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Summersteps Records second tribute to the mystery many know as Jandek. Many
of us aren't exactly sure who purchases the records that Corwood Industries
releases to begin with, so for an independent label such as Moscow,
PA's Summersteps
to release a tribute to the somewhat unknown artist - it's quite bold. Summersteps
founder Eric Schlittler shines some light on the issues.
+ How many submissions did you dig through to get to the twenty you kept? (track 21, "With U Icon (An Homage)" is an original by the Dirty Projectors) I haven't counted exactly, I would say that there's at least three more CDs (75 minutes each) worth of outtakes between the submissions that did not make the cut for Vol. I and Vol. II + How long did it take from initial decision to compile a second tribute until you were ready to package the album? Work began in earnest last spring (2004), so one year. + Some big names came aboard for this tribute (Six Organs of Admittance, The Mountain Goats), were there any (other artists) you tried to get but couldn't? Well, we asked alot of different musicians and others volunteered tracks as well. Between both volumes, I'd say I'm grateful to all of the artists who submitted. I would've obviously loved to hear covers from Robyn Hitchcock, Roky Erickson, Jeff Magnum, Will Oldham, Smog, David Berman, Steve Malkmus, Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, The Residents and Tom Waits just to name few, but it just didn't happen. Maybe if there's a next time. + Jeff Magnum - can you find him? Well actually, I heard from Pete Erchick (bass player, Olivia Tremor Control), he did express an interest in contributing to Vol I. but it did not come to fruition. + The cover photograph, again furnished by Corwood, is of a very oddly-windowed building. Do you suppose this is the factory (Corwood Industries)? I can't be sure, it could be. It's a pretty cool looking structure at any rate. I think you can read alot into that cover photograph. It looks like a face, doesn't it? It seems to me that the message is that, Jandek is everywhere. If you look At the cover of Naked In the Afternoon, it is very much sending the message that Jandek is dead. The new volume's cover is speaking quite the opposite in my opinion. When I spoke to Corwood on the phone recently, they were very appreciative of the fact that i could visualize The differences in the series of photos submitted by corwood from Vol. I to Vol. II. + Okkervil River's cover of "Your Other Man" comes eerily close to the Jandek sound, while Home For The Deaf choose the stop & go breakbeat route - what would you say was the oddest submission? I think Kawabata Makoto's is pretty far out, especially considering he was tackling one of Jandek's most accessible tracks + Who is this Gary Pig Gold gent that composed the liner notes? He's a writer, who has been writing about Jandek for many years. He also is in the Jandek On Corwood film. He approached me about doing some liner notes. It seemed like a good fit. (- Gary also reviewed Volume I here). + Would you mind a question about the royalties with Corwood? Not specific numbers, just the relationship and if they were kind about the projects. Corwood has never asked for any royalties concerning the tribute CDs. They have always been extremely helpful in providing photos and whatever else was required. + Jandek has a discography that could make many artists jealous - is there a good chance to expect a third (or more) volume of the Summersteps tribute? Perhaps
- but not for a while. We did the first volume 5 years ago and perception
changed so much in the last few years, we decided to do volume II
to present how those changes would affect how the music was interpreted.
As well as folks who now were incorporating the influence of Jandek
both as an aesthetic and an artist that was becoming something much
deeper. Now there are new developments with Jandek as far as live
performance goes and his participation in being a public figure, so
we will see.
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