Natasha Tylea

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Wye Oak: Interview with Indie Rock Songstress Jenn Wasner

By Drew Fortune
Published: February 23rd, 2011 | 12:00am

For Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, there is no place like home. I’m speaking with Wasner on the phone from her bedroom in Baltimore, and we both find the idea somewhat novel. It’s rare to catch a musician in a moment of downtime tranquility, and that happiness is palpable over the line.

Wasner is gregarious and sunny from the moment she picks up, and I can almost picture her bedroom: acoustic guitar resting against a bedpost, incense smoke wafting lazily across a Liz Phair Exile in Guyville poster. Wasner relishes her downtime, which is understandable as the twenty four year old lyricist/guitarist doesn’t get many of these moments anymore. Perpetual road warriors, Wasner and bandmate/multi-instrumentalist Andy Stack have been touring the country econo in a 2003 Honda Odyssey minivan for the past few years. With a recent two date opening slot with Spoon in London and Leeds, and an upcoming 2011 Spring tour with The Decemberists in support of new album Civilian (Merge), Wye Oak is on the cusp of breaking big in the new year. In an ever-changing industry, Wasner remains an eternal optimist, eager to embrace the possibilities of changing technology.

Accessible without pandering, moody yet never morose, Civilian is a collection of songs that Wasner says “as a whole, [are] about aloneness (the positive kind), loneliness (the horrible kind), moving on and letting go of people, places and things.” The lyrics are a perfect summation of the woman who penned them: self deprecating, biting, incisive and a tad cynical. Belying conventional structure, Civilian turns folk inside out and finds Wye Oak exploring new territory, sonically and thematically. Their strongest effort, Civilian showcases a band transitioning comfortably into maturity without losing their edge, and in the case of Jenn Wasner, an artist truly discovering her voice and inner strength.

How did you creatively approach Civilian? Did it feel like a departure from your 2009 release, The Knot?

The biggest difference between Civilian and everything else we’ve ever worked on is that this record happened really, really quickly. The writing, the recording, the mixing and every aspect of this record happened in an extremely short amount of time. For our previous recordings, the process would be that we would write the songs, and then we’d have a lot of time to play them and kick them around. We’d have time to see what works and see what sticks. We’d solidify the arrangements in a live setting and then go into the studio. With Civilian, every song on the record, with the exception of title track "Civilian," was pretty much untouched. I wrote them almost entirely over the summer, and we recorded them in a really brief stint in less than a month in July and August. Then we went on tour for a few weeks, came back and immediately mixed it with John Congleton (St. Vincent / Shearwater) in Dallas.

The record, start to finish, happened over the summer. We really didn’t stop to think too much about live arrangements, and I had a really strange and unusual period of prolificness this summer, which very rarely happens to me.  I kinda holed myself up and came out with a lot of songs, way more than I’ve ever written in any small amount of time. We had a lot of material to choose from, and we acted with a “go with your gut” mentality on which songs would be on the record. We picked the ten strongest that we felt would make a cohesive record. I really like the spontaneous feel of the record. It didn’t feel rushed, but it did feel fast. We recorded them before we had the chance to get sick of the songs. Everything was really new and it felt really exciting to be working on this material.

The rush wasn’t due to necessity? It wasn’t due to studio availability or other constraints?

No, it was pretty much self imposed and fun. No one was breathing down our necks looking for another record. In the past three years we’ve put out two full lengths and an E.P. so I think that’s a pretty good track record. I’ve been proud of our ability to tour as much as we have and still put out quality records. The immediacy had nothing to do with people asking us to hurry. It was because we wanted to do it. I think for both Andy and I, the recording process is our favorite part of the deal. I had been writing a lot, and I was trying to resist what seems to happen to every band, which is an inevitable delay between music from us to the people, so what’s new to you is not new to me. It’s inevitable, and even though we made it really fast, it’s not going to come out until March, and then it’ll be our new record that we’ve had for eight months.

When you mentioned your burst of creative spontaneity, was that new to you? Are you a cocktail napkin writer or do you sit down every morning and try and get lyrics down?

Honestly, I think the iPhone is the new cocktail napkin (laughs). I’m serious. The iPhone can definitely be attributed to my increase in productivity. I always have it on me, and I’ve kind of abandoned my little lyric notebook. I know a lot of artists and songwriters who work this way now. Any time I have a melodic idea or lyric, I basically just pick up my phone, access the voicemail function wherever I am and hum a melody or sing a few bars.

