An Interview with Smooth Hound Smith: Waiting for a Spark
The last time I saw Smooth Hound Smith at Atwood’s, I had been at a music festival all day. I left the festival around 9:00, pulled into a parking spot in Cambridge at 10:15 or so, and got to catch one of my favorite lives acts tear it up in one of the best Boston-area venues. Well, they’re back at Atwood’s on Thursday, bringing a bunch of new songs and a new album, Dog in a Manger. The new record is fantastic–it is a great next step for this band that won’t be pinned down. You hear one song and it’s a ripping blues, the next one is a belting ballad, and the next is an introspective folk song. So they can move from style to style while still being cohesive and crafting a sound of their own. We got to catch up with Zack and Caitlin about the new record, about touring with a full band, and the best song ever.
RLR: This show in Boston features a free CD for everyone who brings pet adoption papers with them. How did that idea spark for you?
CDS: We have a soft spot in our hearts for rescue dogs. Our dog that we rescued in 2012 was between 12-15 years old at that time, and she’s still alive. So we just love shelter dogs, and we thought this would be a great way to get the word out more: adopt, don’t shop! People like our music and they like dogs, so it seems like the perfect marriage.
RLR: What’s your dog’s name?
CDS: Wilma.
ZS: She came with the perfect old lady name.
RLR: Amazing. When I spoke to you after Sweet Tennessee Honey came out, you compared the two recording experiences of your first two albums as almost opposite – the songs came together in a rush for Sweet Tennessee Honey, but you’d had a bunch ready for your first album. Can you talk about the approach you took this time for this record?
ZS: This one was vastly different from Sweet Tennessee Honey. Process-wise, it had a little more in common with our first record, in that we didn’t feel like we were under the gun, with regards to a timeline.
There were a couple of catalysts: a major catalyst was my dad passing away, and that made us reassess where our career was going. So we fired our management and were just kind of treading water for a while. We had some songs brewing, but we hadn’t gotten around to recording them. And we had spoken with 3-4 different producers and Caitlin and I were just not in a place where we wanted to commit to a week or two with a stranger and then get into a big studio and feel them out and then whatever happens, happens.
So we just worked with two of our good friends here in town as engineer and co-producer and the record was essentially the four of us doing it over the course of a year: tracking, re-tracking, changing keys, changing songs around, and eventually we went down pretty much every potential sonic rabbithole to find what the songs needed.
RLR: Zack, I just want to express my condolences. I read about your dad’s passing and I know how sudden it was.
ZS: We were out on the road at the time and we had these support slots that we had fought pretty hard to get. It was just tough to have that happen, but also not be home, back in California.
RLR: I want to ask a bit more about ‘not feeling under the gun.’ I feel like so many people making a life in music feel under the gun all the time. There is such pressure to constantly put out new content. How did you get to that point where you felt like you could take your time?
CDS: I think we learned the hard way because we rushed ourselves with the second album. We implemented a timeline that wasn’t necessary, but we wanted to get it done so we could put it out and tour behind it. With this album, we wanted to take our time. The beauty of being a completely independent band is we don’t have a record label that is pressuring us to put out a new album. It’s a blessing and a curse, I guess.
ZS: Well, it’s a double-edged sword because we didn’t have a record label breathing down our neck, but just the nature of being an independent artist is that we self-imposed this timeline because we needed to make money. We needed a new record and new merch. The way that artists, especially independent artists, are compensated [creates a feeling] a little bit like a hamster wheel and if you’re not putting out new content all the time, you can get lost in the shuffle.
RLR: One of the things I’ve noticed recently is people taking the “Old Town Road” approach–keeping it on the charts just by releasing new versions. So I’ve seen some “Americana” artists doing this too–not necessarily having to make a whole new album, but releasing new versions.
ZS: I kind of like that, too. Our buddy, Aaron Lee Tasjan just released a record with acoustic versions of his last record, [Karma For Cheap]. And as a musician, you spend all this time pouring over your words and music and then put it out, thinking maybe it’ll catch a buzz for six months or so. And you think, “No, I actually spent a lot of time on that, let’s stay with these songs.”
RLR: So with this record, as you explored all these sonic rabbit holes, are there other versions that you have kept in mind to bring out on the road six months or a year from now?
CDS: It’d be cool to go through our catalogue and re-record songs from all three albums, with different feels. Across different media platforms, you have all these shows that are being re-made, like Beverly Hills 90210. And now that’s kind of happening with music, where people are re-doing songs and albums that have already been popular. Everyone loves a good cover, and you can do whatever you want today, musically, and that’s very exciting.
ZS: We did an “Our Vinyl” session recently. And we did it with drums with brushes and an upright bass, and we were all like, “This sounds really fucking cool. We should do an album like that.” The title track for this album even lends itself to a club remix, I feel like.
ZS: I don’t really remember specifically what the kernel was. I was researching something, looking up something on the internet or maybe trying to find a rhyme, and I found the phrase, ‘dog in a manger.’ I looked it up and it was this Greek fable where this dog, sitting in a manger, and it’s storming out. And a horse comes up to eat some hay or get shelter and the dog just bites the horse for no other reason other than it can. There’s something about it that just really resonated: just being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole [laughs]…I was like, “I really feel that.” [laughs]
But it was easy to draw parallels between that concept and being in a relationship with somebody, and not being able to justify all the actions you take, but it seeming ok at the time. A song like, “Truckstop Shower,” which is the last song on the record, is pretty straightforward–it came out like that, here’s the impetus for the song, and here’s what it’s about. But a song like “Dog in A Manger,” I don’t really know completely, it’s just something I need to get out, and then I feel like I figure it out years later after I’ve written the song. And those are the ones our fans tend to like, because they’re open to interpretation.
