Neko Case Interviewed

photo credit: © Susan Anderson

Neko Case
More Than Just a Beautiful Voice
By Zach Selwyn

Neko Case’s third record, 2002’s Blacklisted (Bloodshot), was a tremendous leap forward for the alt-country songstress. Shot through with the same dark-hued, after-hours ambiance as her two previous efforts, 2000’s Furnace Room Lullabys and the more lo-fi Canadian Amp (Lady Pilot), but rife with melodic orgasm, the album, which featured contributions from Kelly Hogan, Calexico’s Joey Burns and Joey Convertino and Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, catapulted her to the top of the female country vocalist ladder where she rightfully took her place alongside such critical favorites as Lucinda Williams and Allison Krauss. Her sultry vocals and looks also earned her the top spot in Playboy.com’s “Hottest Indie Female in Rock” poll, much to her own bemusement.

In addition to her solo career, Case has lent her formidable pipes to a variety of side projects, from the off-the-cuff country trad duo The Corn Sisters with Carolyn Mark (on Mint Records) to the power-pop supergroup the New Pornographers; most recently, she recorded a gorgeous version of “River of No Return” for steel guitarist Jon Rauhouse’s latest CD for Bloodshot (Steel Guitar Rodeo, 2003). This interview took place shortly after the release of their second CD, Electric Version (their first for Matador Records), in May of 2003.

Zach Selwyn: Where are you right now?
Neko Case: I’m in Chicago (strums a guitar).
Zach: What are you playing right now?
Neko: I was just messing around. I’m sorry.
Zach: Where were you born and raised?
Neko: I was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but I was raised in Washington.
Zach: And you moved up to Canada at one point?
Neko: Yeah, I lived there for about seven or eight years.
Zach: Is that where you formed your first band (Case performed in several bands in Canada, including the punk outfit Maow and the rootsier Weasels.—pg)?
Neko: No, the first band I was ever in was in Tacoma, Washington.
Zach: In your teens?
Neko: My teens and my early twenties and then I went to Vancouver in late 1993--I stayed until 98.
Zach: And the New Pornographers formed up there?
Neko: Yes.
Zach: What’s this record all about?
Neko: If I understood Carl’s lyrics, I would tell you—but I really don’t (Carl Newman of Zumpano and Case’s own backing band, the Boyfriends, is also the chief lyricist and vocalist for the Pornographers—pg).
Zach: Are you singing any lead vocals on this record?
Neko: Well, I do a lot of singing, I do a lot of singing and a lot of harmony and a few leads, stuff like that--that’s kind of my job in the band.
Zach: Anything you’ve written on this record?
Neko: Nope, I never write for the New Pornographers.
Zach: You only write your solo stuff.
Neko: Yeah, I’m not exactly the most prolific songwriter in the world…plus, it’s nice to take a step back because I don’t always feel comfortable writing songs all the time, so I can get a little more into it if I didn’t write them.
Zach: Let’s talk a little about Blacklisted. It’s a record that, to me, seemed like a big leap forward for you as far as writing and recording goes. Do you feel that Blacklisted redefined you more as a singer-songwriter than merely as a beautiful voice?
Neko: Well, I’m a little too close to it to think of it that way, I guess. When a record is over, I like to start thinking about what types of things I’d like to do on the next one.
Zach: And what kind of thing would you like to do on your next solo project?
Neko: Well, right now I have far too many songs and I know I’d like to record it at the same place (Tucson, Arizona) and work with a lot of the same people, so I’ve basically been working on playing different instruments.
Zach: What are some new instruments you’ve learned recently?

