Lift To Experience - Texas Jerusalem Crossroads is the greatest piece of music ever recorded. At any time by any artists in any genre. I will not give you the complete lyrics followed by an interview with Josh T. Pearson. I am unaffiliated with them, I just love this band and you should too
This is the story of three Texas boys busy mindin' their own bidnis
When the Angel of the Lord appeared unto them saying:
"When the Winston Churchill's start firin' their Winston rifles in the sky from the Lone Star State
Drinkin' their Lone Star beer and smoking their Winston cigarettes
You know the time is drawin' nigh when the sun shall be lifted on high"
We told them that didn't sound very Sunday-go-ta-meetin
"What do you expect?" they said
"When God calls the crippled deaf and blind to lead the children of Israel to the promised land
"The children of Israel?" we asked
"Don't you boys know nothing? - The USA's the center of Jerusalem." (I hear the train a-coming)
I know not, even with friends reaching out
My thoughts have escaped
So try and rest till I trample walls over, until land dries
Even now dark times have infiltrated so, we ask you with inhibitions to heed
Breathe Lord on our desperate attempts now, deliver freedom in response
Experience a new death, victory awaits
Prophets on risen stars
Open fierce skies make onlookers kneel
Experiencing a death indeed
Now my young heroes everywhere advance rapidly toward Texas
Here at the troop headquarters enlist, dispatched angels remain knelt
Enduring rainy days and you will overcome, until land dries
Stretch out our nights been easy, under prophet's orders
Now until stars align lay low
Just as was told
We are here at last
And all prophecies of old shall come to
Just as was told justice will unfold
The truth be told it will unfold
What's in the sky shining silver, shimering sleek?
A star, a star is born
Down came the angels
From heaven up above, oh
Drunk on the passion
And the fragrance of song
With feathered wings flapping upon the wind
To my door they did descend
Quietly a knock
"Forgive the intrusion, but we've traversed so far
Three wise men who seek a star
Came down from heaven from the throne room of grace
Where the counsel of the most high sent us so
To speak in their place"
"We seek shelter, from the storm on the horizon"
"Can you give us what we seek, give me shelter for my friends and I?"
"What I have I give unto you, all I have is this humble abode
And you're welcome to rest here (if) I may be so bold
Tell me what it was that what said, just as was told."
"Fair enough my friend, we would hate to keep you unaware."
"Then do come in and let me entertain you!"
"Well don't hesitate out with it now
I'm in earnest pray tell
What was it that was spoken
That my soul will sit well?"
"My son it's a bit complicated you see
To say what was said is nothing easy
They seek a seer to ride the sea
To crash the tide, and protect the free
They want a watchman upon the wall to sound the alarm."
"What sort of someone does the counsel now seek?"
"My son they didn't say, they gave us the message and sent us on our way
All we know is to follow the star, and the star did set
Above this meagre barn that you inhabit
And you're not what we expected all covered in shit
We're just the messengers
And we know far better than to try and interpret
Only we deliver this message for the council of God, that in exchange for all these things
God will bless the man with angel wings
To fly above and see beyond
Immortalise his words and give him power over the curse
To call or calm the storms."
"My son, if you want God to bring about these strange and wildest things
He requires a cost that you must count as loss, if you want those angel wings
In exchange for all these things He requires something that's already quite His."
"What, what does he ask?"
"In exchange for the wings He requires
Your life for this."
