Jars of clay6/11/2023 ![]() They will often bring a drummer and/or bass player on the road for live performances. also do this).Įach member also plays a variety of instruments - banjos, organs, mandolins and steel guitars have all shown up on their recordings. The band splits their songwriting credits equally - a practice that seems to promote harmony and longevity (U2 and R.E.M. We definitely care about that creative process and feel like we're still striving for that kid-in-a-candy-store kind of innovation. So this time around we did a lot of that creative work ahead of time, and then when Tucker Martine joined the conversation and produced it, we were able to pull all these different pieces from our experiences through molding and stretching the songs as far as we could get them and finding out what was the best skin for them, what was the best delivery of the songs. Then we take all of that and that informs the final versions of whatever ends up on an actual album. All of that happens ahead of time experimenting with drum loops or different noises and stuff. We do a lot of what we call "lab work" - experimenting with the chemistry. What ends up on a record for us typically is not as experimental as the things that we do in preparation for making a record. I think we have that same kind of bent to be innovative and just keep pushing the bounds of our own creativity and seeing how far beyond our own limits we can get. We get in, we have that blank canvas, we're excited to find new sounds and turn things on their side a bit. One of the reasons Jars music never sounds the same from record to record is because of that very thing. Are you that same way? With this new album Inland, are you just as fascinated by the creative process as when you first started?ĭan: Yeah, I would say. Songfacts: You described how he's still fascinated by music like a kid in a candy store. You can also hear his guitar work on the Nine Inch Nails full-length, The Fragile. He was also a member of the influential progressive rock band King Crimson, and contributed to Frank Zappa and David Bowie recordings. In addition to the innovative production touches he added to Jars of Clay's "Flood," Belew's sometimes spacey guitar sounds can be heard on many of Talking Heads' recordings, particularly those produced by Brian Eno in the '80s. He brought a lot to "Flood" - kind of made that song feel less like a rock-folk tune and more of a bit of an experimental piece.Īdrian Belew's guitar style stands out distinctly, whenever he contributes to a recording. He's been in music for a long time, and is still like a kid in a candy store when it comes to the creative palette that he wants to use. We went out to dinner with him and he was describing some of the musical adventures he was starting, and it's just mind blowing. That's what's amazing: over the last 15-20 years, in between when we had worked with him last, he's still as innovative, still as creative. All of it made that song incredibly unique-sounding. He played some of the string parts on "Flood," also, and really helped orchestrate that whole piece in the middle. He just came at it with this really creative angle. ![]() Even the drum sounds that we used on "Flood" were this "over-compression," as he called it, where you kind of flip it backwards - things are either soft or really loud. He was always willing to take sounds and turn them on their sides. Dan MacIntosh (Songfacts): You worked with Adrian Belew on this new recording, and he also contributed to "Flood." Can you talk about working with him and specifically what he brought to that song?ĭan Haseltine: Well, Adrian's a really good, innovative guitar player. That first Jars of Clay album was produced by Adrian Belew, who returned in 2013 to play guitars on the band's release, Inland. The big picture: there is pain with the glory, and to acknowledge that is to be honest. Our discussion about re-contextualizing the song took us down a path where lead singer Dan Haseltine explained what they are trying to convey in their songs and the nature of their art. ![]() You've probably heard "Love Song for a Savior" - a track from their 1995 debut album - in a Christian Mingle dating service TV commercial. Jars of Clay cracked the Top 40 in 1996 with "Flood," a song they insist has nothing to do with Noah or his ark.įormed in 1993 at Greenville College in Illinois, the group never made a Creed-like crossover ("Flood" was their last Hot 100), but they have become one of the most successful Christian bands of the last 20 years, winning three Grammy Awards for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album and multiple GMA Dove Awards.
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