Talking to Jarboe at times felt like talking to a beautiful woodland creature that inhabits the deepest part of Neil Gaimans mind because she is one part poetry and another part comedy. She is truly a beautiful woman inside and out. Anyone who is discovering her for the first time can get her albums and the reissues of The Swans albums. Someone who is longtime fan of her work and her collaborations with Michael Gira can revel in her beautiful voice, songs and soul.
Check out the official website of Jarboe
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey, how are you doing?
Jarboe: I was just making espresso. I do it the old fashioned way with one of those old Italian stovetops. Its the purest way to do so its crazy and time consuming.
DRE: How long does it take to make one cup?
J: It depends on how strong you make it. I use Turkish coffee from Whole Foods which is the strongest one available. It takes a lot for the water to go through it. It could be five or six minutes for one.
DRE: Where do you live?
J: I live in a very private and wooded area in Atlanta. Thats my anti-social personality. Where are you calling from?
DRE: Im in New York City.
How has it been touring again?
J: Its great. I started last year with Larsen, the Italian improvisational group; that was a lot of fun. We did dates in Europe then came to America for a bit. It was a lot of fun for me because there is nothing you can put me through at this point in terms of music, performing and touring in terms of endurance factor. After being anointed through The Swans everything else is a piece of cake.
DRE: What was hard about The Swans?
J: Every aspect of it. This reissue were doing of Anhedoniac pretty much summarizes all that. I wrote that album as The Swans was ending and so its a like a tribute and a statement about that whole chapter. Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure so I added the c on the end of it referencing maniac and alcoholic because there was a lot of that stuff going on in the group. Not for me though.
DRE: It was only one other person in the band!
J: Right so you could figure out who it was. It was almost about the theatre of cruelty. Not just the music but also the mindset and the approach. What was trying to be achieved was precise and involved a lot of concentration. Its an approach to music that is almost insane. Youre attempting to take everyone down into a state of awareness. I think we succeeded on that level. To get to that with rehearsals is very painful and with a perfectionist like Michael at the helm made it nearly impossible to achieve because the standards were so high. The good thing about that was to not accept initial reactions and keep working on something. Now I have that same aesthetic. At the time it was very grueling but Im happy we went through all of that. All that extensive touring changes you because its like becoming a soldier. Its about what you can endure and how little sleep you can operate on. I call it a flexible reality because you can adapt but it changes you forever though I didnt realize it at the time.
DRE: I realize its part of the music, but Swans fans always seem a bit sadder than the average person. Someone once wrote that you were the angriest woman in rock so was it born out of anger or sadness?
J: I cant disagree with those comments. Sometimes you hear this idea that sadness and pessimism is a reality check and those people are more in touch with reality. They are less deluded than the happy people.
Its not like a fascination or obsession with being morose. In that situation we saw it as uplifting because it was trying to be sincere and that was our way of approaching that. It may sound perverse but that was the goal. To me those concerts were cathartic and thats the way a good concert should be no matter who is playing. You should feel purged, inspired and moved. I had this revelation a few years ago that I feel like a caretaker that is in service to others. When you think about that you can apply that to a lot of levels within music and other performing arts. You are in service to the audience and fulfilling some kind of emptiness or a desire for a connection to something. I think with me I do concerts and recordings and often the feedback that comes back is that it helped someone get through some situation. I write from my heart and personal experience however I dont sit down and extract intentionally. If you can write from something real and if people will be able to relate to it then you are being effective.
Now Im not even concerned because there is no barrier between me and the audience. Thats why I feel comfortable having my journal right on my website. I write in it a lot and I invite people into my personal space. That is where I found my most sincere voice and thats the whole point. For me that means breaking down that barrier between audience and performer.
DRE: According to your website people can now read your journal on their Palm Pilots.
J: Yeah I dont mind it at all. It started out in the songs I would write and sing. I was born to do something and now Ive found it. I love the internet because musicians can create works that bypass a lot of the x-factors in music and go right to the audience. Ive been called an internet pioneer because I started the journal in 1996.
DRE: Besides obvious things like your home address, what is private to you?
J: I think the only thing is that I censor myself sometimes when I write names into my journal. If Im angry about something I wont write that persons name or address, so I do try to have some privacy and respect for other people. But for myself, its funny because there probably arent any barriers. I think one of the reasons I never had stage fight is because Im not deceiving anyone. Psychologically when you have nothing to hide you wont get stage fight.
DRE: Have you ever looked back on anything and realized that saying or doing something was a mistake?
J: No not me. Other people maybe [laughs]. There is this other approach that says when you write stuff that is too personal you are no longer an artist and are being self indulgent. I disagree with that completely. I think that the more sincere you are the less self conscious you become. I would put that approach to everything.
DRE: What do your fans mostly want to know?
J: It runs the gamut of your imagination. From what I enjoy or feel about something to utter adulation to complete confusion. It gets pretty crazy. I dont want to judge them and say they are weirdoes but people have issues. But bring it on, I can handle it.
DRE: I read an interview with Michael Gira in 2002 and he said he hasnt spoken to you in a while.
