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Listen to Steel Train on Rhapsody and/or MySpace...
By: Andrew Bruss
 Steel Train |
For anyone who's followed the gradual growth of Steel Train, the New Jersey rock outfit fronted by guitarist Jack Antonoff, the currently unfolding chapter is going to be remembered as a monumental turning point. After a hefty bout of touring that followed their 2005 release, Twilight Tales from the Prairies of the Sun, the group hit a pretty significant bump in the road. As plans to follow up Twilight Tales started coming together, drummer Matthias Gruber and rhythm guitarist Matt Goldman left the group, leaving a significant void in the Steel Train lineup. "Matt and Matthias leaving was something that was happening for a really long time," says Antonoff. "It may have seemed abrupt, but it was very premeditated, and by the time it happened, everyone was really comfortable with it."
As Antonoff chilled out backstage at a recent Boston show, surrounded by friends and family who regularly visit him on the road, he answered questions with confidence, yet carried a hesitant tone that spoke to the realities the group is currently undergoing and the recent developments that have gradually turned the world of Steel Train upside down.
Following the departure of Gruber and Goldman, the group went into the studio to record their follow-up to Twilight Tales, aptly titled Trampoline (released October 16 on Drive Thru Records). Gruber's beat keeping duties were taken over by Jon Shiffman, while Goldman's rhythm guitar work was usurped by the group's longtime friend and tour manager, Daniel Silbert.
"The making of this record is one of the biggest reasons why Matt and Matthias parted ways. [They left] about eight months before we went into the studio. A big catalyst was the songwriting process. It changed a lot," observes Antonoff. "I broke off and was writing alone and it was a totally different process. As a result, when they left the band, they hadn't touched the material we decided to record. All the parts they did touch we went back and rewrote. My theory on art is that if you're going to change something, there's no holding on to any of it. Even on the song 'Diamonds in the Sky,' which Matt wrote a big lead part on, we cut it out and put something else in. I don't know if it's better or worse but that's how it had to happen."
 Jack Antonoff - Steel Train |
Lineup changes have always been a fundamental component of rock band politics and Steel Train has had to deal with this reality very early on. "When you start a band, it's very easy to be like 'We're the band, we're The Beatles!' or whatever, but as you get more professional and serious about it you discover the realities of things, and you have to change accordingly," says Antonoff. "We used to write together, and I stopped wanting to. Not for any bad reason, but I just felt less pressure and felt I was doing better work on my own. I wrote this whole album on my own, and I think it's the best thing I've done. I think it's safe to say that by the end, Matt and Matthias wanted a role that sort of changed, and that was one of the big reasons for their departure."
The changes in their songwriting process had begun to show even before the new album surfaced. Recent set staples like "I Feel Weird" find Antonoff expressing his feelings about the events of September 11th and his relationship with his significant other simultaneously. The immense loneliness Antonoff exposes on "Alone on the Sea" suggests a degree of alienation that would have been much harder to come to terms with in a group context. As a result, regardless of how you take to the new material, it is clearly the result of a songwriter who went off on his own direction.
As beneficial as Antonoff feels these new developments have been, the socio-political habits groups tend to develop has been a continuing source of frustration for him.
"[Being in a band] gets political, and that's what pisses me off about Twilight Tales. It's a political record, which is the irony about it, because we set out to make this cool, relaxed album, and in the effort to keep everyone happy, we fucked up the art," comments Antonoff. "There's nothing democratic about songwriting or painting or making films or any of it. You have to be able to sit in a room and say, 'That's not good, this is good, that's my opinion.' Those aren't the most pleasant conversation but we have those now."
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There's nothing democratic about songwriting or painting or making films or any of it. You have to be able to sit in a room and say, 'That's not good, this is good, that's my opinion.' Those aren't the most pleasant conversation but we have those now. -Jack Antonoff |
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Photo of Steel Train at SXSW 2006 by Dave Vann
As Antonoff discussed the dynamics of the lineup change, and the difficulties that led up to it, the overwhelming pride he seemed to take in the new record couldn't have been more clear. With a visible sense of joy painted across his face, Antonoff says "This album is what we've always aspired to be. We're becoming closer and closer to what we think Steel Train is. This record is the first thing I've ever done that I feel very proud of personally, and I just want people to like it."
