November 17, 2023

HS41 - 7M3 Dis/Location

Today is the re-issue of Dis/Location, our 5^th studio record, re-mastered and finally available on vinyl and the internets. So, I thought I’d pull together a few random thoughts and memories of making the record.

I remember it being unseasonably warm Athens, GA, in January of 2004, as we loaded in with David Barbe (of Sugar) and sweet Andy Lemaster (of the excellent band Now It’s Overhead) at Transduction Studio. What the strip mall-ish, industrial building lacked in exterior personality, it more than made up for inside, and I’m forever grateful for the hands of Andy and our pal Brian Paulson, who produced, engineered, and mixed, and also introduced us to so many incredible people.

I remember it getting much colder as the weeks went on.

I remember visiting R.E.M.’s practice space. It was like walking on the moon for a minute, surely the closest I’ve ever been to one of my favorite artist's. It was thrilling, and we behaved like we were in a cathedral—and we were.

I remember practicing at Nucci’s space and being inspired to someday open something similar in NC. The music community in Athens really understood how to take care of one another. 

I remember burgers at Clocked. And no-bullshit music trivia hosted by the bartender every night before last call at the Manhattan.

I remember meeting poet Coleman Barks at the Manhattan on one such occasion, and then hoping I’d run into him every night thereafter. Coleman looks like Hemingway, has a strong Tennessee accent, and this southern gentleman translated and interpreted the Sufi poet Rumi under the mentorship of the estimable Robert Bly. Coleman was fun, interested, and interesting. I’d listen to him talk of dervishes and inexpressible things—and especially mysteries of the heart—until we’d finished our drinks and the bartender said it was time to go.

And I’ll never forget that he showed up one night in a leather jacket, sweatpants, and a T-shirt, driving a brand new, blindingly bright red Corvette. I said, “Coleman, you got a new car?” and he said, “No, some fool just asked if I wanted to test drive it so I figured what the hell, I’ll take it for a drive.” An American Poet in a red Corvette.

I listened to Dis/Location again the other day. So many of the songs on this record started from a riff, a rare exercise before Thomas joined the band. We had intended to explore something heavier than our previous release, but I think we just made another really solid rock record full of pop songs. I can hear the songs that sound like us, and those that sound like we’re chasing something we would never be. It was a grand experiment in using what we’d learned along the way, and I’m glad it doesn’t sound like anything else we ever did. I think it also opened the door for us to explore new and different terrain the next time we found ourselves in the studio. 

We’ll talk about that one down the road.

Little towns are the way we’re livin’, still.

Thanks for listening.

Yours,

JR