Golden Smog Clearly a 'Supergroup,' Blending Members of Several Important Bands

10.13.98 for the St. Pioneer Press (Page: 7C)

In a perfect world, every musician would have his or her own, private Golden Smog.

The Midwestern roots-rock "supergroup'' started roughly six years ago as a sort of pickup game for local musicians; their first two recordings were done on the fly under daft pseudonyms - complete with a Spinal Tap-like mythology about the band's supposedly legendary 35-year history.

The lineup includes Marc Perlman and Gary Louris (the Jayhawks), Jody Stevens (drummer for early-'70s cult-demigods Big Star), Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run), Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and Jeff Tweedy (who formed Wilco after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo). Their newest album, "Weird Tales,'' isn't much of a departure from their first two releases - it's an occasionally sublime, sometimes middling hootenanny for old friends.

Golden Smog offers those friends the chance to pull out neglected tunes, rub them down and commit them to plastic. It's also a way to justify hanging out when none of them really has the time. (Tweedy, for instance, recently recorded Wilco's second album, as well as "Mermaid Avenue,'' a collaboration with Billy Bragg using the lyrics of Woody Guthrie.)

They know their music has a limited audience, and they're hardly rewriting rock history. Still, there's something poignant and beautiful about Golden Smog. Perhaps it has something to do with the traumas each member has gone through with his own band - from the breakup of Uncle Tupelo to the Jayhawks' loss of leader Mark Olson, to the deaths and disappointments surrounding Big Star.

Last week, we talked to Louris over coffee about his life both with the Jayhawks and Golden Smog.

Q: How much of your time goes to Golden Smog and how much to the Jayhawks?

A: Maybe 20/80. I don't mean the songs are tossed off quickly. I just write songs, and they find their way wherever they're supposed to go; it seems to sort itself out. But the Jayhawks would tour eight to 14 months for a record, and the Golden Smog maybe two months.

When the Jayhawks play, we have a hard time getting things written about it because we've been playing for 13 years now. Part of it is, what else is there to say about us? It's all been written. "Well, the Jayhawks are always good, no surprises or disappointments.'' After a while you're, like, s---, are we like that? Old reliable?

"I think we learned that we can't just practice and play the songs - people want to see something different.

Our last show, we moved everyone around on the stage ... and had different lighting. People said it was one of the best Jayhawks shows they'd seen.

So where do you find the excitement now? Creating. Still creating something from nothing. The mystery of writing songs. (Music) is still exciting, and if it wasn't, I don't think I'd do it.

I hate when people stick around because they're waiting for the big payoff. I don't know how much longer we'll do it, but we'll do it for a while, as long as we feel like we're writing good songs.

Q: How does Golden Smog deal with the old too-many-chefs question?

A: There's something beautiful about how the spotlight shifts from song to song, and everybody else kind of revolves and steps aside and finds their little spot as a sideperson: "We're going to make this song good because you helped me on my song.''

A lot of us are the lead guys in our bands, and it's fun to step back. But for Dan, it must be fun to play the lead role. I think for Dan, this is almost more important than for the rest of us.

He really does get to play more of the lead guy than he does with his own band and have a few more songs on the record. Plus, he's used to being in a different kind of band.

It's funny. Golden Smog is perceived as "Americana,'' and Soul Asylum really isn't that. It's all a new world for him, and I'm, like, "Dan, welcome to my world. It's not that great!''

Q: How did Jody Stevens join the band?

A: A lot of us were big Big Star fans. We put a little wish list together after Noah (Levy, of the Honeydogs) left. Everybody knows Jody in the music business. Maggie (Macpherson, the band's manager) got in touch with him, and he was thrilled.

He'd been itching to play - Big Star doesn't play very much (laughs). He said, I want to be in the band, I want to be central, I want to tour.

Q: What was it like playing with him for the first time?

A: It was exciting because he hits the hell out of the drums. And there were certain songs where he'd do these rolls and these fills, and you realize, man, that sounds like Big Star! It wasn't just Alex Chilton or Chris Bell or whoever - the drummer had a lot to do with their sound.

He's an unpretentious person, he's not, like, "Oh, I can't talk about Big Star.'' We went over to his house for dinner a couple times, and he's got these weird Big Star fanzines and a framed photo of the "Radio City'' album cover in his bathroom. He's a really sweet guy, a lovable man.

Q: Have you had anybody want to be in the group, but you didn't want them, or it wouldn't work?

A: Yeah. I won't mention names, but there are people who are actually bigger than the people in Golden Smog who have offered their services. (Murphy has mentioned Jakob Dylan as one.)

There are people in the wings who would either join or fill in, who fill the requirement that we like them as people and as musicians. It's got to be both.