Later

Well, you probably noticed that I've been gone for a few weeks. My excuse? Final projects, assessments, tests, tests, tests, finals. Today (after what seemed like forever) I took my last two finals. One hour and 40 minutes of History and Geometry. Now I'm back ready for summer and to connect with you, our dear reader. During my unwanted "break" I was able to reflect on what I wanted my writing to be like. I want to give you guys more of an insight into my head; tell you my thoughts and ideas and things that we all have but can't always express. I also want to hear more about ALL OF YOU! Every single person who reads our wonderful mag. You are the ones who make this magazine so special, you should be part of it! I don't want this to be just like another mag that doesn't focus on their readers. I want to have more of a connection with you-how cheesy am I being right now? I'll try to include more in-depth talks about issues/problems that we all face as teenagers and people; issues that are sometimes overlooked, ignored. Fun activities shouldn't be excluded either, we all have a "child" inside us and this summer I'll try to tell you all about fun stuff you can do (all credits to my little brother). We shouldn't forget how to have fun in the silliest ways or act childish, not be so serious all the time. These are just certain plans and I hope you all are as excited as I am to bring more things to magazine. Our whole team continues working to create a wonderful space and community for you.
Later,
-Laura

Picture credits to Ida (@aeronaustik on istagram)

Dieterich & Barnes; the aptly named duo of John Dieterich (of Deerhoof) and Jeremy Barnes (of A Hawk and a Hacksaw and Neutral Milk Hotel.) Their album The Coral Casino just came out on Barnes’ own label L.M. Duplication. We had the opportunity to ask them some questions about music, collaboration, and chess…

Jeremy and his dog Klaus (left) and John and his dog Tut-Sa (right)

Dieterich & Barnes - The Coral Casino

So obviously this is a brand new project, how does it feel to put out an album with a new group?
John Dieterich: It feels great, actually. We worked for a long time on this record, so it's very satisfying to get to show it to people and get feedback on it. When you work on something so long, you lose perspective a bit on what it is, so it's a bit of a reality check in a way, like "ahh, that's what it sounds like!" We have our ideas of what it is based on our experiences and our ears (and our interpretations are probably quite different from each other, even), but the fact is that we hear it drastically differently from many people, so that's fun.
Jeremy Barnes: John is a cool dude. John is very easy to work with. There is no bullshit with John. He makes a mean enchilada! He's not from New Mexico, but he has a keen sense of what restaurant has the best red chile in town at any given moment. He understands the simple pleasure of red chile, potatoes, eggs, tortilla.

You two have been collaborating in various ways for quite some time; at least as far back as AHAAH’s last record (which John produced and played on.) But how and when did you two first meet?
JD: When I was getting ready to move to Albuquerque, I had several different friends say "you know Heather and Jeremy, right?" and I would say I didn't, and all of them without exception would say, "oh, you're going to be friends." These were all people I knew well and trusted, so I got in touch with them within the first couple weeks of moving to Albuquerque, and they invited us over for dinner. Jeremy and I played together for the first time a few days later, and elements from that first session even appear on the album (the drums on Special Questions, for example). We started working together on the Hawk and a Hacksaw record relatively soon thereafter.
JB: John met my dog Klaus before he met Heather and I. We saw him play in Albuquerque but we didn't realize he was living here. Klaus was young and at that point still interested in going to shows (these days he would rather stay at home), and he went right up to John after the show.