Rising to the top knowing I must fall
Refeathered wings, salt the strings to remake the crawl
To the top
And then take the fall again
Blood soaked, gagged and choked, lined face on stone
Stripped bare, sucking in air
This is my home, it seems
With rock and the hard place stuck between
The Godman Christ cause cursed man to the test
And this Goddamned cross crushed into my chest
I'm still doing my best
And so the winter time comes calling
Through the skies I'm crawling, from cloud nine, I've fallen
And then the foolish times rush in
It's no longer mine, life on cloud nine
Place your dreams in a bottle, smash it to the ground
Slip off you slippers and dance all around
It's blood babe, it's just blood babe
It's just blood babe, it's just your precious blood
I've come this far and I said I'd go all the way
But these fevered winds sway stronger each day
And I'm fool's gold, and my heart's not right
But I'd still sell what's left in my soul just to pay the tithe
Shot down the glory of my prime
Only to find the bullets were divine
So don't speak to me of heavens above
Because Cloud 9 is where I've fallen from
Carry on the wayward son, the way that lovers do
Yeah the storms will surely come
As sure as the sun sets in the sky it shall be done
From that city on the hill
We're gonna wait it out till the winds do still
At the pay for view, for the chosen few
Yeah the storms will surely come, sure as that setting sun
All aboard the engine number nine
Those bound for the Jordan on Texas state line
Here at the shelter for the saints
You'll find rest for the weary and the faint
Dry amidst the deluge in our city of refuge
From Athens to London to Paris to Rome
The stars are gonna shine
From here to Palestine
When the angels take flight
Deep from the heart of the dark Texas night
So begins the Exodus to the land of the unclouded day
With blood bought ticket in your hand, carving out a 'trail of tears' along the way
Travelling ever homeward under
A crippled, angry, new America
Travelling ever homeward under
A crippled, angry, new America
On that railroad underground
(Travelling ever homeward under)
Those bound toward Texas till that great whistle sounds
(A crippled, angry, new America)
And if the train does the tracks
(Travelling ever homeward under)
Don't think for a second that you're getting your money back
(A crippled, angry, new America)
No exchanges, no refunds
(New America, new America)
Onward on foot till you see the rise of the Texas sun
(Our song)
And if you make it over the Jordan
You still have to make it through the night
And if you reach the Holy City
It won't be without a fight
And at that final resting place
We shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty's saving grace
And when the bough does break
Under the Bible Belt we're safe
Where there'll be no hitting allowed
From a single storm cloud
From Athens to London to Paris to Rome
The stars are gonna shine
From here to Palestine
When the angels take flight
Deep from the heart of the dark Texas night
With crippled wings
Waiting to
In the morning glow with light so low
The day begins as night shields her skin
In the aftermath of the long dark past
I'm beginning to see the light
Through drunken days and spinning scenes
The lifting of weight that God's freedom brings
Till genius awakes with hungover snakes
And remembers the dreams one more
Tossed from bed to floor
Sometime, somewhere just when you think it couldn't get any worse
It'll hit you unaware and you realise:
It sure as hell ain't gonna get any better
So tune into the radio and listen to the words we say
Tune into the T.V. show, when we will appear to show you the way
Homeward to the Promised Land
The stars did align in nineteen ninety-nine
When we getting ready for the moment to shine
With luck, star-struck
On the front of the storm we shall be born
Under the red and the blue and the white
These angels will take flight
Sometime, somewhere just when you think it couldn't get any worse
It'll hit you unaware and you realise:
It's gonna get far worse before it gets better
So turn your heads to the starry skies above
Give those sore eyes a sight
When the host of heavenly Angels takes flight
With crippled wings and songs to sing
Just a stupid ranch hand in a Texas rock band
Trying to understand God's master plan
When the Lord said "Son! Tell the world before it explodes
The glory of the Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads."
I said "Lord I'll make you a deal;
I will if you give me a smash hit so I can build a 'city on a hill'."
And He said "Son! I will if you will."
I said "My sweet Lord, it's a deal."
Waiting to hit with crippled wings
Waiting to hit with songs to sing
Waiting to hit the silver screen
Waiting to hit the scene
So we approach the grand conclusion
When the world receives its retribution
On the eve of our destruction
Standing at the edge looking over
Waiting to hit the center stage
At such a gold and tender age
Shot forth out of the miry clay
Cuttin' all the corners along the way
Born in a manger covered in after-birth
We're taking her for all she's worth
With stars above, lone star below
Upon the earth a star is born
Lord rescue me
Place your hand underneath my wings
And lift me up above the raging sea
And carry me to your shore
Place my body upon the rocks
Where the farthest I can fall is to the ground so soft
And in the coming days, when the waters rage
Help me to clearly see above the sea, Lord
Lord you ask so much
For someone with so little to give
This ain't my life and it never will be
I'm just trying to endure the sea, Lord
If you choose to let me sink to the floor
Of this ocean's bed
And let the waves come crashing down
Up above my head
I'm gonna take the rope from the millstone that's
Tied around my neck
And with body bound for death wrap my feet back up
Underneath my legs
So when I sink to the bottom of this deep dark sea
I will wait for Thee on bended knee
Death where is thy sting?
