Pulling up the Tweeds: Smith&Weeden and Ian Fitzgerald (Part 1)

Two of my absolute favorite musical entities will be joining forces again this summer at Tweed River Music Festival. This will be part 1 of 2 for this conversation, as it has been one of the most entertaining things to watch unfold, I selfishly want to see more and graciously want to share it with everyone else. Because when two acts respect and dig each others art so much its a beautiful thing. I give you Ian Fitzgerald and Smith&Weeden Pulling Up (each other’s) Tweeds.

Smith&Weeden on Ian Fitzgerald:

Ollie: A songwriter like him is a rare thing, and when you hear his songs you regret the time you spent not hearing them.

Jesse: A very clever wordsmith and a poignant observer of the world around him. For me, he’s right up there with the Prine’s and Dylan’s of the world.

Ian Fitzgerald on Smith&Weeden: It’s rare for music as exciting as Smith&Weeden’s is to be as smart as Smith&Weeden’s is. And, improbably, they keep getting better.

RLR: So, festivals are often times breeding grounds for collaborations. People pop up on stage randomly with one another, it’s almost a family reunion of sorts for a lot of touring acts. You guys are getting that backstage “hey, should we play a couple together during out set” thing out of the way and teaming up ahead of time. So, what’s the story? How did you gents first find each other’s music and create this mutual-musical admiration society of sorts?

Ollie: Ok. We met Ian for the first time at a Dirt Floor Presents show. Most of us had seen him play before but not met him. After that show we were in full on music lurv with him and were listening to his music quite a bit.

Shortly thereafter we found out he had covered our song “Sunshine” at a few shows and were so fuckin honored. Jesse was like “I’m so freakin flattered guys!” Or something like that.

Fast forward like 2 weeks and we played a house show here in PVD with him. We asked him to join us on “Sunshine” and it was freakin magical. After the show he asked us if we’d be willing to back him up on some tracks on his new record. We immediately agreed cause duh.

We rehearsed with Ian once and in Oct (I think) went down to Dirt Floor to record 5 tasty tracks with him. There was highs and lows and a few sandwiches and the end result was something amazing, something truly magical. I listen to it like all the freakin time.

Then at the Red Line Roots 2 year anniversary show (holla!) we decided to debut that shit live. It was tight.

Last week we joined Ian at Dirt Floor again to do 2 more tracks. One of them is a straight 70s rocknroll burner. Seamus was like “I never thought my best 70s metal lead tone would appear on an Ian Fitzgerald song”. Then he ate some tostitos.

We’re gonna join Ian in the studio again in May to do some vox and guitar parts, which will finish up the record. When that shit drops its gonna be so freakin hawt.

There’s been a ton of interest in Ian Fitzgerald feat. Smith&Weeden in the last few months, and we definitely want to continue the collaboration. Ian is one of the most genuine, sweet, and sharp-witted dudes out there. His song writing is clever and catchy and just way freakin better than most of these folk-ass poseurs out there. We <3 Ian!

Ian: Ollie seems to have summed it up pretty nicely. I saw Smith&Weeden for the first time at the Brown Folk Festival: they played immediately before I took the stage for an in-the-round singer-songwriter set. (Note to aspiring festival programmers: that’s not the order in which those sets should have occurred.) I saw them again a couple of months later at the Columbus Theatre at benefit show for Dave Lamb that also included J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices and Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons. My most vivid memory from that night is of Seamus stepping off stage and climbing the stairs into the audience to play one of his solos (though I can’t remember if it was during “Playing A Part” or “Boys in Bands,” so I guess its vividness is relative). I saw them on the very same bill over at The Met that New Year’s Eve; by that point, I was an honest-to-goodness fan.