Bassist Evan Winiker drove this point home, saying, "We wrote the last album four years ago, and it came out two years ago. So, when it came out it felt old. This album, I want people to hear it because it's what we're doing right now. When the old record came out, I'd be like, 'Don't listen to this. Check out the live show because that's what we're proud of.' We're really proud of the new album. We've been happy with albums we've made but we've never felt like 'This is the one,' and we really feel like this is the one."
Twilight Tales was a multi-layered album that provided the group with a means to articulate their instrumental prowess on extensive jams like "Gypsy Waves," while also incorporating emotive tales like "Better Love." It gave critics a good understanding of the eclecticism the group has championed, and more importantly, helped open up many doors. With all of this in mind, the degree of resentment Winiker and Antonoff express while discussing Twilight Tales seems unfounded and a bit confusing. Asked about the flaws of the album, Antonoff spat, "We have so many regrets about Twilight Tales. We're almost like a battered band in a way, like the way we act. We just did a photo shoot, and there was one photo we kind of didn't like, and I was on the phone with our manager saying, 'That can't get out.' With every little piece of our career - whether it's a photo we don't like or an album - I don't think we realized early on that whatever we put out there will be out there forever. And so, the things that you put out there you have to make sure they're things you can deal with forever. That was the biggest thing going into this [new] record."
 Jack Antonoff by Amanda Ryan Albion |
Antonoff followed up by revealing that "The Band's Music from Big Pink was the complete inspiration for Twilight Tales. When we talked to the label we were like, 'We want to do what The Band did.' But I couldn't be more opposed to that approach at this point in my life," says Antonoff. At this point in the conversation, images of mountain town cabins, copious amounts of whiskey and bearded musicians embracing a flannel wardrobe couldn't be avoided. Antonoff wanted to make his album in an isolated utopia like what he imagined Big Pink to have been. In his young and impressionable ways, Antonoff quickly came to understand that the utopia he pictured can quickly turn into a dystopian drag you want to get as far away from as possible. Gone was the emphasis on isolation and leisure, and in was a ridged work ethic Antonoff has embraced.
"This time around, we put all the emphasis on the songwriting, and the preproduction. With Twilight Tales we kept saying 'We'll figure it out when we get there.' With this record, we recorded it at my house five times before we even went to the studio. In my opinion, after having made this record, the studio should be the last part of the process."
With his new approach came a newfound understanding of himself. Discussing the creative process on Trampoline, Antonoff spoke with a newfound degree of realism and maturity.
"We recognized who we were a lot more on this record," says Antonoff. "I think that Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills and Medeski Martin & Wood can go into the studio and just do whatever, which is cool because that's their thing. But that's not our thing. We write songs and want to make cohesive albums. That's what we thought we wanted to do on Twilight Tales, but we ended up going at it in a very loose way."
As the group grew closer to their ideals, the fruits of their progress grew accordingly. This progress is evident in their newer, catchier sound. Warping the sound you've been known for can be a challenging task for any artist and Antonoff feels a certain degree of pride in his musical growth. When Antonoff discusses music, he talks about it more like a fan than an artist. For anyone who's given his music a spin or two, the influence of songwriters like Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan couldn't be more apparent. In fact, as Antonoff shot the shit with friends following Steel Train's opening set for The Format, he found himself discussing the pros and cons of Wilco's new release, Sky Blue Sky, from the perspective of a fan of Jeff Tweedy's pre-Wilco project, Uncle Tupelo.
