Wilco
January 25, 1997

Q: If you could play live with anyone living or dead who would it be?

Jeff Tweedy: There are too many to name. I'll just name dead people. Otis Redding, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Thunders, early in his career (laugh). We actually opened for Johnny Thunders when we were in high school. Just a couple months before he died. We had this fifties garage cover band.

Q: What is the typical pre-show routine for Wilco?

Jeff Tweedy: We really don't have one. We all try and get together about a half an hour or forty-five minutes before we go on, without anyone else around. Not to have a meeting or anything but to kind of hangout and to figure out what we want to do differently. Basically so we all know where we are, and we are not worried that someone is not going to show up.

Q: Are there any venues or cities that you prefer to play in?

Jeff Tweedy: Most places have the potential to be pretty cool. We try not to have any prejudices. The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, I really like the way that place sounds. Chicago is always good, obviously.

Q: Has Wilco given any thought about releasing a live album?

Jeff Tweedy: We've joked about it. I don't know, we used to joke about putting out a double record.

Q: Start working on the live album and then you'll need a new joke. When I saw you guys live at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, I was taken by the interaction you had with the audience. It would be great to try and capture that exchange.

Jeff Tweedy: It (record a live album) would be hard to do in one show. I think it would probably be easier to compile stuff. We tape most shows. I think a lot of that probably doesn't transfer to a tape. Another joke we have is to do all new material. We would book a week in some small club that we like to play in and tape all the shows and compile one out of that.

Q: How has your new role as a daddy affected you?

Jeff Tweedy: I am a lot more patient probably. I was probably pretty patient before, but I don't know... just on the road, it is harder to be away but it makes you appreciate playing a little more.

Q: Any effect specifically on the music that you are creating?

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah, it is a constant reminder that the music is not the most important thing in the world. That if the worst thing that is going to happen is that you are going to have a bad show or make a bad record or write a bad song. In the grand scheme of things, that's pretty minimal. That's nothing compared to Spencer having the flu and getting projectile vomited on.

Q: You seem to be creating new songs almost effortlessly. Has song writing always come easy for you?

Jeff Tweedy: The last three or four years since I moved to Chicago, I started spending more time here. I've been more focused on writing songs than I've ever been. I don't have a lot of friends stopping by. Just basically been hanging out with my wife. When I am off the road I kind of lay low and stay in the house and write songs. That has increased the output quite a bit.

Q: Your songs seem to be simple enough for everyone to understand yet complex enough for people to relate to them on a personal level. Is this intentional?

Jeff Tweedy: I try not to think about it. I like simple songs. Ideally I just let a tape player run and try and come up with something every night or at least once or twice a week. I don't usually go back and listen to it very much. If it is something that's cool I remember it. But sometimes I go back and let things evolve and try not to write lyrics down. I guess when you don't write lyrics down it comes out more conversational, so it tends to be short words and simple ideas. Musically I guess, it makes it sound more complex.

Q: Do you have a preference between the studio or the stage?

Jeff Tweedy: Not really, they both are totally different things. Right now I am missing being in the studio, 'cause I'm not doing it. We're touring a lot. I love playing live 'cause I think it's really important. I don't think it's as easy to evolve as a band without playing live. In the studio I think it is just as much fun to be able to hear things in a perfect environment and be able to manipulate things and change them.

Q: How does one of your songs get presented to the rest of the band?

Jeff Tweedy: It's hit or miss. I play through a bunch of songs usually. On this record we recorded a song a day, that is everything that we were going to do to that song had to be done by the end of the day. Start in the early afternoon just playing through a bunch of songs, until one struck a cord with everybody or everybody felt up for doing it. Basically then we will try what ever comes naturally. If that doesn't work then we'll take it apart and switch instruments or set up differently or add a ton of reverb to the drums or something, just to try and create some kind of environment that inspires a good take.

Q: What kind of effects do you feel was achieved by having the band self produce the latest album?

Jeff Tweedy: We got to make a lot of decisions that we would probably have been frowned upon. The double record for one. It was just good to take all the responsibility for it. Whether you want to or not, you end up deferring decisions to a producer just because they are getting paid to make decisions. A lot of time I think you end up with stuff that if you had forced yourself to make the decision you might have come up with something different. Like throwing a weird effect on a vocal or something like that and then going, 'I don't know is that cool?' You start asking yourself that and once you start asking yourself that, you ask somebody else. Namely the producer and they say, 'no, you'll get sick of it, you're gonna hate it.' Just because it is easier for them to not... I don't know, I just think that producers in most cases have another agenda and that's to make a record that is kind of a calling for them.

Q: Where do you see the growth of Wilco between the first album A.M. and the latest record Being There?

Jeff Tweedy: I think it's more of a band now from when we made A.M.. We had played together in Uncle Tupelo and toured a little bit, most of us together when we made that record. But, Jay Bennett came into the band after that and we played like 200 shows. By the time we made Being There we were just a little more comfortable with being something different than Uncle Tupelo. Definitely a lot more adventurous as far as keeping ourselves interested musically and not just doing what is easiest.

Q: Since you brought up Uncle Tupelo, I figure I need to ask a question or two. Did Uncle Tupelo fizzle out or was the end unexpected?

Jeff Tweedy: Well, we didn't feel like we were done. That is why four of the five members of Uncle Tupelo at the end we kept on playing. Jay (Farrar) quit the band and that is really something to ask him about. In hindsight I think it was a great decision 'cause I couldn't be happier. I am happy with what we did, and I feel like we went out on a good note. At the time we were a little surprised by it but not enough to let it drag us down too much. We were into playing together so we got started on A.M. pretty quick about two months after Uncle Tupelo broke up.

Q: Was it out of character for Jay Farrar to make rash decisions, like the one to leave Uncle Tupelo?

Jeff Tweedy: It wasn't totally a surprise. It was just the timing that was a surprise because we were still touring on Anodyne, and we thought that things were going better than ever. So that was kind of a shock. Like I said in hindsight it makes sense. I am totally comfortable with that.

Q: On a more general note, what is in Jeff Tweedy's CD player at this moment?

Jeff Tweedy: DEVO. DEVO's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!. That record is amazing.

Q: I have a couple of off the wall questions for you. First one, what was your first car?

Jeff Tweedy: A volkswagon rabbit, a green one. I threw a rod on it Christmas dance night in high school. It was like 50 below wind chill. It was my first date with this girl and I had to call my dad and have him come pick us up.

Q: Were you in full-on formal attire?

Jeff Tweedy: No, not tuxes just dressed up. It was terrible. We never went out again. Her name was Teresa; it was destined to not work.

Q: Does Wilco have a motto or something that keeps you guys on track?

Jeff Tweedy: No, not really. We all have a pretty similar philosophy, but we haven't boiled it down to a motto. Playing music is a good thing. It should be appreciated; it's its own reward and if you can keep yourself reminded of that, it just keeps getting better.

Q: Jeff what did you want to be when you were growing up?

Jeff Tweedy: I wanted to be a rock star.

Q: Don't look now but it happened. Jeff, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk with WILMA. Best of luck to you and the rest of the band in the future.

Jeff Tweedy: Great, thanks. See ya later.

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