FEDDERSEN AT ELECTRICAL AUDIO
Photo: Peter Wagner
Robert Rolfe Feddersen, Studio B, Electric Audio
F
ormer Loudmouth vocalist, Robert
Rolfe Feddersen based his new
album American Loser, recorded at
Steve Albini's ELECTRICAL AUDIO on a
life changing experience
.
"On a cold December day in 2012 I got
held up by two guys working my former
day job delivering milk," Feddersen told
Studiophile. "Dragged to an alley behind a
convenience store in Gary, IN with a gun
to my head, I was beaten and robbed. I
swore to myself that if I got out of this alive
I'd call Steve Albini, make a (new) record,
and start playing music again for a living."
Feddersen's former band (Loudmouth)
was signed to Hollywood Records in the
late '90s, made music inspired by
Motorhead and Megadeth. These days
Feddersen's "acoustic Americana" is more
akin to Steve Earle and Mike Scott.
"On my own, I'm making music (mostly acoustic) in the same style I'd heard as a
little kid just learning to play. The Beatles'
The
White
Album,
Rubber
Soul,
44 illinoisentertainer.com october 2014
[Led]Zeppelin III, those were all in my
modest record collection. Being a music
junkie, I listened to those albums constantly. Songs from those albums, the instrumentation, the melodies, they just shook
the foundation of my soul. I feel I am being
just as true to myself playing the music I'm
playing now as I did in my old band."
Transitioning from a band writing
experience gives a writer of series of
checks and balances, but Feddersen uses
his wife, Terri Ann, as the devil's advocate
when developing new song ideas.
"I mostly bounce ideas off of my wife.
She's a great songwriter in her own right
and I trust her opinion about my music
more than anyone. My songwriting
process is pretty consistent. I write everyday. I am a songwriter that constantly
writes and records. I record on Pro Tools
with an M Box, an (Apple) Mac G5, a
Studio Projects B1 mic, and a Gibson
Hummingbird guitar. Growing up I was
adopted, left handed, poor, raised by a single mother. I have alot to write about."
Albini (Pixies, Nirvana, Robbie Fulks,
Wedding Present) has a reputation of
being a real ball-buster when it comes to
dealing with the press, but what was it like
to record with him?
"Working with Steve Albini is a gift. He
is one of the few successful producers left
that is still here (in Chicago) and ]