Additional Q & A with Alan Sparhawk from the desk of JG Everest:
Our show with Alan Sparhawk was a lot of fun. He showed up with about 10 guitars and set them all up on the stage in guitar stands. During the show, he explained where they each came from and how he uses/ has used them. One of them was actually the first guitar he ever bought, and was actually a bass guitar that he got while in high school. There was also an acoustic guitar that he got from Darren Jackson (Kid Dakota, The Hopefuls) which had since been signed by Chuck D of Public Enemy.
One of the show's highlights for me was hearing Alan talk about growing up milking goats on his parents' farm in northern Minnesota. He demonstrated his considerable technique on a pair of imaginary goat udders that hung in the air.
One thing that is so striking about Low is that they have worked with some of the most legendary producers/engineers around, and more specifically, people who were their musical heroes: Kramer, Steve Albini, Tchad Blake, and Dave Fridmann. In pinpointing the moment when his musical tastes took a deeper turn, Sparhawk cited Zak Sally's playing Galaxie 500 for him in college at UMD. I thought it was pretty interesting how simply they hooked up with Kramer, the man who produced those Galaxie 500 records: they sent him a demo tape and asked if they could pay him to record and produce their first CD. He agreed, and eventually, gave the resulting recordings to someone at Vernon Yard/Virgin, the label that went on to release the first three Low records internationally.
Alan also told us about his recent involvement with the Maasai Cultural Foundation, a fundraising effort to build a school for a tribal village in Kenya, Africa. Hans Johnson, the executive director of the project was in attendance, and sold out of the CDs he brought of Maasai music. I was lucky enough to get one before they sold out, and it's a great CD. For more info on this project, please visit the website: http://www.maasaiculture.org
after the show, I asked Alan a few more questions, some of which came from our live audience. If you'd like to join in the conversation, and add a comment, please jump in!
BONUS QUESTIONS: 1) When you were explaining what a "I-IV-V" (1-4-5) progression is, you mentioned that your guitar was tuned differently. What alternate tuning/s do you use, and why? i play in a tuning called "open G" (DGDGBD), which is more of a slide tuning, though it's most famous as the tuning keith richards used through the seventies. when i first moved to duluth for college, i started messing around with just making up tunings - mostly inspired by sonic youth. once i stumbled on a tuning i like, i just stuck with it because i only had one guitar and i didn't want to retune. later i found out that i had accidentally found open G. haven't switched since... 2) Are there any favorite guitars you have used in the past that weren't on stage at Making Music? What were they? i can't remember if i brought the sunburst telecaster, but that has been my main guitar since i was 19. i bought it in Bemidji, MN at the store where i had always gone and pestered the shop owner as a kid. Jim Miller was his name. i suppose besides that, i would have to mention the harmony stella acoustic guitar that was always laying around the house - the neck was warped past function and i think we destroyed all the strings by the time Pink Floyd's "the Wall" came out.
3) What's your least favorite part of your musical process/ lifestyle? What is your favorite part?
a real obvious frustration is driving and flying. 8 hours in the van for just one hour playing music can wear on you and airports are like going to wal-mart in hell. it's exciting and new at first, but the 14th time down the 94 heading east really takes some stamina. there's a few unique social stresses that come along with it all - people are different around you, and some come with a very one-sided "relationship" with you that's difficult to get your footing on. it means alot to me when someone has really absorbed our music and it's influenced them in a good way. i think anyone who get's on stage wants that result. we've been lucky to have done that. other than that, the "lifestyle" has made it possible to be around our kids almost all the time, and i get to sleep in alot...
4) What is your favorite cover that you've done? what is the one song you'd love to cover, but haven't yet?
i think the cover of neil young's "down by the river" that we did with the dirty 3 is my favorite. great song, great band to play with, and the session was fun and spontaneous. we learned so much from those guys, still do. right now the two artists i'd like to cover are waylon jennings and suicide - i think the last song that made me cry was "johnny teardrop."
5) If you could collaborate musically with anyone who would it be?
i've always said that morrissey should do a record and tour with low as his back-up band, but i think that's becoming less likely over time. phil spector would be cool - lot's of natural reverb in jail. the best collaborations happen unexpectedly and short-notice, so who knows. -- =alan