motel void

MOTEL VOID: Your new album A Boot for Every Bane is out on September 26 via Ernest Jenning Record Co. Can you tell us how it came together – both in terms of songwriting and the recording process?
PETER: Hey! Yes, the new album is comprised of 3 original compositions and 2 interpretations. The originals are pieces I wrote for the 8 string bass (think a low 12 string guitar). Which is an ongoing practice for me since I became fixated on the instrument about 10 years ago. The covers, Poinciana and Shenandoah, emerged as Rob and I were looking outside for works that would push the outer edges of what our shared language can encompass. They continue to reveal new realms!

The recording process for A Boot For Every Bane was totally unique and different from any past projects I had been involved in. Rob and I initially recorded the drums and 8 string at our pal Jay Labbe’s studio in Connecticut, then a couple months later recorded Curt Sydnor’s parts on the pipe organ. I have a small recording studio in Sunset Park so I packed up my recording rig and amp along with Rob’s drums and we schlepped to Richmond, VA and set up in this amazing 300 year old church for a couple days. Very cool and dreamy. Most of the tracks were recorded this way except for Shenandoah which was recorded with the trio live in the church.

MOTEL VOID: Last year you released your self-titled debut. In what way exactly did the recording approach differ this time?

PETER: Yes. This process was totally different this time around. The songs on our first record were 90% fixed when I asked Rob to contribute his drumming to the songs. We learned the tunes to play the tunes with the intention to record them – without any plans beyond that. As we worked it became clear to us that we had more to do creatively together and this thing should be a band! Since then we’ve been working, on a more-or-less weekly basis: practicing, performing and writing. So the material on A Boot For Every Bane came out of this period of sustained collaboration.
But the most obvious difference to the listener will be the inclusion of Curt Sydnor on pipe organ.

MOTEL VOID: What were the main inspirations behind the new record?

ROB: As a duo, we’ve often used pedals, loops, and other means to color the spaces within our bass/drum grooves… but for better and worse, those means are limited.

Peter had invited Curt to contribute varied keys to his 2020 solo album Glaring Omission, and while I have known Curt since our time together in Tennessee in the 1990’s, we had recently played a bunch of electrified Bach Chorales together in Brooklyn, so music was truly in the air. One day, Peter came into rehearsal and said “I’ve got a crazy idea” and he didn’t need to finish the sentence… We were both thinking the exact same thing!

We allowed Curt to haunt these songs as we composed them and wove in shifting spaces in his image. We recorded the organ at St. John’s church, where Curt is employed as Minister of Music. The church weirdly crops up in my family history, not to mention the convoluted history of the whole American project, so it almost became a 4th band member and twisted North Star to the album.
Now, there are a couple deep songs from the American songbook sitting cheek by jowl with new compositions here, but ultimately there was a mandate to look within our own personal histories to unearth something more internal and hermetic for this album… as opposed to referencing other outside musical influences per se. They’re always already there anyway!

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Brooklyn – how would you describe the current scene you’re part of? Do you have any favorite local venues or artists?

PETER: The scene we’re a part of in Brooklyn is a scene of lifers; artists who define themselves in myriad different ways who love music and really need to do it. All muscial disciplines intermingling. Union Pool is one invaluable vortex of this world. Roulette, Property Is Theft, Mama Tried, Sunview Luncheonette – places ranging from long-standing institutions to DIY shoestring operations. Big ups: Ryan Sawyer, 75 Dollar Bill, Weak Signal, Oneida, Garcia Peoples, Jessica Pavone, Patrick Holmes, Wendy Eisenberg, Brandon Lopez, Jeff Tobias, Adelyn Strei, and so many others. As life in NYC continues to grow increasingly hostile to creative freedom with each passing year, music nevertheless thrives.

MOTEL VOID: This fall you’re heading out on tour in support of the album – where will fans be able to catch you? And are any of these places ones you’ve already played with your other projects?

PETER: We’re playing a lot of zones that we’ve frequented over the years but new venues this time for the most part, which is exciting! This will be the first time playing most of these places as Animal, Surrender! Many of our past and concurrent projects have had the pleasure of playing Tubby’s in Kingston, New York, a very special place, and I haven’t played WFMU’s Monty Hall since 2018!

9/26 : WESTFIELD, MA @ HUTGHI’S with Ryan Sawyer/Wendy Eisenberg Duo & Matt Krefting
9/27 : BRATTELBORO, VT @ EPSILON SPIRES performing a soundtrack to the Kaneto Shindō’ classic, Kuronako(Black Cat) with Curt on an actual pipe organ!
9/28 : JERSEY CITY, NJ @ MONTY HALL – WFMU
9/30 : KINGSTON, NY @ TUBBY’S with Memorials
10/1 : QNS, NY @ CASSETTE *RECORD RELEASE SHOW!* with Ryan Sawyer / Wendy Eisenberg Duo, Domestic Drafts
10/2 : BALTIMORE, MD @ NORMALS with Instant Success
10/3 : DURHAM, NC @ FEAST V (Night 1) with Magic Tuber String Band, Weirs, Vernal Skuzz
10/4 : CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA @ VISIBLE RECORDS with Chopper’s Choice

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