5 Questions with Micah Schnabel About His New Album and Novel, The Clown Watches the Clock

Micah Schnabel’s new album The Clown Watches the Clock is now available for pre-order though his Bandcamp page. Pencil Storm readers & music fans from Columbus and well beyond know Micah well by now from his work with Two Cow Garage and his several years of extensive touring with his partner, artist Vanessa Jean Speckman. They’re quite a force, and Micah’s got an eclectic bunch of solo releases behind him as well, as they prepare to join Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls on tour later this month.

The Clown Watches the Clock is the companion piece to the novel of the same name, Micah’s second, after Hello, My Name is Henry, published in 2018. The album and the book also share cover art (by VJS) and go side by side in story and themes.

Micah’s always had a good sense of melody & hooks in his music - dating back to the first Two Cow Garage record and evolving with future releases, but when it comes down to it, words are his thing. It’s no surprise that his books are as engaging as his songs, rife with creative imagery that comes from a deep study of his own experiences and an imagination like that of of a child, without the chains & responsibilities of a demanding world to fill in the remaining gaps. Somewhere around 2017, Micah’s songwriting took a left turn into uncharted and brave new directions where rules were pushed aside for a passionate and fearless approach of fast-cadenced spoken-singing over his open-tuning guitar playing; a sort of Midwestern dive-bar-Dylan meets a more introspective Patterson Hood, creating images around characters deeply troubled (or in trouble), trying to get by in a scary and unforgiving adult world whose rules seem too intense and impossible to navigate.

TCWTC is the logical next step in his journey, raw and rocking, with Micah’s trademark poetry front and center. When I start to get musically frustrated and think that every riff has been played, every clever lyric sang, every melody stolen and repeated a million times, I put on one of Micah’s albums, shoot myself a scolding glance in the mirror, and get back to work. He’s that creative, that prolific, that good. I’ve honestly held this belief since I begrudgingly fell in love with The Wall Against Our Back in 2004, and he’s done nothing but repeatedly reinforce it since; reinventing himself, and trudging on in the face of a music-buying public that’s increasingly indifferent to anything with less than a million streams.

Micah was kind enough to stop by the Pencil Storm Compound between stops at the library & the laundromat as he and Vanessa pack up for the Frank Turner tour. I’m fortunate to call this guy a friend and a peer, and to live in his shadow as he sets the bar for what music, writing, art, touring, and perseverance can really mean.

Jeremy Porter: Hey there, Micah - thanks for joining us at Pencil Storm today! Exciting times for you with a new novel and companion album The Clown Watches the Clock. First, regarding the book, how was this approached differently from your first book Hello, My Name is Henry? What were you looking to explore, expand on, or otherwise just grow from since the experiences of the first book? 

Micah Schnabel: Thank you for having me! I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. I’m finding the creative process to be very similar to making records. You love it when you’re making it and as soon as it’s done all you can see are the mistakes. I think the new book is more immediate than the first. My attention span has really suffered since the pandemic so I wanted the book to be extremely approachable. I kept the chapters short and punchy to try and hold not only the reader’s attention, but also my own. And I think this book is a lot funnier than the first. 

JP: The record is a bit more “rock and roll” than I expected. “33 Dryer” reminds me of a slower version of “Humble Narrator,” and “Impending Doom” reminds me of Peter Case’s more recent work, sorta like a beatnik, bluesy Dylan. Talk a little about how these songs came together - were they written while you were writing the book? Or was one based on the other? How do they tie together?  

MS: The book and the record were written at the same time, so there’s quite a bit of overlap of characters, settings and storylines. As I started to get closer to the finish line for both projects, naming the record separately from the book felt strained. And for me, usually when something feels strained it means I’m doing it wrong. When I hit on the idea of them both working under the same title it felt right to me. I think if they were titled separately, one of them would feel lesser than the other to an audience, or I worry it could be perceived that way. I think they both stand as strong work all on their own but putting them all together as one project felt right. 

JP: You’re an accomplished acoustic guitar player - you have chops and speed, and you come up with creative, interesting stuff that stands on its own and fills up the room. You never, or almost never, play live with a band as a solo artist. What keeps you going back to recording your solo albums with a band versus more of a representation of your live show, solo-acoustic with some occasional harmonies or auxiliary instrumentation? Is it the camaraderie of creating music with other people? Is it a vision you don’t think is as realized in the acoustic format? Or are you just locked into the love of rock & roll and what goes along with it, and want to keep that energy on the album?