Grave where is thy victory?
For my saviour will come and rescue me
And redeem his treasure at the bottom of the sea
And when that light breaks through the clouds
We're all gonna sing and we're all gonna shout
When the death shall rise from their resting place
And sing the chorus to "Amazing Grace"
Lord rescue me, place your hand underneath my wings
Lift me up above the raging sea
And carry me to your shore
Lord
These are the days
Marching toward us with visions in their eyes
These are the days
Racing toward us with blood on their teeth and lips
And I can hardly wait to hear that great trumpet sound
Pouring down out across the land
These, these are the days that must happen to you
These, these are the days that must happen to you
These are the days that must happen to you
Bloody times ahead for God's chosen few
With our instruments swords, weapons of war
Marching around the city seven times
And I can hardly wait to hear that great trumpet sound
Pouring down out across... out across the land
So we approach the end, when God judges man's sin
Yeah the time is running thin
Let the countdown begin
Four... three... two... one...
Yeah the whole world is gonna shake
When The Levee Breaks
And it feels the wrath
Of God's terrible swift sword
(These, these are the days that must happen to you)
These are the days that must happen to you
These are the days that must happen to you
Christ is the word, Christ is the word
These are the days that must happen to you
(These, these are the days that must happen to you)
These are the times that must happen to you
These are the things that must come out of love
To bring out the best to bring out the worst
Times of it all
These are the days that must happen to you
The stars are aligned for all God's chosen few
These are the days that must happen to you
The stars are aligned for all God's chosen few
So all you haircut bands, doing headstands
Thinking you'll turn the world upside down
Put your guitars up over your shoulders
A new sort of experience is taking over
'cos we're simply the best band in the whole damn land
And 'Texas Is The Reason'
The city is ours for the taking
And a host of many
More Heavenly angels
Are on their way
These are the days
Falling, just angels falling
When we shall touch
The worlds will shake
When these touch down and storm
Just angels falling
And if I don't make the climb
To the higher times
Know that in my heart
I'm still your man
“Adam, Heaven’s high behest no preface needs:
Sufficient that thy prayers are heard; and Death
Then due by sentence when thou didst transgress
Defeated of his seizure many days
Given thee of grace; wherein thou mayest repent
And one bad act with many deeds well done
Mayest cover: Well may then thy Lord, appeased
Redeem thee quite from Death’s rapacious claim;
But longer in this Paradise to dwell
Permits not: to remove thee I am come
And send thee from the garden forth to till
The ground whence thou wast taken, fitter soil
He added not; for Adam at the news
Heart-struck with chilling gripe of sorrow stood
That all his senses bound.”
“Oh unexpected stroke, worse than of death!
Must I thus leave thee, Paradise? thus leave
Thee, native soil, these happy walks and shades
Fit haunt of Gods? where I had hope to spend
Quiet though sad, the respite of that day
That must be mortal to us both. Oh flowers
That never will in other climate grow
My early visitation, and my last
At even, which I bred up with tender hand
From the first opening bud, and gave ye names
Who now shall rear ye to the sun, or rank
Your tribes, and water from the ambrosial fount?
Thee lastly, nuptial bower, by me adorned
With what to sight or smell was sweet, from thee
How shall I part, and whither wander down
Into a lower world; to this obscure
And wild? how shall we breathe in other air
Less pure, accustomed to immortal fruits?”
