AnnaFialho
Brooklyn,NewYork–basedsinger/songwriterSharonVanEtten isamusical tourde forcewhohasmanaged
to flymostly under the radar since the release of her first two albums,
Because IWas inLove
(2009) and
Epic
(2010). Butwith thedebut of her latest,
Tramp
(Jagjaguwar, $12), odds are thatwon’t be the case for
much longer. Impeccablywritten lyricsandavoice rawwithemotioncoupledwith thebackingof avariety
ofguestartists (includingAaronandBryceDessnerof theNational and theWalkmen’sMattBarrick)nearly
guaranteeVan Etten the success she is due. Here, she gives us the scoop on a few songs off
Tramp
. (For
more fromour interviewwithVanEtten, visitwww.americanwaymag.com.)
“SERPENTS”
“This isoneof the first songs I
wroteonelectricguitar. Iwas
listening toa lot of PJHarvey
at the time. I haveparanoias
anddoubts, just likeanyone,
and Iwrote this songabout
letting thembe—andunder-
standing thosedemons.”
“GIVEOUT”
“Iwrote thisafter I let
myself fall in love for
the first time since
thebigex. I had just
moved toNewYork. I
wasnervousandun-
sure, but I knew I had
to takeachance.”
“I’MWRONG”
“This is about some-
onegivingme [a
hard time] forwrit-
ingpersonal, honest
songs. I ambeing
cynical about the
personwhodoubts
my style.”
