A quick Q&A with Jason Isbell
Alabama’s Jason Isbell carries a pretty impressive resume around for someone just north of 30 years old. He played with Georgia alt-rock stalwarts Drive-By Truckers for the better part of six years. After leaving the band in 2007, he cranked out his first solo record… then in 2009 released Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – a solid collection packed with sad melodies laced with resilience and hope. The follow up was lauded – see Rolling Stone, Vintage Guitar, etc… – as one of the best albums of the year. High praise for a band named for a mental treatment facility in Florence, Alabama. WTDP? had a chance to catch up with Isbell to talk about the album, his gear and the future.
WTDP?: Tell us a little bit about your songwriting process. Do you keep a ‘riff diary’ or is it more spontaneous when you sit and write?
JI: I do it any way I can. I do have a collection of chord progressions and lyrics, but sometimes it works best if it comes out fresh, all at once.
WTDP?: Listening to the new CD, I’m struck with how effortlessly is swings from blues balladry to full bore rock. Was that a conscious effort to show some different colors from your palette?
JI: No. I just try to write songs that sound honest, whatever the genre. Then we arrange and record according to that.
WTDP?: Our favorite song on the disc is Sunstroke. What effects – beyond good old-fashioned feedback – do you have going in that toms breakdown during the song’s second half?
JI: We used a prepared piano. Opened it up and laid heavy objects on the strings, muting and scraping. We also had a band member reading through a low-fi mic and a boss echo pedal being manipulated as it was played. Turn those knobs fast and see what comes out.
WTDP?: Give us a run down of your current rig… starting with your current #1 guitar? How about your pedalboard?
JI: I have dozens of guitars, but I endorse Gibson and the dot-neck 335. I run that through a Boss Delay, a Loop Station, and an old Tube Screamer.
WTDP?: How about amps?
JI: My amps are, and will probably always be Sommatones. Jimmy Somma can make an amp that rivals Dumble and he’s not insane and overpriced.
WTDP?: Are there any effects you’re really digging on right now?
JI: I have an Analog Man Sunlion that kicks all kinds of ass, but the diode needs replacing. I’ll have it back in the rig soon. Really rocking fuzz and top-end boost. Marc Ford gave it to me.
>WTDP?: Any shot of returning to the studio in 2010?
JI: Of course. I’ve already played on and produced two records this year. I’m from Muscle Shoals. Going to the studio is like going to the convenience store here. We don’t fuck around.