“Celestial, whether among the Thrones, or named
Of them the highest; for such of shape may seem
Prince above princes, gently hast thou told
Thy message, which might else in telling wound
And in performing end us; what besides
Of sorrow, and dejection, and despair
Our frailty can sustain, thy tidings bring
Departure from this happy place, our sweet
Recess, and only consolation left
Familiar to our eyes, all places else
Inhospitable appear, and desolate;
Nor knowing us, nor known: And, if by prayer
Incessant I could hope to change the will
Of Him who all things can, I would not cease
To weary him with my assiduous cries:
But prayer against his absolute decree
No more avails than breath against the wind
Blown stifling back on him that breathes it forth:
Therefore to his great bidding
I submit.”
Just angels falling
Wings weighing soft
Just angels falling
Wings weighing soft
Just angels falling
Wings weighing soft
Just angels falling
Wings weighing soft
Wings weighing soft
Stubborn horses standing on the lead rope
No other forces but you keep holding back
Off God's track
On a mission impossible
To lead the troops out of the enemy's hand
Into the promised land
Headed to Texas where it's safe and dry
The ground is rough but so is life
And this ain't your life
Headed to Texas with gun in hand
To set our feet upon a dry land
Down with the prophets who speak the words
And warn us of the perils through song and verse
Here's my body I lay it down
Give my head to receive my crown
Let's cut the heads off the John The Baptists
Bring them on an altar to the King
For the songs that they sing
Those wretched, wretched things
This is the lot of the chosen
Who give their lives just to save a
Few more chosen few
What's a boy to do when he's seen the truth?
And when the profits peak, the prophets speak
"We are troubled on ev'ry side
Yet not distressed, perplexed
But not in despair
Persecuted, but not forsaken
Cast down but not destroyed."
Yeah this is the drink, stronger than you think
Shaken but not stirred
And if you want to survive put the cup to your mouth
And turn your body to the south
And if you go or if you stay
We could give a horse's ass either way
Just trying to feed
The stubborn horses standing on the lead rope
The coming revival will be one of survival
The coming revival will be one of survival
And if you wanna survive
You gonna keep your heads
Down with the prophets, down with the prophets
We sing these songs because we have to
Not because we want to
We sing these songs because we have to
Not because we want to
Just doing our part trying to feed
Stubborn horses standing on the lead rope
And all of rock and roll until now was to
Give a place for the angels to spread their wings
With songs to sing, with songs to sing
And when the rock starts to roll
Know that the bell soon will toll
We are the ones that told you so
The angels are coming with bells on
The angels are coming with bells on
The angels are coming with bells on
Behold, the angels are coming with bells on
And you may not need God now
But you'll need Him then
After all the alcohol
When the room really starts to buzz
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echo back their joyous strains
Marching on toward Zion
Marching on toward Zion
Under the X in Texas
Is where you'll find me, it's where I'll be
Singing out the songs
Warnin' the world of the perils to come
With a cloud by day and a cloud by night
Forced out of 'The Garden Of Earthly Delights'
And one by one the states will know
As they crumble like Jericho
From Canada to Mexico
That Texas is the rock
To lift you up when your words collide
With the angels to guard and the angels to guide
Upon this truth you can rely
So take two steps toward Texas tonight
For the sheep shall flock
To the call of that mighty Texas rock
Singing:
"Angel of God, my guardian dear
To whom God's love commits me here
Ever this day be at my side
To light, to rule
To guard and to guide."
Angel dons the metaphor
Swings open wide those prison doors
There's going to be a war
To end all war
When your heart hears the call
Feels the weight of the fall
And the gravity of life's circumstance pulls you down
Follow your fate to the Lone Star state
And join us as we sing along:
"Angel of God, my guardian dear
To whom God's love commits me here
Ever this day be at my side
To light, to rule
To guard and to guide."
If you survive the coming rains
And the crash and the tide of the latter days
You can secure your slot and fall in rank
With the crippled and the faint
As the saints go marching on toward Zion
With guns in hand
As the saints go marching on toward Zion
With guns in hand
As the saints go marching on toward Zion
With guns in hand
Singing:
"Angel of God, my guardian dear
To whom God's love commits me here
Ever this day be at my side
To light, to rule
To light, to rule
To light, to rule
To guard and to guide."
Take two steps toward Texas tonight
Take two steps toward Texas tonight
"Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
To teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
"As for me and my house
We will not go gently."
