Love and Protest is a bold statement of juxtaposing forces. Two ideals that could be seen as some sort of opposite end of the emotional spectrum, but joined in other ways. It is also the title of Boston rock n’ twang outfit Girls Guns and Glory‘s latest album.
Over the course of his music career, singer-songwriter and rock n’ roller Ward Hayden has done quite a bit of exploration under the umbrella of Americana. The GGG frontman released his debut, the stripped down and heartfelt “Fireworks and Alcohol”, nearly a decade ago now and between that album and today he has dabbled in the rootsier side of the genre, released an honest and genuine tribute to the great Hank Williams and in recent years taken on a more rock n’ roll style to his songs ala Chuck Berry. A constant always being a sharp focus on introspective songwriting and a warm and unique croon that could melt an ice cube in the Arctic.
L&P takes the best of both worlds and sees Hayden allowing his vulnerability to shine in his words, but maintaining the energy and vibe that the band has been swinging towards more recently.
We caught up with Ward to talk about the record, writing and chasing the muse. Check it out.
RLR: From songs like the very first tune with the line “keep myself up til I drink myself asleep” and obvious references to perhaps darker vices like “Wine Went Bad” and “Empty Bottles” there is that continued theme of the troubles that come with the bottle. Ever since good old Hank there has been a line you could draw based on those themes. Do you think that roots/country/Americana music just draws that out of folks, does the genre attract folks who lean towards that lifestyle or is it a product of just being an artist on the road and such?
Ward: That’s a good question. Certainly being out and performing in bars and clubs night after night doesn’t make it any easier to steer away from alcohol. And I think music that talks about hard living, hard times or the grind of laboring away pairs well with a cold beer. This is just my personal experience, but in the words of ole Hank, “everyone loves to feel sorry for themselves”, add in a few drinks and a good tear in your beer country song: there’s your recipe for not feeling quite so alone.
RLR: There is a mix on this record of some pretty brand new tunes and some that hadn’t yet officially seen the light of day but have been given a “brand new shine”, so to speak (Diamondillium, Unglued from the Milltown sessions?). The title of the record is pretty descriptive and elicits a vivid image of what is going to sonically play out on the course of the album. What was it about digging up some older lyrics and breathing some new life into them that you felt fit with this record? Did they just fit into this “Love & Protest” theme you were going for?
Ward: Diamondillium was a song that I’ve wanted to re-record and officially release for a few years now. It’s a song that doesn’t really fit in a specific category or genre, but over the years we have tried different ways of playing it and experimented with different ideas sonically.When we were working with Drew Townson to put the songs together for Love and Protest, this was one of the songs that kept coming up as a song we’d like to have another shot at in the studio. It’s a song that lyrically has meant a lot to me as a songwriter.
I’ve always stuck to the idea of writing about what you know. This song was inspired by an episode of Futurama called “Beast with a Billion Backs”. Lyrically I tried to capture what that episode made me think about. When your way of life in threatened, some people embrace what is happening and other people fight against it. I took that idea and during the course of the song take that premise and apply it to my own life. Thinking about what we give up and sacrifice to get by and survive, whether it be from a space alien attacking the planet, like what happens in Futurama, or having to grind day after day at your office job to make sure your bills get paid. Happiness and fulfillment are out there and in the course of writing this song I was exploring where and how happiness can be found and what we are trading in exchange for hard earned pay.
RLR: In that same vein, how has writing been playing out for you lately? I’ve known you for quite some time and seen a real transition and adapting of your style and sound through the last 6 records (including the Hank tribute). Has that process evolved for you…or is it an ever changing process that differs daily?
Ward: I used to write songs early in the morning. Usually the ideas would come to me in dreams. For a while I didn’t realize what I was missing by being lazy and not writing down the ideas as soon as I woke up. Then I realized that if I was going to capture those ideas I had to immediately get out of bed, pick up the guitar and get them written down.
Lately though I have been more in touch with my conscious thoughts. I think the last year or two and the recent election brought out a lot of feelings in a lot of people around this country, and the world for that matter.
The song “Man Wasn’t Made” was inspired by the death of Sgt. Michael Kelley. He and I went to high school together and I remember hanging out with him one of his last nights in town before he left for basic training. For him joining the service was a way to get out of a rut, see something more than the town he grew up in and a way of generating economic mobility. When I heard that he had been killed in Afghanistan it was a shock. Up until that point the names I’d heard on TV or read about in the paper had essentially just been names, “bloodless statistics”. At that moment the war became real to me. This was someone I’d had beers with, had grown up with, had actually shared a similar background with. I tried to explain that idea in the song, of looking at your phone and seeing the news, it almost doesn’t seem real sometimes, but people are losing their lives and families are losing loved ones. Life doesn’t just go on for everyone. It’s not exactly the feel good hit of the summer, but it was a song that I feel strongly about and hopefully it pays some tribute to the lives lost fighting under the US flag and causes people to think deeply about what that means and the lives that those deaths impact directly.
RLR: Ok, so I have to ask about the record cover. Aesthetically you have typically gone with a graphic representation for album art. There was always a somewhat similar kind of style, be it pin up girls or graphic representations of your pup. What was it about this record that made you change that up. It is a real striking and gorgeous shot and I think fits wonderfully with the album title.
