Me and some friends were discussing our “Garden State” songs.   You know, the scene where Natalie Portman makes Zach Braff listen to a song.   You know, the “You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life, I swear,” bit.   And as I thought back on the songs that meant something to me there seemed to be a recurring theme—the music of a gifted (and shamefully, largely unknown to the masses) group that hailed from Cincinnati by the name of Over the Rhine .

I first encountered OtR in 1996 (where does the time go?) at a music festival where they were the featured “day before” act.   I wasn't what you'd call enthused.   I'd come with my cutoffs and combat boots to rock with things loud and angry not sit and watch some art pop group with a chick lead singer.   As I sat there something happened: something gorgeous and mournful, accomplished and raw and completely disarming.   At the end of the week I'd picked up some loud stuff, but at the top of the pile was “Good Dog, Bad Dog” by the Over the Rhine—I was sold in spite of myself.   Jump ahead several years and not only do I still listen to them religiously, but there's a remix available of their “Poopsmith Song” on my band's site .   (There's no word yet on whether they've forgiven me for that yet.   Happy thoughts…)

With the release of their latest album, “Drunkard's Prayer”, Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist chronicle yet another chapter in an extraordinary career.   I'm tempted to call it a musical journey, except every time I think that line I hear U2 laughing at me.   Linford kindly agreed to answer a few questions and share his insights into life, art and the beauty of having a little dirt beneath your fingernails…

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Joe Mammy :   I saw a review once that stated “at the end we know enough, but not too much--not so much about a place or an idea--we know a bit about the human heart, mind and soul, about ourselves, and yet we don't know too much--just enough thought, just enough reality--just enough injustice and mayhem to be true--just enough almost hidden grace and justice and mercy to make life worth living and eternity, whatever that is, worth checking out” and my first response was “Wow, that totally describes Over the Rhine…”  How would you describe your approach to art and music?

Linford Detweiler :   Thanks for the compliment. Those words do resonate pretty deeply. Now I'm curious as to who may have written that. I think we approach art and music with a somewhat similar philosophy: this life we live is a mysterious gift. Writing and music and art help us make some sense of our lives, give us some additional perspective, help us sort out what we care about. But along with all that I should just mention that music was important to both Karin and I as children. As we've grown older, we've tried to live lives that honor those early clues we were given. I think in many cases, a life "calling" or vocation can be linked to our earliest memories.

Joe : You recently released “Drunkard's Prayer” (which is excellent, by the way) where did this album come from and how would you contrast it with past albums like “Ohio” or “Good Dog, Bad Dog”?

LD : Thanks again. Drunkard's Prayer basically celebrates the survival of our relationship and marriage. Like all people in longterm relationships, Karin and I hit a patch where we had to figure out if we were "lifers" or if we were on our way out. We decided we wanted stay on the road less traveled so to speak, and stay together. Drunkard's Prayer , as I was saying, documents the process of doubt, darkness, rediscovery, acceptance and celebration that we engaged in.

Ohio was a fairly simple record, somewhat sprawling -- it surprised us by turning into a double album. But the reason it became a double album was that we didn't labor over the songs, and we kept things pretty simple overall. Drunkard's Prayer is even more straightforward. It was recorded essentially in our living room, in the very space where we sit around writing, playing instruments that we own, hanging out. I think Drunkard's Prayer is the purest representation so far of what Karin and I are about musically.

Good Dog Bad Dog was a very special record for us as well, recorded mostly at home at the time. Those songs taught us that we could be ourselves and continue making music that would find an audience with or without a record label.


Joe : How would you trace the evolution of the band from the early days in Cincinnati to present?

LD : We had a fairly typical journey as a band. We started as a quartet for the first five or six years of touring and took that as far as we could. Since then Karin and I have worked with a wide variety of musicians depending on the project or the tour. We've had our fair share of music industry disappointments, but we've had some great breaks as well. Our following has steadily grown from the beginning and people continue to discover our music around the world. We're grateful for that.

Joe : To me, OtR has always had this dualistic Bohemian/blue-collar working class aura to it.  Do you think that's a fair reflection of your experience in music?

LD : Well, we wanted to be artists and live exceptional lives, but Karin and I both grew up poor as church mice in the midst of working class folks raising their families. Maybe you're feeling a mixture of that in our music.

Joe : I interviewed a writer and we talked on the relation of artists to where they live or were raised.  Obviously Ohio seems to weigh pretty heavily in your work—how has it shaped your work/worldview/style?

