and things that defined me, and then I just
became Strand of Oaks, which is alright,
because I love doing Strand of Oaks. But
what’s not alright is when I equate what
the band’s doing with myself, because
that’s different from the band and much
more serious. So that caught up to me, and
I had to re-evaluate everything, like,
“what am I – and why am I doing all this?”
That’s the question of the record. The first
they’re dark pop songs. Existential pop
songs. And my favorite people have done
that, too, like Joni Mitchell, Chris Cornell,
Gillian Welch. And that’s who I try to
emulate. But maybe one day I’ll make the
Jimmy Buffet record and just sing about
flip-flops and cheeseburgers. Maybe I’ll
move to Florida and do that next. But until
then, there’s a lot more mining in my head
that needs to be done.
newreleases
May 3
Bad Religion Age Of Unreason
Editors The Blanck Mass Sessions
L7 Scatter The Rats
The Dream Syndicate These Times
Vampire Weekend Father Of The Bride
May 10
05•2019
line is, “I don’t feel it anymore,” and then
the last line is, “I hope it never ends. ”So it
asks the question, and then hopefully by
the end of the record, it answers the ques-
tion.
IE: How did you spend all the downtime?
Eating cake frosting out of a can like
Goldie Hawn in Death Becomes Her?
TS: Ha! I love that movie! No, it was more
of a strung into the void thing, combined
with long walks in Philadelphia. Even
when I’ve been down in the past, I always
had enough gasoline to at least start the
engine. But this time I just didn’t have any.
I was trying to start something because
there’s a passion when you get sad or
experience heartbreak, but the scary thing
is is when it’s just quiet, and you don’t feel
anything. That’s what I was dealing with,
and I still struggle with it all the time. And
then I have to do interviews about it. But
part of what I do is to then piece together
and answer these questions, because —
like I said — these aren’t pop songs. Well,
10 illinoisentertainer.com may 2019
IE: As the fable goes, you were rescued by
some surprise benefactors. Namely, My
Morning Jacket, who intervened by book-
ing two weeks of studio time in Louisville,
where they helped you knock Eraserland
out of the park. That’s pretty remarkable.
TS: It was news to all of us, and it was
done just out of pure goodness. And that
was just enough to give me the purpose to
keep going. Jim James wasn’t there with
us, of course. But he was there in spirit,
and we talked before recording began. He
thought it was such a good idea. But I’ve
got a good partner in my wife, and she
really helped me get my shit together. She
was extremely supportive - and worried.
She was aware things were not going
good, so she was the reason I went to a
New Jersey beach in the wintertime to
write these songs. She said, “You need to
get out of the house and go do this.” And
then she named the record too.
Appearing 5/3 at Lincoln Hall, Chicago
Tom Lanham
Jamila Woods Legacy! Legacy!
Mac DeMarco Here Comes The Cowboy
Mavis Staples We Get By
Meat Beat Manifesto Opaque Couché
Sammy Hagar & The Circle Space Between
Shaggy Wah Gwaan?
Steel Pulse
May 17
Carly Rae Jepsen Dedicated
Interpol A Fine Mess
Lil Kim 9
Steel Pulse Mass Manipulation
The Head and the Heart Living Mirage
The National I Am Easy to Find
May 24
Amyl And The Sniffers Monsoon Rock
Flying Lotus Flamagra
In Plain Sight Hundred Watt Heart
Morrissey California Son
Sebadoh Act Surprised
Sting My Songs
J. Robbins Un-becoming
L7