Western MA is home to legendary musical talent, both in the past and the present. From polka, folk, jazz, punk rock and sounds that can’t be pigeon-holed–it happens here. One of my favorite local singer-songwriter’s is Jose Ayerve of the band Spouse (and a few other vehicles). Ayerve is a rare-breed of the truly engaging, thoughtful and admirable. From my perspective, it is a crime that his talent hasn’t migrated upstream from his indie base. Years from now, folks will be kicking themselves and I will gloat. I’ve always been correct about my musical predilections. Recently Ayerve submitted to a barrage of questions that I peppered him with. The following is his sworn deposition.
CT: You are of Colombian heritage, how much of that plays into your music and lyrics in terms of imagery, pathos and culture?
JA: I wish I could say that my Colombian heritage plays more of a role in my music than it does. Unfortunately, how I was brought up, I don’t believe culture was the focal point of my parents’ lessons. They were far more concerned with my sister and I demonstrating strong Catholic comportment, instead of sharing our cultural identity with our classmates and friends. Our bilingual home environment was definitely a huge influence on me, and I’m very thankful for the opportunities that my parents yielded us (to practice the language and to learn how to read it). The manner in which I write lyrics in Spanish, in many ways is more poetic than my approach in English. And well, as for the Catholic stuff, I proudly abandoned the church-going aspect and stuck with the various universal traits that I agreed with. But anyone who knows me well understands how critical I am of any and all organized religions. I think the mere fact that I answered your cultural question as a debate on religion, shows how skewed my impression of Colombian culture was because of how my parents equated it with being good Catholics . . . weird.
CT: Have you read any of the great Colombian writers like Carranza, Marquez, Vallejo, Duran, Vila and Pombo? If so, who has influenced you the most or least? Or what has influenced you in terms of literature or pop culture?
JA: I’ve read Marquéz and Vallejo, but I can’t remember if I’ve read the others. I’m embarrassed that I can’t remember, but then again, I don’t have much time to read these days. I did manage to find time to read Marquéz’ “El coronel no tiene quien le escriba”, a brilliant story of a military veteran who has been expecting a series of checks from the government—a veteran’s pension, which after numerous years, he has yet to receive.
CT: Your solo work, Cinco Pesos, seems to have been borne out of a different mindset than your work with Spouse. What were you trying to do with that recording?
JA: With Cinco Pesos, I’d just inherited my father’s 2-track Sony recorder from the 50’s. I’d had it worked on and I was anxious to record with it. I wanted to make an e.p. that was entirely comprised of Spanish-language tracks, and I wanted to write it and record it within a week’s time. I had just started playing with JJ O’Connell (Drunk Stuntmen) on drums, and I invited him to come over to my rental in Northampton, where we blasted through two of the songs that I had just finished writing. It was my first real experiment into self-recording. I used a borrowed Fostex digital eight-track, plus my Dad’s Sony tape machine, and my Fostex cassette four-track. I had a great time learning how to use my equipment, and it prepared me for recording Michael Merenda’s Trapped in the Valley album, which is just trippy to listen to, because of all the bizarre choices we made. Cinco Pesos was also about me wanting to do something alone. I actually toured behind it with Kevin O’Rourke. He had just released Lo Fine Nine, and we toured to Athens, GA and back. It was a fairly decent tour, but not too well attended. I think we somehow managed to break even.
CT: Have you ever considered doing a truly traditional Colombian recording, like cumbia, salsa, porro or Colombian pop? Don't you think we need to dispel the notion that Shakira is the Colombian ambassador to pop music? Or is the notion of doing ethno-music trite or stereo-typical?
JA: If I had 1/100th of the sex appeal that Shakira has, I suppose I could explore that realm of popular music, but alas, I have my own thing going that is so embedded in American/British inspired rock, that I think I wouldn’t know where to begin. I have another Spanish / experimental/electronic-ish record that I recorded this past February as part of the RPM Challenge. (A project site that inspires musicians to write, record, and mix an entire record during the month of February.) I created Todo Duele Más (Everything Hurts More) in just under a week. I’ve been slowly and steadily remixing it since March, and I hope to put it out soon. But I have another record that needs to come out before then, The Nuclear Waste Management Club album that is essentially, a side project for members of Spouse, plus Anne and Peyton Pinkerton, and Scott Hall. The record’s been done for two years, but I haven’t had the money to put it out. I think there are a lot of Colombians who don’t pay much attention to rock music. I’m doing what I’m doing for my own sake. That said, the aspect of your question that really resonates with me is the exploration of what defines traditional Colombian music? You’ve listed a bunch of the main genres of Colombian music, but none of them have really inspired me to perform them. I think it’s because I grew up listening to College radio, and not dancing cumbias until the wee hours of the morning. A different experience has ensured that I develop as a different type of musician. I would, however, very much like to spend a good chunk of time in Latin America studying or experiencing different genres of music. At 33 years, I’ve yet to do that. I hope it’s not too late.