Now the time has come when you must decide
To take two steps toward Texas tonight
So follow the Lone Star in the sky
And beg for the angels to guard and to guide
Into the storm
Tell your mother
You won't be home for Christmas this year
Say you've headed south
For the Promised Land
And with gun in hand
Sell the car and take the train
You won't need it where you're going
Leave the bags, don't pack a thing but the clothes on your back
With food, gun and gunny sack
With food, gun and gunny sack
With food, gun and gunny sack
Headed for the tracks
There's gonna be two hits
Babylon is fallen, is fallen
You'll see it before you hear it
Sound takes some time to travel
When the noise reaches your ear
You will know and you will fear
The end is near
When America falls the world will fall with her
When America falls the world will fall with her
If one dies along the journey keep riding through the night
You'll never make it if you stop to bury
You'll never make it if you wait for light
Don't pause to question justice
Don't take the time to mourn
We'll have time to suffer
After we've suffered the storm
Babylon is fallen, is fallen
For the day comes, then the night
As we tread along the darker song
Of salvation yet to come
Ponder the thought
Of what little you've fought
Yeah the journey for you my friend has just begun
Yeah the wind is gonna blow those walls in
And the sound is gonna drown you out
Yeah the wind is gonna blow those four walls in
And the sound is gonna drown you out
Behold I show you a mystery
We shall not all sleep
We shall all be changed
The crippled, deaf and weak
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
The last trumpet shall sound
And the dead shall rise
Incorruptible, we shall all be changed
Incorruptible, we shall all be changed
If the watchman sees the sword come upon the land, warns not the people, his blood will I require at his hand. If the watchman sees the sword come upon the land and warns the people, he has delivered his own soul and he shall be free
He shall be free
We shall all be free
We, we shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
There are no roads to where we are, the path to the city has yet to be carved. So follow your fate to the Lone Star State. Join us as we sing along
We, we shall be free
Born in sin, sufferin', strugglin'
Through thick and thin
Place your lips to my lips
And let's begin to weather the dreaded storm
You have been warned
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
Listen! I will be honest with you
I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes
These are the days that must happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is call’d riches
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve
You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d, you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart
You shall be treated to the ironical smiles and mockings of those who remain behind you
What beckonings of love you receive you shall only answer with passionate kisses of parting
You shall not allow the hold of those who spread their reach’d hands toward you
These are the days that must happen to you
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
My soul was a burden, bruised and bleeding. It was tired of the man who carried it, but I found no place to set it down to rest. Neither the charm of the countryside nor the sweet scents of a garden could soothe it. It found no peace in song or laughter, none in the company of friends at table or in the pleasures of love, none even in books or poetry.... Where could my heart find refuge from itself? Where could I go, yet leave myself behind?
Friends, Saint Augustine said that in the fourth century and it’s just as true today as it ever was
We have come to show you
There is a place
There is a place
Follow me over the Jordan across the desert sands
(Real grass)
Follow me o'er Israel into the Promised Land
Follow me over the Jordan across the desert sands
(New grass)
Follow me into Texas into the Promised
Land
Marching on to Zion with gun in hand
Marching on to Zion with gun in hand
Marching on to Zion with gun in hand
Into the Promised Land
Promised Land
A funny thing happened with The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads in the subsequent years, however: the album became a cult hit. The legend of Lift To Experience escalated as new fans stumbled upon them through music blog appreciation and frontman Josh T. Pearson's universally praised, 2010 solo album, Last of the Country Gentlemen. The band's number one fan, Elbow's Guy Garvey, kept telling anyone that would listen that, to quote LTE's tongue-in-cheek song "These Are The Days," they were "simply the best band in the whole damn land." Garvey's public love for the band, along with an invitation to play the Meltdown Festival he was curating in London, helped them realize that their story wasn't over. And so earlier this year they reconvened and set out to give the band another shot.
