On Tuesday 14 November, AM Promotions will be presenting a solo acoustic concert by one of alternative country’s foremost artists, American singer/songwriter Robert Fisher, better known as the main man from The Willard Grant Conspiracy. Music correspondent Michael Bugeja takes up some of Fisher’s time ahead of his performance in Malta
I was first introduced to Willard Grant Conspiracy by one of my best mates, when he kindly let me borrow the Flying Low album. That was about eight years ago; the alternative country scene was on a roll (it still is) and as is often the case in all genres of music, some bands stand out above the rest. Willard Grant Conspiracy was one of them. This record’s atmospheric sense of depth; the calming but dark melodies and the underlying minimal arrangements holding it all together gave it a unique edge and made it all the more captivating.
Since then, Willard Grant Conspiracy have released several albums, nearly all of which offer this appealing blend of acoustic twang, soothing stillness and Fisher’s distinctive vocal timbre which, by the way, has occasionally been compared to a certain Mr. Cave by some. His latest album, released last March, is Let It Roll. It features members of both Lambchop and The Walkabouts and, oddly enough, also includes a track called Flying Low, which in my books at least is also one of the new record’s best moments. In between countless gigs on his ongoing three-month acoustic tour of Europe, Robert Fisher paused to answer a few questions.
Q. Bearing your hectic schedule in mind, what am I interrupting right now?
A. Sleep - but that’s okay. I sleep little anyway.
Q. You’ve performed in Europe several times in recent years. Honestly speaking, did you need to ‘google’ Malta when AM Promotions contacted you to play here?
A. No. One of our publishers is Maltese and I have thought about visiting for years.
Q. What do you think are the main elements that spawned the ‘alternative country’/Americana genre?
A. I am not really qualified to answer that. It is a label certain bands were given when they started using acoustic instruments and there is such a great diversity among the bands included under the Americana tag that I think it has now degenerated into a label that ‘ghettoizes’ and minimalizes the music. The minute you say something is Country, a lot of people run for the hills. It is the same with Folk. All these things have positive and negative connotations for people but the labels tend to marginalize the music.
Q. Regard The End and Let It Roll have both been heralded by critics as possibly your best work to date. Does this make your next album a more difficult task to complete?
A. No. I don’t listen to critics when I am writing songs. Maybe I should, but I don’t.
Q. Your songs are often laced with an intimate, melancholic quality. Is the inspiration personal or absorbed from events going on around you in general?
A. All of the above. A good song in my mind consists of the personal experience of the songwriter mixed with enough universal observation and storytelling to make it accessible to all who hear it. In the end, the song exists beyond the songwriter as it gains the experiences of all who listen to it and carry it away with them.
Q. Is touring solo more gratifying than having the whole band behind you?
A. No. It’s just different. It is more of a personal challenge to have all of the responsibility for making the songs work for the audience based on my very basic skills.
Q. Your recent set lists seem to be largely culled from Regard The End and Let It Roll. Any particular reason or do you juggle the play lists for each performance?
A. I play things from all the records but focus on the ones that are more recent because they are the records that are still available.
Q. You’re spending a lot of time on the road. What do you listen to on your iPod/CD player while you’re travelling to your next gig?
A. Well, I just got an iPod so I have yet to really add enough to it but our bass player, who I am travelling with, has 6,000 songs on his and we listen to it in the car on shuffle mode. With that many songs, you can never tell what will come up! If you’re asking what new things I think are good, there are lots but my current favourite is Matt Bauer.
Q. Last but not least, what are your expectations from your performance in Malta?
A. I hope to play the songs well that night and meet some good people.
And there you have it! Now, if you’re interested but not familiar with Fisher’s music, log on to www.myspace.com/willardgrantconspiracy to get a feel of Fisher’s musical terrain, after which I am sure you’ll be visiting www.alternativemalta.com for details of where to get a ticket for his concert. Well, remember that tickets are limited so you’ll need to be quick about it - 9945 9555 is the number you’re looking for!