Jeff Tweedy talks about magazines, the Midwest and the best Wilco lineup yet

Wilco
The WhiteLies Lawn at White River State Park, 801 W. Washington St.
Monday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m.
$29.50-$36.50, www.livenation.com

Things seem to have settled down a bit in Wilco’s world — or WilcoWorld, as the address for the band’s official Web site would have it. No personnel turnover since 2005. Seven years since the well-publicized and on-film departure of lead guitarist and songwriter Jay Bennett, preserved in detail in the documentary film “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” And seven years since trading horses under the same corporate umbrella (Warner Bros.), landing with Nonesuch Records, a label friendlier to an artistically viable band that can fill arenas but won’t likely break the charts.

Bandleader Jeff Tweedy is also more composed psychologically and physically, following time spent in a clinic in 2004 to deal with an addiction to painkillers coincident with depression, panic disorder and a lifelong struggle with migraines. After reporting in a candid interview with the “New York Times” this spring (http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/) that he has been nearly migraine-free in the years following his clinic stay, Tweedy told NUVO that he feels more mentally prepared to tackle complex musical and lyrical tasks.

Wilco is still touring in support of 2007’s “Sky Blue Sky,” their sixth studio album and first with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. The record continues a trend of recording live-to-tape that began with “A Ghost is Born,” as if immediacy and spontaneity where the only place to go after the experimental, layered and heavily-produced pop of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and “Summerteeth.” Compared to the rest of Wilco’s catalogue, “Sky Blue Sky” may sound the most like 1996’s “Being There,” an album that drew on the “alt-country” roots of Tweedy’s work with Uncle Tupelo in the early ’90s but pushed Wilco in a new creative direction, maintaining a country-rock template while trying power-pop and psychedelica on for size.

Tweedy spoke with NUVO on a Friday afternoon about two weeks before his Indianapolis show. The complete interview is transcribed below.

NUVO: How do you think living in the Midwest has an impact on your songwriting, and what role do you think sense of place plays in your art?

Jeff Tweedy: I always have a tough time with the whole geographical impact. I know it must have some effect but I really don’t know any other way of life. So it’s hard for me to gauge what would be different about my writing if I lived somewhere else. And I guess I also have the added confusion of the fact that I write everywhere, I travel all over. I maintain a schedule where I try to stay busy creatively, so you end up writing in all kinds of environments. At least at this point in my life, I think I’ve written in all the hemispheres. [Laughs.] So, I don’t know. I know that your question is probably a little bit more specific than that, but I have trouble looking at it so narrowed-down. It’s who I am; it’s shaped who I am. Like I said, I’ve never lived anywhere else for any length of time, other than the old Plains states.

NUVO: Well, why do you think you’ve stuck around Illinois your whole life?

Tweedy:I don’t know, I’ve just been trapped I guess. I met my wife when I was in Uncle Tupelo; she has lived in the same five-mile radius in Chicago her whole life, and there’s no way in hell she’s ever moving, so that has a lot to do with it, to be honest. I think it’s a pretty awesome place to live, a pretty great way of life; I don’t have any really strong negative feelings about it, so that’s probably a big reason too. I will say I have a home, a log cabin in Indiana, and it’s a really good place to go and not hear the highway, and not hear the noise and be able to hear birds and bees, and see some stars and stuff. I have to say that has a positive impact on me being able to write, and being able to slow yourself down a little bit helps.

NUVO: And where is that?

Tweedy: It’s in LaPorte county.

NUVO: When’d you buy that?

Tweedy: We’ve had it for a little while now — a little less than a decade.

NUVO: I can see how it would be difficult to gauge the impact of where you live on your life, but does it interest you to think about unique characteristics of Chicago, Illinois or the Midwest, and kind of what’s similar about culture in a particular region or a state?

