EOC: I read an interview that was done with you guys back in 2006 and you mentioned that you might do some gigs to pay off some debts you have. Then you guys went on tour. Does the band keep touring because you [collectively] have found that your relationships with each other are better?
JM: We just kind of started off with real trepidation. I mean, we got drug through the ring real bad. We got sued by everybody. Once we started making money, it was real terrible, for no reason. We had to pay off two guys [Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher] in the band that took all of our money. They quit and then sued us. He made his own hit and he made all of his own money. I mean, I don’t want to talk about all that, but it was really unfair the way it all went down. He had all his money, and he had more than us! And then he wasn’t satisfied with that and then took all of our money that we had made. Everybody. Me, Kathy, Jo, Stu, and Chris. We all got stripped of everything. We had all worked on that for 10 years, you know. And it was really just unfair the way it went down. So I chose to be all like, “I’m just going to have to let this go or it’s going to fucking drive me insane”, you know? So I was just like, “Ok, I’m not in it for the money.” So, I just had to get that out of my head, you know. So that’s what I did. So then we did have to pay them more money later on, and then [they] sued us again last year in federal court [because] they weren’t satisfied, and lost. Finally we got a decent day in court and they reversed all the rest of the money they owed us. So they kind of screwed the pooch on that one, so it was kind of vindicated at the end. But, like I said – we’re not in it for the money. That’s not where it’s at. [pause] But you know, the money doesn’t hurt. [laughter]
EOC: No, it never really does. Just makes it easier to tour, right?
JM: Yeah, exactly. We got families, everybody’s got kids. So, we can’t go out and just everybody waste time.
EOC: So, is there anything different coming out on the new album?
JM: Well, we’re recording a new album right now. The live stuff, I guess we’re still doing that, but the new material is really quite different. [referring to 1999] That was so long ago and I was in such a different place as a writer – it’s kind of hard to get back there, you know. So, I’ve been having a hard time trying to figure out what we’re supposed to sound like. [laughter] I can’t, you know, be 21 and making marionettes again and thinking about weird shit, you know. I don’t have much time anymore. So, I have to figure out how to do that again. All of our new stuff is kind of folk, with harmonies. It’s really different. I’m kind of hesitant to put it out because it’s so different. But I guess we have no choice. It’s like, I could fake it and we could try to sound the same…but I don’t really want to do that.
EOC: Well, that’s kind of the natural progression of music.
JM: Yeah, yeah, and Katherine like, she has …turned into a wonderful songwriter. We’re going to record ten of her pieces that are really quite nice. And like I said, they’re really more folk. String instruments and stuff. So yeah, I don’t really know what it’s going to turn into. I just don’t want to fake something I don’t really know about.
EOC: So do you know when that next album is going to come out?
JM: Well, see, it’s still kind of a work-in-progress. We just got back, ok, as a band again. Again, and then what are we going to sound like – and we don’t know. But we have a lot of things recorded. We’re just going to see what it’s going to be. I mean, it’s really quite good. More country-tinged, more folk-tinged, I think. I’m using the horns more orchestrally than dixielandy and jazzy. And probably by the end of the year we’ll have a record finished.
In the meantime, the Squirrel Nut Zippers are still on tour and scheduled to play only three more shows this time around in California and Nevada. Hopefully, the band will look back to its last run as a reminder of what’s important in the music industry – passion, friendship, and fun.
uoedoncampus