LD : It feels like home in many ways. Karin and I often considered moving to New York City or Nashville, but we always ended up staying close to our circle of friends. We've paid a price for being isolated as far as our career is concerned, but we also found the freedom to experiment, and discover ourselves without a lot of music industry folks looking over our shoulders. Where we've suffered the most might be not having more opportunities to collaborate with a community of musicians.

Joe : I have to ask: “the Poopsmith Song” where the heck did that come from?

LD : We were asked to record a song for a children's album and Karin came up with that refrain: Poop in the potty. Poop goes in the potty.

There was no looking back at that point.

Joe : A lot of artists have a kind of stand-offish relationship with their fans while you seem to the polar opposite approach—what do fans and moreover having an entire community of fans that seem almost like an extension of the band itself, mean to you personally?

LD : It's great. Everyone that tours with us loves our audience. They listen exceptionally well in a wide variety of venues. There are many times that we're playing some beer-soaked rock club, and the world sort of stops and it's dead quiet and nobody is moving and it's held breath all around. And it feels like we're all participating in something that's bigger than what we have words for. And then of course we like it when people go nuts too and yell stuff out at shows and get a little crazy.

Our biggest dilemma is that we often feel people want more than we know how to give. When we do a show, we don't want to walk off stage having a lot of energy in reserve. We want to feel like we pretty much gave everything to the songs and our audience that we had in us at the time to give. So we walk off stage happy but empty if all goes well. But then that's prime time to meet people and hang out, and unfortunately we just don't have anything left much of the time. So we're always looking at ways to stay connected with our musical community while being realistic about the amount of energy we have and what we can really offer. One thing we do is write letters periodically to let people know what we've been doing and thinking about.

Joe : What other artists do you consider as influences?  Who out there is doing work that impresses you?

LD : Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Van Morrison, Coldplay, the new Bruce Springsteen -- those are a few of the artists whose recent releases we've picked up and enjoyed on various levels.

Joe : Free rant: if you could change one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be? 

 
LD : We would all just sit down and talk to each other more. Slow down. Breathe. Laugh.

Joe : You're currently touring in support of “Drunkard's Prayer” are there any plans beyond that?

LD : Karin and I are currently trying to bring a small farm back to life. So that's a big project. Lots of working outdoors, kneeling in the dirt, marveling at the sky. For fun we get on line and find out when the moon is going to rise and then walk over to the fence and watch the trees across the field start to light up. We look forward to more writing and recording in this new context, now that we've moved out of the city.

Joe : Along those lines, what projects or pursuits would you like to try your hand at sometime?

LD : We're growing a fair bit of our own food at the moment and want to continue to move in that direction. I'd like to put out a first collection of poems soon. We want to record another Christmas record if you can believe that.

Joe : One thing I wanted to touch on: you guys deal with issues of faith and belief with a sense of mystery and awe coupled with a gentle pragmatism.  How would you describe the role of faith in your work?

LD : Again, music and songwriting -- scribbling down random thoughts -- are great for sifting through all those big questions. Like your original quote, we don't have it all figured out, and I suppose one life isn't long enough to sort it all out. But we know enough to know that we want to love each other well and give a little something back to the world, some token of thanks.

Joe : Any parting words of wisdom for the kids at home?

LD : All you kids at home: turn off the tv. If you're going to be around for a bit, find a little plot of dirt in the sun and plant a garden. Get your hands in the dirt. Watch something grow a little everyday, with no remote control, nothing to turn on and off. Otherwise, plan little or not so little road trips with a few friends or potential friends. It's a big world out there. Go check it out for yourself. Make sure you find places where you can see the stars properly at night, and linger there for awhile. What's the hurry?

Find a few things to do that take persistence, that require you to develop skills. Pursue difficult stuff that wakes you up and gets you out of bed.

Ask big questions: why am I here, why does any of this matter... But find ways to get out of your head. Talk, speak, think out loud, daydream out loud, get out of your head. Write it down, pick up a musical instrument, splatter some paint, get dirty, get out of your head. 

If you let others shape your view of the world while you sit passively, they win, win, win. You lose, lose, lose. If you open your own eyes and pay attention and find the courage to not just follow along with everyone else, that's huge.

Y'know, stuff like that.

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You can see Linford and Karin as they continue to tour in support of Drunkard's Prayer .   Check out their website for news, tour dates and the occasional mp3 rarity.   The Joe-Mammy.com Store has some of their wonderful music available.   The complete catalog is available at overtherhine.com .

Check ‘em out: the people there are not shy…