Multi-instrumentalist Che Arthur is a singer/songwriter and has played with a number of bands over the years including Universal Life and Accident and Atombombpocketknife. He has recently released his second solo album Iron.
Buy Iron
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Che Arthur: Just working on finishing up some loose ends for the tour.
DRE: I read youre traveling with a band on the tour.
Che: Yeah, for the first time actually. Every other tour Ive done before under my name has been just me, solo acoustic.
DRE: Was it because youre going to be playing bigger places that made you decide to go with a full band?
Che: A little bit. It was also something people had been asking me if I was ever going to do. It was always in the back of my head as something that I wanted to do. The recordings definitely have band instrumentation on them, so I wanted to try to do it live. But I guess you could say it was just easier for me to go out by myself a lot of times.
DRE: How are you preparing?
Che: I definitely put a lot more emphasis, booking-wise, on really trying to put together pretty solid local bills. Before when I was always by myself, it didnt really matter to me as much. I could play anywhere, anytime. Im really trying to make sure that the shows are solid. When I was just going out by myself it really didnt matter as much. Now I try to make sure that people are having a good time including the people in the band.
DRE: Since you do such an intimate form of singer-songwriter type stuff, did you find it difficult to find a band that would treat it with the right respect?
Che: No, not at all. I really tried to work with people who I got along with well, then I went from there.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Iron?
Che: Id say that the songs or the subject matter really reflect the couple of years I spent writing this record. So I wouldnt say that it was a conscious decision to write a concept record. But its definitely reflective of feelings I was having then, which is basically my style of writing. I write pretty autobiographically.
DRE: What was going on in your life that ended up going into the album?
Che: Complete insanity. I tour a lot. I was really out on tour most of the time because I am a tour manager and sound engineer for a living. It was driving me insane in some ways. Then I moved to a different city and trying to adjust was crazy. Those were really the huge things. Also there was the election in 2004 which was a hugely upsetting thing for me. Theres a song called Veil thats specifically about how I felt about watching people vote against their own best interests and watching people vote to send their own kids to kill others. That was definitely an influence on my writing the record. It surfaced specifically in that song. But its a vibe throughout.
DRE: I didnt really get a political vibe from it; do you like to keep under the surface?
Che: I think so. I dont really write it on purpose. But I do like things being open to interpretation instead of being super specific and bashing people over the head with things. Ive always liked when the listeners can find the things in the songs that they could identify with in their own lives and interpret them for themselves.
DRE: What made you decide to do so much of the album on your own?
Che: The main reason I did it that way this time was because it takes some of the pressure off. Every other time I had somebody recording, you pack up your stuff and you go to the studio. You have a set amount of time. Youre under the gun. You have to get it done. This time around, I felt freer doing it myself. I could take as long as I wanted and really make things as good as I felt I was capable of doing. I think it worked out in a lot of ways.
DRE: Did you do this at your home studio?
Che: I did things mostly at home. I took some portable stuff with me and recorded some stuff on tour. But for the most part I did it at home. Everything else Id ever recorded before this was in a studio. I definitely would like to do it again in the future but for the next few recordings I do, Id like to continue to do them mostly at home. Its a lot mellower and stress free.
DRE: I read that you thought about erasing this album from your computer.
Che: Yeah, I guess a part of me is a control freak and there were times when I felt like things were spiraling out of my control. I was listening to things over and over again and really going into my own head and going crazy and not knowing whether things were good or not and thinking that they were terrible a lot of times. Not to say that I think the record ended up being perfect, but eventually I had to put my foot down with myself and say, Youve got to realize when its okay. That was hard for me this time around. The drawback to doing it myself was that there was no outside voice there to stop me from redoing things a hundred times. But for everything I do, Im always going to think, Well, this could have been better or that couldve been a little better or more solid or sounded a little better. I dont think thats ever going to go away because nothings ever perfect. No ones ever made a perfect record and Im not sure anyone ever will.
DRE: A lot of people compare you to Bob Mould. Is that someone you really admire?
Che: Hes definitely one of my favorite songwriters. I dont see the comparison but I take it as a complement.
DRE: Howd you hook up with Sick Room Records?
Che: I used to live in Chicago, which is where theyre based. Ive been friends with the guys on the label just from seeing them and hanging out around town. When I was working on the record one of the guys from the label, Ryan [Duncan], heard about it and expressed that he was interested in putting it out. So I thought, Yeah, thats great.
DRE: Have you always played so many instruments?
