4 New Songs Streaming
at MySpace |
 |
|
BOOKING & PROMOTION
 |
|
Motion Booking
Minneapolis, MN
Office: 651-644-6569 |
Andy Everett • Booking Agent
motionbooking@earthlink.net
Available for solo and/or band shows throughout the U.S. |
|
The Onion - AV Club
December 1, 2005
Q&A
DAN ISRAEL
After stints in Chicago and Austin, songwriter Dan Israel and his band
The Cultivators have been a fixture on the local music scene for 10
years. He's back with a new disc, simply titled /Dan Israel/, which
makes a fine addition to his catalog of heartfelt, Americana-influenced
roots-rock. Israel and The Cultivators will play a CD-release show on
Dec. 3 at Turf Club along with Big Ditch Road and Mike Nicolai.
*The A.V. Club: Your day job at the state legislature sounds interesting.
Dan Israel: *It's not. [Laughs.] Nice of you to say so. I work for
the Revisor of Statutes. I'm sort of like an attorney's assistant - I
proofread and input changes to bills. It's interesting to be in the
middle of a political arena. I'm supposed to be nonpartisan, so I can't
comment publicly on anything explicitly political, which is an
interesting position to be in as a songwriter. But that's not to say I
can't imply a comment on things.
*AVC: The song "Plenty" seems to be directed toward Republicans and
George W. Bush.
DI: *I can't comment. I literally can't. [Laughs.] I'm just going to
be coy and vague.
*AVC: Although The Cultivators back you up live, most of your records,
including the new one, are recorded pretty much solo. Why?
DI: *It's something I've fallen into since I bought a house and have
this basement studio. It tends to be the winter months that I have time
and I'm alone, and I just want to get stuff recorded. Absolutely no dis
on my band members, but I just wanted to flesh out my vision by playing
the bass and drum parts. I'll probably go back to doing more ensemble
recording, but I definitely enjoy the ability to create what I hear in
my head on my own. I seem to some people like an extrovert, but I enjoy
my time alone more than almost anything - to get away from the world and
just work on music is very therapeutic.
*AVC: Songwriters have an interesting creative dynamic - you need a
certain amount of introversion to write, but then you also need to be
extroverted to perform in front of people.
DI: *Right. And I've always accepted that as a necessary evil. I like
playing live once I'm actually onstage. But it's getting there, and
moving gear around, and dealing with people that's always a drag. If I
could just be like Morrissey or Elvis and just walk in and everything's
already set up! It makes me sound anti-social, but when it comes to my
music, I'm fiercely protective because it's my feelings out on display.
I don't always want to make records this way, but the last couple
certainly felt like I was doing what was in my heart and in my head, and
nobody was telling me otherwise. There's all kinds of hassles in life,
so to be able to take my music into my own hands feels good.
*AVC: The new album also has a rougher, more rocking tone than your
previous disc, Time I Get Home:
DI: *That's just me having a party by myself, just enjoying making a
racket in my basement. Even if this record's a little too ramshackle
for most radio stations, it's the kind of thing I like to listen to.
And I'd be a liar if I didn't say I was inspired by Paul Westerberg's
basement solo stuff of the last few years.
*AVC: On your last couple of discs, you've worked with Eclectone,
Martin Devaney's lable, which seems like a pretty solid fit.
DI: *I've known Martin since he started out, and he's just getting
better. When he started this label, I jumped at the chance, because I
really believe that this town needs strong grassroots indie labels. It
had it at one time with Twin/Tone, but now with Eclectone and 2024, it's
happening again. The big thing is hip-hop, of course - I'm amazed with
Rhymesayers. Martin and I share a real DIY ethic. We both have done
this on our own for a while and it's nice to be in tandem now, sharing
ideas.
*AVC: You've been part of the local music scene for a decade - how do
you think it's changed?
DI: *I caught the tail end of some good times when I moved back here,
but in the late '90s, aside from some national success stories like
Semisonic, it really hit a trough. In recent years, it's started to
pick up again. It has to do with people getting grassroots about labels
and building things from the ground up rather than waiting for the
national radar. I think it's heading in the right direction, and I
wouldn't have said that five years ago. The quality of songwriting in
the Twin Cities is so strong that it can only be ignored nationally for
so long. This scene needs to get its due nationally a little more. I
don't know how we go about doing that, but we've just got to keep making
noise, I guess.
*- Christopher Bahn*
|
|
|
