Grant Lee Phillips' comments on Virginia Creeper
"I liked
the metaphor, a slow but persistent vine, ever weaving, ever climbing - like
a melody. I also like the idea of words as vines, songs as vines and as a symbol
for my life, weaving persistently. It may not appear that there's any movement
going on, but nevertheless there is. There's also something vaguely antique-ish
about the title, which suits my obsession with all things decaying and the ghosts
that have come to dwell in my songs."
Source: Biography on cookingvinyl.com,
2004
"I didn't want to approach it with excessive overdubs and I couldn't have
made this album alone, by myself. I'd done that with my last record, Mobilize.
This time, the songs had a simplicity that would best be served by taking them
into a studio with feeling, responsive musicians."
Source: Biography on cookingvinyl.com,
2004
About Cindy Wasserman: "We
found this blend in our voices, I never had to say a word, we just sang... There's
shared love of Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Gram Parsons. We could sing that stuff
for hours, did and still do..."
Source: Biography
on cookingvinyl.com, 2004
Q: So what's special
about this new album, Virginia Creeper?
A: I'd venture to say this is the most unguarded and personal album I've put
forth to date. It probably has certain things in common with some of the old
Grant Lee Buffalo albums, in that it's often stripped back to just a voice and
a guitar or a fiddle. It's an ensemble effort though, with a number of musicians
who I felt were able to respond on their feet, without rehearsing for weeks
on end. We went for it, over the course of about three days. All these songs
were cut live, with just an added dash of overdubs on the fourth and fifth day.
And there it was. The production in this case had more to do with the casting
and the method, and not so much with the gratuitous bells and whistles that
accompany most albums these days.
Q: There are a lot of girls' names in the song titles…
A: Yeah, it's just one of those things. It was never premeditated, it just turned
out that way. Then you stand back at the end and go: wow, this reads like a
little black book. Or maybe a little yellow book.
Source: Uncut,
Interview by Chris
Roberts, 2 April 2004
1. MONA
LISA
Q: You reference the Mona Lisa. Ever actually seen it?
A: Yes I
have… I got within an arm's length of it once, my route blocked by other
sight-seers. It's kind of a wild thing! And so famous. But since I wrote that
song there's this Julia Roberts movie, Mona Lisa Smile, so that kinda makes
me look lame. Hey, next thing you know someone'll be painting a picture called
Mona Lisa and hanging it in The Louvre! How lame will my song titles look then?
Source:
Uncut, Interview
by Chris
Roberts, 2 April 2004
6. CALAMITY
JANE
"That's the oldest song on there, it dates back to early 2003 - around
the time the US was dipping its toes into Iraq. Calamity Jane is largely a metaphor
for the gun-toting, trigger-happy administration we have in place. But it's
an ever-so-subtle statement, hopefully, thus allowing me to walk through the
raindrops and showers of ash. I've blown my cover in this interview now though,
haven't I? I'm pretty sure George Bush is an avid subscriber to Uncut."
Source: Uncut,
Interview
by Chris
Roberts, 2 April 2004
9.
SUSANNA LITTLE
"The basic bones of the story had been passed to me by my mom. It’s
essentially the life of my great-grandmother. It was a big part of the family
heritage and a source of pride for my grandmother and my mom. It meant that
there were a whole lot of Indian busts around the house - sort of like the native
version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
Source: newsreview.com,
March 2004
11. HICKORY
WIND
Q: You’ve covered Gram Parsons' “Hickory Wind” as the album
finale. Are you a big Parsons fan?
A: It's striking how many musicians are influenced by Gram Parsons and The Flying
Burrito Brothers, even if they don't know it. By way of country music trickling
down into rock music. Some of this accounts for bands like The Eagles, and other
things that don't represent the best that Parsons had to offer, by any means,
but for me I found a simpatico spirit in Gram when I began appreciating country.
He had a desire to synthesise and juxtapose different musical elements. I think
he was a bit of a post-modern artist himself, in his own time. And a great story-teller,
and a self-made character.
Source:
Uncut, Interview
by Chris
Roberts, 2 April 2004