Jeremy Porter shares his favorite albums, releases, experiences, and concerts from 2024.
Read MoreMy Top 10 of 2021
Jeremy Porter’s favorite records of 2021.
Read MoreEnjoy These Re-Runs While Pencil Storm is on Vacation. So Much Good Stuff.
The Greatest (?) Hits of Pencil Storm during vacation week.
Read MoreJuliana Hatfield: The Pencilstorm Interview - by Jeremy Porter
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST FOR THIS ARTICLE - Listen while you read!
Juliana Hatfield has been on a roll. Her last three records have arguably been some of the best work of her 33-year music career. Pussycat (2017), was an unplanned rally-cry against the Trump regime, sometimes more subtle than others, but never without her signature pop overtones and cutting lyrics. Weird (2019), her most current release, leaves the political sentiments behind in favor of a modern indie-pop-rock sound. And the …Sings Olivia Newton-John (2018) covers collection, a nod to her musical hero, was nothing short of a masterpiece. And then there’s the back catalog. Her first band Blake Babies were a bit less refined and polished, but brought a real charm to the table with that innocence, and her early solo records – including her commercial high-water mark The Juliana Hatfield Three – Become What You Are (with her biggest hit single “My Sister”) were staples of early 90’s alternative rock and MTV’s 120 Minutes.
The 20 years between this recent renaissance and her early alt-rock success were a little quieter for Juliana, in the world spotlight at least. She delved into some side projects – Some Girls, Minor Alps (with Matthew Caws of Nada Surf), and The I Don’t Cares (with Paul Westerberg). There were Blake Babies and JH3 reunion albums and short tours, and a string of solo records and EPs that often cast-aside the ear-worm poppiness for a darker, more sparse and spacious sound. Her touring schedule slowed down considerably, and while she never disappeared from the public eye, sightings were certainly less frequent. In 2009 she published her auto-biography When I Grow Up: A Memoir, a revealing and compelling look into her career, anxieties, and personal life.
On Friday night, Juliana will return to the Detroit area for the first time in 18 years, by my calculations, for a show at The Magic Bag in Ferndale (Get your tickets HERE!). It’s a short, 10-city US tour on the heels of a UK tour in May, and we can’t wait!
We were lucky to catch up with Juliana recently to chat about her recent resurgence, her history in the Motor City, and if we might ever get that follow-up to the I Don’t Cares’ record.
Jeremy Porter: You seem to be on a great roll with the last couple records – Pussycat, Sings Olivia Newton John, and this year’s Weird. You’ve been consistently active and busy, but this recent string of releases seems exceptionally inspired, and now you’re playing out more than you have in quite a while. What brought on that change and do it see it carrying forward?
Juliana Hatfield: I just feel time moving faster than ever before. I feel an urgency to keep producing work and not stopping because the world is hurtling toward destruction, or something, and it will all be over soon so I may as well push really hard until we all hit the wall as a species. Plus, I have gotten to the point at which I have streamlined my life to accommodate work and not much else.
JP: Pussycat was a personal response to the political climate after the 2016 election. Looking at it a couple years later, where do think we’re at now? Are we still in the same boat or can you see any rays of light on the horizon?
JH: I don't even like to think about it. I don't think things look very good.
JP: JHSONJ was my favorite record of 2018 and the reaction seemed universally positive. We’re you surprised at the reaction to that record? Did anything unexpectedly special, personally or musically, come out of that experience?
JH: I was surprised at the love it got, yes. I was afraid that people were going to think I committed sacrilege on her catalog or that I tainted her legacy, because Olivia is so loved and such an icon. But I am really happy that people responded positively to what I did. They understood that I just wanted to show how much love I feel for her and her music, and to share that love. It was wonderful and unexpected to hear from Olivia, personally. A couple of times she tweeted to and about me and the album. That was pretty great, to get her public seal of approval.
JP: Weird feels like a natural transition from Pussycat and JHSONJ – not so much lyrically but musically. The guitar tones, arrangements and riffs have a nice growth but a consistent feel that sort of takes your natural pop vocals and vocal melodies and puts them above a musical bed that weaves somewhere between 70s classic rock and indie-pop-rock. Do you approach the writing process with a direction in mind? Or do you just sit down and whatever happens, happens? Can you expand on that a bit and how it might relate to the feel of this trilogy of records as compared to some of your previous releases?
