Jen Martensen Writing

Ian Moore Action Company
Via Satellite

Ian Moore is a unique, sublimely talented oddity. He's a Texas native who's not a country artist, a Seattle resident who's not a straightforward rocker. He's a songwriter and guitar player equally capable of riveting, passionate solo acoustic performances and hypnotic, intense full band gigs. Having released five prior albums, his most recent creation is Via Satellite, a live recording from the Satellite Lounge in Houston, Texas - a local club that hosted some of his earliest shows.

His songs are intricate, delicate but powerful. Not your typical all-out cock rock, they are more forceful and emotional than most folk or standard pop. Flavored with blues, harmonies and unusual instrumentation, there's a Middle Eastern spice to several of his tracks. He told BonanzaRadio.com more about himself after a recent Chicago gig with his band, Action Company.

OK, first of all tell me about your sitar.

I toured with a sitar for a couple of tours and it took so badly to the road that...well, there's a couple of problems: you can only play in one key, which is the key of C, not the easiest of all keys to play in.

Really, why?

C? Just because it's not - it's a weird place for a lot of people, horn players hate it...but we don't currently have a horn player with us so it doesn't matter. We took the sitar out and it was constantly out of tune. So I got - what that thing is, is called a Jerry Jones baby sitar - it's kind of a guitar version of a sitar, sitar lite. It's kinda funny to play that song, the version of "Muddy Jesus" on a sitar to me. It's fun, really enjoyable.

Hopefully this isn't a touchy subject: the subject of religion in your songwriting. On the live record, there's one song where you go into "Personal Jesus..."

Yeah, but that song's not about God...

But it references religious things, and then there's "Johnny Cash and his Electric Bible"...

Well, I write about the same stuff: sex, and God and death and girls, just like anybody else. It just seems to pop into my head. I kinda actually write about that kind of stuff despite myself, and I'm a little bit embarrassed sometimes. I'm not embarrassed to talk about it, I'm saying I'm embarrassed that I write about it all the time, because I don't know why I do it. I'm really not very religious at all.

Name some of your favorite artists, and some of your influences, and I'm assuming those may be different things.

Artists in terms of...

People you listen to alot, like a lot, and then also people who influence you, if those are on a different list.

Yeah - those are a lot of different lists. There's people that, over a long period of time have influenced me, which would of course be The Beatles - almost anyone could say that...and Stevie Wonder, and Jimi Hendrix. I almost don't like to say that because everybody misunderstands that - not his guitar playing at all. Maybe yeah a bit, but it's more the context and the spirit of the way he took music to a very experimental place and was really open ended with it. As far as newer music, that changes from time to time: Neutral Milk Hotel, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Mojave 3, Spiritualized, Stereolab. I like some electronic music, elements of certain stuff. I like Hank Williams a lot, George Jones, Dylan, I like Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt. I like basically, people in every camp, and they're all an influence on my music. Al Green, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Neil Young, Willie Nelson. Some people always assume as a musician you're motivated by musical things, but a lot of where I've gone, especially the evolution over the past few years, has been influenced by literature and travelling and food as music.

Any particular authors or places?

TONS. Same thing. I don't know how really to do a short list. Every time I do it, I paint a wrong picture, because it's really the whole. My favorite authors: Chekov's short stories, James Joyce, Cormac McCarthy, [Pablo] Neruda - the poet, [Federico Garcia] Lorca (poet), [Buson] Yosa, [Gabriel Garcia] Marquez - those are all fiction writers. I like Colum McCann, Dennis Johnson - there's a lot of people. Those are mostly the younger people. I like a lot of older stuff. I used to like a lot of existential stuff when I was like, 20 - just like everybody else, going through school.

So of all your favorites and influences, are there any you get compared to - or - are there people you get compared to that you may not necessarily agree with?

I get compared to Jeff Buckley a LOT and that is really annoying to me because, it's in it, I mean, whatever, you see whatever you see. He's somebody that I like, but not as much as ...he didn't change my life in the way that he did some other peoples'. I'm actually more of a fan of Rufus Wainwright's and a lot other people who have similar voices. There are a lot of people who sing like that right now. Thom from Radiohead sings like that, the guy from Travis sings like that, the guy from Coldplay...they all kind of have that style of singing. I also get compared a lot, I think, to Jimi Hendrix, just because I play guitar rock. But that's not where I'm coming from on most of this stuff. I obviously get called a blues artist a lot.

