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100 Musicians Answer the Same 10 Questions

Part Eighteen: Soltero

instigated by dave heaton

The last Soltero album, Hell Train (Three Ring), is still blowing me away, as an example of pop-rock songwriting that's vivid and unconventional and sticks with you. Soltero is Tim Howard, who (relatively) recently moved from Boston to my current neck of the woods, West Philadelphia. Hell Train is his fourth album. Songs from it can be heard on his website and his MySpace page.

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What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

For the first time I'm recording an album all by myself on a reel-to-reel 8-track. It's exciting to be able to take the time I need to achieve moods and sounds that are too hard to articulate when working with someone else...in collaboration it's easy to settle on lowest common denominator versions of songs, and this time I'd rather be able to let the record develop organically, slowly, and with its own character.

What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

I don't have much patience for or knowledge of the technical end of reel-to-reel recording, and problems definitely arise...there have been days when I've considered abandoning the whole album because the process of simply recording it was too complicated. Not having someone else to bounce the songs off or create them with also causes the inevitable self-criticism, but I think that's a trade-off I can deal with.

What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).

I'm playing a few shows here and there this summer and trying to figure out what the next step is. I'm a little burned on tours but am considering reassembling a band for live shows...also considering travelling to europe, maybe playing some shows there. Mostly I can't see farther than this work in progress.

What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?

Hmmm...can't think of one...but it probably was something like this: awkward bar setting with unfriendly clientele, I got real nervous and drank several white russians, made some obnoxious jokes and played terribly, crashed with some kind punk kids who like trainwrecks.

In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

I think where I live must affect me to such a huge degree that i don't even know how to say...

When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?

I wrote a song a couple weeks ago on a Saturday night and loved it...after a couple days i scrapped it and decided to work with the words and develop them with a new melody I wrote a couple nights ago. I've been much more about recording than writing for the last couple months.

As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is?

I haven't been as interested in hearing new music by other folks as I was a few years ago, because I'm discovering so much beautiful older music that I regret missing. A lot of contemporary music feels so self-aware and imitative to me, and it takes a lot of effort to weed through it. Modern production values can also be a real drag - the hyperclarity and compression, the cleaning-up in pro tools. I like music that sounds channelled from the ether and knocked around by some unholy spectre along the way.

Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)

I've been all over the place. Plenty of 60s/70s pop and classic songwriters, some lovely soul music...desperate songs about shaken faith and true love...

Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician?

East River Pipe! his most recent two albums are rightly overlooked, but Shining Hours in a Can, Mel, and The Gasoline Age are outta this world. It takes a minute to get used to his particular production values, and then once you do it's all over.

What's the saddest song you've ever heard?

Dunno about ever, but I can speak for lately: "chance of love" by the Bee Gees (on the lovely album Cucumber Castle)...Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm," "Rather Be Blind" by Etta James. Mostly songs - even sad ones - don't make me sad. The most moving song I've ever heard is probably "London You're a Lady" by the Pogues.

To check out the rest of the Q&As, click here.


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