Wooden Shjips Interview

Wooden Shjips Interview

13 April, 2010
by: Robmccallum

Rob McCallum catches up with Wooden Shjips' Ripley Johnson, before their intimate London show at Bush Hall

When ‘Dance, California’ first reared its rhythmical head back in 2006, it was obvious San Francisco had produced another gem of psychedelic trance rock from its sunny haze. Following its release, Wooden Shjips have worked their way through faultless releases of minimal garage rock that, whilst certainly riding the indelible grooves of Spacemen 3, is entirely unique from its peers.

The quartet embark on a European tour later this month, following the release of ‘Vol. 2’ in March. The record is made up of previously released recordings from the band, containing material from their early Sub Pop outing alongside others. It really is a series of gems only previously owned by the serious train spotters out there, if you don’t believe me, check out the video for closing album track ‘Outta My Head’ below (If you do, watch it anyway just to see a clay man's ear fall off whilst his brain flashes various hues).


You play Bush Hall in April with The Heads. How did this come about and how does it feel to be supported by such a band?

Ripley: We're huge Heads fans. We actually did a little mini-tour with them one of our first times over. So we're all mates now. It's great because we don't get to see much of them in the US.

What's the reaction been to your shows in the UK?

We've been through a few times now and it's been great. It's probably our favourite place to play – the UK.

You’re quite an explosive live band. Are there any surprises fans should look forward to on your upcoming tour?

We have a couple of new songs to road test and we'll probably dust off a couple of older songs as well.

You released Vol. 2 in March. What can fans expect from this and is there any new material in the pipeline?

Vol. 2 is all previously released, but mostly in hard-to-find editions or out-of-print. So we're just compiling it for the non-crate diggers out there. We've started recording our next LP, which I hope will be out by the end of the year.

I read the band began playing together as untrained musicians, dissatisfied with what music was on offer a few years ago. Is this true and was there a philosophy of where you wanted the band to be?

It's true in that the first iteration of the band was non-musicians, except for me. At this point Nash and I are the only remainders from that group. The idea is that anyone can create music, and maybe training just gets in the way of true expression.

And how do you feel about the music scene now?

It's great. It's always great. You just have to look in the right places.

How does it feel to be compared to such seminal bands as Suicide, The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3?

It's humbling. But it's early yet. We hope our records will hold up as well over time. That's always been my primary interest, to make timeless records.

You guys are from San Fran, which has been responsible for much of a certain brand of psych music. How do you feel it affects you as a place?

It's a very progressive place, culturally and socially. So that's comforting. Most of mainstream USA thinks San Francisco is all lefties, gays, and hippies. That's a ridiculous generalization of course. But you can let your freak flag fly here which is very freeing. Plus there are lots of wonderful lefties, gays and hippies around.

Your tracks seem to place quite a lot in rhythmical experimentation. Do you feel this is an integral part of what Wooden Shjips are about?

We're a rock band, so that's quite an important element. We believe in rock 'n' roll as a dance music. And I think what seems experimental in that context, is considered commonplace in contemporary dance genres.

Your music can be quite hallucinatory. How do you approach a writing/recording session?

I think of it like making a sculpture. We've done some live recording but usually we track basic rhythm parts first, and then build up around that. We record everything ourselves, so we have plenty of time to play around with different textures.

You’re an incredibly talented vocalist, yet we can rarely make out a word you’re saying. What is the thinking behind this and are there any underlying themes to your lyrics?

Thanks! I approach vocals as another instrument first off. I was a huge Stones fan in my youth, so I've never liked over-articulated vocals. There are still lines on 'Exile' that I don't understand. I like that mystery. I feel it invites the listener to use their imagination a bit. As far as themes, it's the usual love and loss, life and death, highs and lows, past and future. The duality of nature I guess you could say, and the difficulty that humans have accepting it.

Every time I hear new Wooden Shjips material it seems to sink deeper into hooks and grooves. How much further can you push your music and does the technology of today allow for further scope?

I think the technology is often a distraction. I've heard of people getting lost in Pro Tools wormholes, with too many tracks, too many options. They lose all direction. All one really needs is a recording device and a microphone. But I don't know where we'll go next with our sound. I'm eager to figure that one out myself.

Click here for more information on Wooden Shjips Bush Hall show.
Click here for more information on Wooden Shjips supporting Pavement.
Click here for more live music in London.

Robmccallum