Along with returning to the stage, Pearson wanted to use the opportunity to give The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads the proper mix it deserved. Originally mixed hastily and on a budget by Simon Raymonde, the band were never satisfied with the results. That "what if?" ate away at them over the years. So when Mute Records came knocking, looking to reissue the album, Pearson saw the opportunity he was waiting for. On February 3, 2017, Mute will reissue a remastered and remixed edition of The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads the way it has always meant to be heard. "Full circle, as God intended," tells the press release. The album will also receive a much needed vinyl release, after scarce copies of the original have reached ridiculous prices.
Noisey reached Pearson fresh off his performance at Meltdown to discuss the band's unlikely course, the importance of getting the album mixed right, and why he hopes America finally understands his apocalyptic narrative the second time around.
Noisey: I'm excited the band is back together.
Josh T. Pearson: Man, I'm excited that you're excited.
How did it feel to perform together again?
It went surprisingly well. Still processing it. [The London gig] was huge. The biggest indoor show we've played. We were all shocked by it. I was shocked when they announced it was at the Royal Festival Hall. It was a 2,500-person room and it was seated, which is a lot more daunting than 2,500 people standing around. I've played some rooms that big myself, but to do it again with the band was a different beast altogether.
I imagine the audience is bigger now than it was back in 2001.
In London, definitely. We really had no frame of reference as to what the turnout would be or if anyone cared or what the interest would be. But there was a good crowd excited to see it. I'm very thankful for the opportunity. We had done a few tours in Europe, but on the tour where we were about to lift off it got cancelled because our bass player's wife had an overdose and died, so we had to come home with our tails between our legs. I'm very honored to come back. It feels like a whole new crowd of kids. I thought it would just be a bunch of old, middle-aged dudes who want to talk about pedals because that's what the demographic was before back in the day. When we put out the record it was a little more innovative and shoegaze-y stuff. I was surprised to see more woman and kids in the crowd this time. That excited me. Maybe there are some new fans that have discovered the record and never got a chance to see us. We're just taking it one at a time. That's our end goal.
How smooth has the reunion been between the three of you?
It's been really good for us. I really needed this. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but in a good way. There was an element of surprise. It was nice to be surprised and feel those emotions again I haven't felt in so long: anger, sadness, and happiness. You get to a point in your life where you think you're past certain emotions, but I'm grateful for the opportunity. They treated us like kings at Meltdown. And for the bass player, who has no frame of reference, to hear fans say, "Hey, that's one of the best records ever made," he worked in a sandwich shop in Texas, so he had no idea. So just to see his face light up with a couple thousand people giving us a standing ovation at Festival Hall, that was great. I feel honored.
The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads is such a heavy album, both musically and thematically. Was it tough to get back into the right mindset to perform these songs?
Not as tough as I thought it might be. The interesting thing is seeing how your body remembers the tunes. It's a totally different way I play these songs because over the last few years I've been playing acoustic songs and country stuff alone on the road wherever I can. This is a completely different way of playing: alternate tuning and effects. I rely on distortion on and off for crescendos and fluidity. Playing acoustic, there are finer nuances, with an emphasis on vocals being married to guitar parts within guitar parts. It's been a real joy to play electric again. In a way you feel silly because some of the impulses are more youthful sentiments. You're up there rocking again, and it's been nice to force yourself to get over the ego where you just lose your cool and move around. I get to dig into the guitar and tell myself it's okay to burn that idol and sacrifice myself and have fun. It's also been neat to play with a drummer again and lock in with.
Is it true you've been watching yourself on YouTube to learn how to play old songs?
Absolutely! It's been 15 years, so there is little YouTube footage out there. There's one by a fella in LA that I watched over and over and over. He got all arty at the end and zoomed in on my fingers, which was a nice, fortuitous decision. It's interesting to watch how the mind works, and I noticed there were certain sections I couldn't get when I was just playing with the amp. But once I plugged in my pedals, which aren't many—an RV3 reverb, a couple of distortions, a sampler and a wah—just because the brain is wire, some of those other parts came back to me. It was kind of exciting to remember those chords. There was one in "Waiting To Hit" I just couldn't get and then finally when I wasn't thinking about it the chord came up. It's exciting to see the body remember. I'm doing some stretches now, because I'm using different muscles and different ways of playing the guitar. That tuning I haven't used in 14 years, really. The first stuff was mostly D Major and A, and the next record was going to be D Minor, so…
Let me ask you about that next record. What exists of it?