Neko: Well, I have been trying to play Hawaiian guitar a bit but mostly I just focus on the tenor guitar.
Zach: Out of your catalogue of songs, both with the New Pornographers and your solo stuff, do you have a favorite? Or a favorite record?
Neko: No, it all changes all the time. Usually every song is a favorite while I am working on it. Paying attention to what you’re into at the time is the easiest and the hardest thing.
Zach: How did Tucson become the spot for you to begin recording your records?
Neko: I had done some recording in Tucson before at Craig Schumacher’s studio (Wavelab—Schumacher is a veteran producer/engineer and performer, with credits that include Richard Buckner, Evan Dando, Calexico, Steve Wynn and many others--pg) and it felt really comfortable. I decided I really liked it and I liked working with all of the people who were working there and I wanted to come back.
Zach: Is that photo on the cover of Blacklisted in Tucson?
Neko: No, that’s in Chicago, with my Washington plates on the car. I had to represent for Washington, you know.
Zach: What artists are you listening to right now?
Neko: Well, lately it’s been the Louvin Brothers and the Delmore Brothers, because I’ve been doing some research on them and I love them. Also, I’ve really been into the Mekons’ album Journey To the End of the Night, which came out in 2000.
Zach: Can you talk about some things that have influenced your past works or that have influenced you as a singer-songwriter?
Neko: Everything around you does, really. Where you are, how you’re feeling, what you’re eating, how much sleep you’ve gotten, it all really influences you--it’s not really a separate thing.

Blacklisted

New Pornographers:
photo credit: © Chris Buck (taken in New York) L-R: Blaine Thurier, Kurt Dahle, Neko Case, Todd Fancey, Carl Newman, John Collins (missing: Dan Bejar)

Zach: What about artists that you cite as some of your favorites?
Neko: Well, for the last record I was listening to a lot of soundtracks. I wasn’t listening to anything particularly vocal.
Zach: Interesting. So how do you feel about being voted Playboy.com’s “Hottest Indie Female In Rock”?
Neko: (laughs) Well, I feel flattered. It’s kind of silly, but I feel flattered.
Zach: Well, you’ve gotta love that. It beats being “Most Unattractive Rock Star.”
Neko: There’s a great deal of the time when I am probably the most unattractive lady in indie rock.
Zach: Never let ‘em see you sweat, Neko.
Neko: Well, I think letting them see you sweat is better than not letting them see you sweat.
Zach: When [the New Pornographers] won the Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in Canada (for Mass Romantic, in 2000), were you surprised?
Neko: Totally surprised! When you’re up for an award, there are always rumors about how it works if you’re going to win. And the rumor was, if you’re gonna win a Juno, they call you to make sure you’re going to be at the ceremony. Nobody called us, so we thought ‘Well, we’re not going to win anyway,” and I was in London, the guys were elsewhere…But I was very happy. I think the guys were a little embarrassed in their shy Canadian way, but I’m sure deep down they’re happy about it. They gave their Junos to their moms.
Zach: Where’s yours?
Neko: Mine is in my house. My parents don’t know what a Juno is.
Zach: Yeah, they’re like, “Isn’t that a form of martial art?”

Neko: (laughs) Yeah, they’re not that dumb, but they’d be like, ‘what is this?’
Zach: So what are you doing next?
Neko: Probably recording in my house. I can’t deal with the computer, I just have an ADAT--technology that is really frowned upon in the industry. [That’s] one of the reasons I really enjoy having one in my house.
Zach: How many tracks does it have?
Neko: Eight. I record everything on the ADAT and then you take it to a studio and they remix it and it sounds good. And it’s cheap. You can get an ADAT for so cheap these days. You can have an entire home studio for less than $1,000. You can do it on a computer too, but my attention span is so short that I can’t deal with virtual very well. I need to see the buttons in front of me.

Zach: When you record, do you record live or use Pro Tools and such?
Neko: I record to two-inch. Wavelab is all analog, and Craig mixes it really well.
Zach: What’s your songwriting process? Can you explain it?
Neko: Can’t explain it. There’s no one way it works.
Zach: Do you know when you’ve written the perfect song?
Neko: I don’t think I’ve ever written the perfect song.
Zach: One of my favorites of yours is “Wish I Was the Moon.” I don’t know if you wrote that.
Neko: I did!
Zach: What about “Look For Me (I’ll Be Around)?”
Neko: Did not write it, but you should hear the Ketty Lester version. It’s beautiful.
Zach: One last Canada question: did you ever get to meet that Allistair guy from “You Can’t Do That on Television?”
Neko: No, I never did, but I had a crush on him when I was ten.
Zach: He was a stud.
Neko: He kind of was. I used to watch that every day when I came home from school.
Zach: Me too. Now I listen to your records.
Neko: (laughs) Thanks.
Zach: No, Neko, thank you.