Band of Southerners bring night of ‘artisanal’ rock n’ roll to Bozeman’s Filler
Somewhere on a dusty road or a well-traveled interstate, right at this very moment, a rock n’ roll band is pounding the rock. They’re probably wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday and reminiscing about last night’s gig. Inspired by a guitar lick that cuts to the bone or a melody that lingers on refrain, this band is following a path forged by countless other musicians who’ve lived and died in dive bars or ‘made it’ with their posters taped to bedroom walls. What makes this band of brothers any different? This band is The Artisanals.
With sonic influences ranging from the dream-pop work of George Harrison (“Angel 42”) and heartland rock of Tom Petty (“Grow With You”), to the stone-cold radio hits of bands like the Killers (“Roll With It”) and Ryan Adams (“First Time”), The Artisanals’ newly released self-titled LP showcases the group’s knack for writing hooks as well as their ear for quality production. The album utilizes everything from a gong, organ, piano, sitar, French horn, trombone, and koto, to a string section sourced from the University of Iowa. Produced by Wolfgang Zimmerman and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Spoon, Ryan Adams, Nirvana), there’s no filler on The Artisanals. From start to finish, the record is a straight banger.
In anticipation of their Bozeman show, the Rolling Zone hopped on the phone with singer/songwriter and Artisanals frontman Johnny Delaware to talk the band’s eponymous debut and ‘following the feeling’ during the creative process.
RZ: Hey Johnny. Looks like I’m catching you in California, just north of one of the fires. Yikes.
JD: We’ve been swallowed in the smoke. We were in San Fran the last couple days and it was so smoky. We’ve been driving outside the city for the last couple hours and we’re still in it. It’s just everywhere.
RZ: It’s nuts. How’s the road treating you fellas so far on the tour?
JD: It’s been amazing, it’s been great. Can’t ask for more, man. We’ve been playing to a lot of people that we’ve met already, fans that we’ve played for that keep coming back. The numbers keep growing at the clubs and promoters keep asking us to come back. When you’re a new band, that’s about all you can ask for.
RZ: You’ll be in Bozeman on November 17th for a show at the Filling Station, joining local acts The Salamanders and Mad Pattern. What can concert-goers expect from your portion of the evening?
JD: Just really classic songwriting with a high-energy rock n’ roll show. And when we say rock n’ roll, we don’t mean AC/DC or some corporate rock that seems to be popular on Spotify. We’re very classy, late ‘60s, ‘70s type of rock n’ roll, West Coast Americana. We’re big fans of good songwriting but also putting on a hell of a show for people to give ‘em their money’s worth.
RZ: Glide has referred to the band as kaleidoscopic. So, for those who are just beginning to familiarize with The Artisanals, who is this band and how are its members’ personalities reflected through the music?
JD: Me and Clay [Houle] started the band, he’s the lead guitarist. We were in several different projects before we started this, but now that we’ve been doing it for well over ten years, I feel like we’re kind of veterans even though we’re in a new band. Even though this is our first album, a lot of people have said it feels like our fifth or sixth. We’re not having to write through our juvenile tendencies to find our answers. I feel like we’ve already got to that point. We’re a mature-sounding group and, you know, I’ve delved into psychedelics the last five years and that kind of reinvented the way I see what I do while I’m alive. I met Clay like four years ago and [he] was born to rock. All he wants to do is ride in a van and play his guitar, and that reflects while he plays. We’ve got this guy from Alabama playing the drums, Nick [Recio] who’s very classy with the way he plays. Our bass player Eric [Mixon], he’s got a classic look to him and he serves the songs really well. And then our keyboardist, Ian [Klin], he’s from Atlanta. We’re all just scattered seeds across the South.
RZ: You’re touring in support of the recently released full-length debut, The Artisanals. The album utilizes a smorgasbord of instrumentals over its 10 tracks and draws influence from a pretty wide range. When you guys decided to craft your official debut, what were your primary motivations?
JD: When we’re crafting songs, I’m a big fan of letting them go in the direction they want to. When you’re in the studio tracking, you just go off of a feeling. That’s all art and music is. As an artist, you have a responsibility to be a conduit for something. When you think too much, I don’t think you’re actually doing your duty. It feels like it comes from a whole ’nother plane of existence or dimension you can’t see. Inspiration – what is it? That’s what’s so cool about being an artist. Don’t think so much and just follow the feeling. Let the songs speak for themselves.
RZ: Sounds like some pretty solid advice.
JD: And I can’t stand when you’re in the studio and people start comparing your stuff to other artists. That’s a huge buzz kill. If it feels good, it feels good. Don’t compare it to other things that are happening. All art is borrowed from other people’s work. You have to do it respectively, though. You can’t just completely steal or hijack somebody else’s art and replicate it. But that’s a conversation for another time.
