Ask Rodney

[cowtownmike]

RP-Which song on TLD was the toughest to write and which one was the easiest?

[Ticket Mouse]

Mike, you beat me to it. I have a whole slew of questions his fans would probably like to have answered.

Would you like to appologize to all your fans out there?

[sully]

matt76201 said:

Mike, you beat me two it. I have a whole slew of questions his fans would probably like to have answered.

Would you like to appologize to all your fans out there?

Unlike you. Two spelling errors in the same post.

[sully]

Which song do you wish you never had to play again?

[Ticket Mouse]

What's up with the new Epiphone? When did you get it and why did you decide to use it on 11 Hours?

Why not use a Gibson? Was Danny playing a Casio? What kind of patch cables were being used? Do you like to farm? Don't answer these...

[sully]

Thanks AP Sr.

[Ticket Mouse]

Man, my tank is so empty right now it's not even funny. You should see my emails at work...they are horrible.

[Ticket Mouse]

If I remember correctly, A Knife Beneath Your Pillow was the first song you guys completed for the record. What thoughts go through your head at that moment? Is it a sense of relief, excitement, or frustration knowing you have 10 more to do?

[cowtownmike]

Where is the spackle at Home depot?

[Ticket Mouse]

In the paint dept. Thanks bud. You deserve an exalt for that.

[rp]

I can't really single one out as the toughest one to write. 10 lb. test took a while for the lyrics to get right, and the melody I came up with like 5 years ago but could never put it to use. TMWII took a while to sit right with me. Ghost too. 11 hours was tough because it was hard to decide if it belonged on the record. Knife and Married were pretty easy. Knife was the last song I wrote before going in the studio so I didn't have time to mess with it forever. The lyrics to Married weren't finished until the day we recorded it.
We recorded them all at the same time, Knife was just the first one to be mixed. The whole process is kind of fun, but mainly terrible - worrying and stressing that it's all going to turn out like a big pile of shit.
Songs I wish I didn't have to play....basically the older the song, the less fun it is. Mesquite Tree was the 3rd song I ever wrote, and someplace else and just the sounds weren't long after that. But if there is a crowd digging them, they're still fun to play. I only don't like playing them when we have a room full of people that have never heard of us.

[cowtownmike]

Do you get nervous before a performance? If so, is it easier to play in front of friends or strangers?

[rp]

I do get nervous sometimes. Probably more than the other guys except Gabe. But it's still few and far between and for odd reasons that I can't usually pinpoint. At the Granada I was a little nervous, but it pretty much went away after the first few songs. I thought I was going to be a wreck, but I wasn't. Sometimes just out of nowhere I'll get it though. Maybe it's a small show with nobody there, or maybe at Andy's where I've played a hundred times, maybe a festival.....it's random.
It's easier to perform to strangers. They don't know me and will never know anything different than they way I act onstage. I tend to let loose a lot more at these types of shows. I think it's because as a performer, you have to be a different sort of guy onstage - loud, a little arrogant, bigger than you normally are. Making this change in front of people who know me is hard to do sometimes.

[Ticket Mouse]

What is the process on the arrangements? Some are slightly different from how you play on stage. Are you Avery-like in that you have an idea of how things should be and you don't leave any room to mold to the strengths of your players?

In all seriousness, do you guys take the directive of the producer or is it a collective effort?

[cowtownmike]

That's interesting. I'm going to have to go to a show somewhere I'm not expected and see if I can tell the difference.

I think you are very consistant. I have never felt cheated at one of ya'lls shows. No shit.