When I'm late, it usually has a tendency to smack me in my sleepy head. Late for work - daily. Late going to bed - nightly. Late getting around to music I should have heard one, two or twenty-six years ago - it's quite common.

Enter Jason Quever and papercuts - I've been playing 'Mockingbird', his latest album, daily to try and make up time lost not hearing this album in 2004. Released late last year and only discovered by myself after seeing a brief Uncut review comparing Quever's release to Galaxie 500 and name-dropping Cass McCombs, I headed right for the sampling paradise known as the internet. One of two mp3's on the papercuts site was "Pan American Blues Pt. 2" - a swirling composition that set Quever's unique tone around a memorable percussion & organ front beat. Also captured within this mix is an acoustic guitar & an intelligent hint of violin creating a song that did just what a sampling should - I really wanted to hear more. Further searches revealed that Mockingbird was papercuts' second release, with 'Rejoicing Songs' being a lesser-known release on Owen Ashworth's (Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, occasional papercuts drummer) label Cassingle USA from 2000.

Forward into the Fall of 2005, and we find a very kind Mister Quever busy at work on his third album at his home / analog recording space Pan American Recording Studio in San Francisco, California. If you have yet to hear papercuts - maybe our trivial discussion below can set you on your way.

[ "Pan American Blues Pt. 2" is taken from the latest papercuts album Mockingbird that was released on Antenna Farm Records in October of 2004. The 'Part 2' was added after the discovery of "Pan-American Blues" - a traditional song from the 1920's said to be dedicated to the Pan-American train service of the same era.

"I Need That" is an exclusive & early papercuts track submitted by Jason that dates back to 1999. Recorded in a bedroom in SF, CA with Lucas Berhardt - who played drums, sang & played electric guitar. Jason Quever played electric piano, acoustic, electric guitar and sang. ]

{ sctas }: How are you (and for that, where are you located)? 
 
{ Jason }: I am very good thanks. The older I get, the happier I seem to be. I live in San Francisco - but sort of on the outskirts, on a hill near a huge park with a pond with turtles. I am sitting right now in my back yard and it's sunny and there are birds and airplanes around. No bums or people yelling "Squawk" to get the attention of their friends in apartments with no buzzers like where I used to live across town. 
 
Mockingbird is your second full-length, correct? As I have yet (oh silly me) to hear any other recordings, how does this masterpiece differ from any other album(s)? 
 
The other thing I did (Rejoicing Songs) was more of a demo. It was things I had done for fun between 1998 and 2000 in my bedroom, and my friend Owen of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone encouraged me to release it on his little label, which I did. But it didn't get around and probably for the best, I can't listen to it. I wish I could just make a mix of the songs I like on it. Looking back it was sort of me figuring out what kind of music I wanted to make when I first moved to SF and started being solo. I tried everything - casios, scratching and shit. Very sloppy but intimate, there are 2 or 3 of my friends who have fond memories of it, and I would like to keep it that way I guess. 
 
In my too-brief review of Mockingbird, I mention Galaxie 500 (as did UNCUT) and Mazzy Star as possible similar sounds - who would you list as notable influences for papercuts? 
 
I did have a Galaxie 500 phase about 8 years ago. Besides that, I usually don't listen to or even know of the bands that have been mentioned near Papercuts. It's hard to say what is influence and what is just what you appreciate - but this is what I like: all the standard figures and to be specific - the White Album, Blond on Blond, Exile on Main Street, John Wesley Harding, After the Gold Rush. Then there's Curtis Mayfield/the Impressions, the Staple Singers, Otis Redding/anything Stax, Blind Joe Taggart (very unheard of but great gospel blues writer/singer) - I consider gospel a big influence. My Bloody Valentine. Ray Davies is maybe my favorite writer. I could probably go on but it seems self indulgent. I was really into the The Mamas and the Papas when I recorded Mockingbird and maybe too much. Ronnettes.. .

I wouldn't have grouped you into the soul category (Curtis Mayfield, Staple Singers) initially, but now it makes sense going back and listening to a song like "Poor and Free". As for My Bloody Valentine - maybe you can shine an honest perspective on that legendary status (for I wholly respect your music). What is the major following with MBV and Loveless? I mean, that album (and this will forever be debated) has a few great songs ( "Blown A Wish" comes to mind) and production style - but how is it one of the greatest albums of all time?

