photo by Michael Todd at SXSW 2013
With all the lungs in his chest, Hutch Harris sings, "My shadows are close where I need them to be." He pictures himself as the protagonist in this song, "The Sunset" off The Thermals' record Desperate Ground.
His shadows are memories. Memories of setting up Bright Eyes' first show in 1999. Memories of playing Omaha's Sokol Underground with bands that came before The Thermals, and memories of touring through Nebraska with The Thermals. Harris has known a handful of culturally important Nebraskans for years now, Nebraskans such as Saddle Creek Records' owner Robb Nansel, who have served him and his now 11-year-old band well.
So naturally, when Harris and his bandmates Kathy Foster (bass) and Westin Glass (drums) were seeking a new label, Saddle Creek stood out among the many. The Thermals signed to the Omaha label earlier this year, then released Desperate Ground on April 16. The band celebrates the record — and its Nebraskan connection — this Monday as The Thermals play Slowdown with Pleasure Adapter. The show starts at 9 p.m., and cover is $12. RSVP here.
To preview, read on about "The Sunset" after the jump, and learn about what mic, guitar, amps and pedals Harris uses, and how to make it nearly all the way through pronouncing UUVVWWZ. Then learn the song itself further below with chords and lyrics.
Hear Nebraska: Tell me why you chose to examine “The Sunset.”
Hutch Harris: Mostly, it’s the second single. It’s the song we’re working on right now. It’s one of the more emotional songs on the record. It’s one of the sweeter songs, I think, on the record. There’s a lot of dark, brutal songs, lyrically, on the record.
“The Sunset” is probably our favorite song on the record. When we were writing it, and also when we finished the recording, it was just one of those songs that turned out exactly the way that we had hoped and planned.
HN: Where did you write the song?
HH: We wrote it in Portland where we live.
photo by Michael Todd at SXSW 2013
HN: How was it written? Was it collaborative?
HH: It was really collaborative actually. This song was one of the songs that grew out of this other song we had. That was this way slower, dark, dirge-sounding song. That was this song that we were working on for awhile, doing demos, and everyone’s saying, “Yeah, it’s all right.”
And then, what we would do for this record is we would meet at our studio, and I would sit with the guitar not plugged in, just playing. We’d sit there and talk about what we wanted to do, and talk about music, instead of just turning everything on and blasting out right away.
So yeah, I was messing around with the same chords that we had been using for the other one, then just rewrote, just kind of flipped the whole song, and all of a sudden, it became something new. It was a lot catchier. It was way more fun, and it was way more classic-sounding. That got us really excited. That led us in a good direction for the rest of the songs.
HN: Were there lyrics written for the song that “The Sunset” grew out of?
HH: A little bit: the theme of the shadows, the shadows are close, something following you. When we talk about the shadows in “The Sunset,” we’re talking about memories, something that follows you and that you can never be rid of.
HN: You’ve said that the protagonist on Desperate Ground could be anyone, but do you imagine anyone in particular when singing “The Sunset”?
HH: Sometimes I picture myself when I’m singing. Some of the songs are personal, but they have been sent off in a direction where I feel detached from it. Some of the songs, I see myself in there or I feel myself in there. “The Sunset” is definitely one of the songs where I’m singing from my own point-of-view, even though overall, the record is a work of fiction.
photo by Michael Todd at SXSW 2013
HN: You’ve said that the movie Full Metal Jacket was an inspiration for the album. How does that movie relate to this song and the whole record?
HH: I don’t know if there’s a connection between this song and Full Metal Jacket. Overall, the theme of Full Metal Jacket is that war is ridiculous. If you read the book Catch 22, which I really like, there’s a same kind of idea going on, where war is necessary, war is never-ending. Overall, it’s just ridiculous that this is how a lot of people live. This is the history of human existence. People, for one reason or another, are always at war.
HN: What meaning does “the sunset” have in the chorus?
HH: It’s talking about not missing a good positive opportunity, I think. The sun will cause your shadow. When we’re talking about the shadows and memories, it’s about being followed by negative memories, negative feelings, emotional baggage. The idea of not letting the sunset pass you by is about not missing that could be a positive experience in your life.
I think that’s what makes the song so warm and ultimately positive as opposed to some of the other songs on the record, which do seem to be negative. Yeah, it’s about reaching for or moving toward something more positive than where you’re at.
HN: How would you say the album’s story arc develops, and how does “The Sunset” fit within that arc?
HH: There’s a definite arc, and there’s a definite split between side A and side B. The first five songs, side A, are very arrogant and headstrong and righteous as we talk about violence being necessary. The second side is more reflective. There’s more guilt and regret and exhaustion. The second half of the record is more about dealing with the consequences of violence and killing.
HN: I read you threw away lots of lyrics in your revisions for this album. What did some of those lyrics cover?
HH: You know, it’s just a lot of records we’ve done, I think the best records we’ve done, I end up throwing away a lot of lyrics. Usually, those lyrics are never used again no matter how much work I’ve put into them. The lyrics, overall, were dealing with the same ideas about killing and death.
