Our Double Shot series includes an interview question and a song feature from an independent band or musician near you. The goal is to allow you to learn more about the bands we feature in smaller, more digestible amounts of content. Grab your cup of coffee, click play, and allow us to introduce you to Richard of Niacin Library.
Today’s Double Shot features Death Woke on Saturday from The Vulture and The Sun.
Coming to the decision to simplify the production of this EP was not as simple of a choice as one might think. What gauntlet of thoughts and motivations led you to creating something simpler than the over-produced singles we are accustomed to from modern mainstream music?
…Also, while you’re at it, let everyone know who you are, where you are from, and what style of music you create!
The decision to simplify the arrangement was really difficult. It was largely based off of some work that I did in 2011. In 2011 I was heavily into mid-20th century Jamaican ska music. Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, all kinds of really great stuff. So I busted my chops and produced some of the best music that I could at the time. I had numerous instruments all layered into these really great tracks. Well, I liked them at least haha! But after all was said and done, there was no way that I could perform it live. No way without hiring a bunch of session players. And that really broke my heart.
So, for the next piece of work that I was going to do, I wanted it to sound at least reasonably close to what I sounded like live. It was going to be acoustic. But there was going to be shakers, a cajon, some bass and a little bit of electric guitar.
Then I started watching that 2001 Ken Burns Jazz series. If you haven’t seen it, it’s so great! I kept being amazed at all of these legendary players who would just walk in a room and make magic. That was it. Set up few room mics and record the sound that people were hearing live. These guys were busting out multiple records a month! Amazing stuff.
And before multitrack recording, that used to be what recording was. Performance wise, what you heard was what actually happened. After being inspired by the documentary and second guessing myself every other day, I decided what I was going to do. I was going to be as accurate to reality as possible. No weird auto-tuning. No doubled up vocals on a chorus. No fancy pants silliness. And…no other instruments. I don’t have a band, I don’t have clones and I don’t use a laptop on stage haha! If you hear the recording, that’s what I sound like live and vice versa.
Which, I’m sure is what most people assume when they hear an audio recording. That if they hear the act live it will be reasonably similar. But if you’re a solo artist with a limited budget, it’s really hard to bring those extra players onstage. Unless you want to play with a computer and I just won’t do that.
It may not be layered and it definitely limits the appeal. But it’s real. It’s flawed. It comes from the heart and it’s very human.
I am a singer-songwriter based in Boise, Idaho. I’ve been writing songs for nearly 15 years but due to some health issues in 2005 I stopped playing for a while. When I was a kid I was heavily into the music that came out of the 80s and 1990s California punk scene. Bad Religion was/is a particularly large influence. However, my family was always moving. Arizona, California, Indiana, and Idaho were all different locations where I went to high school. So every time I would start to get a band together we would move. Everything would break apart and I would be left with myself again haha! I was really fortunate that my parents bought me a guitar. But it was an acoustic! It would be years before I could get my hands on a Fender Strat. And even after that, the string tension and tone just threw me off. So my ears got really used to hearing chugging powerchord octaves on an acoustic guitar. I wouldn’t call the music I create now punk. I love a lot of different genres and styles. But that’s where it started. I usually just call it “acoustic rock” and leave it at that haha!