Tweedy: I don’t want to sound insulting — it sounds like it’s something that you care about and think about a lot, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way — but it’s really not where my head’s ever been. I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois and it took me a long, long time to come to terms with not hating that place. Also, I think even at this age, I feel like I sort of have survivor’s guilt for even getting out of where I grew up, and a lot of people don’t want to or don’t ever do that. But I also have to come to terms with that a lot of people don’t want to, and it works for them. It never worked for me; it wasn’t the place where it was really comfortable. So whenever you bring up that topic, that’s what I’m reminded of. I really wanted a bigger picture of the world that I was living in than what was available to me growing up. So I think the second I was able to get anywhere outside of those confines, I started doing that, you know, I started going to St. Louis. I grew up going to St. Louis to buy records and people looked at you like you were insane; it’s like going to Mars.

NUVO: “No Depression” published its final monthly issue last month. And I’m wondering — this is looking pretty far back in your career — but, as an innovator in that movement that was later called alt-country or maybe just as a fan, what the shutting down of that magazine means to you, or what it might signal?

Tweedy: I’m really pretty ambivalent about those guys and that whole … I don’t know, maybe you’ve written stuff for them or something?

NUVO: No, I haven’t. I’ve got no stake in this, I’m just curious.

Tweedy: They still exist, it’s just the same thing that’s happening with a lot of print media. They couldn’t sustain a physical copy of their magazine to be in existence. So they’re still online, and that’s what they do, and that’s kind of where that whole community started and still exists and is kind of vibrant; like message boards and stuff like that. Once again, I find that to be a pretty narrow perspective on, not just music, but life in general. A magazine like that has never been in keeping with the kind of philosophy that I’ve felt enriching in my life. I wouldn’t say I’m dancing on their grave, but at the same time, I’d say it’s what it is. At the same time, some of my ambivalence about it comes from the fact that they claimed early on that the magazine was named after the Carter Family song, not the Uncle Tupelo record, which is pretty fucking ludicrous, if you ask me.

NUVO: Sure, why wouldn’t it be “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” or some other Carter Family song, right?

Tweedy: There’s about 10,000 Carter Family songs. I think that’s pretty ironic if that’s what they believe, but you know, good for them.

NUVO: What are you on the band working on right now? What sort of new ideas are you exploring?

Tweedy: Right now the band has been in the early processes of making the next record, learning songs and recording the early versions of stuff that most likely will not make it on the next record, but just kind of getting the feel for the shape of things. I have to say that, the last record — as a band, and maybe as a songwriter and lyric-writer, psychologically — we really wanted to keep things on a pretty simple trajectory. I think we really wanted to keep things as straightforward as we were capable of. I don’t know … I think we were really willing to focus on the basics of what it is we were doing live and how we were communicating as a band. I’d have to say, early on in this record so far, we’re maybe a little bit more prepared mentally as a band and psychologically. As an individual, I think I’m willing to look at some more challenging arrangements and more difficulty emotionally. That sounds awful. Sounds like, “Gee, I want to hear that record.” No, it’s been really great. I think what I’m trying to say is, we’re really prepared to expand upon the kind of basic foundations of the last record and maybe do more overdubbing and use the studio a little bit more as another instrument, and so far that’s been really, really fun.

NUVO: Is there anything you’re listening to that’s influencing that right now, or reading?

Tweedy: The former editor of “Harper’s” magazine has a quarterly out now called “Lapham’s Quarterly.” Have you ever seen that?

NUVO: Yeah, yeah.

Tweedy: I love that layout — or not necessarily that layout — that format of that magazine. I think it’s been really inspiring to me, to be honest. Just laying out all these different time periods in a non-chronological fashion and seeing the communication … Each issue is about one topic — war, money, nature, whatever — and seeing the different writings over a span of centuries and the similarity and continuity that exists. I don’t know, for some reason that, I feel, has weighed into the writing I’ve been doing. I just really have been inspired by those magazines.

NUVO: Are you writing songs that have been incorporating historical incidents into the narrative or is it just a way to sort of broaden the way that you’re thinking about any one issue or idea?

