Jeffrey Lewis - Interview - May 2009
By: Izzy James
When someone says anti folk to you, what's the first thing you think of? For most, I'm sure the answer would be none other than Mr Jeffrey Lewis, the king of comic book geeks and anti folk fans alike.
After an impressive 20 something albums and EP's under his belt, you'd think that Jeffrey would have reached his regal title some time ago, but surprisingly his rise to the top has been a slow and steady affair. Finally, he has well and truly arrived at his greatly appraised pinnacle by playing his largest headlining show to date at The Scala in London.
Undoubtedly, the first thing anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Jeffrey will think is something along the lines of 'Oh my god, this guy is a genius - how can one man know so much stuff? I am not worthy'. Luckily, Jeffrey is friendly and talkative enough to seem genuinely interested in what all of his fans have to say to him as he wonders around The Scala foyer, chatting away to people like they're old friends. His new album, Em Are I has just been released and clearly this audience are eager to hear the new yet noticeably more melancholy material live.
"It's funny 'cause I hadn't even realised that was the case because we recorded a whole bunch of songs we had for the album. At one point I wanted to do a double album, or even fantasising about a triple album. And then I kind of thought better of it and thought that I like Combat Rock better than London Calling, I would pair it down and try to do a Combat Rock style album rather than a London Calling style album - or even a Sandinista! style album, to extend the Clash metaphor. So when I'd figured out forty-five, fifty minutes worth of songs, I didn't realise until afterwards that the songs I'd picked were like, all the same, they're all about death - they're all sad."
Don't be deceived; the new album is unmistakably a classic example of Jeffrey's sick, sadistic, suicidal yet absolutely endearing and funny song writing that his fans adore - whilst playing new single 'To Be Objectified' live, someone screams 'me too!' after Jeffrey sings about his impending hair loss. However, Jeffrey decides not to be quite as open about the meaning behind album title Em Are I, as he often notoriously is.
"Well I dunno - there's a bunch of different ideas in it. I probably shouldn't even do too much describing but it does make a bit more sense in the CD version that you're supposed to peel back from the different layers of artwork, and you sort of see what's behind them, down to this one [the skull] and then the CD itself is like the brain you pull out from inside all of this. So just a sort of medical dissection in that sense - an MRI machine is the medical machine that sort of strips everything down into layers of magnetic resonance imaging. So I sort of like that idea of like the layers and also sort of, worrying about all these fears everyone has about figuring out the real me, or figuring out who I really am. But all the parts of yourself are you; whether sometimes you're happy or sometimes you're sad, all these layers are the same sort of thing."
Along with the t-shirts and tote bags, there are also several of Jeffrey's comic books being sold by his brother Jack at the merch stall. This whole independent, D.I.Y ethos is something that Jeffrey proudly promotes. He recently contributed a song to his record label Rough Trade's compilation that they released in celebration of Record Store Week, a cause that clearly means a lot to him, especially in these financially difficult times.
"The whole recording industry is based on the idea that certain people in power have the ability to make, manufacture and distribute copies of the music, and everybody else has to pay for that service. And nowadays that technology is in everybody's hands so everybody can make copies of albums and pass them around, and so, just the whole idea of a recording industry is obsolete.
Before you think he's getting all morbid on us again, be assured that he still firmly believes in the independent record store - Jeff regularly praises Rough Trade, and has even devoted one of his comics to them.
It's not as though that power is in somebody's hands and they can sell the products to somebody else, so the only way that a record store or a record label, even, is gonna be able to survive is if they have a certain aesthetic that appeals to people. Who knows who'll be able to stay around and who won't - obviously chain stores that are just chain stores and don't have any particular character or flavour that appeals to people, there's no reason for them to exist and they've been dropping off in the States. Independent stores that have more than the product that they're selling, that have an actual atmosphere and culture connected to it: that's something you can't replace digitally"
Another possible reason for Jeffrey's recently inflamed popularity may have something to do with his recent collaboration with The Guardian's website, entitled Jeffrey Lewis and The News. The feature includes a little song and 'low budget film' (comic strip) all created by Jeffrey on his take of recent news stories, which is then followed by a duet and cover version with similarly talented folk singers and bands such as Laura Marling, Herman Dune and Noah and the Whale, with a few more to follow, as Jeffrey hints.
"Well we definitely want to get one up with Johnny Flynn who is playing tonight with us. I wanted to maybe film something with Kimya Dawson if I had the chance. We just recorded an album about a month or two ago, and it would be cool if she had time and we crossed paths to try to get something for the Guardian site. It's been really challenging trying to get the news parts: we're supposed to have one segment in every week but I haven't had a chance to read the news that much so it's like, once a week has turned into one every ten days, now it's like once every two weeks."
By the time Jeffrey and his band finally take the stage to an attentive crowd one thing is certain - this is only the beginning. Although he has taken his time building up a beloved fan base and at last has received the level of recognition and acclaim that he deserves, he shows no sign of slowing down his hectic touring schedule, unique song writing and informative comics. Long live the King.
Artists in this article: Jeffrey Lewis