A few weeks later, I met Dylan at a show at AS220 that featured Dan Blakeslee, Jonah Tolchin, and Haunt The House. (That was my first exposure to the current Haunt The House lineup, and I left trying to remember as much as I could of the lyrics to “Little Bird.”) Dylan, if I’m not mistaken, had recently started recording his album with his band the Gentlemen at Dirt Floor, and I believe Eric may have mentioned me to him. (Dylan and the Gentlemen just released that album, New Mischief, which I encourage people to check out.) I met Jesse at the Newport Blues Cafe toward the tail end of the All Newport’s Eve show: we just ran into each other, and I let him know that really liked Smith&Weeden’s album. As Ollie mentioned, we shared a bill for the first time a Labor Day weekend show presented by Dirt Floor at the Infinity Music Hall that also featured James Maple and Eric Lichter. The folks at Infinity Music Hall treated us very well and served us dinner in a dressing room that led out to a sort-of sunroom. Dylan couldn’t make that show, so James was going to fill in on drums, but neither he nor Eric had arrived when our dinners came. So it was Jesse, Ollie, Seamus, me, and some meals that probably cost more than the venue made that night. Though I didn’t know Jesse well and was just meeting Seamus and Ollie, they welcomed me to join them for dinner and were friendly and funny, as I’ve come to know is their nature.

That October, I did a few shows with my pal Zach Schmidt that included a house show at Shawn Schillberg’s. I’d gone to Shawn’s a few times that fall, including once to see Ollie play a rare solo set. A few weeks prior to the show I was to play there, Shawn contacted me and asked if I’d mind Smith&Weeden being added to the bill (and playing an acoustic set, no less). I would happily have gone to see that show, so of course I was glad to be on the bill with them. They very generously invited me to join them for their song “Sunshine,” which gave me the gumption to ask them about something that I’d been imagining for a while at that point: if they’d have any interest in joining me to record some songs. Their response couldn’t have been more encouraging, and so we’ve gone from there. I’ve been lucky to have them with me.

Jesse: I had a major song crush on Ian right from the get go, so when he asked if we would back him it was durrr moment.

Also, we all are into the great backing bands, The Band, The Swampers, Booker T and the MG’s etc. So that’s always something we’ve all been interested in as a group. It’s always cool to play someone else’s stuff. You learn a lot that way.

Dylan: I don’t have much to add to the S&W/Ian Fitzgerald story, as Ollie, Jesse, and Ian summed it up very well. The only thing I want to add is that I think playing with Ian has made us a better group. We’ve grown accustomed to performing Jesse’s songs, and therefore our playing has revolved around his songwriting and vocal delivery. So having the opportunity to back Ian and adjust to a completely different songwriter and vocalist has strengthened our abilities greatly, and I’m sure it will influence the way we approach some of our new original songs in the near future. We’re all incredibly grateful to Ian for asking us to play with him. It’s not every day you get to work with one of the greatest living songwriters.

 

RLR: So what are you guys jiving on lately locally speaking? We are after all a local/Northeast focused outlet here. How about something that hit you early on, made you want to create music?

Jesse: HORSE EYED MEN, Juss sayin. John Prine’s ‘Bruised Orange’ got me good. I’d just started taking music seriously and someone said that I reminded them of John Prine who I then checked out and fell wildly, madly, sadly, and badly in love with.

Ollie: Ya that’s the local jam (Horse Eyed Men). I think our playing has been shaped a lot by Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak. Also “Remix to Ignition” by R.Kelly.

Ian: I second Horse Eyed Men. I’m also a big fan of Molly Pinto Madigan and Krista Baroni, both of whom recently released beautiful records they made at Dirt Floor.  I’m looking forward to the EP that Tracie Potochnik and Steve Allain are putting together as Cardboard Ox.  I think we’re all eager to hear Axis Mundi (brown bird).

Ryan Adams’ Gold made me feel like I could try to write songs. Gillian Welch and the everybodyfields have been big influences, particularly on the last record. Since I made that last one, I’ve listened a lot to Father John Misty and Joe Fletcher.

Jesse: Horse eyed men for the folkies. Happiness for the rockers.

Seamus: As far as “local” music I’ve been listening to the band MELK quite a bit. They’re Rhode Island natives that relocated to Nashville last year. They remind me of a lot of early glam and punk bands. Garage-y and grimey but still catchy with well put together arrangements. Also the guitarist, Charlie Shea is like 19 years old and totally rips it up. And as far as albums that really influenced me as a guitarist i immediately think of the original lineup live Allman Brothers stuff and the first few Zeppelin records. I don’t listen to either of those bands regularly these days but they definitely influenced me early on and I got turned on to a bunch of other great stuff through their music.

