Suffice to say, Justin Schaefers is a busy guy. As the co-creative force in two of the city’s most buzzed about acts in Winkler and Doss (both of whom share members with a whole host of AP faves, we might add), Schaefers and company have created something of an in-scene themselves, carving a (slightly) quieter, more classicist indie pop space in the noisy din that typifies the Boston music universe. You know, pop songs with a capital P and just a tasteful amount of tape hiss and room sound to keep it DIY. Somehow, the NorCal-born Schaefers has found time to write for a third, entirely solo project where he records and plays every instrument himself. Like Bob Pollard of Guided By Voices, these solo tunes are eclectic by nature, chasing whims and sounds that fall just outside the margins of his two (somewhat) more streamlined bands, but still bearing those signature hooks lying just beneath the haze.
Whether it’s a mini-album or a long EP, Modest Hits is out today and it’s a great listen so we simply had to talk to Justin about the process and shoot some photos too. Hit the stream below and read on for more.
Allston Pudding: Between Winkler, Doss, and now your solo stuff we must ask: where do you find the time?
Justin Schaefers: At the sake of the sanity of my loved ones, my songwriting rarely finds a break. I find I’m usually humming something underneath my breath if I’m not full on singing to myself on the sidewalk. There are so many little ideas that can just sprout up throughout a day, and while most of them are not worth keeping, some turn into songs for better or for worse! I am so lucky to have Winkler and Doss in my life to share and develop these ideas with!
AP: How does your songwriting differ for your solo material over your bands?
JS: I think that the collaborative nature of playing in bands is incredibly energizing. The thought of taking an individual idea and creating something larger is one of the great joys in my life. However, with these songs, it felt like I was taking a look under the hood to find out what made my engine run as an individual. I found that this batch of songs felt personal in a way that was more like a weird diary entry than a rock album.
AP: Obviously you record these all by yourself at home, what is your set up like there, and what is it about home recording that you find inspiring?
JS: This whole record was done on my phone, I didn’t intend for it to be that way but that’s the way it came to be! There are no demos of any of these songs because I only ever recorded each song once. The funny part of recording alone is that there is no real conversation to be had. I was maybe seventy five percent sure how the song would go, I’d grab my guitar, open the Garageband app, and LET LOOSE. I have always made demos this way and loved the little weird mistakes in the room. Things like dogs barking, conversations in other rooms, radiators clanging, and doors slamming all feel so special to me, there’s no way you could ever think to get it on purpose!
AP: How do these songs change in a full band arrangement live?
JS: When I play these songs with a band, they tend to be played MUCH better than the recordings. The live band that I have for this project are all so talented and really put my parts in their place. The songs also tend to take on more of a rock and roll sound that I feel isn’t as present in the recordings. This is largely due to the fact that a little over half of the record was done without a drum kit. With the exception of maybe the first three songs, all percussion was made up of weird little things around my apartment. The kick drum was my fist against my desk, the snare was claps mixed with a kids tambourine, and the shakers were mostly black pepper. When we play live, we’re able to get these songs across in a bit more formal of a setting for sure!
AP: Modest Hits is a funny almost dig at these songs, do you find yourself incorporating humor into this project more so than your others?
JS: Well, I think I’m very funny. With this project being just my name alone, I think there is a little bit more of an area for me to do bits and be a bit more light hearted with the material. I thought Modest Hits was a funny title because it is more or less a conversation in every artist’s mind before they share something with the world. There is such an innate desire to share our art and we have to stand behind it in order to release it, but at the same time it can be so mortifying to stand on a hill and yell to the world about some cool shit that you just made. So yes, they are all hits to me, but I’m trying to be modest about it.
AP: Could you tell us about your relationship with the music of Jonathan Richman?
JS: While sometimes it may be in my best interest to downplay his influence on me, I think it’s safe to say that my life can be split into Pre Jonathan, and Post Jonathan eras. I was studying songwriting in school and taking myself very seriously– turtleneck, little coffee, spilling my heart to the world in my notebook. Then I heard what must have been his song “Gail Loves Me” from the album Modern Lovers 88, and my world flipped upside down. The lightness and the playfulness in Jonathan’s writing only strengthens the emotional depth. He really showed me that music can be life or death without having to be about life and death. We’ve exchanged letters a handful of times and he’s always taken the time to talk about music and writing inspiration with me. I could say much more, but for the sake of the question I’ll just say “What a guy!”
AP: These songs were written and recorded in both Northern California and Boston, but they feel like a cohesive collection. How much does the place you’re in affect your songwriting?
JS: California is still my home in so many ways, I think that there is always a little bit of it hiding in everything I do. These songs really felt like they were written with the west coast in mind. I think they really only could have been written while thinking of home from a distance. Most of these tracks were recorded within three days in a little room in my childhood home, maybe the least vibed out space an album could be made in– the overhead light was shining down on me and my dad’s paperwork and the family desktop was taking up any part of the room that the drum kit wasn’t. The rest of these tracks were made in my garden level apartment in Brookline. The nice part about recording on the phone is that the studio is kind of always in your pocket!
AP: There’s a lot of different sort of musical flavors here, do you ever see yourself narrowing the scope of your solo project in one direction or is the variety and spontaneity of this work what moves you to make it?
JS: Well I think you hit the nail right on the head! I would like to think that the variety from song to song is what keeps it interesting for me. I always feel like it’s hard to define the music I make, the title of “Indie Rock” is usually the default answer but so much can fall under that umbrella that it’s almost freeing in a way. The most natural approach for this record was just to let the songs style themselves. Whether it be a Bossa Nova, a country bouncer, or straight up ugly garage rock. I think that the mix of genres paints a pretty clear picture of both what I was listening to and how I was feeling during the making of Modest Hits.
Modest Hits is out today, you can grab a digital copy here. The record release show is going down at on Saturday March 14th at the Lilypad in Cambridge with Nora Meier and Tiberius, keep an eye out for tickets via Get To The Gig Boston.