CT: In Love Can't Save This Love, the opening track references Pete Shelley ("Whatever Happened to Pete Shelley") of the Buzzcocks. Either I'm old or you are young—what gives? I can't connect the lyrics to Pete Shelley. I know the Buzzcocks song "Whatever Happened To?" What are your musical reference points these days?
JA: The idea behind that song is this: When I was growing up listening to college radio, Pete Shelley had released a solo album (Homosapien) that I kept hearing songs from, but I never bought the record. I wish I had, and I probably could now, but just haven’t for whatever reason. But when we were trying to name the song, we [Spouse] were working on, I interrupted the discussion with my question, “Whatever Happened to Pete Shelley?”. I was completely unaware of the Buzzcocks’ title. I just really wanted to know what he was up to, as I remembered having appreciated some of his songs. The awkwardness of my question was enough to unanimously become to title of the song Spouse was preparing to record. And the nostalgia captured in the title reflected the one I was singing about.
CT: Your band Spouse is one of the few Valley bands that is consistently engaging (no offense to your vast network of local musician friends), and your recorded output is sonically amazing, how did you decide upon your "sound?" What influence has your constant engineer Mark Alan Miller had upon your output? You have an extensive roster of Spouse players, care to discuss them individually?
JA: Wow. Loaded question . . . . Good one though. I think the only conscious decision we’ve made with regards to our sound is to try to make each song sound different from one to the next. It presents some challenges for us though because the flipside is trying to make our records sound cohesive. I think that this is where Mark Miller comes into play. Because he’s tasked with mixing our albums, he has a thorough understanding of where things sit in the mix and how to make my vocals sound respectable and exciting in every recording. I wish I had all the time in the world to discuss my Spouse mates individually, but suffice it to say, I don’t have enough time. Here’s a quick one line description for each of them:
Alisha Goldblatt is one of the original founding members of Spouse, she’s responsible for the band name, and she’s a multi-instrumentalist, but works full-time as a teacher in Maine. She contributes when she can. On Relocation Tactics, she’s part of the lead chorus for “The 4.1 Blur”, and she wrote the lyrics for that tune as well.
John Cowden is one of the other original founding members, he’s a medical doctor in Kansas City. He’s another multi-instrumentalist, and his contributions on recordings are limited to the 1st album, Nozomi.
Dan Pollard is my principal business partner and a primary artistic collaborator for every record. He’s an original member of the current incarnation of Spouse. He is a scientist living in Berkeley, CA, he founded Pigeon Records, and his demos served as the main source for ideas in the making of Relocation Tactics. He’s featured in the video for “Hangover Cure for Humanity.”
Michael Merenda is the fifth original member of Spouse. He’s a huge support for me. And he’s been a part of every Spouse recording to date. I get to work with him on his solo albums and his new record, the Honeymoon Agenda which he performed with his wife Ruth (Ungar). They are part of the new folk group, The Mammals.
Naomi Hamby is a long-time member of Spouse. She came aboard as we began preparing Love Can’t Save This Love. She’s a brilliant and very unique guitar player. She’s been able to play more shows with us as of late. She lives in NYC and is a full-time counselor.
Liz Bustamante has recently returned to the Spouse fold, with her contributions to the live band, most recently when she played drums for us at South Union Arts in Chicago. She was a huge part of Love Can’t Save This Love, and sadly, she left the band shortly after the release of that record. It was a tough time, but gradually we kept in touch over the years, and her relationships with each of us have been strong since. She’s a brilliant mind, and currently works for Chicago Public Radio.
JJ O’Connell has logged in countless hours with live shows and recordings and was an instrumental part of the two most recent albums. He’s been a steady and reliable part of the band, and I think he’s made a pretty big impression on all of our fans. He’s the official Spouse Archivist, which means, that people mail copies of our live shows to him for safe-keeping.