Dylan: As far as local music goes, I’d like to give Julie Rhodes a shoutout. She came out of nowhere this past year and knocked everyone out with her insane voice. Her new record is going to blow people away, and I can’t wait to see how far she goes. There are so many local groups I’d like to name, but I’d go on far too long if I started. As for drumming influences, John Bonham and Keith Moon are my two biggest “Holy mother of God, I want to be able to play like that” heroes. But listening to guys like Ringo Starr, Levon Helm, and Stan Lynch (from the original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers lineup) really prepared me for playing behind guys like Jesse Smith and Ian Fitzgerald. These are guys that understood they were backing up great songwriters, and needed to play whatever necessary to showcase the beauty of the song. If that meant going crazy, they’d go crazy. If it meant doing a simple two and four on the bass and snare for the entire song, they’d keep it simple. I think it also helps that I write my own songs as well; I try to imagine, “If this was my song, what would I want the drums to be doing?” However, it’s usually a futile thought, as Jesse and Ian are far better songwriters than I’ll ever be.

Ian: Julie Rhodes: good call.

RLR: Why do you do it? Why make music and write songs? What’s the pull for you?

Ollie: For me it’s never been an option. Gotta get up on that stage. There’s always low moments but I feel the high moments outweigh them. The feeling you get when the crowd is truly enjoying themselves, and that pretty lady is making eyes at you.

Seamus: Why do I do it night after night? Well theres two things that make the voices go away, pickin my guitar and pickin fights with mall security, and the judge told me no more pickin fights with mall security. But seriously, playing music is just something I need to do. Its not always fun but I dont do it just for fun, I do it because I need to for myself first (if that makes any sense). Not to get all mushy about art and beauty and feelings, bonus points for getting to play music with my best budzz.

Dylan: There are few things in life that have honestly excited me as much as or more than creating music. Whether I am finishing a new song, hearing my new, finished record for the first time, or performing a great show, I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. There’s a certain emptiness I feel when I’m away from music for too long; more often than not, “too long” is a few days. There have been so many bad shows, rehearsals, and recording sessions, and I know I haven’t seen the last of any of those things. But I’m more than willing to power through whatever I have to if it means I get to make a living doing what I love with the people I love.

Jesse: Honestly, I have no idea. I’m pretty sure I was born to do it and that there’s very little choice. I tried to fight it for years actually. I’ve tried on many hats. Came very close to becoming a Franciscan monk one time. Almost became an officer in the army another time. For a long time I tried to be anything but a musician. I straight up quit playing music for two years one time. But having lived a bit and having gone through several phases of life I’ve realized that music is not a phase. So, after much fighting, I guess you could say that music and I have tied the knot. We are life mates.

And it’s not without it’s rewards, finishing a song is about the most fulfilling experience I’ve ever had. Creating something is about as god like as a human can get. That feeling you get when hit on something. Geez, it’s like catching some cosmic wave, and the high you get once you’re on it is something indescribable. And then the song is written. And you have very little idea where it came from. It’s not always like that, but when it is… Yea, I could never give that up. Playing a good show to a good crowd is pretty transcendent as well. Honestly, playing and writing is better than sex or eating a ribeye. So, yea… I guess that’s why I keep pushing through the wierd, bad, tough times that are inevitable with any creative pursuit.

Aside to my mother, I’ve never had sex, it’s a metaphor.

Ollie: Ya maybe don’t put that in there. She won’t like that.

Jesse: True story though.

Ian: When things go well on stage or when the right words fall into place while writing, there’s no better feeling. I don’t know why that is; I’m sure other people feel that way about scrimshaw or photography or cargo delivery. For me, it’s music.

Dylan: Also, I used to be very jealous of Ian’s lyrical ability, but my envy has faded with the realization that he’s clearly not of this planet. I have spent a lot of time with him over the past year and have only seen him eat a bag of chips and like, half of a homemade Oreo.

Ollie: Also an addendum, this line fucking slays me. “In the end I couldn’t tell which heart was hers and which was mine, so I became inclined to break them both.” If I got that wrong in sorry Ian, but that’s some real talk.

Dylan: Most lyricists write down their feelings and make them rhyme. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that (sometimes). But Ian’s words and stories transcend what most listeners have come to expect in folk music. It’s pretty unbelievable.