Which makes sense. Of blues, pop, rock, country and of all those influences that you have, which do you think are most appropriate, or do you like being used to describe you?

I think it depends on the record, depends on what I'm listening to. Different records have different elements. You look at any band that's had a long career, that's creative and not fearful - they're probably going to experiment a lot, go through a lot of things. So right now, I'm listening to a lot of creative pop music - that's such a loose definition though. Really, there's so many people that I like, some of the pop people that I like, they incorporate so many elements from classic.... If you listen to the Deserter's Songs record, the Mercury Rev, that record to me sounds more like Disney than it does like anything else. So, what is that? Is that pop? What in the world is that? How do you classify that? I just think that anybody who is doing cool stuff generally has a plethora of places that they come from.

How do you feel about that compared to the studio records you've done? Do you have a preference of live recording vs. studio?

I like studio recording. I think that with And All The Colors, my biggest complaint would be that it's a little bit precious, y'know? But we were trying to make something really beautiful, so I think it's easy to err in that way. I'm still learning. I feel like I'm so young in my career. There are so many different elements I'm trying to put together, it's not like when I started out I was just playing three-chord punk or something. I've tried to internalize all these things and so I think I trip more than most people do, but I'm also a lot more ambitious than a lot of other people. I like the studio record for certain things, and there are certain things where I just can't listen to it. The thing I do like about the live record is that I think for a live record there's a lot of restraint on it - it doesn't sound like a bunch of guys stepping on each other to me. There's a lot of songs where, almost, if you played it for someone they wouldn't know it was a live record. I like that.

I get the feeling that when you listen to it, you feel like you're in the audience as opposed to just the sound guy.

That's what we're trying to do. Our thing with this band, what we're doing right now is a real sensory thing with the songs because so many of the songs are so wavy, they're so building on energy. It's not about the guitar playing or the vocals or even the lyrics. On that live record, for most of the songs, on songs like "Coming Around" and "Leary's Gate," they're just about like the ebb and flow of energy which is both melodic, rhythmic, and even sometimes lyrical.

So, do you foresee doing another studio record next?

Yeah, I kind of have to. I thought I might do a live acoustic record just to put it out because I'm going a buch of live acoustic shows coming up, but I don't want to put out two live records in a row.

What's the difference for you - good or bad or both - of doing acoustic vs. with a band, live and in the studio?

Well, with the acoustic, everything sounds a lot folkier. No matter what you do, it sounds really folky. Sometimes it annoys me that I'm playing an acoustic guitar and I feel like a folk artist all of a sudden. That's not a bad thing, I mean, I like the fact that it strips the song down. I do want to prove myself to people as a songwriter. A lot of times when you come to a show, I don't know what it's like out front but I assume it's pretty loud, and sometimes it's hard to tell the essence of a song. People are so caught up in preconceptions of a guitar player and the textural thing, and not hearing the song underneath it, so it's cool that I can play a song basically and it's just the song I wrote.

Overall do you think you're classified most as a singer, as a songwriter, as a musician, or all of the above?

I think it depends on who you ask.

What do you want to be classified as?

I guess whatever's the widest one, as a musician, just because that gives me the most latitude. I want latitude. I play music to be creative, obviously, because otherwise I'm doing a damned good job of destroying my career. I'm really happy with the fact that somehow or another I'm starting to create a place where it's more OK to be creative, and it's been less and less difficult progressively. So, I look for freedom and I'm trying to surround myself constantly with more and more people that are like that, because they're hard to find.

Any dream producer that you've always wanted to work with?