Whenever I do get private time to sit down with a guitar or at the piano, which is rare, I’m not staring at a blank page. I open the voicemail and have all my ideas from the past two weeks. It totally has blown my world wide open. So many ideas were lost in the ether before I had the ability to document them so consistently. Not every idea is a keeper obviously. For every goofy idea, maybe 10 out of 100 are keepers. But it works. When I sit down now, I have a starting point and things move much more quickly. If I was born earlier, I’d probably be a cocktail napkin writer. But, I’m an iPhone writer.

I’m 28, and I fear technology and still reluctant to adjust. How do you feel about the state of the industry? They’re disappearing, but do you still find time to hit indie record stores?

I think there are still many amazing independent record stores. Touring around the country, there are stores that I still get really excited to hit. Guestroom Records in Norman, OK is great. Slowtrain in Salt Lake City. In every city, there seems to be at least one great record store, and a community that seems to exist around them. The number of records that are being sold is smaller, but I still think that the people who really care, and especially the niche market that we operate in, the industry is changing beyond the level that encapsulates us.

Merge Records is a big level, but still technically independent. I think it’s remarkable that they are able to do what they do and release so many big records that have achieved great amounts of mainstream success. I really respect them for that. As far as the state of the industry, I think it’s always been changing since I’ve been a part of it. I am very young, so I didn’t really have a chance to experience what the pre-digital era was like. Bands don’t really make money selling records now. They make money touring. It’s kind of a new era but it’s always been this way for me. I have a lot of friends who are older and who have been performing and recording for a long time who lament the current state of affairs. I’m young enough that it doesn’t bother me. It’s better to think forward and try and adapt, because there’s really no sense in fighting something that is inevitable.

This is the state of the music business. Get used to it. It doesn’t scare me because for every downside, there’s something that can be seen as a positive. I’m sure that we would not even be a performing band making money if it wasn’t for the internet. Merge found out about us through a blog, and there’s a network that exists for artists to kickstart careers that wasn’t available before. I’m thrilled about that. It’s opened up the music world to so many more people and I’m all in favor of that.

There really isn’t much difference from sending Mac and Laura a demo tape in the 90s or them hearing about you from a blog. They know great music when they hear it.
Yeah! Exactly. It’s a good feeling to feel like you have control over your own destiny in a way, and that’s what the internet did for a lot of artists.

Tell me about growing up in Baltimore. It seems strangely conducive  to creativity.

I was born in West Baltimore and grew up just outside the city limits. I’ve been here my whole life, but basically wanted to escape the entire time. I went to school in upstate New York and quickly realized that I hated it and Baltimore was where I really wanted to be. I hadn’t really become super involved in the Baltimore music scene as a teenager. When I left, I don’t think I realized how unique it was so I immediately moved back after a semester of college when I was 18. I’ve been living pretty much in the same Baltimore neighborhood ever since, working and playing music. It’s a pretty special place to be for a creative person. I always forget when I leave that not everywhere is like Baltimore, for better and worse. It’s a flawed city, and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it, but when it comes down to it, the people, music , art and the genuineness of the city keeps me coming back time and time again.

Are you a Ravens fan?

I’m a huge Ravens fan. It’ s a constant battle, being on tour in the fall, because I miss a lot of Ravens games. We found a Ravens bar in San Diego that we went to, and Chris McCallister was there (former Ravens cornerback) so that was amazing. We also watched a Ravens / Steelers game at a Hooters in rural Illinois, so you gotta do what you gotta do. We’re pretty passionate Ravens fans.

Who did you grow up idolizing? Madonna or Liz Phair?

Oh man, totally Liz Phair!  I had an interesting Liz Phair-related experience recently. I just loved the shit out of Exile in Guyville growing up. There’s a part of me that will always love that record. During my brief stint in college, I even wrote a women’s studies paper on that record. I was a total geek. I hadn’t listened to it in years, but I had a growing up moment recently. I was staying at my friend’s house on tour, and she was streaming the Matador 21st Anniversary shows in Vegas. Liz Phair came on, and I got all excited. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy or respect her performance…I had to ask myself ‘who was that person who used to relate so deeply to this music, and where did she go?’ I had one of those moments where I realized I was different and older now.