Ken Maiuri has been a major contributor to Spouse since Nozomi. (CT: Ken went to the same high school as me, a few grades under me. I remember him from the school marching band!) He’s an incredible multi-instrumentalist, and we often rely on him for arrangement ideas in the recording environment. He’s been able to play some pretty important shows with us and can play most any part of any song at the drop of hat.
Mark Schwaber has been a big part of the live Spouse shows since 2003. His recording debut with the band is Relocation Tactics, and he’s an amazing songwriter and performer in his own right. He was the force behind Hospital, and his solo albums (on Pigeon Records/Lucky Creature) are very much worth listening to and owning.
Don McAulay has been a part of Spouse for a few years now. He performed on our third album, but really became a part of the recording process for Relocation Tactics. He and JJ can provide a powerful rhythm section for some of our bigger shows. Doni and I did a duo tour out to Chicago and back in the fall of 2005. He’s an expert woodworker and runs his own natural furnishings company.
Kevin O’Rourke has been touring with Spouse since 2004. We finally got him to record with us and featured him on the track “Long Live the Baystate.” His vocals are the lead vocals you hear on that song. He fronts the band, Lo Fine (also on Pigeon Records). He’s been an incredible reliable part of the Spouse touring line-up.
Henning Ohlenbusch has played a few key shows with Spouse both around town and as far away as DC. He’s a massive player and a great person to have around. I really admire his work with School for the Dead and the Fawns.
Robert Voyer and Gabe McElwain are two of our auxiliary band members. They’re both Chicago-based, and their band, Millimeters Mercury, toured with Spouse in 2004. Robert helped with some co-writing for the new album, (though most of the tracks we initiated with him have yet to be released).(Gabe made his Northampton debut with Spouse on December 2007 at the Iron Horse.) He’ll be taking the first leg of the upcoming Spouse tour out to Chicago. He played bass and guitar for Spouse at the most recent Chicago show in September. He also makes a party-scene cameo in the new Spouse video.
Erin McKeown is awesome. She contributed big-time to the vocals on “It=Love,” “There Goes the Road,” and “Hunting for Some Good News” off the new record. She was able to join us on stage for the cd release show back in April 2007 at the Iron Horse. We got to hang out with her for a mutual day-off in the San Francisco Bay area in May. It was a very good day.
Philip Price and Flora Reed from the Winterpills are two of my best friends and they contributed graciously to “Hunting for Some Good News”.
Peyton Pinkerton is the main force behind one of my favorite bands of all time, New Radiant Storm King. I was listening to them since before I knew Peyton. And his guitar playing has always been an inspiration to me. He joined us for writing/recording “Hangover Cure for Humanity”. He’s also part of the Nuclear Waste Management Club. And he played on a number of tracks on Nozomi.
Other auxiliary Spouse members include Portland, ME based, Nick Lamberto, Andrew Gilbert, Neil Collins, and John Nunan. Long-time Engineer/Producers: Mark Alan Miller, Thom Monahan, and Adam Lasus, plus former players: Jeremy Smith, Colin Loggins, and Anne Pinkerton (also part of the Nuclear Waste Management Club).
CT: Not too long ago you lost your father as a result of a violent crime. Did he influence you? What did he do professionally?
JA: My dad was shot by a mugger while on vacation in Colombia. It happened right across the street from the Swedish embassy. I was on tour with the Pernice Brothers when it happened. The next day, I arrived in Bogotá, and it’s been a pretty bizarre life ever since. My dad was essentially my best friend. He and I had had an awkward and distant relationship early on, but when I came out to him and my mom in 1996, my mother grew more conservative and distant, while my father became one of my biggest supporters. He was the parent that I trusted and confided in. He let me pursue my musical career as much as possible. I don’t think he really cared much for my music, but he came to a few shows and was sincerely gracious with the compliments. He always preferred my acting talents to my musical ones. Being that I’ve only ever managed to get myself into ridiculous debt pursuing the music career, maybe I should have listened to him about becoming an actor. I miss him a great deal, but I don’t think about what happened as much as I think about him in general. It’s a paralyzing thing to dwell upon. My dad was a psychological examiner for the Springfield public school system. I took over one of his secondary jobs when he died. I work part-time translating some documents for the school system. It’s good work that allows me the chance to accommodate my musical endeavors, or vice-versa.
CT: You're fairly socially conscious on a number of political issues, and you sit on a progressive human rights board—can you discuss your politics?
