I was interviewed for an episode of “Bench Sessions” based out of Omaha, Nebraska. The folks at Bench (dubbed “The People’s Workshop”) offer instruction on woodworking and other crafts for the community. It doubles as a music venue and I performed with a handful of local acts, including members of Bazile Mills. The interview happened over the phone a couple of days after the performance while I was in Boulder, Colorado just before a storm began dropping lightning and rain. It was one of the highlights of my train journey in 2015.
Bench Sessions (volume 1 / session 1)
Matt Mainelli – Welcome to Bench Sessions, volume one, session one. I’m here with three musicians: Jared Burton, out of Los Angeles, California, Dave Mainelli from Omaha Nebraska, and Sam Vetter from Aurora, Nebraska. Jared came through town just recently to play with these guys and Jared’s on the road right now, he’s actually travelling by train. So, Jared, that’s actually my first question before we get into your background and your music: why the train?
Jared Burton – The first time I took the train it was actually for music. I took a train from Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona and there was a record label out there that wanted to meet with me. This was probably like 2003, and there was something about seeing the landscape in that way. It was just an adventure, it felt adventurous, and I got to meet people randomly from all over and it slows you down a bit, you know? And so, I didn’t ride the train again for several years until my brother moved to Portland, Oregon and I decided to take the train up to see him there. And it just kind of blew mind. It was the same kind of thing, just a longer journey. You know, meeting people, having the opportunity to have conversations with people that you normally wouldn’t. And people are open to it. It just really struck me as a way to have time to contemplate, to see the country in a new way. So I planned this trip as just and extension of all of that.
[1:40 – No More Evolution]
MM – Well, I’m sure you have some terrific stories of the people you’ve met. You know, I want to go back a little bit. I know having met you and talked to you, you come from a very creative family. What drew you to music as opposed to some of the other outlets that were out there?
JB – Yeh, you’re right, I have been fortunate to have been surrounded by people that are very creative growing up. I think it really has to do with my grandmother – my mother’s mother. She played piano. And every time she’d visit, you know, she kept her piano at our house and so that was really the only time she got to play it. But she would sing and play these old hymns and she taught me a little bit. I never really gravitated toward the piano but there was just something about waking up in the morning and hearing her playing the piano. And up until she died even, you know, she’d play it as much as she could. It really inspired me. There was just something about her way of singing, she didn’t hold back and she wasn’t afraid to express herself through music. And then later, you know, as I got older I would take classes in school like chorus. And I was interested in acting classes – my parents, they put me in drama classes when I was like ten. My dad watched me one day doing an impromptu singing number to the U2 album, The Joshua Tree. I had all the lyrics memorized and I basically became Bono. I think he was watching me most of the time because I remember I had my eyes closed and at one point I open them and he’s just standing there. And then later that year, for Christmas, I got a guitar. And that changed everything, when I got the guitar and I started playing it. Within a year or two I started trying to write my own songs. There’s just something about singing that makes me feel a great release and makes me feel connected to other people and other people’s music has always affected me very deeply.
MM – Very cool. You know, that story about Bono – it’s the same story you could tell about me in my living room as a kid as well. I wonder how many kids have that Bono story. You, know I mentioned that you came through Omaha recently. Tell me, how’d you end up in Omaha? What brought you hear?
JB – Omaha had always been on my radar as a music town, you know, because of everything that happened there with Saddle Creek. It was on my radar, you know, but it really has to do with meeting Dave. You know, he’s a writer and so he met my parents through that craft and he came over to my parent’s house one night and I happened to be there. He and myself and my dad, we all got into talking about art and physics and all these different great topics. Then he shared he was a musician I shared I was a musician and at some point I mentioned to him I was thinking about taking the train around the country. He was immediately encouraging of that and said you gotta come to Omaha and we’ll do something – we’ll hang out, we’ll jam, maybe we can play a show. And I was just floored with the generosity and so I took him up on the offer and that’s basically what got me to Omaha.
MM – So, as someone who has been here my whole life, born and raised for the most part – you’re from California – what did you think of your first time in Omaha?
JB – I loved it. I felt like – you know I got there at like four in the morning because the train was late and I took a cab to get a hotel room and the guy, the cab driver was just like super cool – he had a really relaxed attitude. And you know, I had the opportunity to hang out in different areas like Benson, I got to hang out in downtown a little bit. It’s a great town. I mean it’s really spread out, kind of like to the level of how LA is spread out in a way. When I was in Benson there was a lot of diversity, lot of great venues, lot of great bars, cafes, a lot of great street art. So, I just got this feeling like on one hand it’s a Midwest town where it’s flat and there are gigantic clouds everywhere that are beautiful but at the same time it’s very rural, but at the same time there’s this epicenter of music and culture that’s blossomed out of all of that. It’s really quite unique and astonishing. I really don’t know how to compare it to any other city that I’ve been to. It really holds its own.
MM – Being at the show, I know you played some Bazile Mills songs with the band and they played on some of your as well. So, when it comes to that kind of collaboration with other artists, other musicians, what is that like for you? And Sam and Dave, feel free to jump in on this as well – but Jared, when you get to collaborate with artists like that, tell me what that means to you as an artist and kind of what you get out of that.