Ward: The album cover was Josh Kiggans idea. Josh has been with GGG for the past 5 years and when we were discussing the cover, which had originally been planned to be a full band shot, he pitched the idea of it being just a portrait of me. We had recently parted ways with our guitarist, who had been in the band for quite a while, and we were in the process of finding his replacement. So, the full band picture idea got changed out of necessity. I went over to Josh’s house and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Ellenwood, happens to be a professional photographer. She took the shots and when she sent us the test prints we felt we had a picture that could represent the band and the album. We’ve only had a few complaints about it not being the full band, but for me, I am happy with it. More and more I’ve begun to believe how important transparency and honesty are in music. And I want people to be able to look at this photo and see that there is love and conviction in my eyes. And to see me as someone vulnerable and for lack of a better way to put it, human. When we’ve used graphics in the past, which I visually enjoy, it doesn’t show a listener the face of the person or people putting their emotions and thoughts into the music. My hopes are that this cover accomplishes what a graphic cannot.
RLR: On a more personal note, ‘Fireworks and Alcohol’ has always remained my favorite of your records. It was the very first and had an extremely raw and unfiltered feeling to it. ‘Wrecking Ball’ and ‘Inverted Valentine’ saw a bit of a transformation in sound but retained that incredibly personal, introspective feel in terms of songwriting but opened up the arrangements and solidified you as a countrified twanging force of nature. That was continued onto Sweet Nothings and songs like “This Old House” and “Universe Began” have an emotion and genuine touch that is palpable. With the last original record, things got a bit more 50s rock n roll and tunes like “Shake Like Jello” were a bit more tuned into getting people moving around the dance floor. I feel a good balance on this latest record, what were the leanings for it? Was there an intention to focus on both arrangements that cause folks to be able to dance to the song but have a deeper personal meaning to you?
Ward: Leading up to this record our manager sat us down and said, “where do you see the band going?”, “what kind of record do YOU want to make?”. We have worked with record labels for the last 8 years and this is the first record where Josh, Paul and I sat in the producers chair, along with Drew Townson, and had complete creative control. We felt the band had matured a lot since Good Luck came out in 2014 and in the last couple years we transitioned from playing in bars to playing in listening rooms and theaters. Our audience has become more tuned in to the lyrics and instead of a room filled with people dancing, we have been getting a lot of people who sit, listen and absorb what the band is saying and doing. We want to continue on that path and take the opportunity we’ve been given by further connecting with our audience. This album represents that transition and the band really coming into it’s own. Finding and refining our sound.
RLR: You guys went all in on the analog front in recording this album and I think it shows. The vibe is truly a “this is musicians in a room playing music TOGETHER”. There is something so incredibly special about that. Why was it important this time around to capture the intimacy and energy of a more live performance with this project? How do you feel it impacted the record as a whole?
Ward: For a few years Drew Townson and I had talked about making a record together. He co-produced and mixed our Tribute to Hank Williams album and I knew that I liked the way Drew worked. When he and I met to discuss Love and Protest the first thing he said was that we should do an all analog record. He felt that tape would work well with my voice and that something was getting lost in some of the GGG digital recordings. That spirit and energy of being live in a room and making the music together. It’s old school. But most of the records that I love were recorded that way.
Drew brought us into Zippah Studios for one day to try it out and see if we liked the experience. We loved it and after that we knew we had to find some 2′ tape, book more studio time and make this record come to fruition.
RLR: There is a “special, secret track” that really encompasses that F&A vibe with its stripped down nature and kind of unapologetic approach. There isn’t as much gloss and polish as the rest of the album. It also takes a traditional story and you kind of rewrite it to your own aesthetic. Where did this tune originate for you? Do you enjoy and find value in that churning up of classic Americana and traditional stories? The delivery of one line in particular gets me every time…“about blood and steel and all that gets in life’s way”.
Ward: The song “John Henry” started for me when I was a kid and saw this old Puppetoon by George Pal about the story of John Henry. In the Puppetoon John Henry takes on the machine that is threatening to replace the steel drivers on the railroad. He wins the race against it, but expends so much energy that he dies after the race. I’ve since done more reading on the subject and have honestly spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about the story of John Henry, who’s legend might’ve actually been based on a real man.
Right before we went in the studio I was in the backyard with my dog and I had a eureka moment about the story. I’d always looked for a Hollywood ending, for John Henry’s victory to be more solidly defined. He wins, but dies and the machine ultimately replaces the steel driving men…which means that even though he won the race, he somehow lost both his life, and seemingly, the war. It didn’t make sense to me why this story would live on. Honestly, for years I searched for deeper meaning in this tale. I knew I was missing something.
Now, I think there is a lot that can be taken from this story, but the day of my eureka moment I realized I needed to stop looking for a glorious ending.
What I have chosen to take from the story isn’t the outcome. In the words of Hank Williams, “I’ll never get out of this world alive”. None of us will. That is what makes the story of John Henry so special to me. In the face of inevitable defeat (death), do we lie down and accept our fate? No!! We fight.
John Henry’s story is the story of each and every one of our lives. We live, we get up, we work, we don’t give up and we fight on. If that isn’t beautiful and tragic and inspiring all at the same time, then nothing is. That is what I hoped to capture and share with this song. John Henry’s story is the story of life.
