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Catching up with Kristin Hersh

by Michael Caito

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh had just put her youngest down for a midday nap in Newport, where she and husband/manager Billy are staying before heading off on a European tour. So when the phone rang upstate was time to catch up with the Throwing Muses alumna, wife, mother of three, co-producer and solo artist. Not, of course, in that particular order. On the new record she plays everything except the odd drum program, including the rare hybrid instrument called the "guitorgan." The disc arrives first in Europe/NZ/Oz but won't hit domestically 'til July.

Billy was quoted in Rolling Stone commenting on the mp3 revolution, so now would be a good time to mention that Throwing Music has followed the recent leads of numerous artists by offering a subscription-only rarities series -- brand new Kristin Hersh tunes available roughly once per month, about which further info can be found at throwingmusic.com.

Q: The new record, Sky Motel (Throwing Music), is right around the corner.

Kristin Hersh: It sounds like a band record but it's all me.

Q: Even though you recently recorded with David Narcizo and Bernard Georges is it still safe to say there are no plans to record new material as Throwing Muses?

A: Well, we'll always plan that, but it would involve hitting the lottery first. We just did b-sides together, and had them come into Fort Apache, but they didn't play on the record.

Q: David's got his own thing going with Lakuna too.

A: It's soooo great. It's like instrumental Latin Playboys, really beautiful stuff.

Q: What you'd written in your bio about oatmeal cookies and evil, concerning your last record of Appalachian folk tunes [Murder Misery and Then Goodnight].

A: You have no idea how many times I get asked for recipes.

Q: Can you compare that to Sky Motel?

Q: Oh God, Idon't think it's possible. Murder Misery was a tiny little thing, and Sky Motel is the Throwing Muses that weren't. It's kind of a combination of the band and solo records. It sounds to me like it has a band flavor, but maybe that's giving myself too much credit.

Q: In retrospect did doing those traditional songs prove liberating?

A: It was an interim record. Billy's from New York and he said if Icould get him to listen to Appalachian folk Icould get anyone to. It was really for my kids, and took just a few days to make. [It's] very sweet and a little scary too. It was almost like a first record.

Q: How so?

Q: Iwrote the songs on purpose. It's a very California record, and I got to work with Trina Shoemaker, who just won two Grammys, and that was just a perfect working relationship. In this case I was so sure of the production techniques ahead of time. Trina picked me up at the airport and we were holding suitcases saying, "We've got to really dry up the acoustic. We kill them 'til their dead. Then we bring in a distorted bass, and then . . . "

Q: You'd first recorded with her for University?

A: Yeah, she was co-engineering then.

Q: And co-producing now, but for you that's not entirely new ground. Is being behind the production controls a tough mental challenge?

A: By now it isn't. Imean by now I should pretty much have it under control . . . (laughs) . . . I've done 450 records. It used to be a very artificial process for me, because I knew the music as . . . wide. The whole production process was like tearing your clothes off and pulling them back on. And now it's making it more beautiful . . . wrapping it up to give away to people.

Q: Have you considered doing it for other people's records?

A: Yeah, I would love that. It's a lovely way to work with music, if you don't have an ego [that gets in the way.] But it's also a question of the number of hours in the day, and so far it hasn't been an option. B-side selections include some Beatles and Nirvana's "Pennyroyal Tea."

Q: Why that one?

A: I always took as being from the point of view of a pregnant woman, so Iwas OK with that. They just clicked. One's funny ["Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey"] and one's dark, but they both kind of fit into the history of what Dave and Bernie and I played together.

Q: Do you get misty about Newport when you come back to visit?

A: Ido. The high desert actually has seasons that Ididn't know about before I moved here. But fall isn't one of them.

Q: And how well do you deal with that heat?

A: Idon't. We had this thermometer and the reading just sorta ate through the numbers. We brought it in after 120. There's just nothing in the air, and it's so dry if you peel an orange the pieces just shrivel up. Which Iguess is what happens to you after a while, 'cause that's what our neighbors look like. You know . . . those little apple dolls?

On Thursday April 8, as part of Fool's Week at AS220, Kristin Hersh & Friends, including former Muses keyboardist Robert Rust, Tom Gorman (ex-Belly, Honeychrome) and David Narcizo, play an open rehearsal prior to her imminent European tour in support of Sky Motel (Throwing Music). Info at 831-9327.

STARS & BARS. First off, thanks for voting in our yearly Poll, they're flying in the doors. Second, record reviews next week . . . do a few interviews and wham! the backlog is instantly large. File under "lookout baby": the odd sods at Sound Station Seven are finishing up both the LUVs's sophomore LPand a Double Nuthins single. Mark Cutler recently topped the mp3 AAA charts -- twice --  coming in at #1 and #2 with download requests for "Wrecking Ball" and "Drinking In the Afternoon" (mp3.com/ music/ pop_rock/rock/aaa). Schemer / Raindog veteran Mok's newest project is called Lexington 125. Roomful of Blues keep piling up national awards and nominations for their latest There Goes the Neighborhood (Bullseye), and singer Mac Odom, who flat-out kicks ass, leads that big band back to Lupo's Saturday, early show. Illustrious Day has revamped, and their second CD (following In Between) features veterans of Dead Kennedys, Coat of Arms and Mellencamp drummist Kenny Aronoff (bands I always get confused), this according to singer Jackie O. Also, ears peeled for new releases from Mockingbirds, . . . this is jazz from the Willie Myette Trio (who also include bassist Mark Carlsen and drummer Mike Connors), kids' TV stuff from Mezzotint Records, and Al Basile, former Roomful trumpeter who has released Down on Providence Plantation featuring the Duke Robillard Band. Duke will release his own new record in a few short weeks. Speaking of blues both scalar and scaly, did anyone else notice that Young Neal won two trophies last week for extreme angling prowess? Right there in the Sports section, baby. And not surprising. Heads up for Dario Fo's newest, going up soon at Trinity Rep, not only because it won gigantic awards for the Italian playwright but also because it features Chris, Rachel and Nivek. If you still gotta ask, can't help you. On Sunday, April 4, Sam Prekop is joined by Papa M and V for Vendetta at the Met. Possible sleeper of the week: Japan's King Brothers, Chinese ex-pats 25 Suaves and Olneyville Sound System play the Safari on Thursday the 8th. Cover is, as usual, end view of Pope. Errr, pipe. Happy Easter.