Ben Kweller goes country with pedal steel for new album
Ben Kweller’s gone country.
That’s right, the kid who made his first record at 12 and got a major label deal before he was 16 with his Nirvana-inspired band Radish is now reworking some of his older songs to incorporate pedal steel.
His new record coming out early next year, “Changing Horses,” is a collection of blue-collar country songs originating back in his home state of Texas, rather than in New York, where he had lived since he started his solo career at 19.
In a twist on the standard practice of releasing a record, then touring, Kweller is now on the road, previewing “Changing Horses” at a series of shows including a Saturday appearance at Slowdown in Omaha.
“I think I’ve gone country,” Kweller said. “The thing is, I was always country. As a kid I listened to country music, and my first songs were country songs. Then Nirvana came along and changed my life.”
Given that Kweller was born in 1981 and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” changed the music world a decade later, his country roots developed when he was a little kid growing up in Texas.
“When you’re young and you live in a small town in the South, your only exposure to music is mainstream radio,” he said. “In the late ’80s/early ’90s, country music like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson was all over the place. There was one station that played hair bands, but the rest were country. So by default you listened to it.”
To say that Brooks and Jackson aren’t held in high regard by indie rock hipsters is an understatement. But Kweller sees them differently, effusively praising Jackson: “Alan Jackson is one of the guys who write their own songs. He’s kind of punk rock when you look at him in the context of what Nashville is.”
But Brooks and Jackson aren’t his only country influences. He’s now proud to be part of the Texas country music tradition.
“As I’ve gotten older and started to learn the difference in country music across America, I feel lucky I grew up in Texas,” he said. “There’s a whole different attitude to Texas country. It’s definitely more renegade. It’s Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and those guys, who did the outlaw country in the ’70s. It’s got that (expletive)-you attitude which I like.”
Kweller says there’s not much “blatant bad-boy music” on “Changing Horses.” But, he says, “you get the feeling that these are characters who are living lives that are not the norm.”
One song, for example, is about a lonely man whose only relationship is with a prostitute, so he pours everything into it. Another, written at 15, is “The Ballad of Wendy Baker,” about a girl who died in a car accident when Kweller was in high school.
“When you write in different styles with different chords, it makes different stories happen,” he said. “That’s why I could never put myself in just one style. All the musicians who have influenced me aren’t just country or rock ’n’ roll. They play music for music, for what it is — melody, chords and lyrics.
“On the new record, I’ve been able to say things I wouldn’t have in any different genre. To me, it’s just another album doing my thing, basically.”
That thing, however, defies the pigeonholes into which media and fans want to place artists and performers.
“That’s the thing about celebrity and fame: You only see one side of people based on the press or whatever,” Kweller said. “Like with Radish, people think Ben Kweller must be one type of person. When I moved to New York and decided to just be Ben Kweller, then got signed and recorded ‘Sha Sha,’ I wanted to put myself where I could do different things because that’s me.
“No one could have ever thought that kid in Radish would still be around, and no one would have thought he’d be making a record with steel guitar.”
Part of the inspiration for “Changing Horses” comes from Kweller’s move from New York City to Austin, where the album was recorded.
“For the way I am at this point in my life, it (Austin) is a lot better,” he said. “I’m a father. I’ve got a 2-year-old son running around. New York, it’s a great town if you’re single and don’t have any responsibilities. I’m really glad I lived there so long. I owe a lot to that city. It made me who I am. But at this point in my life, it’s not for me.”
The move toward country has already resulted in one plus for Kweller. He no longer has to lug around stacks of amplifiers for his guitar. But he said little else has changed about his performing style, even with the new sounds.
“I’ve always worn my cowboy boots,” he said. “I haven’t worn a cowboy hat on stage. But I probably will at some point. … I’ve been called a charismatic performer. I don’t know about that. But I love entertaining people. One thing people like about seeing Ben Kweller is you never know what you’ll get, but it’s going to be fun.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
That’s right, the kid who made his first record at 12 and got a major label deal before he was 16 with his Nirvana-inspired band Radish is now reworking some of his older songs to incorporate pedal steel.