Well to be honest, writing extensively about music isn't something I understand. For the most part, music either moves people or it doesn't. When people ask me if I like something and I don't - and I'm not sure why - I often say "well it just doesn't work on me", like some medicine or something. My Bloody Valentine and Loveless in particular just moves me and gives me hope and makes anything seem possible. But this goes way beyond production style. I think those songs would be great with their 2 voices and an acoustic guitar, the production is the icing on the cake so to speak. It is a very aesthetic writing style, and it's hard to hear the words, but unless they were really distracting I don't think it would ruin it for me. They sound so sincere and inspired, they encapsulate that feeling you get when things make sense for that split second, like all good music. I sometimes think of music in this way: in modernist painting, some writers critique artists based on how they use the elements that are unique to their medium. In music these elements are melody and rhythm. The melodies on Loveless are great, a language unto itself, and if you want me to be specific they used dissonance and major 7ths in a way that is usually hard on the ears or sappy, but not there. Usually I will forgive good music with mediocre lyrics but not the other way around. It's not an intellectual thing, but looking back this seems true. As far as liking soul music, it's not that what influences you should be recognizable in your own work, but things like soul music are inspiring, and teach you what is valuable in music, makes you want to keep doing it. When you hear Otis Redding you don't want to sound like him, no one can, but you see the value in making music and connecting with people. "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa" is a great lyric to me, in the context of the song. Cryptic stuff, maybe interesting on paper in an logical way, "ah yes! how delightful, I get it!" Maybe not in song. I like music, usually not poetry.
 
A huge note on Mockingbird is the percussion (esp. the title track - huge.) Would you consider yourself more of a drummer than other instruments? You have played drums / percussion with other bands, yes? 
 
I enjoy playing drums and like to write while I'm on the drum set sometimes, because it allows your mind to hear notes freely. But I record drums only as a necessity. I am better at guitar and I enjoy it more. I have played for people, but more because it is where you can arrange the most, on the drums. I think the drums are usually the most important part of an arrangement, that can change things the most. 
 
As a contributor and engineer for Cass McCombs, are you solely in the studio these albums / recordings or do you also travel with him on tours? 
 
I haven't worked with Cass since his last album. A long time ago I played electric guitar and organ for him and once drums - but that was a long time ago. 

I bring that up because many reviews of Mockingbird mention his name like you and Cass might collaborate often, and I take the association as you playing a majority of instruments for him. Another reason I mention it is due to the fact that I think you should be in every player of any fan (minor or major) who digs Cass' sound - as in the "sound" may be you.. . if that makes any sense. I guess if any question is to arise out of my mess I've made here is: would you rather distance yourself from the Cass link and develop your own fanbase, or is the association welcome?

I just meant that he's got a new album ( PREfection ) that sounds great, and I had nothing to do with it. I recorded Not the Way and A and played most of the instruments on the first, and much on the second. He did play briefly with Papercuts a long time ago. I don't have any reason to distance myself from these things, they seem distant from me. If it gets people to check Papercuts out, that is good. The association makes sense in reference to those albums. A and Mockingbird were recorded on the same equipment, same place for much of it, same people on it (me, Matt Popieluch and Luke Top), roughly same time period, (same reverb box!), we were into the same records at the time. He's done things since then though.

You've also played with Andy Cabic [Vetiver] - most current to me on the ESOPUS 4 comp where you are credited with drums (maybe more?). Have you toured / recorded with Vetiver as well or was this just a friendly, one-off session?

Andy is one of the nicest guys, a friend, and our bands have played together a couple times. He had to do a song for the magazine pretty quickly, so I played drums (only) on it, we did it here at my studio. It was just a one time thing, it was all his own production, he knows his shit, I just set up the mics and smoked a doob (rhetorically speaking).

I've uncovered (bless the internet) that you have at times worked with Duster, a band that I have been a follower and admirer of (see: Memphis Sophisticate) .  What did you work on with them?

I recorded one little rhodes piano part for them on their 1975 ep, and I played guitar and bass for a couple shows many years ago. We are friends and they are great musicians. All 3 of them played drums for papercuts shows at one point. They are all classic drummers in their own way.

Alright - on a specific and particular favorite track question - "My Ivory Tower" (what an amazing, amazing song) - how much of that song is you? By that I mean did you all the instruments? None of the additional musicians are noted for that composition and it honestly amazes me. 
 
I did do all that stuff, again because I had to. People aren't always around. By the way, thanks for being so positive. 
 
The album you are currently at work on - any working title and release label you can let us in on as of yet? 
 