J: He must have been in a bad mood. We went through a rocky period but that was resolved. We do communicate, in fact I talked to him recently and he gave me his home phone number.
DRE: What was the rocky period about?
J: It was mostly business stuff like the direction of The Swans website. Very typical stuff. There is a lot of stuff going on there because not only were we working together for 14 years but we were personally involved as well.
DRE: It was two things at once right? You two broke up then the band broke up.
J: Its kind of which came first? You can look at it both ways. That ended which killed the relationship or you can say there were some tense things going on which affected the other thing. Its almost like we were staying together for the children.
We worked together very well because when we came together it was like an explosive device. That tension and energy is something I look for in music and indeed personally. Its weird because you wont ever do anything boring with that element there. Thats what we had and that never ever calmed down. In fact its still full throttle though we are doing our separate things.
DRE: Have you been able to find that same energy with the people you collaborate with now?
J: I have and I havent. Thats the weeding out process. When you find it you get excited because the end result is wonderful. For me its like I got my fix and I feel motivated and inspired.
DRE: Im a fan of Bill Laswells, how was it working with him?
J: Ive done a few recordings with him. The most recent one was with Percy Howard on an album called Meridiem. I was all over that. The huge thing was that he produced a Swans album. In his Buddha like nature he said I was a performance based vocalist which means that I had to be in a place in my head before I could perform a vocal. Thats a very scientific approach to executing something technically. He said that to me then and I thought that was astute so Ive never forgotten it. One of things about working with him is that he can look right into you and see what your strengths are and what makes you tick.
DRE: I found that both your parents were in the FBI, what did they do?
J: They started out as agents then were field operatives and then regional directors in a supervisor capacity.
DRE: Was doing music a way for you to rebel against them?
J: It could be seen that way because of course it was not encouraged and supported. Then when I decided to pursue rock that was not considered a safe domain and they were very much opposed to that. I had to follow what I wanted to do without support. They had very rigid ideas but the funny thing was they inspired me with the eccentricities within their work. My dad was constantly changing his appearance, there were weird phone calls late at night and he was gone for months on end. So it was a childhood of constant mystery and the unknown. All that does something to you. Changing appearances and being gone for long periods of time is pretty much what I do now.
DRE: Did you ever settle things with them?
J: No, they never understood it. After my mom heard one of the songs she said something like And what do you call that? She didnt really see it as music and I couldnt really explain it. They are both dead now and they never got it. I think if you know what you want and you pursue it, you do become this major black sheep from your own family. It could even be one of their secret fantasies.
DRE: A big part of the Goth culture admires you but I dont think that was ever your thing.
J: I think I am but for me its not a fashion or lifestyle statement. Its more natural. If you come to my house it has black walls, crucifixes and skulls. I can understand how that world can find a voice in what I do.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website of Jarboe
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey, how are you doing?
Jarboe: I was just making espresso. I do it the old fashioned way with one of those old Italian stovetops. Its the purest way to do so its crazy and time consuming.
DRE: How long does it take to make one cup?
J: It depends on how strong you make it. I use Turkish coffee from Whole Foods which is the strongest one available. It takes a lot for the water to go through it. It could be five or six minutes for one.
DRE: Where do you live?
J: I live in a very private and wooded area in Atlanta. Thats my anti-social personality. Where are you calling from?
DRE: Im in New York City.
How has it been touring again?
J: Its great. I started last year with Larsen, the Italian improvisational group; that was a lot of fun. We did dates in Europe then came to America for a bit. It was a lot of fun for me because there is nothing you can put me through at this point in terms of music, performing and touring in terms of endurance factor. After being anointed through The Swans everything else is a piece of cake.
DRE: What was hard about The Swans?
J: Every aspect of it. This reissue were doing of Anhedoniac pretty much summarizes all that. I wrote that album as The Swans was ending and so its a like a tribute and a statement about that whole chapter. Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure so I added the c on the end of it referencing maniac and alcoholic because there was a lot of that stuff going on in the group. Not for me though.
DRE: It was only one other person in the band!
J: Right so you could figure out who it was. It was almost about the theatre of cruelty. Not just the music but also the mindset and the approach. What was trying to be achieved was precise and involved a lot of concentration. Its an approach to music that is almost insane. Youre attempting to take everyone down into a state of awareness. I think we succeeded on that level. To get to that with rehearsals is very painful and with a perfectionist like Michael at the helm made it nearly impossible to achieve because the standards were so high. The good thing about that was to not accept initial reactions and keep working on something. Now I have that same aesthetic. At the time it was very grueling but Im happy we went through all of that. All that extensive touring changes you because its like becoming a soldier. Its about what you can endure and how little sleep you can operate on. I call it a flexible reality because you can adapt but it changes you forever though I didnt realize it at the time.
DRE: I realize its part of the music, but Swans fans always seem a bit sadder than the average person. Someone once wrote that you were the angriest woman in rock so was it born out of anger or sadness?
J: I cant disagree with those comments. Sometimes you hear this idea that sadness and pessimism is a reality check and those people are more in touch with reality. They are less deluded than the happy people.