I'd love to work with Dave Friedman, we've been kinda talking. There's a lot of guys I've been talking to. One of the cool things right now is that because the major labels are just - they've turned into these monolithic vessels of hate and emptiness - and so everybody has been forced to make their own studios, and learned to engineer. So many musicians have learned to engineer their own stuff. Everybody I know does that now, and that was not the case ten years ago. Yeah, maybe everybody had a four track, but now it's been upped and there's so many young people that are talented, I wouldn't say just producers or engineers. Larry Kransick - a friend of mine, I think he's brilliant. He's a guy on the west coast. Trent Bell, he's from the Chainsaw Kittens, he's working on the new Flaming Lips record. He just did a record a couple of years ago, a band that I really like alot - the Starlight Mints, they're really cool. My friend Frenchie in Austin, I think he's great. I'm not so interested in working with a producer right now. Unless I was trying to put together like a big, successful record because maybe I could, probably, use direction in there because I don't know how to do that. But I'm more interested in collaboration right now.

Any interest in the major labels? Do you want to stay indie? Is it whatever benefits you best, whatever comes along?

I think that great, great records can be made on all levels. It seems that whenever anyone works with me, they lessen me, at the major labels. I've not had the best times with them, but some people do. Some people are able to work great with the major labels and make really great records. My perfect world would be that, because then I could have my record in every store, I could have more creative freedom because I'd have more monetary freedom, which I don't really have right now. I don't really care how I do it, I just want to do something cool.

So, tell me about the band that you're working with now. Where they come from, how you hooked up with them and where you see that going.

Well, Chris has only been with us for almost a year. This band I put together when my old band broke up. Bukka's stayed with me - he was the most creative guy out of the three guys in my old band. Then I got George and JJ. George, the bass player, he's played with everybody: Cotton Mather, who are a great great band out of Austin, he's played with Kelly Willis. He's one of those guys who's played so many different styles of music. A bass player to me, is a collection, because it's so much about feels and textures and stuff, and he knows ALL of them. He knows Bruce Thomas, you know - the Elvis Costello guy - he knows McCartney, he knows Jamerson, but he has kind of his own feel, his own pocket. He understands about where to put the beat and that's really important to me. Chris Searles is the guy - I actually went to High School with him - he came up by playing in a band called 20/20 Shotgun with David [Garza]. And Paul Brainard, who's not on the road with us, is a friend of mine from Portland who plays in a couple - about 20 - bands up there. He came to Austin with me but he's out with Alejandro [Escovedo] right now, because I can't afford him.

Most important musical lesson, as a parent, to teach your kids?

Most important musical lesson that a parent teaches a kid?

You, in particular - as your son grows up, what do you want your son to know about music and what, specifically, do you want him to learn from you?

Well, I want him to just learn that music is freedom and music is expression, because I think that's the hardest lesson and I fight for that every single night when I'm on stage and every time we go in the studio. It's a hard lesson to know because there's a constant struggle, I think within any artist, between what they really feel inside and what they know people will react to. That's the thing that I'm really feeling strongly in my own career and that I've seen in a lot careers of people that I like who I think are trailblazers in their own ways. I want to teach that in life in general, because I think that's important lesson. Confidence in yourself spreads to other people. And when you're confident about your own thing, whether it's music or the way you just hold yourself in a crowd, it reflects on other people.

Any records in particular that you want to make sure he knows about? Or artists?

Yeah, it's kind of funny, because my nephew, who is Will Sexton's son, grew up and he knew about all these Beatles tunes and Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and he was such a cool kid. Then all of a sudden he hit about ten, and (snaps fingers) Backstreet Boys. And of course you can't get on him, I mean - he's ten, but it's not a musical thing. The reason he liked that other stuff is because those melodies are so undeniable and beautiful. Bob Marley's songs, especially his hit songs, the more real poppy ones, are just so easy to sing along with. And so are some of the Beatles and Beach Boys. Where as with the Backstreet Boys it's a cultural trendy thing, so he can say "Hey, I'm one of you guys." So at home, we just play a lot of cool music and Jolene - my partner - she loves what she loves and we love a lot of the same stuff. I don't know...my opinions are so strong, I don't want to be the guy that tells him what to like, and tries to tell him what to believe, so I'm really trying to check myself.

Top 5 favorite records at the moment?

Oh, wow - OK. I really want to say these right because they really mean something to me.

