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Over the Rhine
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On March 13, Cincinnati's Over the Rhine officially entered the latest phase of their storied 10-plus year career. That's the day Backporch Records (an imprint of Virgin) released Films For Radio, the most accomplished album (in a string of accomplished albums) the band has done yet.
It almost never got this far. After the band split with IRS Records in '96, they began, in multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Linford Detweiler's words, losing "focus" (not to mention original guitarist Ric Hordinski). The band considered calling it a day, but realized they had more to offer. Even fellow musicians, impressed and touched by their self-released "sketches" album, Good Dog Bad Dog, began contacting them, offering more encouragement. Sarah McLachlan told OTR singer Karin Bergquist that the album had helped her through writer's block, and The Cowboy Junkies asked Bergquist and Detweiler to tour and record as a part of their band.
OTR will kick off the first leg of the Films tour at Bogart's on Thursday. The group's current line-up features guitarist Jack Henderson, bassist Chris Donohue and drummer Dale Baker.
CityBeat: What are your feelings on Films now that it's all wrapped up and ready to be enjoyed by the masses? What kind of response do you anticipate from the long-time fans?
Linford Detweiler: There are always obsessive doubts and fears and hopes that accompany releasing a new record. One minute you're working mentally on exactly what you're going to say when David Letterman invites you over to chat after your phenomenal, heart-warming performance. The next minute you're imagining what it will be like to return home from tour and take a janitorial job. Do they still make mops with wooden handles? What will the toilet bowl cleaner smell like? Petunias? Over-ripe oranges? Will I really be able to keep things clean and shiny enough for all the people?
I think Films For Radio will be a good record for us, and I think our long-time fans will find plenty to enjoy. We're drawing from the same well we've always drawn from. In so many words, we're just telling people what we've seen, what we've thought about, what we've dreamed and imagined, how we've lost our way, how we've found our way back.
CB: What's with the title? Before I really paid attention to it, the first thing I thought of was that some of the songs had that big, visceral "theme song" kind of feel?
LD: Maybe the music did influence our choice of title. The record is a bit more textured, and the palette of sounds is bigger, I suppose. There's a writer and filmmaker here in Cincinnati by the name of Aralee Strange. Aralee wrote a radio play about 10 years ago called Etta Stone: A Film For Radio. (It) really knocked me out. I never forgot that Film For Radio concept. One night at Kaldi's Coffeehouse down on Main Street, I asked Aralee if we could call our new record Films For Radio, and she said we could.
The title for me has more to do with attempting to see and live our lives as if we're writing a story with the days we've been given, whether or not we ever pick up a pen. I feel like the characters in these songs are all pretty much asking (in the first person) the same questions: "How do I live a life worth remembering? What must I do to make the story of my life a true story? Am I really both the protagonist and antagonist in my own story? Have I lost the plot? What about the cast of characters, the people I have known?"
I don't think of Films For Radio as a concept album, but if there is a loose theme, it can probably be summarized with a line from the first song: "So fade to black and white now, roll the movie of my life inside of my head ..."
CB: You guys have always been very appreciative to fans and have offered rare MP3s on your site. Where do you weigh in on the big Napster debate -- nice promo tool or money-sucking pirating?
LD: I can see both sides, but I would err in the direction that major labels have been stealing from musicians for years, and are basically enforcing their rights to be stingy and all-powerful. Overall sales of records have been very strong in recent years. Napster hasn't hurt the industry in any significant way, in my opinion.
I have had people approach me after concerts, confessing that they downloaded one of our records through Napster and didn't pay for it. But they liked what they heard enough to buy a concert ticket and check out the band, and maybe they bought a CD or two at the show, or took home a T-shirt.
But I guess respect for ownership of intellectual property is important as well. It's always a mixed blessing to see someone auctioning off a promotional copy of your new record on Ebay a month before it comes out.
CB: How do you think Over the Rhine fits into the big picture of music these days?
LD: I've always believed that Over the Rhine could be an important band, as "big" as any of the artists that I looked up to as a kid. I think we've been a slow burn, but I know a lot of people are aware of us, and a lot of other up-and-coming musicians write to us and say, "I wish we could figure out how to do what you've done." I think we've got an important record in us that will get made somewhere along the line, and I suppose that one day we may well be hailed as an overnight success when the mainstream finally does catch up with us. I'm not sure we do fit in. We're probably misfits in a lot of ways. Being a misfit can be a detriment initially, and a huge asset further down the line. What's important is being yourself and telling the truth as you see it.
OVER THE RHINE performs on Thursday at Bogart's.
