The Divine Nine: Q and A with The Long Winters
John Roderick is the singer/songwriter for The Long Winters, whose debut album is in stores now. To read the review of The Worst You Can Is Harm, hop over to http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1198...
ADAM: Thanks for doing our interview, John. How's life these days?
JOHN: Well, Adam, life couldn't be better, despite a pesky case of summer allergies. I'm just trying to walk them off.
ADAM: I, too, sometimes go on walks to clear my head, but the farthest I've ever made it is up to the Santa Monica Promenade (that is to say: not too far). What the hell possessed you to walk from Amsterdam to Istanbul? Just how bad were the things you were leaving behind?
JOHN: Uh...well, things weren't that bad, frankly. I mean, the place where things were bad was in my head, and it doesn't matter how far you walk to get away from those things because you carry your head with you. Walking all that way was something I did just to see. I just wanted to see what would happen. I felt like I was at a dead-end and those moments call for drastic measures. I wouldn't take it back, but I also learned that you can't force enlightenment on yourself. Sometimes a long walk is just a really long walk.
ADAM: Your first shows when you came back from Europe were acoustic shows with Sean Nelson. To the outsider, it would seem a big leap to go from there-and having resigned yourself to not chasing the rock star life anymore-to hitting the road with an MTV-friendly band like Harvey Danger. What led to the leap?
JOHN: I didn't really know Sean from before. He had written some nice things about a band I was in many years before, who had opened for Harvey Danger back when the combined draw of both bands was less than thirty people, but we had really never spoken more than two words to each other. The other members of the Harveys were fans of my band the Western State Hurricanes, but Sean had never seen us before we split up. After I got back from walking I had a big beard and a weird look in my eye and one night, just coincidentally, I was dropping a friend off at his apartment in front of a little art house theater and I saw a bunch of old rockstar friends inside. I poked my head in to say hello and it was the premiere of a Harvey Danger video. I was in the lobby talking to somebody and Sean walks up, he was the big cheese at this time, and he points at me and says he wants to talk to me. The next day he calls me up and we go get steaks. I guess he had heard I liked to free-associate in conversation.
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