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100 Musicians Answer the Same 10 Questions

Part Thirty-Three: Jon DeRosa of Aarktica

instigated by dave heaton

As Aarktica, Jon DeRosa has created a gorgeous, and at the same time forcefully engaging, series of atmospheric drone-pop albums - most recently 2005's fantastic Bleeding Light (Darla). And he's done so while dealing with the loss of his hearing in one ear, a fact reflected in the title of the 2003 Aarktica album Pure Tone Audiometry (Silber). But his tastes and capabilities extend even beyond the realms of the expansive project that is Aarktica - he's released two splendid albums of old-time country/troubadour songs with Pale Horse and Rider (both on Darla), and contributed to other projects and albums as well, including singing musical-theatre love songs on Stephin Merritt's recent Showtunes collection. Visit the Aarktica website and Myspace.

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

I took a year off from writing/recording after a long stretch of making 2+ albums a year, and I finally feel like I have things in perspective.

What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

Balancing being a responsible human being with being a successful musician.

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

I'm recording the new Aarktica album with an old friend and bandmate, producer Charles Newman. Around the time after I lost my hearing, he served as my ears and did the engineering and production on Aarktica's Bliss Out v. 18 and Pure Tone Audiometry. Lately, he's been doing a lot of work with Stephin Merritt on his new projects.

Aside from that…I did some vocals on Stephin Merritt's newest release Showtunes (Nonesuch), which just came out and is a compilation of songs he wrote for various operas and musicals, and I also did some guitar for Vlor's latest release A Fire Is Meant For Burning (Silber Records).

As I write this, I'm doing the final edit on a crossword puzzle I composed for the upcoming book on The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, which will be out late this year on 33 1/3.

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?

I don't know about unusual…Maybe the first Aarktica album, which was almost entirely recorded on a 4-track in my NYU freshman dorm room. Or the first Pale Horse & Rider album we recorded with Al Sparhawk in Sacred Heart Church in Duluth, Minnesota…that was a bit out of the ordinary. The nature of that environment really sculpted the entire album because we mic'd everything with a very deliberate ear toward the space. We used the main church area for much of the album, taking advantage of all the natural reverbs. And then we also used the upper chambers for more subtle reverbs.

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 can only speak for myself, but living in New York City for so many years has probably worked for me and against me. I think the negative is the sensory overload and the pace that defines New York, which leaves little room for me to identify my own thoughts and identity at times. That same pace and sensory saturation can also be very inspiring to some people.

I think, historically, I worked better in more isolated places, where the prospect of writing and recording was really among the only few options to take up my time. I'm not as motivated and ambitious as I used to be. I'll opt to get drinks or watch a ball game before I'll sit down and work on a song now. I get distracted too easily.

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

Every day I write down something that could possibly one day end up in a song. I rarely write a song in one sitting.

These days I prefer making crossword puzzles. Those I can work on for hours. Songs, not as much.

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'm less interested in…I guess the social or live aspect of new music, unfortunately, which means locally I don't get to as many shows as I used to. Which is a shame because some of the people I admire most in Brooklyn, like Todd P for instance, sacrifice a lot and break their asses to put great shows together, and I don't get out like I used to. But truthfully, I really need more time alone than most people and always have. I interact with people all day long. When evening rolls around, sometimes I just can't handle a scene.

I think as I get older, I also feel performers should recognize more of a responsibility to their audience and themselves, and not just take these situations as an opportunity to make "the scene." As in, if you're going to play noise, it should be incredible noise. If you're going to sing some folk songs, make sure you have something no one else has. Sometimes it's tempting to make your art public to create an identity for yourself and not because it's entertaining or interesting or worth anyone else's time.

That being said…I'm not anti-music. I have seen some great live bands in the past year…Sunn 0))) comes to mind…as well as Danzig and many others. But my day job deals with music, which means practically any release that comes out in the world comes across my desk. So I do take that as an opportunity to hear as much new music as I can. I do some DJing around Brooklyn these days as well…

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?)

Typically I listen to music that has nothing in common with what I do as Aarktica. I've been getting back into heavier music...Mastodon, The Ocean, Wolfmother…Oneida, I've always liked. Also, 1940's – 1950's big band or vocal music…like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin leading up into Bobby Vinton, Jerry Vale, etc. Classic country, I never really ever stopped listening to. A lot of post-punk that is just getting reissued now, like Fire Engine, Delta 5, The AuPairs…Current indie rock…as well as some more mainstream artists.

As I've gotten older, I've become more infatuated with pop music, lyrically, structurally, and most important culturally…the idea of "perfect" songs, standards…The way stars are made now and the way we listen to music. Everything's changed drastically in the past 10 years. This makes me more interested in the "now," whereas I used to tend to look backwards for new music and get caught up in genres and styles. I'm much more open than I was in the past.

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?

Danzig II – Lucifuge is pretty much a perfect album.

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

Right now it's Johnny Cash's interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" on American Recordings V.

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


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