Photography by David McClister
Jay Farrar’s leading Son Volt through a significant touring period in 2019, in support of the band’s latest album, the politically-charged Union. The tour will see Son Volt playing Delmar Hall twice in November, with shows on Friday the 22nd and Saturday the 23rd. We caught up with the South City–based songwriter during a lull in his travels for this conversation about his latest work and the touring life.
Where are you in terms of this touring cycle?
It’s been really good, we’ve made it around half of the country. Now it’s our western swing, going through the South and the West Coast.
How many songs from Union are you featuring in your sets?
So far, the magic number’s been six off of the new record, which is more than normal. We’re highlighting a lot of these songs.
Do you tour with a decided setlist, or is their a lot of rotation?
We come up with a pretty structured setlist and then mix it up toward the end, rotating songs in and out.
In regard to this album’s creation, how many tracks didn’t wind up on the album? Was there a lot of extra material?
With this recording, only one song didn’t make it. I was kind of taking inspiration from the headlines, like with “When Rome Burns.” “The 99” references the Dakota Pipeline protests going on at the time, referencing the journalist who was arrested and put into jail. I was writing songs like “Union,” which tries to take an objective look at what’s going on with the acrimonious divide going on in our culture these days. I had a whole group of songs influenced by the headlines. And I balanced those out with songs that are not that. “Devil May Care” and “The Reason” are lyrically more about my immediate life and what’s happening around me.
How about the recording process for this album?
The process on this particular recording was a little different than anything the band has done before. The basic tracks were recorded remotely at the Mother Jones Museum and the Guthrie Center in Tulsa. I really didn’t know what to expect with that, but some of these songs needed to be taken out of the confines of a regular studio and into an environment where inspiration would follow.
You’ve known a lot of different recording experiences in your life. Do you like to come up with some that aren’t necessarily uncomfortable, but challenge you a bit?
I think that’s exactly right. It’s sort of about following wherever the inspiration will be. Maybe that’s changing things up a bit by traveling to record. We’ve tried all the different ways. Doing work in rehearsal space studios sometimes is good. It allows you to hang in a familiar environment. Sometimes you want to challenge yourself a little bit. With Union, it was more about being challenged.
Videos are more important than ever in promoting an album. Are you doing any radio station or store in-store video recordings?
Most likely, we will do something like you mention. We’ll do a few, a live show here or there.
How have you grown to enjoy work on those days, embracing a room full of cameras, instead of playing to people from a stage?
It depends on how much you’ve been around it. Obviously, it can make you a little more self-conscious and guarded, but the more you’re around cameras, the more acclimated you are to them. That type of show is never as loose and free, but you do get acclimated to the point where it’s fine.
Do you do any record store gigs or other off-day promotions when on tour? Or are days off about mental health?
That’s a good point. I don’t know how our schedule compares to other bands, but we do six songs a week and that seventh day is dedicated to hygiene and doing laundry.
You’ve probably got some towns that you know are yours by now?
Absolutely. With regards to the in-stores mentioned, before we played any shows for recording purposes, we did in-stores at Waterloo Records in Austin. It’s one of those towns that’s always been there for us with great venues and crowds. There are others, as well, like New York or San Francisco. And a lot of smaller towns now have venues. We’ve played Martha’s Vineyard for the first time and a festival in Rhode Island. No matter how often you do this, there are always new places. It’s always evolving.
Actually, I wanted to ask about festivals and how much you enjoy those type of 45-minute shows, as opposed to a 60- or 90-minute club gig.
It’s all baked into what bands do. It’s nice in a way, again, to have live performances vary from club shows. Playing outdoors can mean working around rain and those somewhat-challenging elements keep things fresh.
Where are you at in the cycle, in terms of touring but also writing new songs?
That seems a good way of putting it. There does seem to be a point in the cycle where I write new songs and that’s where I’m at right now. Just sitting down to write them. Maybe by early next year, we’ll start thinking about recording again.
Anything that’s on the immediate project list?
Quite a few people have mentioned the instrumental on the latest album, “Truth to Power Blues.” They’ve wished that that could become a more complete song. Maybe I’ll revisit that at some point soon, see if anything comes from that.