Tweedy: I think it’s more of big-picture kind of stuff than any specific historical kind of reference or anything. I think it’s bolstering maybe some philosophical slants I kind of lean towards anyway, that people, at their core, really haven’t changed very much. And the historical sense of what we can learn about people from all different cultures and time periods. I think there’s a basic human condition that is virtually unchanged.

NUVO: I’m wondering why the band chose to establish an issues or activism section on the Web site and how important that is for Wilco or for you to be involved with charities in different towns?

Tweedy: We’re really fortunate. We have been able to make a living doing something we really enjoy doing and in the last five years or so we’ve been able to live well doing what we love to do. I think that we're just trying to be good citizens. And also, we’re trying to be good guests in the communities that we travel to. When we sell posters at each city, we generally give the proceeds to a local charity in the town we're playing, I just think that’s the way it’s supposed to work in my opinion. I think music as a whole, and art as a whole, is most accurately represented by a sort of gift economy concept: The more you give, I think, the more you get back. I think that we just feel better about what were doing, and it’s been rewarding for us to do that as well.

NUVO: Are you working with Jim O’Rourke as a producer or musician on the new record?

Tweedy: Jim’s been living in Japan for the last few years. We’re still friends and still in contact, and if he makes it back over to the States for any period of time, I’m sure he’ll be involved and around, working on stuff with us. It’s not something we can easily do right now because he’s really busy over there, working on different movie stuff and working with different people in the Japanese music scene.

NUVO: What sort of impact has he had on Wilco’s work since “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”?

Tweedy: I think Jim is a bona-fide genius, and I can’t really estimate the reach of his impact, especially on a local level in Chicago. I think it’s pretty omnipresent even now that he’s gone. There’s still a community of musicians that learned a lot from what he was doing, and how he worked. Myself included … I feel really privileged to have worked with him as closely as I have and I hope to do that more. But I learned a lot from Jim. He’s really a totally different beast of an artist and a musician than what I am. Well, basically, I know nothing, and he knows close to everything that you would need to know about modern composition and full-on, real musico-stuff. But he was the first person I think I’ve worked with in my life that I was able to express ideas in a way that wasn’t musico, in any way, shape or form, and he was able to decipher them and help me attain those goals in a way that … I don’t know, I just think we have a really good working relationship and I’ve learned a lot from that. I guess what I’m getting at is, he’s really good at figuring out what I’m trying to say, even though I don’t know how to say it.

NUVO: I didn’t see your shows at the Riviera, but I caught up with this blog post that I’m going to run by you to see if it sounds right. The writer says that he thought you “had come to terms with the band’s former eras” so that the “entire official catalog could be played over five nights without seeming out of place or disjointed.” Does that sound right and do you think you’ve gotten to that point?

Tweedy: Yeah, I think so. For me, on every level — personality level, band chemistry level, musicianship — all of those intangibles that make a band a band, this is the definitive version of Wilco, as far as I’m concerned. I kind of don’t care about what anybody else says. I know that there will always be people who came to the band at different periods and have nostalgia for different periods of the band, but as far my life in making music, this is as close to the ideal that I’ve always wanted. And as a band, I do think that we can play any period of the band’s catalogue better than the band that played those records. I just don’t think there’s any contest. Nothing against the people that played in those bands; I’m included in those bands, and I wasn’t capable of doing as good a job as I am today. On a personal level, I feel like I’ve gotten better, and as a band, I know we have.

NUVO: Nels Cline was in town a few months ago to play with his Singers at the jazz supper club. I’m wondering how you would describe his approach and what he adds to the band?

Tweedy: Anybody that’s ever seen him play knows that he has infinite ability at his fingertips. I think that he’s just a supremely capable musician and what separates him from other virtuosic musicians is a real sensitivity and artistic, romantic heart. He really feels what he’s doing and he’s not a technician once he starts playing. He might have put in the work to be technically perfect but he does not play with that mentality, compared to a lot of other, what you would call, I don’t know, savants. I think that on top of that he’s just an incredibly nice human being and an empathetic person to be in a band with.