Nothing. We recorded a practice on a cassette tape, back in the day. I haven't listened to any of that stuff since then. We have no agenda here. I laid that stuff down and switched to regular tuning to hit the road and focus more on the country stuff. It's challenging to me, more from a vocal side of things. It's gut music. But those tapes are there somewhere. A lot of the music was song titles and basic sketches. Originally it was meant to be a trilogy, but it's like the Lord put a hand over that. Don't want to be the hand that feeds.
You've said it wasn't money, so what made you revive Lift To Experience?
David Bowie dying. Kinda. We're having the record coming out remixed, which is exciting for me because my regret with it was the way it was mixed. It wasn't mixed properly because we couldn't be there for the mixing. Nobody wanted to put the record out except Bella Union, and they didn't have any money to fly me over to mix it or send money for us to mix it here. They said they had an extra week to mix it there and put it out, yes or no. And we tried for a year to find some other label, and they were the only takers. So my only regret is that it wasn't mixed properly. It didn't sound like the band. We just had no money. We paid for the recording ourselves. Had we any confidence at all, I would've scraped together 500 bucks and flown over. But it was different times. I was drinking a lot, my guitar and amps were in the pawnshop, and I had a record that I thought was my gift to God. And it was unmixed and unwanted by anyone but the Cocteau Twins, which is just crazy.
We had no plans to get the band back together. I wanted to wait until we put the record out, if there was demand for it. It's not like we were the Pixies. You just wanted to be wanted. We had no frame of reference for knowing that. I had just finished a solo tour in London, and Peter, my manager, mentioned that he saw that Guy from Elbow was doing Meltdown, and I know him from Lift, after doing a short tour in France with him years ago. They actually opened up for us back then, which is funny because they're one of the biggest bands in Britain now. But he said they were doing Meltdown, which is exciting for me because it has the funding to pay us to quit our jobs for a few weeks, practice and fly us three dudes over there with our gear, put us up in a hotel, feed us and basically we would break even. Maybe. So that helps, knowing we aren't gonna have to pay 20 grand to play for some old dudes. But I still would've preferred it had I known that there was demand for it. I just didn't know that. How would I? And I had a talk with our manager, and David Bowie had just died and another buddy died of cancer died at 34, so it was just life, and not knowing how many years we had left. And he said, "Somebody may die." You never know. I think that helped. So I wanted to talk to Andy, the drummer, and see what we could do. It really did happen kinda quick. I didn't expect it at all. I thought maybe a 20th anniversary if we could pull it off. So it kind of came out of nowhere, and Meltdown made it work. Plus there was some context, because we'd played with Guy Garvey before. But I don't know where I'm going to be two weeks from now. This is the furthest thing I've committed to in my life, when we said yes to it, and that was five months in advance. My solo tours are even just three months out.
Guy Garvey called you the "greatest living American rock band" on Twitter . He invited you to play Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall. How did that relationship start?
Just those 2001 shows in France. There was a bill put together by Les Rock Incorruptibles, and we toured five cities in France. It was us, Elbow, and Mercury Rev. So we just hung out and had drinking contests: the Texans versus the Mancs. They were just good, working class, Northern souls. And the North over there is like the South in the U.S. A little unkempt, I guess. And that was it really. It's not like we're Facebook buddies. He became a fan and has good taste, I guess.
I remember the reason why I first listened to the album was because Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde were involved. What did it mean to have those two helping you? Were you a big Cocteau Twins fan?
Oh yeah, huge. That's some of the earliest stuff I heard. Y'know, there weren't many record stores in Texas. There was one in Dallas, which was an hour away. So when I heard the Cocteau Twins for the first time I was about 13, and I'd never heard anything like it. I mean, it was daunting, but all they did was mix the album. I produced it, I put every note on it, they had nothing to do with that aspect. Simon mixed the record and their name attached to it helped us get some press. But we're remixing the record because it did not get mixed the way we wanted it. He's not really a mixer, he's a record label guy. So that was a regret, and it was because we had no other option. And it sounds okay, but it doesn't really capture how the band sounds. It's more for housewives, who are people too. But we had this punk rock, cathartic thing; we were a loud and overwhelming, overdriven band with finer nuances that we really labored hard for. It made us realize how much we cared about our art when we had to tell them, "You're gonna have to remix this song," on the last day of mixing. But it came out, and we were grateful for that.