Its not like a fascination or obsession with being morose. In that situation we saw it as uplifting because it was trying to be sincere and that was our way of approaching that. It may sound perverse but that was the goal. To me those concerts were cathartic and thats the way a good concert should be no matter who is playing. You should feel purged, inspired and moved. I had this revelation a few years ago that I feel like a caretaker that is in service to others. When you think about that you can apply that to a lot of levels within music and other performing arts. You are in service to the audience and fulfilling some kind of emptiness or a desire for a connection to something. I think with me I do concerts and recordings and often the feedback that comes back is that it helped someone get through some situation. I write from my heart and personal experience however I dont sit down and extract intentionally. If you can write from something real and if people will be able to relate to it then you are being effective.
Now Im not even concerned because there is no barrier between me and the audience. Thats why I feel comfortable having my journal right on my website. I write in it a lot and I invite people into my personal space. That is where I found my most sincere voice and thats the whole point. For me that means breaking down that barrier between audience and performer.
DRE: According to your website people can now read your journal on their Palm Pilots.
J: Yeah I dont mind it at all. It started out in the songs I would write and sing. I was born to do something and now Ive found it. I love the internet because musicians can create works that bypass a lot of the x-factors in music and go right to the audience. Ive been called an internet pioneer because I started the journal in 1996.
DRE: Besides obvious things like your home address, what is private to you?
J: I think the only thing is that I censor myself sometimes when I write names into my journal. If Im angry about something I wont write that persons name or address, so I do try to have some privacy and respect for other people. But for myself, its funny because there probably arent any barriers. I think one of the reasons I never had stage fight is because Im not deceiving anyone. Psychologically when you have nothing to hide you wont get stage fight.
DRE: Have you ever looked back on anything and realized that saying or doing something was a mistake?
J: No not me. Other people maybe [laughs]. There is this other approach that says when you write stuff that is too personal you are no longer an artist and are being self indulgent. I disagree with that completely. I think that the more sincere you are the less self conscious you become. I would put that approach to everything.
DRE: What do your fans mostly want to know?
J: It runs the gamut of your imagination. From what I enjoy or feel about something to utter adulation to complete confusion. It gets pretty crazy. I dont want to judge them and say they are weirdoes but people have issues. But bring it on, I can handle it.
DRE: I read an interview with Michael Gira in 2002 and he said he hasnt spoken to you in a while.
J: He must have been in a bad mood. We went through a rocky period but that was resolved. We do communicate, in fact I talked to him recently and he gave me his home phone number.
DRE: What was the rocky period about?
J: It was mostly business stuff like the direction of The Swans website. Very typical stuff. There is a lot of stuff going on there because not only were we working together for 14 years but we were personally involved as well.
DRE: It was two things at once right? You two broke up then the band broke up.
J: Its kind of which came first? You can look at it both ways. That ended which killed the relationship or you can say there were some tense things going on which affected the other thing. Its almost like we were staying together for the children.
We worked together very well because when we came together it was like an explosive device. That tension and energy is something I look for in music and indeed personally. Its weird because you wont ever do anything boring with that element there. Thats what we had and that never ever calmed down. In fact its still full throttle though we are doing our separate things.
DRE: Have you been able to find that same energy with the people you collaborate with now?
J: I have and I havent. Thats the weeding out process. When you find it you get excited because the end result is wonderful. For me its like I got my fix and I feel motivated and inspired.
DRE: Im a fan of Bill Laswells, how was it working with him?
J: Ive done a few recordings with him. The most recent one was with Percy Howard on an album called Meridiem. I was all over that. The huge thing was that he produced a Swans album. In his Buddha like nature he said I was a performance based vocalist which means that I had to be in a place in my head before I could perform a vocal. Thats a very scientific approach to executing something technically. He said that to me then and I thought that was astute so Ive never forgotten it. One of things about working with him is that he can look right into you and see what your strengths are and what makes you tick.
DRE: I found that both your parents were in the FBI, what did they do?
J: They started out as agents then were field operatives and then regional directors in a supervisor capacity.
DRE: Was doing music a way for you to rebel against them?
J: It could be seen that way because of course it was not encouraged and supported. Then when I decided to pursue rock that was not considered a safe domain and they were very much opposed to that. I had to follow what I wanted to do without support. They had very rigid ideas but the funny thing was they inspired me with the eccentricities within their work. My dad was constantly changing his appearance, there were weird phone calls late at night and he was gone for months on end. So it was a childhood of constant mystery and the unknown. All that does something to you. Changing appearances and being gone for long periods of time is pretty much what I do now.
DRE: Did you ever settle things with them?
J: No, they never understood it. After my mom heard one of the songs she said something like And what do you call that? She didnt really see it as music and I couldnt really explain it. They are both dead now and they never got it. I think if you know what you want and you pursue it, you do become this major black sheep from your own family. It could even be one of their secret fantasies.
DRE: A big part of the Goth culture admires you but I dont think that was ever your thing.
J: I think I am but for me its not a fashion or lifestyle statement. Its more natural. If you come to my house it has black walls, crucifixes and skulls. I can understand how that world can find a voice in what I do.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 25 of 41 COMMENTS
anderswolleck:
what a doo doo
anderswolleck:
doo doo head