MS: I started playing music as a drummer, so the drum beat is almost always the first thing I hear when I start writing a song. My first solo record was pretty naked and my second record is me playing most of the instruments, so I’ve gotten to hear what that sounds like. I don’t think it’s bad, but I do think the songs become much more interesting when I have other (super talented!) folks playing with me. And my ultimate goal is to always make the song as good as it can possibly be. As you know, these ideas are ever-changing but right now, if I recorded these songs with just me and a guitar my brain would still be wanting to hear what Jason Winner, Jay Gasper, or Todd May might have done with it. What the song could’ve been instead of what it is. 

JP: Lyrics are obviously the key element to your music. Yours are always very raw and introspective, full of powerful imagery and deep emotional themes that have to come from very personal space. You obviously put a ton of work into them, and it seems that most or all are deeply rooted in your own experience. That said, your muse is a bit more apparent to me than your process. How much weight do you put on things like truth, accuracy, continuity, grammar, or rhyming even, when you’re writing lyrics? Do you always write from your own experiences, or do you create hypotheticals or base situations on something you may have witnessed through someone else’s eyes or experience?  

MS: Writing the first book had a huge impact on my lyric writing. What I found from working in a longer format is that it’s impossible to hide from myself and I’ve found a real comfort in that. I write down funny things that get said throughout the day and that’s usually my jumping off point for a song. From there I just have fun with it and see where the story leads me. That’s another big thing I stumbled upon, the stories always end up being more interesting when I don’t know where they’re going. When I come to the table without a moral or agenda the writing is less stiff. And it’s really exciting to surprise yourself. 

I look back now and can see how stiff my songwriting had become on a few records. I was locked in a box of popular music. I’ve told this story before, but it was a big deal for me. I wrote the TCG song “Let The Boys Be Girls” accidentally. It fell out of my head and it unlocked my brain to something that felt fresh to me. From the first time I sang that song in front of people it felt different. I was excited to sing every line. I’m still chasing that high. The only thing I think I have as a rule for myself is that I have to be able to speak the song out loud like a conversation and it has to feel right. It has to sound like me. That’s the test for lyrics that i’ve found works for me. 

JP: You’ve been doing “your thing” at a pretty consistent (and impressive) clip and methodology for several years now: the way you and Vanessa tour, putting out a great record every couple years, a couple books now, and fitting in the occasional Two Cow Garage or Call me Rita song or show as circumstances permit. It seems like you kinda have “it” figured out; where you fit in and how to do as much you can do with the means (I guess, for lack of a better word) you have (your audience, life situation, finances, mental and physical stamina and health, etc). The dedication to and breadth of your work is impressive, and it seems from the outside that your audience and footprint are growing, but I know that it’s also exhausting. Do you, in fact, have it all figured out? Are you enjoying the ride? Where are you at with the Micah-Machine status quo?

MS: I most definitely have nothing figured out! Ha! I will say that over the pandemic I was forced to truly face myself. I fear this may come off as negative or “woe is me” but that is not the way I mean it. I am a failure; at music, writing books, at art in general, and most definitely in the capitalistic sense. I worked very hard for a long time trying to succeed at this thing that I love and ran smack dab into my own mediocrity. I no longer have hope. And while that sounds a bit dark, the loss of hope has freed me up in ways I didn’t see before. I feel more free to make my work and to make it right now. I’m no longer striving or trying to succeed. I’m existing right here and now. And that has to be enough. 

Vanessa and I are incredibly fortunate to be able to tour together the way that we do. Two businesses in one rental car allows us to afford to do things in a way a full band at our level probably couldn’t swing. And the combination of the two of us on stage seems to be really hitting folks. Vanessa’s writing offers a different perspective and also acts as a bit of a counterbalance. We’re having a lot of fun onstage and we’re excited to head out in a couple weeks with Frank Turner. 

Two Cow has a record written but our resources are slim which makes it difficult to get things done. I’m hoping we can get a record across the finish line this year. Call Me Rita is recording a new song on Saturday (5/11) and it’s a stone-cold killer.  

I think an exciting and more likely progression would be CMR and me with the full band doing a tour but it would be tough to make the economics work right now. And a TCG, CMR, Micah solo band tour would be ideal, but, ya know, money. 

JP: Anything else you want to share before we wrap it up?

MS: It’s always a difficult time to be an artist, but it’s especially so right now. I want to send all of my love out to the folks that are out there doing it in any capacity and trying to get their work out and into the world. (*Excluding Christian rock bands. They all have money and just can’t think of anything better to do with it.) 

And specifically to you, Jeremy. I know how hard you work to make your band, shows, and records happen. I see you and have the upmost respect for your work and the time, energy, and love you put into all of this. I know first-hand how unrewarding and thankless the work can be. So good work! And thank you so much to you and Pencil Storm for taking the time to talk to me about my work.  

JP: You set the bar, my friend. Good luck with the tour and the record and love to VJS. We’ll cross paths again soon, I’ve no doubt.

Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic