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ABOVE
Josiah
sitting on a coach in his studio "The Cave". He'll
sometimes fold out the cushions and sleep on them if he's
entrenched in his work.
Photographed
on January 9, 2010. |
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late,
more in the UK believe it or not, I've been having a lot
of English bands and promotors hitting me up saying I should
play the UK and I've been getting airplay on the BBC. So
I'm like, "we should cash in on this," not that
we'd make a ton of money, but the Euro is doing way better
than the dollar, if we got paid £100 that's like $200.
I
can't even imagine. I've been to London and Europe but don't
know the scene at all, but it seems to me that people there
are a lot more supportive of music which is awesome.
JM: I guess my problem is
that I come here and start writing songs and forget about
the business end of things. I'm trying to be better about
that, like I'll wake up in the morning and say I have to
send out twenty promo CDs to these people and then wait
two weeks and then I'm going to call them on the phone and
say, "hey, did you listen to that." There are
people who's whole job is doing that but for me as a musican
I have to be business savy as well and unfortunately I can't
just write the music and that's it. I have to try and present
it to the world or else nobody is going to hear it.
It's
really hard to do that all yourself.
JM: Moving to L.A. though
I've put my hands in so many different pockets, I'm engineering,
I'm producing, I'm mixing bands now, I'm writing my own
songs, I'm writing for commericals, I'm playing out live,
I just started booking some shows at Spaceland. I'm kind
of overwhelmed, so I'm thinking maybe now is the time that
I might need a manager to help organize my life, all these
things are just insane.
I
know exactly what you mean, you end up spending more time
organizing and thinking about the work you want to do than
actually doing the work.
JM: Yeah, yeah. And then,
"oh shit, I forgot to tweet about the show I have."
But I have been talking to some managers and they seem interested,
but unless you're ready to sign on the dotted line and give
them their 20% or whatever...it's hard, unless you have
some money. I'm almost ready to sign on the line, we'll
see.
Who
did the artwork for you record cover? Did you do it?
JM: No, this guy Umar Rashid,
he goes by the name Brohawk Two Feathers. He's a friend
of Kim's and he's a really unique guy. He kind of reminds
me of a Basquiat, his art is really kind of out there. He
did the art for Black Magic Marker, and a friend of mine,
a Chicago artist, David Williams, did Let There Be Light
FM. He does a lot of web type stuff and is an amazing graphic
designer. I hope to keep working with those guys because
they're awesome. People aren't even pressing CDs now, it's
crazy. I like the idea that vinyl is coming back and that
it's an art object. I just mixed a new single and I think
I want to press it on vinyl and put a download code on the
inside for the next release.
Do
you want to work with more local bands as a producer?
JM: Most definitely! I love
a lot of local bands like, The Happy Hollows, Silversun
Pickups, Wait Think Fast, Let's Go Sailing, The Parson Redheads,
The Henry Clay People, Rademacher,The Pity Party, Avi Buffalo,
Tigers Can Bite You, Wet and Reckless, Modern Time Machines,
Wrong Way Driver, Etc. If you're reading this, call me you
sons of bitches!!
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Yeah,
but if you just put it out there that you want to work with
someone, that's not bad.
JM: Yeah. And I'm finally
working with The Pity Party. I've been hitting those guys
up forever, and Rademacher, I really love those guys and
I'm finally working with them. So I guess my persistence
is finally paying off.
At
a certain point, once you have a body of work, people will
come to you.
JM: I really don't think
people should let their equipment limit them cause I've
always gone into it saying, "if i had this piece of
equipment than I could make this kind of record." But
I've kind of gone back to the school of thinking that this
is what I have and I'm going to make it work for me.
It's
easy to say if I had more money or if I had this instrument
or if I knew the right people it would all happen for me,
but you really have to just make the most of what you have.
JM: If all I had was a Casio
I'd make a record with that. (laughs)
Have
you ever remixed songs?
JM: Yeah, totally.
Because
knowing your music I could absolutely see you being great
at that.
JM: I have a TV on the Radio
track that I'm remixing now but I don't know if I have permission.
I'm just going to send it to them.
How
does that work, with bands putting out remixes. Do you approach
them or vice versa?
JM: You have to have permission
from their label. A lot of people don't have permission
and just throw it to the label or the artist and if they
like it they'll release it but usually you have to have
their permission to release it or put it out.
Is
it a work for hire situation? You wouldn't get residuals
on it right?
JM: No, the artist usually
gets all the royalties because it's their material.
What
do you think of people like Greg Gillis (Girl Talk)?
JM: That guy's an innovator,
he's amazing. I have to admit that guy's a genius, I love
his stuff. Or did you hear Dangermouse's whole Beatles/Jay-Z
thing. That's genius too. He's an awesome producer as well.
Yeah,
my understanding is that They Grey Album really launched
his career as a producer.
JM: He's doing a project
with the guys from the Shins, James Mercer.
You
named some pop bands from the 80s that you dug, but what
about now? Anything current that you're enjoying?
JM: I still kind of look
to the same stuff, but I'm a big fan of Mew and Metric and
I like the XX and The Big Pink. I saw them but it was a
little disapointing.
How
was it disappointing?
JM: It was their first show
in American I think and they were having techncial difficulties.
You can't really blame the band for that, well you can,
but...(laughs)...the sound just sucked. But I really like
TV on the Radio. Who else lately? I really like that single
from Avi Buffalo, I like a lot of local music. I think Tigers
Can Bite You are brilliant. I've engineered and produced
all their records and I hope to do their next one.
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