Che: Yeah, my mom taught me how to play the piano when I was ten. That was my first instrument. Then I started playing all the other stuff through my early teen years.
DRE: How did you get into producing?
Che: It started with doing live sound. I had been in some local bands in my hometown and a friend of mine had just bought a club and asked me to do live sound there, which Id never done before. So I said, Sure and I started doing sound at this venue. That led to me doing sound for tours. It was really an awesome learning experience that happened by accident and turned into my job.
DRE: Was your family always into music?
Che: Yeah, both of my parents were at one time music teachers, then went into other things.
DRE: I read that youre out of the closet but the only reason I bring it up is because I read so many articles where it says, Out Musician. But it never says, Heterosexual Musician. How do you feel about that stuff?
Che: Part of it bothers me, but part of me also thinks that its great, because when I was 12 or 14 growing up in the South, I thought, Wow. Im the only person in the world that feels this way. You mentioned Bob Mould and finding out finding out that person was gay definitely was an inspiration for me and made me feel like I wasnt all by myself.
DRE: You might not ever have known that if you didnt read a magazine article about him.
Che: Exactly. So that part of me thinks that its great. The part of me that thinks that its not great is the part that feels like sometimes its a little
DRE: It seems a little homophobic.
Che: Yeah and a little condescending. It is unfair to reduce people to gay singer/songwriter. Its not so different from a couple of years ago when it was the Year of the woman. Women are finally playing music that people like or whatever. It doesnt really look at the artistic value of what the persons doing. It just puts something in a drawer.
DRE: The band that you last worked with, Atombombpocketknife, is that done?
Che: Yeah, were done.
DRE: What happened?
Che: The four of us were all busy people. Our drummer is also a touring sound engineer and I was touring a lot doing sound at the time. We were always away from each other a lot. The other guitar player was super busy with two jobs and grad school. It became something that we really didnt have a lot of time to do. Other things were just taking priority. Also I dont want to speak for the other people in the band but for me it was getting to be less fun and more like a weird obligation or something.
DRE: Are you already working on something else?
Che: Ive got a lot of the music for another record written. I dont really have any lyrics. I hope to be able to do another record shortly after this one. But it sometimes takes me a really long time to write lyrics so who knows how long that could take.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy Iron
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Che Arthur: Just working on finishing up some loose ends for the tour.
DRE: I read youre traveling with a band on the tour.
Che: Yeah, for the first time actually. Every other tour Ive done before under my name has been just me, solo acoustic.
DRE: Was it because youre going to be playing bigger places that made you decide to go with a full band?
Che: A little bit. It was also something people had been asking me if I was ever going to do. It was always in the back of my head as something that I wanted to do. The recordings definitely have band instrumentation on them, so I wanted to try to do it live. But I guess you could say it was just easier for me to go out by myself a lot of times.
DRE: How are you preparing?
Che: I definitely put a lot more emphasis, booking-wise, on really trying to put together pretty solid local bills. Before when I was always by myself, it didnt really matter to me as much. I could play anywhere, anytime. Im really trying to make sure that the shows are solid. When I was just going out by myself it really didnt matter as much. Now I try to make sure that people are having a good time including the people in the band.
DRE: Since you do such an intimate form of singer-songwriter type stuff, did you find it difficult to find a band that would treat it with the right respect?
Che: No, not at all. I really tried to work with people who I got along with well, then I went from there.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Iron?
Che: Id say that the songs or the subject matter really reflect the couple of years I spent writing this record. So I wouldnt say that it was a conscious decision to write a concept record. But its definitely reflective of feelings I was having then, which is basically my style of writing. I write pretty autobiographically.
DRE: What was going on in your life that ended up going into the album?
Che: Complete insanity. I tour a lot. I was really out on tour most of the time because I am a tour manager and sound engineer for a living. It was driving me insane in some ways. Then I moved to a different city and trying to adjust was crazy. Those were really the huge things. Also there was the election in 2004 which was a hugely upsetting thing for me. Theres a song called Veil thats specifically about how I felt about watching people vote against their own best interests and watching people vote to send their own kids to kill others. That was definitely an influence on my writing the record. It surfaced specifically in that song. But its a vibe throughout.
DRE: I didnt really get a political vibe from it; do you like to keep under the surface?
Che: I think so. I dont really write it on purpose. But I do like things being open to interpretation instead of being super specific and bashing people over the head with things. Ive always liked when the listeners can find the things in the songs that they could identify with in their own lives and interpret them for themselves.
