John McEntire
Rock Reaching
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By all accounts, the John Hughes-penned film "Reach The Rock" made an underwhelming impression on audiences. But the film's soundtrack (out now on Chicago's Hefty Records), supervised by Tortoise jack-of-all-trades John McEntire, sports a star-studded lineup sure to make it a frequent guest in CD players of indie-philes.
Tortoise's sound has always touched on elements of film score music, and "Reach The Rock" allows McEntire the opportunity to indulge full-scale. Seven tracks were assembled entirely by McEntire, with Tortoise, Bundy K. Brown, The Sea and Cake, Polvo and Dianogah rounding out the remaining 5. Instead of filling this CD with leftovers, the artists composed new tracks while watching the scenes in which their music was going to appear.
Always engrossed with at least one musical project, and in high demand as a producer and recording engineer, McEntire recently went on tour with four of his Tortoise bandmates as a backing band for Brazilian singer Tom Ze (he appears on the recent Ze remix album Postmodern Platos). The Dutch label Konkurrent has also just released an album of songs recorded by the combined lineups of Tortoise and Dutch punk band The Ex.
Fortunately, McEntire was able to find time to sit down to answer a few questions from Nude As The News associate editor Jonathan Cohen about his new soundtrack and what's next on the horizon.
NATN: Tell me how the tour with Tom Ze came about. How long did you guys have to practice?
JM: It was an idea put forth by Luaka Bop -- it seemed like an excellent way to take Tom's remix record to the next level. Of course, it was an honor and an inspiration to work with him. He is my grandfather. We had 5 days [to practice] before he and [Ze sideman] Jarbas Mariz arrived, and 5 days with them.
NATN: Was he at all familiar with Tortoise?
JM: Somewhat. I'm not exactly sure which records he had heard, but he definitely knew some of them and had great, insightful things to say about them.
NATN: Did he do anything onstage that surprised you? In New York it seemed like he would stop a song right in the middle and start talking to the crowd. I found the gargling with water particularly funny.
JM: All the time. But that was fantastic. We never quite knew where it was going to go.
NATN: How do you think the collaboration with The Ex came out? Do you think it may surprise fans of both bands?
JM: I think it turned out great. People who don't listen to it very closely think it sounds a lot like The Ex, and that's because they're only listening to Andy and Terrie's guitars. I think there are a lot of suprises in there -- I was definitely suprised. Great chemistry. It was recorded over two long days.
NATN: Would you tell me a little bit about the seven tracks you created on your own for "Reach The Rock" -- that is, can you talk about the recording and the creative process of matching music with the scenes?
JM: "Quinn Goes" -- Adrenaline, confusion, screeching tires. Bringing up the drama and the tension. Adding to the elements unknown.
"Lisa Arrives" -- Sort of a non-sequitur. It was music by and for the wee hours, 3-5 A.M. My favorite combination of drum machines ever.
"Overview" -- The town at night, various goings-ons and trying to link them together. Somewhat inspired by Gainsbourg's Melody Nelson.
"Kiss" -- It had to be a little sour, a little out. In other words, this was not a sentimental scene though it may have looked like it on the surface.
"Main Title" -- It was important to "hit" musically with certain cuts in the opening scene. Otherwise, this cue is pretty much building up and setting the tone for Robin's definitive action.
"Stolen Car" -- [This] was an attempt to offset the tension of the scene with something musically "contemplative." Trying to get inside Robin's character a little, i.e. portraying him as something more than just a set of reactions.
"In A Thimble," by Tortoise -- The long middle section was sort of an improvisation to follow the action of putting up the bucket. It was interesting to put that together, especially with all the editing involved. We played this one live for a while.
NATN: Were any of the songs built on ideas that had been set aside for Tortoise or the Sea and Cake?
JM: Strictly speaking, no.
NATN: Who approached you with the original idea for scoring the film?
JM: Bill Ryan, the director. Following that, (Hefty Records head) John Hughes III got in touch with me.
NATN: How long did the entire process take?
JM: About 2 months, if I remember correctly.
NATN: I understand you are finishing up a new studio. How is that going?
JM: Actually, just starting it. From scratch. I hoped to have it done sometime in March.
NATN: [Sea And Cake lead singer] Sam Prekop told me that he thinks "Window Lights" is one of the Sea and Cake's best songs and that the band may continue to go into a more electronic direction. Do you agree?
JM: Anything is possible! It's been a while since we've worked on new material, so it'll be interesting to see where we decide to take it.
NATN: What is the status of your project with Jim O'Rourke and what is the name of the project?
JM: The Deacons. It is in a "holding pattern" at the moment.
NATN: Should the White Sox trade Frank Thomas?
JM: Huh?
NATN: What's your favorite Police Academy film?
JM: What?
NATN: What are your plans for the next few months? Can we expect a record from Tortoise or The Sea And Cake in 1999?
JM: Probably not, though I suspect both bands will do a fair amount of recording. I'm guessing there will be releases in the early part of 2000. [There's a] new Isotope record very soon, but other than that, we need to write new songs.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as news/reviews editor for Billboard.com in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"