His new record coming out early next year, “Changing Horses,” is a collection of blue-collar country songs originating back in his home state of Texas, rather than in New York, where he had lived since he started his solo career at 19.
In a twist on the standard practice of releasing a record, then touring, Kweller is now on the road, previewing “Changing Horses” at a series of shows including a Saturday appearance at Slowdown in Omaha.
“I think I’ve gone country,” Kweller said. “The thing is, I was always country. As a kid I listened to country music, and my first songs were country songs. Then Nirvana came along and changed my life.”
Given that Kweller was born in 1981 and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” changed the music world a decade later, his country roots developed when he was a little kid growing up in Texas.
“When you’re young and you live in a small town in the South, your only exposure to music is mainstream radio,” he said. “In the late ’80s/early ’90s, country music like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson was all over the place. There was one station that played hair bands, but the rest were country. So by default you listened to it.”
To say that Brooks and Jackson aren’t held in high regard by indie rock hipsters is an understatement. But Kweller sees them differently, effusively praising Jackson: “Alan Jackson is one of the guys who write their own songs. He’s kind of punk rock when you look at him in the context of what Nashville is.”
But Brooks and Jackson aren’t his only country influences. He’s now proud to be part of the Texas country music tradition.
“As I’ve gotten older and started to learn the difference in country music across America, I feel lucky I grew up in Texas,” he said. “There’s a whole different attitude to Texas country. It’s definitely more renegade. It’s Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and those guys, who did the outlaw country in the ’70s. It’s got that (expletive)-you attitude which I like.”
Kweller says there’s not much “blatant bad-boy music” on “Changing Horses.” But, he says, “you get the feeling that these are characters who are living lives that are not the norm.”
One song, for example, is about a lonely man whose only relationship is with a prostitute, so he pours everything into it. Another, written at 15, is “The Ballad of Wendy Baker,” about a girl who died in a car accident when Kweller was in high school.
“When you write in different styles with different chords, it makes different stories happen,” he said. “That’s why I could never put myself in just one style. All the musicians who have influenced me aren’t just country or rock ’n’ roll. They play music for music, for what it is — melody, chords and lyrics.
“On the new record, I’ve been able to say things I wouldn’t have in any different genre. To me, it’s just another album doing my thing, basically.”
That thing, however, defies the pigeonholes into which media and fans want to place artists and performers.
“That’s the thing about celebrity and fame: You only see one side of people based on the press or whatever,” Kweller said. “Like with Radish, people think Ben Kweller must be one type of person. When I moved to New York and decided to just be Ben Kweller, then got signed and recorded ‘Sha Sha,’ I wanted to put myself where I could do different things because that’s me.
“No one could have ever thought that kid in Radish would still be around, and no one would have thought he’d be making a record with steel guitar.”
Part of the inspiration for “Changing Horses” comes from Kweller’s move from New York City to Austin, where the album was recorded.
“For the way I am at this point in my life, it (Austin) is a lot better,” he said. “I’m a father. I’ve got a 2-year-old son running around. New York, it’s a great town if you’re single and don’t have any responsibilities. I’m really glad I lived there so long. I owe a lot to that city. It made me who I am. But at this point in my life, it’s not for me.”
The move toward country has already resulted in one plus for Kweller. He no longer has to lug around stacks of amplifiers for his guitar. But he said little else has changed about his performing style, even with the new sounds.
“I’ve always worn my cowboy boots,” he said. “I haven’t worn a cowboy hat on stage. But I probably will at some point. … I’ve been called a charismatic performer. I don’t know about that. But I love entertaining people. One thing people like about seeing Ben Kweller is you never know what you’ll get, but it’s going to be fun.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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