Grandaddy - Jason Lytle - Lo-fi electro-country

Jason Lytle, former leader and singer of Grandaddy, one of the most interesting indie bands worldwide of recent years, released his debut solo album this year, "Yours Truly, The Commuter", keeping the quality of his music as high as ever. OndaRock reached him by email to put a series of questions to him.

Actually I've never gone back to Modesto since I moved, four years ago, to Montana, which I prefer to California for its harsh climate and because it's less populated. Commuter refers to my traveling back and forth between reality and fantasy.

The ideas came pretty quickly; it really was a complicated process recording, writing and performing everything myself, but in the end I'm happy and proud that I did it that way. I usually work indoors without stopping for a few weeks, but then I need to be outside and devote myself to my hobbies.

Thanks for the compliment! Yes, I did it all myself. I made the watercolor and then added the airplane to make my amateur drawing more interesting.

The sound of your solo album isn't too far removed from that of Grandaddy... but it sounds less rock. How come? Yes, I agree. Lately I haven't been listening to much rock, maybe that's the main reason. Actually, when I go out skating and drink beer with friends, that's when I hear Slayer and Mastodon, but not by my own choice.

I was also very attached to my old Australian shepherd, which we'd gotten as a guard dog because there were some pretty unsavory people living next door, including drug dealers. I let out these nonsensical howls, still imagining I'm communicating with him. As for the musical side of things, I think I've stopped looking at songs as singles by now.

I've heard the exact opposite of what you're saying now, so I honestly have no idea. My goal at this point is simply to keep making albums filled with quality material, and let people and listeners freely form their own judgment.

The only thing I can say is that no work gets finished and mastered unless we think it's solid and worthwhile, whether it's an album, an EP, or anything else. In any case, I've never released anything I despised or was later ashamed of.

Radiohead still have that effect on me. Their records only hit me after a while. The same thing happened to me many years ago with Pavement, another band I'm a huge fan of (Grandaddy themselves have in fact been compared to them several times, ed.).

Respect or admiration between fellow musicians is always nice, especially considering the different perspective they might have compared to your average music fan. I spend so much time dealing with my own stuff that I no longer know who thinks what about others.

Yes, I pretty much agree. We were very stubborn, and that worked in our favor on some occasions, but against us on others. I myself wouldn't have felt comfortable telling others how they should dress, and if anyone had tried to do the same to me, I would definitely have told them to fuck off.

Most of the time drugs were fun for me and had a positive effect because they made me more sociable, but after a while they became old and predictable. The problem with psychotropic substances is that they make you believe you're fresh and creative, but then they take you over completely and the spark of creativity dies. I'm convinced that a stable, happy person can produce great art even without their help.

I'd love to be able to confirm that for you, but unfortunately the tapes are either missing or sitting in someone's basement, eaten by mice and bugs.

One problem you had with your old band was having to worry about how to render your songs live. I understand you eventually got tired of playing with Grandaddy… too many shows and too much stress? Do you prefer performing solo now, in an acoustic setting, or with your old bandmates?

I've been traveling around the world playing with a small band, with the hilarious Rusty Miller, Aaron Burtch, my old drummer from Grandaddy, and another longtime friend of mine, Rob Murdock on bass. I don't like playing alone.

I toured with my band for about two months in the United States and Europe with this album. I'm still not sure how I feel about continuing to travel around the world. For now I just want to stay home, record, and go climbing.

My next record won't necessarily be more rock, but more varied, messier. I'm a pretty clean and organized person: for me it'll be like wandering behind a garbage truck without a care in the world, just having fun. Since bands aren't stable, I might end up as a roadie or a drummer, and no longer be the frontman of the band!

Jason Lytle's Christmas album can be downloaded for free from his official website. The record is titled “Merry X-Mas 2009” and consists of 7 tracks improvised on piano.

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