Listening to a record from your youth that you haven’t touched in a while and coming back to it years later when you’re at a different place in your life is a really striking moment. I have moved on and I have grown.  That record is a document of a very specific feeling and time and place, and I love that. I love to have these totems from my past to point to and be like, ‘that’s what I was like when I was 16 years old and learning to play the guitar.’ It’s not good to feel like you did when you were 16. It was a funny moment because it sought me out. I wasn’t looking for some realization of maturity.

As a frontwoman, were you always comfortable in front of a crowd? Were you outgoing in high school?

I’ve never been particularly shy onstage. I was never the frontwoman in high school. I was always kind of the girl who played the instruments for the people who sang. I was in the jazz band and never in the spotlight. I’ve been playing music in front of people since I was really young. I’ve never been really shy about singing. A lot of people have issues about sharing their singing voice with people.

Since I was really young, my mom would sing with me, from basically since I was a baby. No one in my family was ever shy about singing around the house or to records or whatever. She taught me to play guitar, and I played piano. So public performing was never really a hurdle that I had to get over. It definitely has changed for me. When we first started the band, I didn’t think of myself as a frontwoman at all. When Andy and I started the band, we both kind of played a little bit of everything. He would sing or I would sing. I would play guitar or vice versa.

At a certain point, we realized that we needed some focus. There was never really a moment when it was decided that I would be the frontwoman. I’m really self- deprecating and I have a hard time projecting confidence even if I do feel confident. It’s my tendency to project humility. One of the things that I’ve been learning is to look and feel confident on stage and enjoy myself and relax. I’m trying to not worry so much about how I look anymore. My goal is to be as forthright and genuine as possible in front of people. I love performing, and similar to a lot of performers that I know, I pretty much hate everything before and after (laughs).

Are you cut out for life on the road?

I think I handle it very well. The first year we toured I hated it. But you get better at it. You meet more people and find more places to stay.  You understand the routine, and it’s a skill that you can learn. It’s so much easier now, and we have friends and people we’re excited to see in pretty much every city. You wake up in the morning on somebody’s floor and you’re dirty and grouchy, but then you realize that you get to drive to a new city and hang out with friends you haven’t seen in awhile. A big part of it for me was learning how to eat right and take care of myself on tour. I had to learn how to simulate privacy even when I don’t have it. I am a really insular person and I crave my alone time. There are ways to simulate privacy. For example, disappearing into a green room or going into the backseat of the van and putting on my headphones creates the illusion of isolation.

So, there are little psychological and logistical tricks that I’ve learned to help me adapt. I feel happy and productive when I’m moving and working towards a goal. When I’m on tour, there’s always at least one part during the day when I feel like I’m accomplishing something. Traveling feels good, and I love seeing different places. It’s something very new to me. I didn’t get to do a lot of traveling growing up. I do think I’m cut out for it. It’s hard, but definitely worth it.

Do females have to fight anymore for acceptance in the indie rock scene these days?

I don’t think it’s equal, but I also don’t think you can really complain. I think there are certain people who really enjoy seeing a female in control. It gets them excited, and they can relate to it. There are a lot of bands for whom that is a major point. Our band included.

At the same time, it is frustrating. After the amount of time we’ve spent touring, I feel like I can operate on a professional level pretty successfully. Sometimes there are people who just assume certain things. I constantly get “Oh, you’re the merch girl. You’re the girlfriend or you’re the tour manager.” I almost always hear from someone, “I can’t believe you can play guitar like that!” Which is strange, but also kinda fascinating. It’s satisfying to prove people’s preconceived notions incorrect. I think that it’s a major part of why our band has done well, because people are surprised when their expectations are defied. I can’t complain. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why our band has any sort of success. There are a lot of unbelievably talented women in music obviously, but I think they will always have to be defying expectations.

What’s a perfect day for you?

That’s a really good question! You have to understand this is coming from the perspective of just getting off tour. Ok, a perfect day involves waking up around 9:00 am. Exercise. Eat a delicious brunch. Hang out by the fireplace and write songs. Then I’d go out in the evening, play music or maybe see some friends. Maybe find time to ride a rollercoaster and hang out with puppies. Also smoke a lot of weed throughout the day. That’s a perfect day for me.

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