Interview: Heartless Bastards
Heartless Bastards “Into the Open”
by Jeff Terich
photo by Brian Niesz
The Heartless Bastards must be aware of the irony in their name. For a group that, on the surface, might present themselves as cold and ruthless, they create a surprisingly passionate and soulful medley of blues, R&B and raw, garage rock that’s anything but heartless. The Cincinnati trio’s latest effort, “All This Time” is a solid and accomplished follow-up to their debut, “Stairs and Elevators” which was a decidedly more straightforward blues-punk affair. “All This Time”, which was produced by the band, is a strong step forward, incorporating a wider range of volumes and textures, and even adding some strings to their stripped-down sound. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom discusses the new album.
The band’s sound has opened up a lot since the first record. What were you trying to accomplish, sound-wise?
Erika Wennerstrom: I just wrote the songs as they came to me, and it ended up being rewarding in itself. On the last record, none of the songs were written for a three-piece. We started with another guitarist but he left before we signed to Fat Possum. Things got sort of rushed through, and we didn’t really know what to do. It’s easier to write songs as a three piece. There aren’t as many bare spots. For the recording, we just wanted to make it sound the best we could. There are layers of things that aren’t there when we play live. But the recording’s going to be there, so we wanted to make it sound the best we could.
What motivated you to produce the album yourselves?
We were originally planning on working with Patrick Carney from the Black Keys, but he’s just been too busy. Honestly, we have somewhat of a budget, but producers cost a lot of money, and we’ve never worked with one, so I don’t know what they’re going to do. There are certainly people I’d love to work with, but they’re not in our budget. And we don’t even know how to find someone. I’d love to work with Dennis Herring. He did Camper Van Beethovens “Key Lime Pie” and the last Modest Mouse record. And I’d love to work with Brian Eno, but he’s working with bands like U2, so I don’t see that happening.
You’ve been involved in music for a long time, but had you always wanted to be in a band?
I’ve always wanted to sing, but I think it only related to like, kid sorta music. As I’ve grown, things have changed. I grew up in a household that wasn’t into rock ‘n roll. But I’ve always wanted to sing.
What is your songwriting process like?
Usually melodies come into my head and I fiddle with them, something to play before I even have words. I try to have a song done from beginning to end before I write words to it. It sometimes takes a long time to write the words. I have to figure out what I’d like to say that fits, then we get together and play it as a band.
There appears to be a major theme of dragonflies on this record, especially in the artwork and in the song “I Swallowed A Dragonfly”.
That song represents taking chances and trying something new.
What does the “ghost” represent in “Searching for the Ghost”?
It’s sort of different for everybody but it just came to my head and it makes sense to me. It changes meaning in the song. It can mean a lot of different things on different days. Sometimes things come out of me, and I search for meaning in what comes out and I just go with it.
2006 All This Time (Fat Possum)
2005 Stairs and Elevators (Fat Possum)
