When I was given the opportunity to have a conversation with The Dead Deads and Hurts To Laugh, you already know I was beyond stoked.
As you may have noticed, I’ve essentially become the Nashville aficionado here at Bearded Gentlemen Music. When I’m not singing the praises of Transylvania Stud or suggesting The Lees Of Memory have crafted the album of the decade, I’m usually spreading the word of Music City’s indie labels.
The Dead Deads and Hurts To Laugh come from different sides of Nashville’s rock scene, but share a common goal: melting your face.
Where Hurts To Laugh combines the intensity of Slayer with the DIY vibe of Nirvana, The Dead Deads have adopted the heavier-than-hell guitar meets earworm hooks of KISS. Despite taking totally different approaches to their music, there’s something deeply satisfying about the idea of both acts coming together for a double A-side single covering each other.
That’s exactly what’s happening with Feel It Now/Lonely Sound, the vinyl-only single on the Knoxville-based indie label Fat Elvis Records.
Just ahead of the release of this monstrosity, I was fortunate enough to speak with Hurts To Laugh frontman/guitarist Cliff Cobain as well as The Dead Dead’s fearsome leader Meta Dead. We talk about the release, Record Store Day, and who’s responsible for coming up with this match made in indie heaven/hell.
Aaron: For those who don’t know, what are these bands Hurts To Laugh and The Dead Deads?
Meta: The Dead Deads are a Nashville-based rock band for fans of everything from The Pixies and The Melvins to The Strokes and The Killers.
Cliff: Hurts to Laugh is a Nashville-based guitar-driven hard-rock band led by a skateboarding cook and divinity school dropout. The band works toward affirming people of all kinds and cultures with songs of universal suffering, shortcomings, and hope.
How did this release come about? Were you fans of each other’s work beforehand?
Meta: I forced myself onstage with Hurts to Laugh when we did a tour together and that gave their band the idea of covering each other’s songs. We thought sounded like a lot of fun. It’s all them. We just went along for the awesome ride.
Cliff: Our drummer Jimi Joplin and I were taking stock of how the performance went down and I suggested maybe recording a cover of a Dead Dead’s song. Jimi took the idea further to include The Dead Deads recording on a split 7” vinyl release. He continued mentioning Record Store Day would be the perfect outlet for such a project. Jimi Joplin gets the credit!
Aside from the tour, were you familiar with each other’s work? Was it difficult to choose which song you wanted to cover?
Cliff: We had seen The Dead Deads music videos and of course paid attention at the shows but I don’t think anyone had necessarily bought their CDs or anything. We simply had a cordial working relationship and respected their approach to engaging their audience. They were super generous to invite us to open their CD release show in Spring 2017. They definitely engendered some loyalty with their generosity.
Meta: It was really hard to pick a song because we like their music so much. Every song we brought up, we were like, “Yeah! That would be perfect!” So in the end, I picked a song I thought would be most different from something we would normally write. I love the energy of “Feel It Now” and the manic urgency of the lyrics and tempo.
Cliff: Shorty after the 7” idea was floated I was motivated to find a song that we could Hurts-to-Laugh-ize. I went through the entire catalog in bed in one night and stuck on “Lonely Sound”. It had some of the simplest musical ideas in their repertoire, had a sincere emotional bent, but still had different thematic elements than I might normally work within my own songs.
Did either of you feel pressure to mess around with arrangements to fit the vibes of the original?
Meta: We do whatever we want! (laughs) Both bands took tons of liberties with the songs but we both love what the other band did. I’m really proud of how “Feel It Now” turned out and I absolutely love what they did with “Lonely Sound.” With us, we took an approach of producing the song differently, whereas they took an approach of changing the arrangement. Both songs bring something new to the jam while still honoring the intention.
Cliff: Doing covers is not weird but you absolutely have to put your own spin or interpretation onto them. I took ownership of the arrangement and gave the best treatment I could. Our version is angrier and maybe more “insouciant”, trying to imbue it with an IDGAF attitude. Meta’s version seems to rely more on the juxtaposition of her sensitivity and frustration.
This split was originally planned as a Record Store Day release yeah? I have strong opinions about what RSD has become. What’re your thoughts?
Meta: That question feels like I’m supposed to say like, “Record Store Day is a total bitch. She borrowed my pen and never returned it.” I don’t know. Honest thoughts…I got dumped on RSD one time. That sucked. Other than that, I think it’s an awesome time to remind people that vinyl, although not the most sonically pure way to listen to music, is definitely the best way to purchase and archive it. I’ve bought vinyl my entire life and so has everyone in both bands. I love vinyl. You can’t sign a download, and CD’s degrade over time. I like cassettes too!
Me too! I’m down for what it stands for, I’m just not a fan of the vultures who have exploited it.
Cliff: Record Store Day needs to happen. Record stores, bands, and their products need more visibility. The more ways we can market ourselves as a creative community, the better. It appears that physical media and merch is about the only way bands can make any kind of money in our cultural climate. As far as it being something made up or artificial, I mean, who cares? The “holiday” is just another excuse to party and do your thing.
Every part of the process associated with vinyl is fun; Shopping either at the record store or flea market, organizing and curating a collection, sorting a playlist, hosting a party, jamming out, and cleaning up and starting all over again. It’s one of the greatest joys that creatives will discover. It’s not the only way to enjoy music though. Traveling with vinyl is tough.
You’ve toured together and covered each other’s songs, you should cosplay each other!
Meta: I’d dress like Cliff anytime. He’s a fashion icon as far as I’m concerned.
Cliff: I would learn The Dead Dead’s songs, don the gear, and play in their band if they let me.
Does this release count as a collaboration or a versus?
Cliff: It might be a little of both. Initially, we wanted to surprise each other with our versions but it became clear that submitting artwork and credits wouldn’t allow for that. It was producer Matt Mahaffey that was the collaborative bridge unifying the bands on this project. Meta introduced us to him and his recording techniques were applied to both band’s contributions. I was particularly interested in taking his ideas seriously and executing them to the best of my ability. If it turned out they didn’t work, we didn’t have to use them. He didn’t force himself into the work and allowed us with options in the arrangement.
Meta: We are at war…
Aaron: Why should we rush out and buy this release?
Cliff: Our label Fat Elvis Records has a handle on documenting some of the most compelling music around Tennessee. Fantastic Negrito was a welcome surprise when looking at their roster and Blackfoot Gypsies has gotten traction here in Nashville as well as retro androgyne Gyasi. Hurts to Laugh and The Dead Deads are in good company. All that aside, we have made a fun, rocking record that sounds massive. This recording will change the musical landscape in Nashville diverting the world from dreadful hick-hop and watered-down contemporary country. Bands like ours will ensure that Nashville will rock on for years to come.
Meta: It’s green and green vinyl protects from super villains. Also, these two songs paired package isolation, anxiety, addiction and escapism into a nice 7″ sphere that you can spin when you’re sad until you get happy!
Feel It Now/Lonely Sound is available on vinyl exclusively at Fat Elvis Records