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Wed. August 14.2002 2:23 PM EDT |
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Stone Gossard: He's Feelin' Brad All OverPearl Jam guitarist turns drummer on his side project's new album by Gil Kaufman |
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Brad (VH1) |
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When a little free time comes their way, some guys are content to tinker on the car or paint the back porch. Not Stone Gossard. The Pearl Jam guitarist isn't happy unless he's in the studio ... and he's been in the studio a lot over the past
VH1: There's always been a sort of melancholy feel to the group’s music, but this album feels especially so. What makes Brad so sad? Stone Gossard: We were trying to be a little more professional when we made Interiors. We were more conscious of trying to write something that might be on the radio. A lot of this album is stuff that was made up very quickly, very off-the-cuff. We tried to give this record more of a vibe like the first record, which we made when we didn't know what we were doing. We're most inspired when we do something we love by accident, and don't start to think about how we can make it better. We're most satisfied when something is created, forgotten for a few years, and then rediscovered on some demo that can't possibly be remixed. VH1: The last one felt like it had some radio-friendly tracks, whereas this one is more... Gossard: [laughs] Arty? VH1: Sure, arty. They're both overwhelmingly positive. Is there something about Brad that brings out the peace and love vibe? Gossard: [Singer] Shawn [Smith], [drummer] Regan [Hagar] and myself have known each other for 13 or 14 years. We've grown up together and had some intense experiences in our lives. When we decide to make a record together, there's usually something about that that makes you feel very secure. It's one of those moments in your life when you can say the universe does have some patterns and stability, life is good and you can manifest things that bring you peace and pleasure. Everything's not just fucked up. VH1: You've known the guys in Pearl Jam for just as long, if not longer. Is that feeling you described different from the one you get with them? Gossard: Pearl Jam has always been my home of homes. There's a family built around that. And Brad always felt like another family that I always needed to return to. I've always wanted to incorporate that different feeling into my life, based on the personalities and it being a very different environment and musical aesthetic. Sometimes it feels like I want to have my cake and eat it, too. I want to experience multiple families, multiple long-term commitments. VH1: Maybe you should move to Utah. Most people have a hard enough time keeping one band afloat for a decade, but you've managed to do it with two. Gossard: I have strength in that sort of thing. I have a drive to keep things moving forward and solve problems. Most of the time it's about letting go and saying, 'I can't control this thing so I just need to be myself and be positive for whatever the group wants to be right now.' VH1: People have tried to make connections between some new albums and Sept. 11. The opening lines to "Brothers and Sisters" ("It's so amazing how the whole world full of angels could be so aloof to all the blinding fear…") certainly seems to be, if not influenced by that event, then eerily aware of it. Gossard: It was written before 9-11, although things have a way of reflecting in different ways. It's a very sentimental song. A lot of Shawn's lyrics are very straightforward in terms of the message and sentiment, which is overwhelmingly positive, or somber. There's not a lot of irony in what he sings, which is one of the things I find refreshing. VH1: Why is it important for you to still do the Brad stuff? You've also released a solo album in the past year, so as far as your solo career goes, you'd think you'd have gotten your rocks off enough to go back to your day job. Gossard: It's all about getting together with Shawn and Regan. As you get older, you don't have as many opportunities to spend time together. The nature of music is one where you can have an excuse to hang out with your friends, who either have kids or have a different set of priorities that make it difficult to have excuses to hang out over a period of time. Records have been a great reason for us to come together and share. VH1: I assume a Brad tour is less luxurious than a Pearl Jam one. Gossard: It's about getting on the bus and playing clubs. But everyone is so thrilled that it's equally entertaining and fun. Everyone in the band feels like they're living in luxury - like having hotel rooms - they're excited to be taken care of and playing a show, and that energy totally sustains me. VH1: Is there also a weird thrill for you to be back in those stinky clubs you graduated from years ago? Gossard: Absolutely. You roll into town early and walk around and do a sound check at a club at five in the afternoon. You start drinking beer and then get too drunk and can't remember the songs... VH1: Last time we spoke, you were a bit offended when I suggested Brad had more soul than Pearl Jam. But with their heavy funk and wah-wah pedal guitars, songs like "Shinin'" and "Drop It Down" seem funky in a way that Pearl Jam hasn’t been interested in pursuing. Have I offended you again? Gossard: On something like "Drop It Down," or the groovier tracks where Jeremy Toback is really getting to play his bass and I'm getting to be as downbeat as I want to be on guitar, yeah. Brad can do that kind of Mountain funk stuff pretty well. We definitely all enjoy it and I think Pearl Jam tends to move away from the grandiose funk bass/guitar stuff; they tend to mute that approach. VH1: Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're playing drums on “Revolution”? Given the Spinal Tap-esque drum seat in Pearl Jam, is this some sort of sign? Gossard: To have pulled off that song is a total feat. I can't believe I did it. I love playing drums. I do it all the time. I'm a closet drummer. But if we ever get to the point where I'm playing drums in Pearl Jam ... it's going to be over. Or very close to the end. VH1: Does all this side work help make Pearl Jam stronger? Gossard: You get to try different things in different situations. Each band's aesthetic is different in terms of what it generally gravitates towards and how people play certain roles. Anything that helps you step outside your role and see different perspectives is good. But there's a reason you're in a role and there's a natural fit there that lends stability to the project. VH1: So, it's not like you're going to pick up the ukulele and tell Eddie to step aside? Gossard: That would be an interesting conversation [laughs]. I'd like to be around for that one. I'll come out with a really huge ukulele that's much louder than his. 'Oh you got a new ukulele? So did I, check it out! George, wheel it in. A triple neck ukulele!' |
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