As you mentioned, The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads is being remastered and remixed. How do you think this new version of the album differs?
I think it's pretty different. It's not like one of those money-grabbing things, where a band like Led Zeppelin does it every few years and it sounds exactly like the other ones. This is something completely different. The original version sounds like the balls were cut off. This isn't easy listening stuff. This is meant to juxtapose that sublimeness against a heavy intensity. The other one took the edge off it, and put an emphasis on the narrative, which was really important. This one manages to do both. We're gonna give both of them away - the old mix will be included. Hopefully that will be exciting for people, so they can pick a side. The first one is more like the American version, and we sounded like an 80s band because Simon wasn't really a mixer. It's like, "We need a plumber. Let's get someone who isn't a plumber to do it." Or like Trump running for President. It's not the wisest choice. But Simon didn't do a bad job.
Who mixed it this time?
Matt Pence [Jens Lekman, Midlake, Jason Isbell]. He's a Texas guy. We had a shoot-out, sending it around to several people. One guy had done some stuff for My Bloody Valentine and Mogwai and some pop stuff, but Matt just came back with something that sounded like the band. He had seen us play, and he's been doing it for 20 years, really knocking it out of the park.
How does the album's narrative—about a post-apocalyptic world in which Texas is the Promised Land—holds up after 15 years later?
I think it's just as strong and important as before. I'm more excited about the next 15 years, but hopefully it can stand on its own, independent of whatever is going on. It's been nice revisiting the lyrics. There was such pressure back then, like walking on a tightrope, because there was such religious imagery and the music was pretty different. Then, if you had any religious sentiments at all you'd be catalogued into Christian rock, which is hard to be in because there's no respect for it. That scene is so bigoted because religion is so shoved down throats in America. That's why we did better in Europe, because it's post-Christian over there. They don't have to agree with the subtext. They can just appreciate the art. There is a lot of humor in the album, which is important to me. If you're gonna tell some truth you try to do it with humor, the old saying goes.
What was the idea behind the No Limit parody with the album cover?
That was another thing I was trying to get right, like the mix. I wanted a straight up Pen & Pixel thing, but they were ball-less. I'm sorry, I'm worked up about it. I wanted something audacious and over the top, and they gave us a little of that. I guess they did their best with the technology, but we wanted a straight up, No Limit, Cash Money cover. Like straight up diamonds, shotguns poking out over our heads, and stuff. Now we're talking with them, and if we can get the cash together, that's what we want. That's what we were influenced by at the time. It's a great juxtaposition with calling Texas the Promised Land. Like, have you been to Texas? It's funny because the Brits got the humor but some American reviews called it the worst album cover ever. C'mon, y'all. Work with us.
I think the main reason why I got into this record was because I lived in London at the time.
It was only available here in America at double-disc import prices. Like, our fans in Texas couldn't buy the record without paying 35 bucks for it. We never had a label here. And since we didn't take off here we had no support in America. So the places we did play people were impressed, but the wheels came off before we could really hit the States. So I'm excited to get it out there to a whole new group of kids. Because it's a good record, man. We worked super hard on it. I'm not an idiot, I'm a smart guy. I've been making music for a long time, since I was 12 years old. We didn't get any help. I remember the Pitchfork article locked us into some George Bush, NRA nonsense. It was just absolute nonsense.
Any plans to make a new record?
We'll see. I'm working all the time. I have nine-tenths of another solo country record done. There are no listed plans. We'll put this reissue out and see what happens. If there is demand for it then we will cross that bridge when we get to it. We're just processing everything. Bear is back working in the sandwich shop, so it's back to reality. I'm surprised we're even doing this interview. When I was told the people from VICE wanted to talk I was like, "Why?" I'm shocked by it. I'm grateful.