RZ: You and Clay, I believe, are responsible for the majority of the band’s songwriting. How do you decide you’ve got a song worthy of release? What’s a good song at base?
JD: If it’s something we can play live really well. Sometimes you’ll write five or six songs, try to play them live, and only two or three are actually served well enough. Generally, by the time I’m done writing the song and I show it to Clay or we get to play it live, it usually means it’s going to be on something eventually. For the first album we had eleven or twelve songs we wanted to initially record and they didn’t all make it. For this next album, we have a shit ton. It’s hard if you want to do a concept album, or if we’re going to choose this title for an album, [to pick] what songs will fit. Then we’re kind of pigeonholing ourselves. There’s all these different things – it’s like a puzzle. And that’s the beautiful thing about albums, too. Certain songs do need to fit, but at the same time they don’t. There’s no rule. If it feels good, if it’s a good song, if it makes you feel something and you think it will resonate with other people, put it out.
RZ: Is there a particular favorite from this album you’d care to share the story behind?
JD: They all have a little story to them. I always enjoy “Grow with You,” “Angel 42.” It just depends on what people would find interesting. I enjoy “First Time,” all of that’s really true. It’s about this person who I had this romantic week with, then didn’t get to see again for a long time. She was very influential in the way I wrote. I cared about her a lot even though I didn’t really know her that well. I think it’s cool when people can do that to us. When you feel like you know someone, but you’ve only known them for maybe even a couple of days. It’s a unique thing. Is it a past life thing, or is it this energetic thing? We’re all energy, so maybe it’s just that. Geographic locations, people, movies – anything can turn you on to write and make your pen electric. That’s what that woman did for me and I think that’s beautiful.
RZ: Seems crazy to think what’s impactful enough to write a bunch of songs about.
JD: If you can write and have the lyrical content match the landscape and feel of the sonics of the song, I think that’s amazing. I love when songs do that. I wrote the song “Country Roads Town” for my mother. I grew up in South Dakota [and] as soon as the song starts, you can feel and see the imagery, you can see the hills and the wind, the sun going down, the sky’s on fire, the spirits floating through the hills – I love that shit. I’m not claiming to be a good songwriter, but that’s what good songwriters do. They make you see that kind of stuff, the imagery, like any good writer. You gotta see it. Like Ryan Adams’ “La Cienega Just Smiled” or something, you know. What a great song because of the imagery it gives. Townes Van Zandt did that so well. And that’s what I love about Neil Young’s rock, too, it makes you feel like you’re in the Southwest, it’s so desert rock.
RZ: So if I had to guess, I’d say you chose the Artisanals as the band’s moniker because of its handcrafted approach to making music. Am I on the right track or totally off-base?
JD: You looked at it in the right way, for sure. [laughs] We have this band name to be funny. We’re called the Artisanals because we thought it was hilarious how everything is artisanal now. Anything can be – pickles, bread, whatever. We’re just kind of picking fun at that. It’s not to actually claim ourselves as artisans.
RZ: You guys are still riding the high of this release and have a pretty crazy calendar into next month, but what’s next for the Artisanals? What can we expect from you in 2019 and beyond?
JD: Getting ready for another release, really. We’ll be in the studio in January and February, then hopefully tour abroad. We’re going to be back to play South by Southwest. This is all tentative, you know, but these are the plans. Touring a bunch and kicking ass.
RZ: That’s an exciting outlook.
JD: Yeah, it is. We’re excited about this new album. I think people are going to dig it.
RZ: Very cool. Well, we can’t wait for the Filler show.
JD: We’re really excited to be a part of Bozeman, for one night, to put on a hell of a show for you guys and have some fun.
The Artisanals bring their high-energy rock n’ roll to Bozeman’s Filling Station on Saturday, November 17th. Local groups the Salamanders and Mad Pattern will also be on hand. The music begins at 9pm. Tickets to this 21+ show are $7 in advance at www.chickenjamwest.com or in-store at Cactus Records, and $10 at the door. Doors at 8pm.
The Salamanders are a four-piece garage country band led by the heavy hand of the baritone guitar and a driving rhythm section. They put on seriously energizing live performances and throw down recordings laced with a creative edge.
Mad Pattern is a new band made up of patterns and parts… tight, hard-rocking, dynamic, and soulful groove-based original music for the masses.
Learn more about Johnny Delaware and the rest of the Artisanals at www.theartisanals.net or find them on Facebook for updated tour details and other announcements. The band’s new album, The Artisanals, is available now. Stream on Apple Music and Spotify. •
