Levi Weaver
Interview
Friday 25th of January 2008
By Haydon SLevi Weaver is one of the brightest stars on the horizon of up and coming singer songwriters. With an integrity and creativity to his song craft that belies the fact that his new record, You Are Never Close to Home, You Are Never Far From Home, is his debut full-length album, Levi is poised to take the world by the back door. We held on to his coat tails just long enough for him to answer these questions.
Levi Weaver'll most likely be a new name to people reading this. Please introduce yourself.
"Ah, well... it's a long and sordid story involving rodeo cowboys, a trip to the border of Kosovo and Serbia, a girlfriend who broke my heart in the arms of a Frenchman, running away from home, going on tour, being kicked out of England, and marrying the girl of my dreams. This all sounds like an exaggeration, but in truth, each of those things is true, if stated a little dramatically. Most people know me as 'that guy who opened for Imogen Heap on her 2006 US tour.' or 'that one guy who covered that Radiohead song'."
Your new album's out right now. How was the recording process for that?
"This one was a little different from the last one. With 'Civil War...' I did it all myself in the office where I was working at the time, and it was a huge learning process for me - I'd never recorded anything myself before.
'Good Medicine', from that EP is literally the first thing I ever recorded myself, and it was kind of my guinea pig. (It's still maybe my favourite song I've done, probably for that reason)."
"This one, I'd had most of the songs written for a while, and had played them all live before, so it didn't feel like there was as much experimentation going on, from a producer's or an engineer's standpoint.
Also, for the drums, bass and most of the electric guitars, I went into a real studio with hired musicians, and... yeah, that's really where the experimentation element came from, for me; they'd never heard the songs before, they were reading from charts, and I was learning how to communicate to not just musicians, but REALLY GOOD ONES. I play by ear, mostly, so instead of using real music words, I'm throwing out things like 'uhh... okay, guys, can we make this one sound like Tom Waits' zombie stumbling through a haunted circus at midnight?' ('Of Bridges Burned') or 'Okay, I want Johnny Cash, fighting the devil, in a death match... held in an old west saloon.' ('Family Feud')."
"The guys were really cool about it though, I think they probably get bored with people that know what on earth they're doing. I like to think it was that rather than being annoyed. That said - a couple of the tracks ('Idioteque', 'Would We Liars Be') and all the acoustic guitars, percussion, vocals, etc... everything that puts sinew and skin on the skeleton, for that, I went back into a basement and did myself. I like that element of being able to experiment with sounds while it's not costing me $50/hour. I think the songs are better for it, even if I might get a better microphone in a studio."
Is it right that you were in a band before you went solo?
"Yes. Though the two were separated by over a year. That band ended so acrimoniously that every time I strapped on a guitar, it felt like I was putting on my armour for a battle, so... I listened to very little music and didn't play at all for nearly a year. The happy ending to the story is that I'm on speaking terms with everyone, and 2 of the guys were in my wedding in August, so. *whew*"
What have been some highlights of your career to date?
"Well, obviously the Imogen tour was just... wow. What a break that was, it's enabled me to do what I'm doing. Everyone on that tour was just so easy to get along with, and so from a personal standpoint, it was nice to have a 'break' in the industry that was so pleasant and didn't scare me off from touring in the future. As far as other things that stick in my memory.... There are two venues in Birmingham (UK) that will always hold a place in my heart: my EP release show was at the Glee Club; Markus is a top guy, and that venue is just perfect for songwriters... also the Sunflower Lounge.
I've never played to a more attentive/raucous crowd than one Sunday night there, it was just... yeah, that night was pretty magical."
Any lowlights you want to share?
"Oddly enough, I can point to 2 of my last 3 shows here in the US. I've just been really fighting with my pedals lately (I do a lot of looping on-stage) and I'm trying to get them arranged so that they are the most useful, and the constant changing has made the live show really tricky. I'm getting it, but it's just given me fits; one show in New York City and another here in Nashville, I've just walked off stage thinking 'UGH. that was not the top of my game' and I hate that. I think if people are going to spend money and time to come see me, I owe it to them to be at my very best, and it literally bothers me for weeks when I don't. I have a hard time sleeping at night for about a week when I have a bad show. No lie."
What bands/artists inspire you musically?
"Oh, heavens. I could literally talk about this for hours on end. I've gone through a lot of 'stages' in my musical life, so each of them has left a little flavour. I honestly listen to everything from old country (not new. nothing post-1990), and early grunge to classical and speed metal. I think the ones that reeeeeally have the most influence on me, though, are the ones that can tell a story, or make me feel what they're feeling. I'm a huge sucker for clever lyrics. And originality. I can't listen to something if I'm singing along another song that sounds exactly the same."
"If I had to name a few... *checks iTunes*... Ryan Adams, Josh Ritter, Ben Folds, Counting Crows, Cold War Kids, Semisonic, The Wallflowers, Radiohead, Ray LaMontagne, Nickel Creek, Ours, Sigur Ros, (early) Damien Rice, mewithoutYou, (early) Eisley, Johnny Cash, Copeland, Willie Nelson, Lovedrug, Better Than Ezra, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab For Cutie, Murder by Death, The Decemberists.... seriously I could do this for hours and hours..."
Are there any new bands/artists who are exciting you right now that you would like to draw to the attention of our readers?
"YES! I have a glut of music that needs to be heard. I'm in a real singer-songwriter phase right now, so I'll give you a list: Brooke Waggoner, Aaron Long, Katie Herzig, Landon Pigg, (all Nashville artists) It Is Well (former bandmate), Gary Nock (a Brummie), The Avett Brothers, and in a different genre altogether, there's a band here in Nashville called The Paper Route that is also pretty great. "
What is the stimulus for your writing?
"It just depends on the song. I'll go for 6 months and not write a thing, and then all of a sudden, I'll need to get something out, and I'll write 4 in a week. Lyrically speaking, it's always just been this cathartic thing for me to get out on paper, and .... I don't really know why I decided it would be a good idea to share those thoughts with everyone, but I just started doing it, and *bleh* there they are. Maybe it's all borne from not being able to go up to someone and tell them what I really want to. Maybe song writing is just a really passive-aggressive way to tell people what I think? I'm not sure. Musically speaking... wow. Well, you saw the list of influences, it kind of comes from all over the map."
What does the future hold for Levi Weaver?
"Goodness, I wish I knew. I'll always make music, or be involved with music and musicians, on some level. I love the industry, or at least the little corner of it that I choose to involve myself with, and I love the people that are involved in it. Even when I was in college as a radio/TV student, I was always hanging out at the fine arts building. These have always been my people. For as long as I can be successful making my own music, I'll do it - I absolutely love my job - but when that chapter has passed, I think I'll probably be involved with helping other musicians make sense of what can be a pretty confusing and overwhelming world. (For now, I'm still trying to learn it myself.)"
http://www.the-mag.me.uk/Music/Articles/Item/Levi-Weaver-Interview-20080125/
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