RLR: Talking about “Truckstop Shower,” I remember hearing you play that the last time you were in Boston, and the vibe of that tune on the record is so great.
ZS: It’s the only song on the record we didn’t build and it’s recorded almost completely live. We had won this battle of the bands here in Nashville a couple of years ago and part of the prize was studio time. We figured it would be a demo or something but the vibe was so great that we said, “we should put that on the record.”
RLR: One of the things that’s hard is writing funny songs. Have you found that, or did it just roll out and you just had to not fight it?
ZS: The nature of the title, it can’t be a serious song. But I agree–I shy away from funny lyrics. We play a lot of rock clubs and louder bar scenes, so lyrical density, and funny little turns of phrases don’t really come across in that setting.
RLR: I want to think about the sonic rabbit holes again. And I’m thinking about, “Backslide,” which starts with this really bright mandolin and it reaches a big, expansive crescendo after the bridge. Did you play with different versions of that song?
ZS: We did, but the way it is now is just kind of the way it sounds to me now. It’s funny–that sounds like a mandolin to me too, but it’s actually our friend and co-producer Steve Daly–he did a capoed-up acoustic guitar, and he did what’s called Nashville tuning, which is basically standard [tuning], but up an octave. So it sounds really bright and chimy. We had in mind that we wanted to make a mellow, but firm, protest song. So we threw in that marching percussion at the end; it ended up being still pretty folky, but hopefully the message gets across.
RLR: And that started with seeing a big Trump sign?
ZS: Yeah. I was staying the night in Vegas. I think I was at Treasure Island, because it was the only affordable place that night because of some convention. I hate staying on the strip–Caitlin and I usually stay downtown when we go to Vegas–but the view directly outside my 14th floor window was the big Trump hotel sign. And I was thinking, “This is God awful.”
RLR: One of the things I appreciate about you is that you you’re always releasing albums that show a variety, that can’t be pinned into one genre. How much do you think working primarily as a duo, as opposed to a full-band, let’s you just explore and have such variety? Can you talk about the pros and cons you see in working as a duo?
CDS: The pro is that Zack and I get to hang out all the time; the con is that Zack and I get to hang out all the time. Now we’re playing with the band, so we can explore that and what it sounds like. You don’t grow up wanting to be in a duo, you know? You grow up wanting to be in a band! So we’re giving that a shot and it’s super fun. And we can always go back and do a duo tour–and there’s fans that know us as a duo, who have been with us for a long time–so it just gives you a lot of options.
CDS: Yeah!
RLR: Oh, I didn’t know that! So how do you think about how you bring people in to play with you?
CDS: Nashville’s such a wealth of talent that it really comes down to who’s available, has good vibes, and is a good player. We’re lucky to be here for that reason.
ZS: We’re about to do 50 domestic dates and then we’re going to Europe in the winter. We have stuff going on and people come to Nashville wanting to tour and really hone their chops. Luckily, as Caitlin said, everyone we play with is just a top-tier musician–definitely better than I am, and that’s what I want. I want to be the worst person in the band.
RLR: How does it change your approach?
ZS: We’ve spent a little over a year touring as a full band. Personally, since I’m not sitting down, having to keep the rhythm going with the foot drums, I’ve gotten a little better at guitar, just playing rhythm, taking leads, and finding where I fit in, and not having to worry about just keeping in going in a given song.
CDS: You can take full advantage of the stage, too. He’s not sitting down. I can wear high heels without looking like I’m towering over him. [Laughs]
ZS: I think we sound better together too. It’s easier to sing when I’m not hunched over. So right now it feels better.
RLR: You’ve always had a great chemistry on stage. I would imagine that’s easier too, being at eye-level.
ZS: Yeah, we can grind up on each other. It’s a really fantastic show now. [Laughs]
RLR: Caleb Caudle put this question out on twitter the other day, and I liked: what is a voice you can’t do without. A lot of people responded with 7 or 8 names, which I consider to be cheating. So one name.
[Long pause]
ZS: I’ll say that Nina Simone is probably mine. She just has the most unique voice I’ve ever heard and she could do anything.
CDS: I would say Louis Armstrong. I don’t know which satellite it’s on, but apparently they have Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and they have “What a Wonderful World” playing. I think that’s so cool–out in space for aliens.
RLR: OK, in a similar vein, Langhorne Slim had this little run where he’d throw out a song title and then say “best song ever.” And then two weeks later it would be a different song. And I love it because it’s whatever is true right now. So, for you, right now, what’s the best song ever?
ZS: Man, is it weird if I say, “Waiting For A Spark?” I know it’s our song, but I have really been enjoying the way we’ve been delivering it live and the way Caitlin sings it.
CDS: Aww, thanks babe.
RLR: Did you do something wrong today, Zack?
ZS: [Laughs] I probably will. Just salting the pot a little.
CDS: The best song for me has been the best song for like the last three months. And it’s, “I’m A Raven (Shake Children),” by Hiss Golden Messenger. It’s my shower song. I put it on in the morning and I’m ready to go.
Don’t miss Smooth Hound Smith at Atwood’s on September 26! Tickets here and full tour info, including dates in Europe here. They’ll be in Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME as well so get out there, New England!