JA: Huge question. I don’t think I can answer it fully. I’m a bleeding heart liberal. It’s easier to tell you what I believe in by telling you what I don’t believe in. I don’t believe in war. Violence is for the weak and misguided. Self-defense is the right of all those threatened without due cause. I don’t believe that any leader on earth should ever be allowed to send soldiers into battle without first enlisting their immediate family members into the armed forces. I don’t believe that Congress should be allowed to trade favors in return for votes, as it devaluates the interests and needs of the very people they represent. True compromise should resemble problem solving, not commodity trading. I don’t believe the US government should be allowed to spend a single dollar on military action, without first spending one dollar on public education and one dollar on health care. We’re past due for a revolution. I think the rest of the world has been graciously patient with our citizens. We’ve let them down by not getting rid of our leadership and replacing it with a more competent and morally responsible one. Our relationships at home and abroad have suffered to an irreparable degree. It’s been an eye-opening experience being a board member for the Rosenberg Fund for Children. They’re a terrific organization that works hard to offer help to the family members of targeted activists. I’m proud to be a part of such a great organization. I think I owe Rachel Maddow and her show on Air America Radio a huge debt of gratitude for being a principal source of political news. Though I don’t fully comprehend or share some of her opinions, the information she provides her listeners is first rate. I subscribe to her podcasts, in lieu of subscribing to a number of magazines, etc. It’s also much easier to listen to her while I travel by car or train, or on foot.
CT: Your sexuality is front and center in many of Spouse's songs, how do you navigate the machismo of rock 'n roll? How do you deal with crushes from heterosexual men? Ha, ha, ha!
JA: You must mean “crushes ON heterosexual men.” It’s terrible. I gave up years ago. Some people drink red wine exclusively, others prefer white. Some drink both. I’m a red wine guy. I stay away from the white wine. I suppose for some of the straight crowd, it’s no different. But I do believe that it’s okay for folks to taste both. I think the fact that I’m gay has definitely influenced a number of Spouse songs, especially with regard to lyrics. Essentially, the relationships we write about are ones that a lot of people can relate to. What happens when one loses confidence in oneself, when one becomes insecure, and when the other picks up on it, that’s the scenario that provides a great deal of lyrical inspiration. But sometimes, I’m not actually part of the equation. It might actually be about a different band mate’s experience that I’m singing about. For instance, one of my favorite songs on Are You Gonna Kiss or Wave Goodbye? is “Over the Rabbit Hole,” a song inspired by one of my band mate’s break-ups with their long time girlfriend. Yes, there’s a lot of machismo in rock ‘n roll. But, when I sing in my high register, and my voice comes out strong and rough, I think it’s safe to say that I can hold my own on the microphone. I think I need to disclose something that’s been bothering me a bit as of late. I’ve always gotten the Bono comparison with regard to my vocals, but recently, in my mind, I’ve been equating the comparisons to “you sound gay.” Maybe I’m too sensitive these days, or just tired of the comparison.
CT: You've worked with a host of musicians and bands, from Joe Pernice to the Mammals, what are some of your most memorable moments in the service of music?
JA: My favorite Pernice Brothers moment, I’m embarrassed to say, was when I pranked them by replacing the hand sanitizer with lube. Joe and James lathered one another up thinking it was hand sanitizer, I tried hard not to laugh, until a few moments later when they realized that the stuff wasn’t drying and it didn’t have the typical cleansing odor that they’d become accustomed to. We all just about keeled over in laughter. Serves them right. I packed up all their gear by myself that night. What a pain in the ass. It was totally justified. My favorite moments with the Mammals have actually taken place hanging out and recording with Mike and Ruthy. I had an absolute blast working on the Honeymoon Agenda with them in January and February. The record came out great and it was an invigorating project to work on.
CT: You run Pigeon Records, alternately based in Portland, ME—what's your Valley connection? How did you end up here?
JA: I think I owe my presence in Northampton to my connection to Mark Alan Miller and Thom Monahan when they were recording Nozomi at the old Slaughterhouse. I met so many musicians who were fans of Spouse, that I felt very welcome here. When I left Portland in 1999, I was ready for a change, and there was a room for rent at a house that had historically been occupied by Mike Flood, Matt Hebert, and a slew of other Northampton musicians. It proved to be a very important place for me. I moved back to Portland in 2001, and came back to the valley in 2004. I guess it’s time I head back to Portland. Hmm . . . am I allowed to bi-locate?
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