JH: I never have a direction plan when I sit down to write. I have an open mind. But I do have habits and things that I tend to do over and over again. I can't change my instincts. I have a certain aesthetic preferences, and I have a certain natural, personal style that I have settled into and I produce all my own stuff which is why my stuff lately tends to have a sound and a feel. It's raw and unpolished but also really melodic. I am also in love with the mellotron flutes sound on my Microkorg keyboard that I acquired about five years ago so that sound ends up on everything I do these days. No matter how gnarly the guitars get, I always like to mix in some keyboard flutes. It sounds good with everything.
JP: The recent reissues of Hey Babe and Only Everything were really well done, as was the Blake Babies Innocence and Experience, from the remastering to the packaging. How closely were you involved in those projects? Any plans to follow up with the `93 JH3 album or The Blake Babies’ Sunburn record (hint hint)?
JH: I had nothing to do with the Only Everything re-release. The company doing it did not inform me that they were doing it, nor did they send me a copy. I don't own those masters ("OE") so that's how that was able to happen without my involvement. American Laundromat Records handled the other stuff, and they are great and I am personally in touch with them about all the other re-releases. I hope to do more re-issues with them. I want to do "Bed" on vinyl but I can't find the master tapes. I'll keep looking.
JP: The I Don’t Cares record really seemed to come out of nowhere to a lot of people, a wonderful surprise. Was that just a one-off or is there a possibility for further collaboration with Paul Westerberg? We heard from him a bit around that release, but not so much from you – care to talk about that project a little?
JH: It was a one-off but it could conceivably happen again in the future. It is up to Paul. I didn't talk much about the project in deference to Paul. It was mostly his songs and I thought I should step back and not be the mouthpiece.
JP: When you played in Detroit quite a few years back, at the Magic Stick, if I recall correctly, you mentioned during your set that your father was from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am from Marquette, in the UP, so I have always wanted to follow up about this! Can you talk about that a little? Where in the UP? Have you spent time up there? .
JH: My dad was raised in Indiana but later in life ended up living in Houghton, Michigan. He got a job at a hospital up there. That's where he died, in Houghton. My mother was raised in Detroit. I used to visit my grandparents in Birmingham when I was a kid.
JP: The Magic Bag Theater is a really nice room in Ferndale, Mi. Great sound and an intimate vibe. What can we expect when you come to Detroit (Ferndale) in June? Who is in the band, and will the setlist be pulled from your entire catalog?
JH: I am not sure yet who all will be in the band. But I know we'll be playing songs from all over my vast catalog.
JP: Any special stories, recollections, or feelings about playing or visiting Detroit or Michigan over the years?
JH: I've had some good show experiences there. Lots of fun times. Playing with Jeff Buckley was fun.
JP: What's next for you after the tour? I think I saw some recent photos from a recording studio?
JH: I am in the studio now trying to finish up a new album before I go to Europe at the end of May.
JP: Thanks Juliana – we’ll see you in Ferndale!
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos - www.thetucos.com
Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit -
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic | www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Concert Review: Ex Hex / The Loving Touch, Ferndale, Mi. / April 8, 2019 - by Jeremy Porter
Photos by K.D. Bodnar. Do not share or use the photos elsewhere without permission.
On the Weeknight Brutality Scale (WBS), Monday nights fall just short of Sundays and just above Tuesdays as the worst night of the week to play or go out. But sometimes a record just grabs ya by the privates, drags you out to the garage, puts you behind the wheel, and sends you down Woodward Avenue to get out for some rock. That’s what happened to me. I really liked the last Ex Hex record Rips, but the new one – It’s Real – really sunk its claws in deep. It’s got all the hooks and guitars and clever songwriting, but all notched up into what is so-far my album of the year. I wasn’t going to miss the show, even after one bud bailed (out of town with wife), then another (too much going on), then another (“Gotta pass, man.”).
There was a good Monday night crowd at The Loving Touch, a one-time massage parlour converted into a great music venue in a hip suburb just north of Detroit, for Moaning’s direct support set. We did our best to stay engaged, but the mix was muddy, reducing the bass to low-end sludge and too dominant a presence in the sound. There were some interesting reverb-drenched Tele licks here and there, but it was a bit shoe-gazey and just didn’t keep our attention. Sorry guys. Come back to Detroit and we’ll give ya another chance.
