Since 1991, John Darnielle, the one-man powerhouse behind the Mountain Goats, has released more than 30 seven-inches, tapes and CDs. Self-recording most of his music with an acoustic guitar and a Panasonic boombox, Darnielle has developed a cult-like following. Fans have to search for the songs, too – most of the Mountain Goats’ albums came out on a handful of obscure labels, many now extinct. This homemade feel lends a personal quality to the Mountain Goats’ folky yet often pissed-off songs, capturing every flubbed guitar chord and voice crack in a medium Darnielle compares to a Polaroid snapshot – instant reflection.
In 2002, however, the band took a different direction and released Tallahassee, a polished, studio-recorded full-length complete with a backing band and scores of instruments. Though Tallahassee had a different sound and came out on a larger label (4AD), Darnielle’s poignant, witty lyrics about a relationship gone south continued to drive the music.
We talked with Darnielle before his upcoming tour supporting the Mountain Goats’ new 4AD album, We Shall All Be Healed.

First off, I’ve read you live in Iowa. It’s a great state, but kind of unusual. What do you think of it? Do you play there often?
I actually don’t live in Iowa anymore! We moved to North Carolina last month. I loved Iowa a lot, but I have never been a guy to play a lot locally. I hole up indoors most of the winter and only come out if I see my shadow in the spring.

You seem like an educated guy. What’s your college experience?
B.A. from Pitzer College, Claremont, CA. Double major: English and Classical Studies. Completely Psychiatric Technicians’ Program, Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA. Devil Horns cum Laude from South Texas School of Doom Metal.

Tallahassee was your first all-studio album and it’s a different sound than your previous work. What do you like about studio recording versus the boombox? Do you miss anything about the old methods?
The immediacy of it – that was the main thing and is still the appeal. When you record an album in the studio, it takes forever for everything to get done. When I record on the boombox, I’m done as soon as I have a take I’m satisfied with. But the two are hardly comparable. They’re different things with their own advantages.

Any future boombox recordings?
Don’t really know! Lately I’ve been recording directly into the computer. This may distress any analog cultists remaining, but for me the way stuff sounds recorded using SparkME live into an iMac pinhole mic is pretty spooky and great.

You opened for Lifter Puller last summer in Minneapolis. Both bands have cult followings but different styles. How’d the crowd react to your set?
I thought they liked it, but somebody near the merch table told me there was a guy grousing about how I got the gig. It’s hard for me to say how it went over since I really, really love Lifter Puller, and so I got fearsome drunk. I don’t know how different Lifter Puller and I really are, though – cosmetically, sure, but we’re both mainly lyric-driven, obsessed with the humor in dark situations and the darkness in humorous situations, etc.

How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard the Mountain Goats?
“You remember that album of demos Boz Scaggs made when he was detoxing? It sounds kinda like that.”

You write about a lot of exotic locales. What’s your favorite place you’ve never been?
Either Tahiti or Tasmania. I’ve been pretty close to Tasmania, though, which just increased its allure. Know what the capital of Tasmania is? Hobart. That’s right, Hobart. Jeez I really wanna play there.

What’s your favorite city to play?
In the whole world? Probably Stockholm, but it’s really hard to pick one; Chicago, New York, Portland, Tallahassee, London, Paris are all great too. Stockholm gets the nod though because of the total insanity of the fanbase. They scream the lyrics and they dance a lot. Good Christ do I love it when the people start dancing.

Any future tour plans?
Oh yes – tour is endless and reoccurring – leaving for tour in just a couple of weeks, and then Europe and the UK after that!

You can travel to one time in history. Where do you go and why?
Probably one of the Delta juke joints where Robert Johnson played on one of the nights he was playing. Just to settle the are-the-records-sped-up-or-not question, you know, and see some of the myth up close. Of course that would kind of ruin everything, too. Hmm.

One more – who do you like in the presidential race?
Kucinich seems like a good man, but I don’t trust anybody who actually wants to be president. Since Kucinich is a vegan, though, he’s got my vote.

Tags: Interview