The Wallflowers live at The Mountain Music Lounge
KMTT Radio, Seattle, WA

11.18.00 Interview conducted by Marty Riemer

Listen to the LIVE versions of "Sleepwalker" and "Hand Me Down"

Marty Riemer:
Well only under the most exceptional circumstances do we open the lounge on Weekends. And this is one of those special times. The Wallflowers are here! Gentlemen, welcome.

Jakob:
Thanks.

Rami:
Hi!

Marty:
Thanks for coming in on a Saturday. Two of the Wallflowers are here, but thanks for coming in, especially today because you just played Portland last night. Then you have to bus up and you have sound check to do and then you’ve got a show tonight at the paramount. So, we appreciate you making the time for us here.

Jakob:
No problem. I don’t think I was actually aware that radio stations didn’t come in on Saturday’s to tell you the truth.

Rami:
There is no Saturdays in rock.

Marty:
I keep trying to convince them of that! I keep trying to say  ‘I don’t work the weekends’.

Rami Jaffee is here, and Jakob Dylan. Playing the Paramount Theatre tonight at 8:00 with Everlast. Great double bill… Everlast and the Wallflowers..

Jakob:
It is great. It’s been going really well. He’s doing excellent. People generally think it’s a good bill together.

Marty:
Tell me, how do you go about picking an opening act?

Jakob:
Well you just kinda find out who’s going out, and you know, you just make calls, you know, and try and—

Rami:
Little pieces of paper in a hat (laughter)

Marty:
And you guys, I mentioned you drove up from Portland, so you’re touring by bus. What do you guys do— I think very few people who are listening right now, myself included, have any concept of what it’s like to be on the road. What do you do on the bus—

Jakob:
Oh you don’t want to know.

Marty:
—to keep yourself (laughter). The only thing I even know about it is having seen Almost Famous. I imagine it’s not like… did you see that movie?

Rami:
I don’t know anything about band-aids! Except that you.. put ‘em on boo boo’s (laughter)

Jakob:
You know, I actually haven’t been able to see the movie. But I understand that it’s pretty accurate. I don’t know what they show happens on the bus…

Marty:
Uh.. it’s a lot of sleeping…

Rami:
Singing Elton John songs…

Marty:
Yeah, singing Elton John songs! (laughter)

Jakob:
Well, individually, but not really as full group do we…. do Elton John songs.

Marty:
Are you guys sleeping on the bus? Or did you sleep last night in Portland and just took off really early this morning?

Jakob:
Well, it depends on how long the ride is, you know. If it’s a 4 or 5 hour drive, then you get into a hotel room and try and get some better sleep, you know. But if it’s a long ride you just wake up in the next city.

Rami:
Little cat nap.

Marty:
Huh! Yeah…So how did it work last night?

Jakob:
I think we got in around 5 maybe? Does that sound right?

Marty:
Oh you got into Seattle at 5.

Jakob:
Yeah we got in around 5 and went to a hotel and got up uh…

Marty:
So this is the middle of the night for you guys basically.

Jakob:
It is, a little bit.

Marty:
The Wallflowers are here to perform for you here at the Mountain Music Lounge. The first song you’re gonna do is…

Jakob:
Sleepwalker

Marty:
Sleepwalker off the new CD Breach. The Wallflowers, live in the music lounge. 103.7 The Mountain.

 [Acoustic Version of Sleepwalker with Jakob on guitar and Rami on Casio Keyboard]

Marty:
Nicely done! 103.7 The Mountain. The Wallflowers are live here in the music lounge. So what is it that you know that Sam Cooke didn’t know?

Jakob:
You know, I wouldn’t pretend to know anything he doesn’t know. I’m just being a little bit more cynical maybe, than he was. A little take on a classic line.

Marty:
That is a song called Sleepwalker that is off the Breach CD, which is the third CD from the Wallflowers. You debuted the video for that song on VH1 as opposed to MTV. Was there some reason behind that? Are you guys targeting an older audience?

Jakob:
You know, you’re actually the first person to mention that. The problem was, was that MTV went on vacation (laughter) and they weren’t showing new videos for a couple weeks there.

Marty:
Really! 

Jakob:
Yes

Marty:
Something that simple, huh?

Jakob:
You know I wish there was something more complicated to it, some real game planning but… Normally, you know… I guess what I mean to say, I don’t get too involved, I happen to know that particular week, that we wanted to put the video out, they just weren’t showing anything new.

Marty:
A question about getting involved. I noticed that you now have the official Wallflowers website. How involved do you guys get in that?

Jakob:
Time to time… we check in. We’re trying to. We’re trying to get a little more updated. I think last time we had a record out I think people were just starting to really take advantage of that and… in-between the records, I certainly noticed that that’s where kids are getting the majority of their information and stuff so…we’re trying to uh… we’re trying to give them what they want.

Marty:
So you can join the Wallflowers E-Team

Rami:
Oh yeah I saw that!

Marty:
Do you know what that means?

 Rami:
I was scared to try it!

 Marty:
(laugher) I was scared to click on it too! (laughter)

Rami:
My computer’s slow…

Marty:
Oh actually I did click on it and it… died on me. It said  “unable to find the server”.

Jakob:
What’s an E-Team?

Marty:
I don’t know! It’s on your website.