I think some of the lyrics were concerned too much with death as opposed to killing. For us, on this record, there is a big difference. This is not a record about death itself, this is a record about murder and killing, about violence. The songs I can think of specifically were, I think, too concerned with dying. We have the record Now We Can See, which is definitely about death and dying, so we didn’t want to repeat that.
photo by Michael Todd at SXSW 2013
HN: Now talking about the recording, what treatment do you have on your vocals?
HH: I use just this cheap Rode mic, which is this Australian mic that I love that I’ve had forever. I recorded our first record on a four-track cassette at my house. I used that mic through this ART preamp, just right into the four-track. It gets that crunchy, distorted, crazy sound. For this record, what I did is I just brought that mic, the preamp and the four-track with us to the studio. I plugged the mic right into the preamp and right into the four-track just like I was going to be recording on the four-track, then we ran an out out of the four-track and did that right to tape.
So that was cool. I had never done that before. I had wanted to do that before. John Agnello, the producer, he just had a great attitude. I think some producers wouldn’t want you bringing just some cheap mic. Some producers would push you to use their mic and do what they wanted to do. But really, John Agnello, he was devoted to our vision for this record. He was down to do whatever we wanted to do, which was really great. That helped us make a record that we’re really proud of.
HN: How did you get the guitar sound on the song?
HH: I always use a Telecaster. I have a bunch of Telecasters, but yeah, I always use Telecasters. Ibanez Tubescreamer, just one Tubescreamer. There were almost no effects on the guitars. That’s actually the same setup that Kathy (Foster) uses for bass, just a tuner and a Tubescreamer. That was my pedal chain, and that was hers as well.
Then I played out of a Vox amp. We flew out to New Jersey to Hoboken to record the record, so we didn’t bring amps. They had so many great amps at the studio, Water Music, where we recorded. So I used a Vox amp, and then I used a little Fender Champ amp, which I usually use on records. But I’m not incredibly picky about what amp I use, as long as it’s a little older, something with tubes that you can just crank up.
HN: What’s the story behind The Thermals signing to Saddle Creek? How did it come together?
HH: We were looking for a new label, so we talked to a lot of labels. We knew the guys from Saddle Creek already. We knew Robb (Nansel), who runs the label. We’ve known Conor (Oberst) for a long time. We’ve been friends with Bright Eyes and The Faint and Azure Ray.
We’ve been bros with all these guys for years, some of them since before we started this band, so that’s over 10 years ago. And then they offered us a really good deal, which makes a huge difference. So yeah, just knowing them, having a relationship with them, and then just them offering us a great deal made it a really easy choice.
photo by Chevy Anderson at SXSW 2013
HN: You mentioned Bright Eyes, The Faint and Azure Ray. What have you learned about the rest of your labelmates since signing?
HH: Well, Big Harp. We’ve known Stef (Drootin-Senseney) back from when she was in The Good Life. But at South by Southwest, we were hanging out with them. I hadn’t seen their band, but they were cool. Then we met UUVVWW… I don’t know how the fuck you say it (laughs). But we saw those guys at South by Southwest. They were great, too.
HN: Has signing to Saddle Creek changed your perception of Nebraska music at all? It sounds like you had developed a pretty good idea of it already.
HH: Yeah, not really. Kathy and I have been in the scene for a really long time. The first time Bright Eyes came to Portland, in ‘98 or ‘99, we had a friend in a band called Her Space Holiday, and he was, like, “Hey, there’s this band called Bright Eyes. They need you to help them get a show.” So Kathy and I ended up setting up the first Bright Eyes show.
Then Conor turned us on to The Faint. Then we’ve played Sokol Underground a bunch with older bands before The Thermals, then with The Thermals. We’ve been coming to Omaha for a long time, Lincoln, too. We’ve known about the scene and been into it for a really long time.
CHORDS
Em – Bm – C
Em – Bm – C
Em – D – Em – C
G – C – G – C
G C
I am never alone
G Em B
My shadows are close where I need them to be
C G C G
I keep them with me
C
I am never afraid
G
My shadows are close
Em B
I am safe when they stay
C G
They whisper the way
Em Bm C
They hold my head to the sky
Em Bm C
Point my eyes to the end
Em D Em C G C G C
Now the sunset won’t pass me by again
G C
I stray from the path
G Em B
My shadows are late, they escape from my mind
C G C
They fall far behind
G C
Now I feel free to kill
G Em B
But I know my shadows they follow me still
C G
And they probably always will
Em Bm C
They hold my head to the sky
Em Bm C
Point my eyes to the end
Em D Em C G
Now the sunset won’t pass me by again
Em D Em C G
Now the sunset won’t pass me by, won’t pass me by again
Em Bm
I am always alert
Em C
Although my enemies are few
D Bm
I know the ones you will hurt
C G
Are the closest to you
Em B Em C
I am always awake in the fear they are gone
D G
But my shadows are fate
C G
They’ve been here all along
Em Bm C
They hold my head to the sky
Em Bm C
Point my eyes to the end
Em D Em C G
Now the sunset won’t pass me by again
Em D Em C G
Now the sunset won’t pass me by, won’t pass me by again
Em D Em C Em C G C G
Oh, the sunset won’t pass me by, won’t pass me by, won’t pass me by again
Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska’s managing editor. His sunrise is eight time zones away. Reach him at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.