JB – Well, you know in high school and my early twenties I played in a lot of bands. I fronted some bands, I played bass in some bands and I always just loved it for the collaborative aspect, the creative energy that is fostered by working with other musicians, hearing other ideas. For a long time I decided not to collaborate, you know, after my mid-twenties I sort of just went solo. And it’s been a slow process of collaborating again because it’s hard with scheduling and everybody’s got a full-time job. But I will say that this particular trip coming out to Omaha and jamming with Dave and Sam and Laura, they’ve really helped crack me open again. I feel like there was a block in myself, and part of this trip is about letting go and being open to new things and revisiting old ways of doing things and that for me is collaborating. And that for me is great, I felt awesome doing a Bazile Mills song. Dave chose the song I told him I really love, “Small Towns and Broken Hearts” – I love the chorus on that song – and so you know, I was honored to be able to sing along with everybody on that. And then doing the Dylan cover was just awesome. I’ve also had a block about doing cover material too. So, I think, in a lot of ways, Dave’s helped me come out of my shell a little bit on that. And I’ve really thankful for that.
Dave Mainelli – I think that one of the great things about what’s gone on about Bazile Mills is the six players who’ve been totally collaborative, you know, and we’ve gotten into this really great groove where everybody brings something to the table. And I think we take it for granted maybe, you know, and when Jared came in – he came over to our house and we started rehearsing a little bit playing his song – Sam, Laura, and I wanted to back him we were kind of listening… First of all, Jared was so special – the song was so special, his voice is special, his words are special – but then it felt good that the three of us were able to do our thing. You know, something we’ve been doing a lot together, but I hope we did it justice. We kind of came in and gave the song a little bit something extra and, um, it sure felt magical that night. You know, I think we were all kind of on a high when we ended that night. Laura singing with Jared was just beautiful, Sam always brings in that third voice, and we did what Bazile Mills does. And it was just awesome to do with someone like Jared that has just this one percent-er voice that up there. So, I think that maybe Bazile Mills takes it for granted how much we do collaborate and how fun it is and how we have it like a family to do that so, uh, I realized that this weekend with Jared because an outsider came in, into our family so to speak.
[21:12 – Little We Know w/ Bazile Mills]
MM – Sam, you we’re pretty amped up about that song you did last week with Jared. Tell me a little bit about what that meant to you.
Sam Vetter – It was a huge deal for me, not only to be able to work with Jared and work with Dave and Laura on putting together the Bench Sessions. Just to be able to collaborate with somebody new. I mean, I’m new to this thing altogether, so the collaborative aspect is something I really love. I mean, I started out playing just more by myself in the basement kind of thing. So until I had the opportunity to collaborate with Dave and Laura and Tim and Dan and Rob, it wasn’t really something I even considered to put a lot of time into. But once I got into that collaborative aspect that really got me going. And that’s what I love about it the most – bringing something new to the table. When Jared was here last week, again it was that opportunity to have something new that we’d never heard before to chip in and bounce ideas off one another. Some work, some don’t but in the end you create something that’s a little bit different than what the artist who wrote it originally intended. And I think that comes out even better than the original idea.
JB – The song that we played, you know, that was my own, the one I wrote, with the Bazile Mills folks, you know, with Sam and Dave and Laura it was awesome. I hadn’t played that song with other people in a long time. You know, just to hear Dave playing the mandolin, and Laura’s voice, and that backing guitar from Sam bringing in his voice, it was magical. Again, that was part of my process of just letting go and being like, alright, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be and it’s gonna be great. And it did – there was a synergy like Sam said that came out of it. Something special that was greater than the sum of the parts.
MM – Well, Jared you mentioned in your previous answer about playing a cover. Now, I’m a self-made karaoke singer – covers is kind of where I make my magic happen. But, you know, you mentioned you were even a little anti-covers before. Tell me, why open back up to covers? Or really, if you’re going to cover a song, what are some things you look for, or what do you want to do with it?
JB – I guess I’ve always been afraid, a bit intimidated to do it. I felt like doing it, I could never do justice to song. And I also had a stubborn side, you know, a stubborn side of wanting to write my own material and not cloud my creative side, my muse with these structures of melodies that were written by other people. And I think what’s happened is I got to a point where I’m ready to sing other people’s songs because I feel comfortable with my own level of ability and craft. I feel comfortable with my lyrics and my songwriting. And I don’t think that’s the way it should be done necessarily. I mean, I think, in a lot of ways I may have done, for better or for worse, I would be a totally different kind of songwriter, or maybe I would become a totally different kind of songwriter by playing and learning other people’s songs. Because Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, I mean these guys, their mantra was not only write songs that other people can sing with you but sing along with other people’s songs.
[28:15 – Hard Rain Gonna Fall w/ Bazile Mills]
MM – Absolutely. Being there in the crowd it thought the whole night, every artist was great but when all four of you were up on stage there was definitely something special there. So, Jared you’re in Boulder, Colorado now. Tell me, where are you headed next and what’s your plan?
JB – After this I’m headed back to San Francisco and then I’m just heading back to LA. I won’t really spend any time in San Francisco. Boulder is sort of my last stop. The highlight of my trip was definitely going to Omaha. It was definitely the peak of my trip. It came right at the right time in the trip. I had been on the train at least three weeks, just at the right time of my life when I’m able to collaborate.
MM – Very cool. Well, Jared, I’m let these guys hop in and say what they want to you but I just want to thank you for joining us today and stay dry out there.
JB – Thanks man, this has been really fun.
DM – Jared, you coming through, this was just a really special weekend and it’s all because you said you wanted to stop by. It’s all because Sam got the idea for this Bench Sessions. This has just been great, we got new relationships. I know we’ve got a relationship going forward. I can’t wait to see what more we can produce together. It was great getting to know you better. Thanks for everything. We’ll see you soon.
JB – Thanks Dave. Thanks for everything. Thank for having me out and stepping up as a mentor and I appreciate everything you guys have done. I’m really excited to see where Bazile Mills goes next. I’m looking forward to hearing what you guys record, seeing some more videos online. I know I’ll be back to Omaha and if you guys are ever in LA we got to get together.
[36:10 – Stuck on the I5 with the San Joaquin Blues]