Rami:
I think you get… something…

 (laughter)

Rami:
I hope you get something!

Marty:
Sort of a fan club maybe.

Jakob:
I always wanted to be on the A-Team.. (laughter)

Marty:
And then there was something else that was fascinating on your website. You could actually get Wallflowers news downloaded directly to your palm pilot (laugher). And I was thinking…wow, that’s staying on the cutting edge of Wallflowers news.

Jakob:
Well some people need the news FAST— don’t have time to get home to check the computer. You know, we want our fans to get it right away.

Marty:
Exactly. While we’re on the subject of the web and the internet, you guys, I suppose, can speak better than anyone on your impressions of Napster. Wasn’t Breach the first album that was released, in its entirety on Napster before it was officially put out?

Jakob:
Yeah, again, you’re the first person to mention that. Yeah, I don’t know what kind of lasting effect it will have but, you know, when you finish a record—

Marty:
So I assume that wasn’t by design.

Jakob:
No. When you finish a record you gotta send out a certain number of them to companies around the world and other people and it only takes one CD to show up on there. I guess ours was the first one in its entirety…. you could just start to see each song started coming up. You could download it about a month before it came out. You know…

Marty:
As a songwriter does it piss you off at all?

Jakob:
Um…You know, it actually does a little bit, you know. But not for any other reason that uh… that’s one of the ways that we have of making a living really. You know it’s not about record companies, it’s not about people’s right to trade, you know, it’s also how we put food on our table.

Marty:
Right. It’s funny you know, about a month ago we had John Hiatt here in the music lounge. And you know, he makes a living as a songwriter, more so than as a performer. I asked him that question and I assumed that he would rip into Napster and he came up and said “You know, a lot of people get exposed to my music that wouldn’t ordinarily get exposed to it." So..

Rami:
Yeah, a song or two would be great but..

Jakob:
Yeah, you know, yeah, if it were a song or two that would be great. I would offer that up easily, but it’s different when the whole record is... you can download the whole record,  what’s the point of buying the record?

Marty:
Now did Napster have anything to do with your decision to release alternate versions of the CD? Because you’ve put out..

 Jakob:
No, just again.. you know it’s nice to put out lots of different versions of things, you know, uh… I think we’re just trying to put more out really. I don’t think there’s anything behind that.

Marty:
Yeah. You were on, you Jakob, were on our morning show in an interview here just a few weeks ago and they asked you about the writing that you did for the CD Breach and you said that you felt like you needed to write a little faster for this CD because—

Jakob:
Well yeah, our last record kept us on the road for two and a half years so by the time we got home and kinda tried to recuperate for a little bit, people were already kinda wondering when the next record was coming. But I think everybody was really tired and I certainly wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about, so… by the time I figured that out I figured I only had… maybe a couple of hours to (laughter) put all the songs together you know?

Marty:
So, how many songs did you end up writing, or did you have written when you went into the studio?

Jakob:
I think we probably recorded 15, 16 songs.

Marty:
Wow. And Rami, what did you do during the time off while the writing was going on?

Jakob:
Yeah, no kidding. Let’s hear about it.

 (laughter)

Marty:
(laughter) Can you account for your time Rami?

 (laughter)

Rami:
Well yeah I can because Jakob would have an idea and he had a little mini recording thing, as big as a computer, getting ideas down. So I’d come over once and awhile and bring one of these little funky keyboards over.

Marty:
That is amazing! What is the retail value of that keyboard you’re playing here today?

Rami:
Well, it is an ebay item, but, you know, anywhere from 20 bucks to like 80 bucks.

Marty:
That is amazing! That goes counter to what they say, you know, it’s not the carpenter but it’s his tools.

Jakob:
Yeah, that’s genuine… real plastic too.

 (laughter)

Rami:
It’s by Casio! (laughter). It’s like a watch.

Marty:
The Wallflowers are here in the Mountain Music Lounge. They’re playing the Paramount Theater tonight. There are tickets available. It’s the Wallflowers and opening act Everlast— 8:00— and again thank you guys very much for coming in early. You’re gonna play an… old one?

Jakob:
Yeah, let’s try an… older one.

Marty:
Great. The Wallflowers on The Mountain.

 [Acoustic version of One Headlight]

Marty:
(chuckling) That’s great. 103.7 The Mountain. The Wallflowers live here in the music lounge. I laugh because watching Rami play the keyboard there is hilarious. With emotion you play that thing! For those that aren’t here obviously, it’s a very tiny keyboard. It measures about 18 inches by 6 inches. On the right hand you’re playing the keys and the left hand… is that the volume control there? Or is it the wa wa pedal there?

Rami
Wa wa volume

Marty:
(laughing) Fair enough! Thank you guys both very much for coming in. Is it tough for you guys to be touring…

Jakob:
Together?

Marty:
(laughing) yeah

Marty:
Is it tough for you to be touring during the holidays? What do you guys have planned for Thanksgiving?

Jakob:
I think we’ll be in flight.

Rami:
The worst thing possible. To be at an airport.

Jakob:
Yeah

Marty:
Well great. It’s nice to have you here. Again, the Wallflowers and Everlast, tonight at the Paramount Theatre, 8:00. There are tickets available and you can get them at the Paramount Box Office. Thanks!

Jakob:
Ok, thank you.

Rami:
See you later!