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I think the two best scenes going on right now are the indie-punk scene and the jam band scene - just in terms of what it means to be a scene. Everything else is so convoluted. Look at the blog band scene and how [easily] people turn their back on a band... That does not happen in the jam band scene, it doesn't happen in the punk scene and, if it does, it happens very rarely. I'd say those are the two scenes we would like to find ourselves in between. -Jack Antonoff |
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Given his love affair with continuously progressing artists, the developments within Steel Train fell into place like a story that had already been written.
 Steel Train at Bonnaroo 2006 |
"Twilight Tales was a very dark period in my life, so the songwriting was very depressing. This album is coming from a much different place. It's the same stories, which is the only story I have to tell, about my own life, but it's got a much brighter outlook and a much bigger reflection of where I'm at right now, which I think is important," Antonoff says.
Beyond an update on the writer's mentality, Antonoff's new tunes ring with the pizzazz he's been feverishly striving for. "The music is very upbeat and driving and more like pop," enthuses Antonoff. "This one song called 'Firecracker' is total pop. It's ridiculously pop, but in a cool way. The lyrics are incredibly morbid but then they come around with a good statement. So, I think the record is interesting in that sense."
Of course, drop the word "pop" and critics fire up accusations of "selling out," which couldn't be further from the truth. Antonoff doesn't seem worried. In fact, he remains positive the group's new direction will be universally embraced. "I could be jaded, but the reason I don't think fans will shy from the new sound is because I don't think people were ever really attracted to our songs per se, or a specific jam, as much as a vibe we generally tried to put out there. And I feel like this album brings us closer to that vibe," says Antonoff. "In no way when we were making the record were we saying, 'Let's make a more marketable sound.' I'd say we were thinking, 'Let's make a more universal sound,' but not in terms of selling records. It was just more like we wanted to make a record of songs. With Twilight Tales, we have a lot of preoccupations with that record. There are a lot of things that bug us about it. On this [new] record everything, down to the cover art, is as opposite as we could make it."
 Jack Antonoff - Steel Train |
When one steps back and looks for a clear picture it appears that everything has changed for Antonoff. His sound has changed, his band's lineup has changed, his mindset has changed, and his status in the music industry has gradually changed. And he wants to see change in his fan base as well. Having played multiple jam heavy festivals like Langerado, Wakarusa, and Bonnaroo, a large demographic in Steel Train's fan base comes from the jam band scene. However, with their heart wrenching sound, and presence on indie label Drive-Thru Records, they've managed to attract a following of punkish indie rock listeners that wouldn't be caught dead in tie-dye. All of which couldn't make Antonoff happier.
"I think the two best scenes going on right now are the indie-punk scene and the jam band scene - just in terms of what it means to be a scene. Everything else is so convoluted. Look at the blog band scene and how [easily] people turn their back on a band," observes Antonoff. "A band like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah can go from being huge to having their fans turn their backs on them. That does not happen in the jam band scene, it doesn't happen in the punk scene and, if it does, it happens very rarely. I'd say those are the two scenes we would like to find ourselves in between."
While on the doorstep of an exciting new chapter, Antonoff made it clear that he's planning things with the big picture in mind. Even with Trampoline hitting shelves October 16 and extensive tour plans to follow, thoughts are already afoot for another album.
"I want to be in the studio a year from now. I want to turn around a record in a year and a half, especially if I'm introducing a new sound to people. I want to hold people in terms of what we're putting out there," says Antonoff. "[Still], I do think it would be stupid to push any kind of creative process. We weren't ready to make our record until the very day we walked in. Every day was important."
With the self-diagnosed shortcomings of Twilight Tales in the back of his mind, Antonoff has grown to appreciate the realities of his profession in a way that can only be learned the hard way. Mistakes have been made, and to Antonoff's credit, he has learned from them. With Trampoline, the road seems wide open for Steel Train. With a clear, clean, more pop-oriented sound, Steel Train's commercial potential has risen along with their hopes for the future and their understanding of themselves. Behind their music, performances, interviews and photo shoots lies an optimistic outlook for the future that underlines everything this group does, proof it's going to take more than a couple of bumps in the road to slow this Steel Train down.
Steel Train tour dates available HERE.
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