I don't have any title because I keep throwing songs away (- what!), and it's hard to say what it will end up being. I started with about 20+ songs I was considering using, and now it's down to about 7. I tend to be hard on myself at this stage, the critical stage. I mean, writing is the time to let your guard down and let things flow without worrying about what is stupid, and recording you have to be more critical, decide what is good and shave things down. I miss the other world, and would like to go back (to writing). I used to be the opposite, felt like I could take any half-written thing and make it sound good in the studio. Now I just like writing, by the time it gets to recording am nearly ready to move on from them. I think that's what has happened now with all the songs I have given up on. Not that I am not enjoying recording - I am very driven to do this well. 

Throwing things away? (at this point I am moved to tears and begin to weep behind my bewildered stare.. . .)

Well, I didn't mean that as a sad thing. That's just the way I seem to work best. Sometimes I write in styles that don't fit into my records. Some songs I just cant finish, it's like a puzzle I have set up for myself and I can't find the final piece. Sometimes it comes years later and things are recycled in new ways. The bottom line is I just don't have the luxury of releasing whatever I want. I've got to do it as good and concise as possible. I would like to ensure that I can keep making records that I don't have to pay for. There are certain people that have established themselves and people will listen to their long albums and search through the weeds for the best songs and it wont matter for them. I have always wanted to make a double album. In 2002 there was a 3 month period where I wrote about 50 songs ("Pan American Blues" was one of them, the oldest on mockingbird). All but 1 or 2 were discarded. I couldn't get arrested in this town then much less put out 40-50 songs.

Well, to the luxury of releasing anything you want - there are options, yes? What about limited run singles/EPs (handmade packaging.. cd-r) or iTunes?

That would involve some level of self promotion and businessman type effort that I don't enjoy at all. I think my new record is going to be so much better because I don't have to worry about if it's going to be released or not. I don't have to think about trivial things that are necessary to think about when putting out a record, even a demo. When I said recording is a mind set different than writing, well putting out your own cd requires a complete opposite state of mind, and I think it can be really damaging to the creative process. Being idealistic and hopeful are good for writing, bad for business. I think overall I can deal with songs getting left behind if I can keep looking ahead and keep writing, thinking "well maybe if this ones better someone will hear it".

To that - are you a fan / supporter of the digital bridge (iTunes, emusic.. .) that has come to save many small and/or "indie"artists and labels over the past 5 years?

Well I'm not exactly sure what that means, if that's true then that's a great thing (I like vinyl though). But it's sort of a band aid on a head wound. So if that helps some bands survive that is great, but it would be better if they could not only survive but get out in the world, so everyday people know that good music is not just a thing of the past. In the back of my mind, I think of the digital thing like this well known episode of the Twilight Zone where the aliens land and are going to give us their secrets of how to end world hunger, and in the end their plan was to eat everybody. I hear that ominous music. And then there's things like tape and film that are undeniably better looking and sounding than digital, but it's dying because it's *thought of* as less convenient. My one hope is that it will help vinyl survive, that if cds die - people will either buy audio files or vinyl.
 
On a completely separate note (we do this often - pardon our randomness) - are you a fan of birds? I ask in relation to the magnificent artwork on 'mockingbird' and the name, of course! 
 
Yes I love birds, but I feel like everyone does, right?. In fact mockingbird may have been a better title for this album. There is a tree outside my window that lots of them hang out in, sometimes these great big blue birds, they are pretty loud and wake me up in the morning - and if I record with the window open, they get on the tracks. I used it as a title for the last record because it fit in with several different ideas I covered on the record. Though it has pretty different meanings in different places. On the title track it was about someone who drives people away because he is negative and cant be quiet. No one got that though, and it taught me I need to enunciate! The other was what we should strive to be (like "poor and free"). 
 
And PanAmerican is your personal recording studio / space, correct? Have you also recorded in other locations, and if so - does this area give you any advantages that you can elaborate on? 
 
Like I said - I like this house because it is peaceful around here but still in the city. I do have a recording studio here and record people, which is much better than working at Ritz Camera. I can play most times I want here. Mockingbird was recorded over the span of 2 years in various bedrooms where I had to be quiet and self conscious and it wasn't very ideal. So I really appreciate the clarity of using a 2" 16 track and nice equipment and a good environment. And more importantly I have a good regular band to help me out now which is nice. If I could afford to, I would pay the band to leave their jobs for a week and record live all night like "Tonight's the Night", with loads of drinks and some one else to engineer. That's the way to do it.

Overall, what makes Jason Quever happy?  

Same things as most people. Good relationships with my friends, listening
to records, the beach, working on a song.