DRE: What made you decide to do so much of the album on your own?
Che: The main reason I did it that way this time was because it takes some of the pressure off. Every other time I had somebody recording, you pack up your stuff and you go to the studio. You have a set amount of time. Youre under the gun. You have to get it done. This time around, I felt freer doing it myself. I could take as long as I wanted and really make things as good as I felt I was capable of doing. I think it worked out in a lot of ways.
DRE: Did you do this at your home studio?
Che: I did things mostly at home. I took some portable stuff with me and recorded some stuff on tour. But for the most part I did it at home. Everything else Id ever recorded before this was in a studio. I definitely would like to do it again in the future but for the next few recordings I do, Id like to continue to do them mostly at home. Its a lot mellower and stress free.
DRE: I read that you thought about erasing this album from your computer.
Che: Yeah, I guess a part of me is a control freak and there were times when I felt like things were spiraling out of my control. I was listening to things over and over again and really going into my own head and going crazy and not knowing whether things were good or not and thinking that they were terrible a lot of times. Not to say that I think the record ended up being perfect, but eventually I had to put my foot down with myself and say, Youve got to realize when its okay. That was hard for me this time around. The drawback to doing it myself was that there was no outside voice there to stop me from redoing things a hundred times. But for everything I do, Im always going to think, Well, this could have been better or that couldve been a little better or more solid or sounded a little better. I dont think thats ever going to go away because nothings ever perfect. No ones ever made a perfect record and Im not sure anyone ever will.
DRE: A lot of people compare you to Bob Mould. Is that someone you really admire?
Che: Hes definitely one of my favorite songwriters. I dont see the comparison but I take it as a complement.
DRE: Howd you hook up with Sick Room Records?
Che: I used to live in Chicago, which is where theyre based. Ive been friends with the guys on the label just from seeing them and hanging out around town. When I was working on the record one of the guys from the label, Ryan [Duncan], heard about it and expressed that he was interested in putting it out. So I thought, Yeah, thats great.
DRE: Have you always played so many instruments?
Che: Yeah, my mom taught me how to play the piano when I was ten. That was my first instrument. Then I started playing all the other stuff through my early teen years.
DRE: How did you get into producing?
Che: It started with doing live sound. I had been in some local bands in my hometown and a friend of mine had just bought a club and asked me to do live sound there, which Id never done before. So I said, Sure and I started doing sound at this venue. That led to me doing sound for tours. It was really an awesome learning experience that happened by accident and turned into my job.
DRE: Was your family always into music?
Che: Yeah, both of my parents were at one time music teachers, then went into other things.
DRE: I read that youre out of the closet but the only reason I bring it up is because I read so many articles where it says, Out Musician. But it never says, Heterosexual Musician. How do you feel about that stuff?
Che: Part of it bothers me, but part of me also thinks that its great, because when I was 12 or 14 growing up in the South, I thought, Wow. Im the only person in the world that feels this way. You mentioned Bob Mould and finding out finding out that person was gay definitely was an inspiration for me and made me feel like I wasnt all by myself.
DRE: You might not ever have known that if you didnt read a magazine article about him.
Che: Exactly. So that part of me thinks that its great. The part of me that thinks that its not great is the part that feels like sometimes its a little
DRE: It seems a little homophobic.
Che: Yeah and a little condescending. It is unfair to reduce people to gay singer/songwriter. Its not so different from a couple of years ago when it was the Year of the woman. Women are finally playing music that people like or whatever. It doesnt really look at the artistic value of what the persons doing. It just puts something in a drawer.
DRE: The band that you last worked with, Atombombpocketknife, is that done?
Che: Yeah, were done.
DRE: What happened?
Che: The four of us were all busy people. Our drummer is also a touring sound engineer and I was touring a lot doing sound at the time. We were always away from each other a lot. The other guitar player was super busy with two jobs and grad school. It became something that we really didnt have a lot of time to do. Other things were just taking priority. Also I dont want to speak for the other people in the band but for me it was getting to be less fun and more like a weird obligation or something.
DRE: Are you already working on something else?
Che: Ive got a lot of the music for another record written. I dont really have any lyrics. I hope to be able to do another record shortly after this one. But it sometimes takes me a really long time to write lyrics so who knows how long that could take.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
zoetica:
Multi-instrumentalist Che Arthur is a singer/songwriter and has played with a number of bands over the years including Universal Life and Accident and Atombombpocketknife....