Music Blog

In just a few short years, the folk-pop group A Weather has turned into Portland's own version of Broken Social Scene. By that I mean, almost all the members of each group busy themselves in their off time with their own musical projects.

And like BSS, the A Weather offshoots are as diverse as can be. Bassist Lou Thomas is the co-leader of a dirty rock outfit known as Chores whereas drummer Sarah Winchester sticks closest to her day band's sound with her solo acoustic folk. Even front man Aaron Gerber has his own side project, an ambient electronic outfit known as Six Twilights.

The most recent addition to the family is a charming pop group called Exploration Team. Led by erstwhile A Weather guitarist Aaron Krenkel and his wife Allyn Nelson, the group has just self-released We Are Birds, We Are Trees, an intimate album rife with meticulously detailed lyrics and some lovely sentiments that would fit nicely on the next mix CD you craft for your significant other.

You can hear some of their songs on the band's MySpace page, and while you're listening, you can read this interview, which Aaron was kind enough to grant me for the opbmusic blog.

How did the band come together?

The whole process has been based in friendship. In many cases, it's been pulling in friends who wanted to help, and in other cases it's been making friends through the music, but I've tried to avoid too many delusions of grandeur, thinking that some sort of professional musicianship could take the place of having this be about sharing something between friends. I would quickly get pretty discouraged by my music taking on some impersonal aspect, and that would be the end of it.

So I met Zach Okun [drummer] through my dear friend Ben Licciardi. We became friends shortly after I moved here, and he just jumped in with helping record and play Exploration Team songs the first time we took a more polished approach to recording (i.e. the first time I recorded and it wasn't me alone with a 4-track). That's also how I met Becky [Wolf, bassist/vocalist], a friend of a friend, who became, well, a friend.  Have I mentioned friends?

Your lyrics are filled with a lot of very specific imagery and metaphor - how easy or hard is it for you to hit upon a lyrical hook to write your songs around?

I would say it can be rather easy but many of the metaphors on the record are very personal and, like all metaphors, aim to express some ineffable, ever-escaping feeling or idea, something that moves beyond the boundaries of everyday language. And I think that process, for me, is grounded in many moments, ideas, things I've read, songs I've loved, etc. In other words, it's grounded in myself.  It's the nurturing of that part of myself that is more difficult, and certainly more gradual, than the accessing that takes place in writing a song.

Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?

I once read an interview, I think with Kurt Vonnegut, where he said that everything good that's ever been written was written FOR someone, whether the writer was fully aware of that or not.  For him it was basically a beloved family member. I found that striking, especially given that it's not grossly apparent in his case. For me, the inspiration and the initial audience in my mind has really been my wife Alynn, who also has been the main collaborator on these songs. Of course once someone starts writing songs, the hope is that they will provide some kind of meaning or joy to others as well.

According to the CD liner notes, you recorded this album in your drummer's house. How was that process?

Working with Zach was great. It was low-stress and fun because we knew we'd enjoy just hanging out and playing music. He's technically a very good engineer, but really his main impact was as a band member.  He's very different from me and, creatively, he puts the occasional curveball in the mix that can be very rewarding.  I wish we'd had the luxury of taking more time, especially in the mixing stage (we were on a budget so we mixed in a 20-hour marathon at Jackpot!, having to learn the equipment as we went). There are always a few decisions that later strike you as a little off, especially when you obsess over the details, but ultimately you have to let those things go.

The songs sound very precise like they took a long while to gestate. Is this true or were you able to pound out fully formed songs in a couple of hours?

Some of these songs did take a while to shape, with many visits back to reform them. We played some shows in 2007 and the process of playing live helped with reworking them. Some more reworking just took place in my head. A few songs happened rather suddenly.  One of my favorite songs on the record, "Safe and Sound", was written the morning we recorded it. That's one of the things I've learned about music and come to revel in: many, many different processes can result in something beautiful.  There's no prescription.

You have mentioned that this album might see release via Team Love Records - how probable is that?

Team Love has been pretty definite about putting it up on their website and making it available through their online store and iTunes. Either way I'd be happy with it. Of course I'd love more than that, but I've learned to be happy with just having had the chance to make this record and have it heard by some people who might appreciate it.

Do you have any grand plans for the band or are you playing it by ear and taking things as they come?

I would say I'm playing it by ear. Again, I think the main thing is that if the record got any kind of support and it became in any way easier to play shows right now, I would potentially put more energy into playing out. But A Weather is working on some great new songs and I'm incredibly excited about making another record with that band.

Is there anything you have coming up for the band that you'd like to mention?

I would say the only things on our radar for the next few months are the likely availability of the record, in part or in full, through the Team Love website and the possibility of a more formal online release. A few great local shops like Q is for Choir and Tender Loving Empire are also selling the record. Shops like that are real gems, so I hope a few people buy the record through them and support local music all the way around.