NUVO: This is a bit of a forced question, but you guys are in town the same week as a Radiohead, so I’m wondering what you think of the forced comparison that calls you guys the “American Radiohead,” or maybe, alternately, what you think of the band?

Tweedy: I think Radiohead is one of the great bands of our time. They’re an amazing group and I really have nothing but admiration for their music and what they’ve been able to accomplish. By the same token, I have to be completely honest and say that I’ve had difficulty staying tuned in to the music emotionally. I don’t generally throw on their records and feel as much as I would like to, sometimes. But I don’t really even need to qualify that. They’re just an incredible band.

NUVO: What do you think of the voluntary payment system they did with their most recent record?

Tweedy: I think it was great when we did it five years before they did it, because we gave ours to a charity. No, I think it’s just smart. It’s smart marketing, just on a purely business level. It’s the way the world is. I don’t think it was five years before, but with “A Ghost is Born” some fans had set up a very similar setup for downloading the record, so they could donate to Doctors without Borders. So I just think it’s great and I think it’s the way things will continue to be, no matter how much people want to change it or like the way things are.

NUVO: Looking back at “Sky Blue Sky” at this point, are you pleased with how that record turned out when you listen to it now? I suppose you’ve said that you’re looking into a little more complex territory musically with the new record, but I’m wondering how you think about it about a year out?

Tweedy: I’m still very happy with “Sky Blue Sky.” I think it’s the most kind of cohesive and well-organized program of music that Wilco’s been able to put together. I stand by it 100 percent. It’s also not where our heads are at right now; it’s not the record we would make today, obviously. I just look forward to, ideally, making myself not feel like I can stand by it 100 percent by the end of the next record.

NUVO: I know that you’re doing a little more post-production on the music tracks, but are the song themselves a little more complex or a little more straightforward, or is that an accurate way to describe what you’re doing now?

Tweedy: I don’t know how to describe it. I do think the lyrics are probably a little more impressionistic so far. I don’t know if there’s any lack of directness emotionally. But as far as just straight, to-the-point storytelling, I think there’s probably going to be a little bit more murkiness so far.

NUVO: I’m wondering how playing with a full band differs from your solo performances, as far as logistics, emotions and all that kind of stuff.

Tweedy: Well, logistically, it’s a lot simpler to just take an acoustic guitar. I love doing both, and everybody in the band has a lot of different outlets for themselves musically. I’m in the same boat as everybody else in the band. I feel like when Wilco is together and we’re playing shows, I’m home, and when I’m going out and playing solo shows, I’m on some sort of vacation. There’s a really nice balance that I’ve been able to achieve that I think I get a lot out of in both situations.

NUVO: How many song requests do you typically take from that online form for each show?

Tweedy: Well, it depends on how many people are aware of it and how much people vote in each town. Generally, I’d say, if we do a 25-song setlist, about 20 songs, at least, will be requested off the Web site. The fact of it is, as it stands right now, it’s pretty interesting psychologically. The songs that get requested most frequently are the songs that got played the last time we were in that town. It’s really interesting. And I guess there’s people that want to come again and relive that experience if they enjoyed it. There’s songs that make it in the top 10 every time almost everywhere we go; again, they’re songs that we probably played the last time we were in town. So far, it’s not an exact science with the request page on our Web site, because, like I said, not that many people vote, so it’s not a really accurate cross-section of the audience, I don’t think. And you can tell when there’s people on there kind of stuffing the ballots for an obscure song, or getting a bunch of friends together to do that. It’s a great thing … it makes making set lists a lot more fun every night, because you just don’t have to think as hard, and the set lists always end up being very different from the night before. That’s all that matters for us. It keeps it a little bit more unpredictable.