SEBADOH ---Ink Blot Magazine

sEBaDoH
Interview by Jason Dearen
(with Dave Rosenheim)
Photos by Peter Ellenby
There was a period in my life when I listened almost entirely to Sebadoh records. I know I'm not alone; many of my friends and acquaintances have experienced this same phenomenon at one time or another. Maybe it's because Sebadoh songs deal with everything from frustrated love, to break-ups, to going on drug-induced adventures with your friends, to more break-ups. Their subject matter is harvested from life, or at least the most startling and miserable sections of it.
Listening to Sebadoh can also become addictive because, particularly on their earlier albums, Sebadoh always offer an array of different sounding songs that seem to fit perfectly on one record. Lou Barlow, Jason Lowenstein, and original drummer Eric Gaffney each wrote songs that were very different from one another. Listening to a Sebadoh record takes you from the emotional, tortured pop of Lou, to Jason's more angry sludge-rock, and then to outer space, where Eric offered music that sometimes reflected pure insanity. Sebadoh was the classic and almost impossible-to-achieve combination: a band that had the gift of multiple songwriters of extraordinary talent, each of whom contributed in a unique way. More impressively, they did it all with an intensity and honesty that punks, college geeks, indie-kids, or just about anyone who liked rock music could admire.
Since parting ways with Gaffney in 1994, Sebadoh have sustained themselves on the songwriting of Lowenstein and Barlow. Even though they've had a couple of line-up changes in the past few years, Sebadoh has been able to readjust and focus on crafting well-written pop records that have maintained critical support while earning them a new generation of fans. They haven't completely given up on their three-songwriter approach either, with new drummer Russ Pollard contributing a song to their latest album,
The Sebadoh.

I had the chance to speak with Jason and Russ before a recent show in San Francisco:

You guys took about a year and a half off from playing live - your show in December was your first back from that hiatus. How are things going?

Russ signs a blot

Jason -Better than ever. We're definitely playing the best live shows this band has ever done. The value for your dollar, creativity and everything else. It's good.

Is providing a good show more important for you guys now? When you played live in the past, there were lots of temper tantrums on stage and other distractions unfolding.

Jason -There's still some of that, but we recover from it a lot better now. Usually the temper tantrums would happen within 30 seconds of us hitting the stage and never go away (laughter). You know what I mean? You would play an entire show in this fucked up mood because somebody was having a shit fit. Because they didn't get their breakfast or something. But yeah, now we can sort of be like, "look, we all have to be out here..."

So Russ, how are you enjoying your time in Sebadoh? You're the new guy.

In the Sebadoh bus: Dave and J. Dearen, left; Russ and Jason, right

Russ -It's really fun...amazing, interesting. Every night is totally different. I'm just learning how to get in the flow of the three of us playing together. I was psyched that we were going on a seven-week tour because I knew we could really see how it actually works, and how everybody deals with each other. And, the ups and downs have been fairly mild. But there's been a ton of situations that covered the spectrum of emotions, in the last 4 weeks. It's been really good. I've enjoyed it.

You were friends with Jason before you met Lou?

Russ -Yeah...but not for very long though. Only for a couple of months.

Jason -Yeah, it wasn't that long. And now he hates me and he really likes Lou.

Well, that's the way it works. He's the new friend. Are you jealous Jason?

Jason -Yeah, you introduce somebody and you're really into them, and then they end up hooking up, you know? That's fucked up.

CONTINUE TO
PAGE 2 OF 3>>>