They can be "of all time."

Well, number one - because so many others kind of echo it, so #1 would have to be Revolver for me. #2 would probably have to be Blood On The Tracks. But I would put - right now - I would probably put third or fourth I would put In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, the Neutral Milk CD. Because that CD is such a big deal to me, and never ceases to be. Search And Destroy, maybe. I kind of go in and out of that , sometimes I'll listen to that. Depends on my mood, that's a real mood record for me. And, OK - you know what's one right now that I just rediscovered? Bookends. I fucking LOVE that CD. Simon and Garfunkel...it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. It's kind of like my Pet Sounds right now.

One other semi-big question: general opinions right now on the world of radio, internet, MP3, Napster - the whole attitude towards independent artists - especially because you are one.

Well, I'm always excited about anything that takes power away from people that are too powerful. So, I always put a lot of hope - maybe too much - into new forms and stuff. I've always been very pro-Napster, pro-trading music because I feel that if you're a cool artist that's open-minded, it's going to benefit you. But if you're a crappy artist that plays the same set every night, people will start to get hip to you. I like that. I like also the fact that, especially on Napster (before they shut it down), if you went to go look at an artist - say you went to go look up PJ Harvey's music - you'e not just going to see the music that the label wants you to see. Some dinky fan's microcassette recording could be the first song. I love that. I think that's wonderful because a lot of times those are the best tunes. So those are all great things.

The state of radio is absoutely fucking horrendous. I'm not a naysayer, and I thought that radio was great in the early 90s when modern rock hit the mainstream radio. Hearing bands that were somewhat creative on mainstream radio was great. It wasn't really my revolution, it was for a generation that was a little bit younger than me, but I was glad it was there. I think right now it's just embarrassing. It's embarrassing seeing a cool artist dumb the music down for the major labels and for radio. Hearing radio singles and hating the record, then listening to them and realizing "Hey, this record's actually kind of GOOD." I think that's really, really awful and I blame that on all the mergers and stuff. But you know, the internet's helped some things. It's helped me in a personal way, but for the most part I haven't seen it change things tremendously. It still seems pretty much the same. College radio's good but predictable..

Do you think internet radio is sort of the new college radio?

I'm hoping that it is. I know that I don't listen to internet radio a lot because I don't have a DSL connection, and over a phone line it sucks. I have two computers in my bag that I take on the road, so I'm relatively computer savvy compared to the average person...

Mac or PC?

MAC. So, it's a ways away, but I hope so. The only thing that's hard on the internet is that there's too many choices. The other thing I don't like about the internet is, if you go through a program like iTunes on your computer - which I like because it's kind of a jukebox thing - when you go to their channels, the channels are so stupid! I don't like ANY of the channels, so I kind of feel excluded from a lot of stuff. There are some radio stations that I really like on the internet that play some things that appeal to me, but they're kind of hard to find.

Have you had any experiences or concerns about stalkers or fans being too weird?

No, I need those people. I really do, I need them. I've got some ambivalence and negativity on the fringes of the people who are kind of my fans, people who just have no idea what I'm doing - and they're coming to my shows and just kind of wondering. So anybody, even if they're weird, anywhere, I'm just glad they're there. People who really like me and like what I do - I'm SO grateful for them because there's just not a ton of them. We play to pretty big crowds, but I kind of feel like a lot of those people just have no idea what we're doing, which is a little bit odd. I'm really hoping that at some point that's going to change. I love it when I go to see a band and the audience seems to be on the same page as the band. Maybe it's my destiny to just live my life as kind of an anomaly.

You know who I want to meet?

Who?

My friend Linda Ray, who I think is very cool, she's out of Tucson but I know she writes for the [Chicago] Reader sometimes. She wrote a review for And All The Colors that was, I thought, the only review of ANY review that got that record. I mean, most of them were positive, but she REALLY GOT it. It was almost like she had been in the studio. She told me about this guy Andrew Bird, who's this guy who lives in Chicago that she said reminded her a lot of me. I'm really desperately looking for people that I have any connection to musically. He plays violin, and he's really all over the place, very musical, very cerebral.