This season at L8R we’re focusing a lot on growth and maturing. What kinds of difficulties have you had working together on basically “growing” this album? And more positively, what were some triumphant moments you had in the process?
JD: That's a cool question. I think the main difficulty in a way was simply the fact that we didn't know each other that well. We became friends right away, but when you work on an album, there are all kinds of questions and assumptions that come up, and you don't know exactly where the other person is coming from, so it can make it hard to know how to develop things. I think this album could have been very very different, but through the process of getting to know each other and figuring out where mutual interests lay, we formed an idea that we could both describe and relate to. A triumphant moment for me was when Out and About started to take shape. I was playing around with a drumbeat I made on some app on my ipod, and Jeremy started writing chords to it. It came together very quickly, though it took a while to nail down the whole structure and flow of it. I think the way that one came together made us both see a potential way to develop ideas in a really spontaneous way but still give us material that we could tweak and perfect later.
JB: It takes time to develop an aesthetic. This record could have gone in many directions, and we explored many options before steering it into what it became. Some of the difficulties included- being on tour at the exact opposite times for about a year, John's refusal to sing like Cher, and possibly too many trips to Duran's Pharmacy to enjoy their excellent Huevos Rancheros.

How do you think followers of A Hawk and a Hacksaw and Deerhoof will react to this album?
JD: The response has been really great so far, I think. Better than I could have imagined. I think it's a fun record, it's pretty easy to get into. It may not be for everyone, but I think there is enough of a relationship to our other bands that people can recognize us in this, whether they like it or not.
JB: I have no idea! I hope people put it on and dance a bit. Or drive around listening to it. It is good driving music.

What’s the dynamic of the record instrumentally? Did both of you stick to the guitar/drums you’re respectively known for or did you change it up? Were there any other musicians involved in the production or recording?
JD: Jeremy played all the drums, and I played all the guitars, and then we both played tons of other stuff. The Amusing Lute is featured at the end of Out and About! Heather Trost played all of the strings on the album, which for me really transformed it and gave the album this other level that was instantly exciting. She also played keyboard on Special Questions.

What’s the deal with inpool chess games?
JB: Good question. Have you ever tried it?

JD: I'm personally against them.

Jeremy, you have played in projects ranging from folk punk to surf rock to improvisational jazz and have professed love for artists as varied as Béla Bartók and Black Sabbath. Is there any kind of music you can’t personally enjoy?
JB: Yes.

John, what’s your musical background? Did you receive any formal musical education?
JD: My first instrument was piano. I started when I was 4 or 5 and played for several years. I then picked up guitar when I was eleven or so and never stopped since then. I took a few guitar lessons (learned how to play Crazy Train and a few other songs) but then got kind of bored with that as it wasn't engaging my creative side. At some point, I just started playing around by myself, improvising and eventually writing songs. That's about it. My older brother was in bands and is a really incredible bass player, so I was lucky in that I had all these great musicians around me. He turned me on to a lot of early punk/hardcore, etc. It's always nice to have someone older turning you on to stuff like that when you're young, because you're getting kind of out of context. I was this pretty introverted jock (I played soccer), but I was being exposed to really bizarre and obscure music, so that began everything for me. As for education, I took one year of a graduate program in electronic music but then dropped out to tour with Deerhoof. I sometimes wonder if i'll ever try and go back and finish it! Probably not . . .

Jeremy, do you have a favorite Deerhoof song? John, a favorite Hawk and a Hacksaw or Neutral Milk Hotel song?
JB: John- what is that new song on The Magic that has the funky guitars? Deerhoof has many classic songs, I love the new funky one on the new record and I also love the song Milk Man... but there are many more that are excellent. They keep writing great songs.

JD: I really like A Hawk and a Hacksaw's Witch's Theme from You Have Already Gone to the Other World. Part of it for me is that I got to see it develop from just a glimmer of a melodic idea into this elaborate construction. One of the things I really loved about making that record with them was just seeing their process. It's a real privilege to get to be part of someone else's creative life, to get to engage with it and try to help them develop something. They were incredibly trusting of me, which gave me a lot of confidence and helped me push myself and try things that I didn't necessarily know how to do.

What’s one word you would each use to describe The Coral Casino?
JD: Broasted
JB: Funtasm. At least that’s what making it was. A funtasm. I hope some of that fun will fill the listener's ears.

The Coral Casino is available now from L.M. Duplication and iTunes.
BONUS: Drawings of our writer, Autumn, by Jeremy and John!