Ex Hex came out looking every bit the part in leather and spandex pants and line checked their Gibsons, Fenders, and Koll guitars. I hadn’t even heard a note but I loved them already and was feeling the sting of regret about missing their past Detroit shows. A few minutes later the lights went down and “Breakin’ The Law” by Judas Priest played over the PA. What followed was an hour of smart and hooky pop-punk-surf-metal (heavy on the pop-punk, light on the surf-metal) that sounded familiar and consistent, but kept reinventing itself throughout the set. Singer Mary Timony (Ex-Helium) led the way, providing vocals on most of the songs and playing most of the leads, but Betsy Wright stepped in to break it up a bit every few songs with some different vocal flavors and some solos that fell just on the other side of KK Downing. Laura Harris laid down a powerful and steady back-beat and lended a beautiful layer to the harmonies that give them such a great, deep sound. Touring bassist David Christian stood back and stayed in the pocket, but wasn’t disengaged or reduced to a hired-gun role on stage. Just when you started to think it was getting a little samey, they pulled it back to a slow roll for a song, teamed up for some killer guitarmonies, incorporated some unexpected slap-back effects, or pulled out the Flying V for some heavy riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Holy Diver outtake.
It’s probably not PC to say, but I love women-led bands. Always have. Juliana Hatfield, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, The Avengers, Bangles, The Go-Go’s, and more recently Best Coast, Bleached, The Muncie Girls, and Ex Hex. There’s an element to the female voice that adds a deeper layer to the “pop” in power-pop, a distinction that magnifies even further the dichotomy between melodic vocal lines and layered harmonies and loud, overdriven guitars that define the genre. Ex Hex have it down – a REAL rock show that was every bit as raw and dirty as it was melodic and beautiful. As good as this record is and that show was, I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Setlist:
You Fell Apart
Good Times
How You Got That Girl
Tough Enough
Waterfall
Another Dimension
Beast
Radiate
Don't Wanna Lose
Rainbow Shiner
Cosmic Cave
Everywhere
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos - www.thetucos.com
Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit -
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic | www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Juliana Hatfield and Paul Westerberg are The I Don't Cares - by Colin Gawel
Juliana Hatfield is playing Ace of Cups Columbus, OH Sunday April Sunday April 30th at 6:30 pm.
I don't know much about Juliana Hatfield except this:
1) Every woman I have ever dated (4) cranks up the song "My Sister" at some point after too many drinks.
2) Everybody references how she was once the lead singer in the Blake Babies and that is very cool.
3) Nobody has seen the Blake Babies or heard any of their music.
Yet still, for no solid reason I've always had Hatfield filed under: Cool beyond reproach. Though if you cornered me in a bar, I couldn't defend that position. I would likely just put a finger in your chest and scream "What's that one song... uh.... you know the one.. SPIN THE BOTTLE? People love that. and..uh....WHAT ABOUT THE BLAKE BABIES? What is ya, ignorant? HUH? HUH?"
It took until the year 2016 for my head to catch up with my heart. That was the year Juliana and Paul Westerberg formed the I Don't Cares and released the amazing garage rock opus Wild Stab. Not many things hipper than teaming up with Paul Westerberg for a super underground, double secret probation, so cool we hope nobody ever hears it slab of semi low fi rock. The promotion of this record makes Guided By Voices look like Michael Jackson History. At least GBV keeps the same name. Wild Stab is basically a side project of the Westerberg side project grandpaboy. Yes, a side project twice removed.
Except it's not that far removed. It's basically a grandpaboy record where Paulie gives about 50% more a shit than usual and that makes it pretty damn amazing. I can only assume the presence of Juliana Hatfield helped push him over the finish line. Bottom line, two major talents joining forces for a common cause. Rock n roll. Dig this!
Now I know five things about Juliana Hatfield:
4) She is a member of The I Don't Cares and I love that band.
5) I need to quit being such a lazy bastard and spend some quality time checking out her new record Pussycat and back catalog. Maybe even the Blake Babies.
Colin Gawel plays in the band Watershed and you can read about him in the book Hitless Wonder. He was rushing to finish this story before Juliana's show at Ace of Cups. Just pretend Guided By Voices wrote the story. The flaws and laziness make it awesome. He also needs to wrap it up and finish mopping Colin's Coffee.