Patrick Storedahl Interview
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: I grew up in a small town in Washington singing TV theme songs and commercials for anyone who would listen, all the time wishing I was Flip Wilson, or Gordon Lightfoot, or Meadowlark Lemon. I learned some guitar when I was about eight, just some chords so I could sing at church and some community functions. At 13 after my father died, I took the guitar back up and started writing songs…and was now wishing I was Freddie Mercury, or Paul Stanley or Robin Zander. I started playing piano as a senior in high school and joined the community college jazz band a year later. I played a lot trying to catch up with other players and I met Douglas Blum. He, Ted Clark and I started playing in a band a few years later.
Later, the three of us started Just Plain Bill. We played a lot from Portland to north of Seattle throughout the ’90s. We received some good reviews and Ethan Moreno joined us. We recorded five CD’s up to about 2008. The band continues now as a five-piece, though we haven’t put out a project in quite some time.
In 2003, I started recording my first solo project (Ink Block Fingerprint) with Peter Jansen (who later became a member of Just Plain Bill). I’ve released three full length LPs and three EPs since 2004 with more to come soon.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process when making songs for Honey, Won't You Spare Some Bills?
A: Absolutely. The album is not unlike life…it starts out with dreams and possibilities, in the middle there are starts and stops, you meet people, go through things, fall in love, have arguments, form opinions, and at the end you when you look down the long road you realize the journey was more important than the destination.
I write all the time and tend to have a bit of a backlog of tunes. I wanted this one to be less eclectic than my first two releases. I analyzed the songs I had at the moment and chose four or five that felt good together. I wrote a few more tunes trying to maintain a consistent flavor and mood to the lyrics and music…then we started recording. The last few songs came along as we worked.
To create cohesiveness to the music I decided to have congas and slide guitar on almost all the tracks. I think these (along with having saxophone on a majority of the tunes) hold it all together and also creates a kind of retro feel to the entire project; and perhaps a more organic feel than my previous efforts.
In general, my writing usually starts with a vocal melody and a lyric, though sometimes the lyric is just nonsense words. I then write a harmonic structure with piano or guitar (Sunday Veil, Acapulco and San Jose are examples of this). Sometimes I just write while I’m driving around (Seven Stones, Skimpy Tops and Don’t Mean a Thing are examples). Other times I come up with a riff for a specific instrument, and then write a tune around that. Again, sometimes that’s with or without a piano or guitar (Dream, Spare Some Bills and Rub One Out are examples). My final lyrics are rarely a linear story, even if they sound that way. They tend to be an amalgam of people and scenarios, or a juxtaposition of a couple of stories. Lastly, I tend to revise quite a bit both lyrically and musically. I’ll change things right up to the time we commit to a mix.
Q: The aesthetic reminded me of a lot of rock albums from the 70’s. What was your time in the studio like?
A: I love recording, even more so than playing live…So I always have a blast. The album took a few years to finish. Peter and I work well together and are both willing to try a lot of things, but we both have jobs and families to work around. Another reason the project took so long is that I broke my shoulder in the middle of it, which took some time to heal. I could sing, but playing any instruments was out. One piece of advice: If you do a back-flip off of some bleachers, it is best to stick the landing or bad things happen.
Each recording, except for Rub One Out, started with Maria Joyner-Wulf playing trap set and me playing either guitar or a Wurlitzer 200A while singing a guide vocal. She and I played each song until it felt right. Peter and I would then discuss ideas for the song and I’d add other instruments to those basic tracks.
My friend Jenny played congas on half of the songs and I did the rest. My son, Riley, played all the sax charts I wrote and improvised the solos, and a friend of his played the trumpet charts. Lastly, I had some friends, including Mr. Blum and his daughters, sing some backing vocals.
We used a lot of instruments. An edited list includes: mostly vintage Fender, Gretsch, and Gibson electrics; though I think I used my Rickenbacker too, a ’63 Gibson J-50, a ’64 J-45 and a ’68 B-45-12 for acoustics, along with some others, a 70’s Rhodes, a 60’s Hammond A-100, a 70’s Clavinet d-6, a reissue Mini Moog, along with my 70’s Wurly 200A.
Needless to say, who wouldn’t have fun playing all of those?
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: I grew up in a small town in Washington singing TV theme songs and commercials for anyone who would listen, all the time wishing I was Flip Wilson, or Gordon Lightfoot, or Meadowlark Lemon. I learned some guitar when I was about eight, just some chords so I could sing at church and some community functions. At 13 after my father died, I took the guitar back up and started writing songs…and was now wishing I was Freddie Mercury, or Paul Stanley or Robin Zander. I started playing piano as a senior in high school and joined the community college jazz band a year later. I played a lot trying to catch up with other players and I met Douglas Blum. He, Ted Clark and I started playing in a band a few years later.
Later, the three of us started Just Plain Bill. We played a lot from Portland to north of Seattle throughout the ’90s. We received some good reviews and Ethan Moreno joined us. We recorded five CD’s up to about 2008. The band continues now as a five-piece, though we haven’t put out a project in quite some time.
In 2003, I started recording my first solo project (Ink Block Fingerprint) with Peter Jansen (who later became a member of Just Plain Bill). I’ve released three full length LPs and three EPs since 2004 with more to come soon.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process when making songs for Honey, Won't You Spare Some Bills?
A: Absolutely. The album is not unlike life…it starts out with dreams and possibilities, in the middle there are starts and stops, you meet people, go through things, fall in love, have arguments, form opinions, and at the end you when you look down the long road you realize the journey was more important than the destination.
I write all the time and tend to have a bit of a backlog of tunes. I wanted this one to be less eclectic than my first two releases. I analyzed the songs I had at the moment and chose four or five that felt good together. I wrote a few more tunes trying to maintain a consistent flavor and mood to the lyrics and music…then we started recording. The last few songs came along as we worked.
To create cohesiveness to the music I decided to have congas and slide guitar on almost all the tracks. I think these (along with having saxophone on a majority of the tunes) hold it all together and also creates a kind of retro feel to the entire project; and perhaps a more organic feel than my previous efforts.
In general, my writing usually starts with a vocal melody and a lyric, though sometimes the lyric is just nonsense words. I then write a harmonic structure with piano or guitar (Sunday Veil, Acapulco and San Jose are examples of this). Sometimes I just write while I’m driving around (Seven Stones, Skimpy Tops and Don’t Mean a Thing are examples). Other times I come up with a riff for a specific instrument, and then write a tune around that. Again, sometimes that’s with or without a piano or guitar (Dream, Spare Some Bills and Rub One Out are examples). My final lyrics are rarely a linear story, even if they sound that way. They tend to be an amalgam of people and scenarios, or a juxtaposition of a couple of stories. Lastly, I tend to revise quite a bit both lyrically and musically. I’ll change things right up to the time we commit to a mix.
Q: The aesthetic reminded me of a lot of rock albums from the 70’s. What was your time in the studio like?
A: I love recording, even more so than playing live…So I always have a blast. The album took a few years to finish. Peter and I work well together and are both willing to try a lot of things, but we both have jobs and families to work around. Another reason the project took so long is that I broke my shoulder in the middle of it, which took some time to heal. I could sing, but playing any instruments was out. One piece of advice: If you do a back-flip off of some bleachers, it is best to stick the landing or bad things happen.
Each recording, except for Rub One Out, started with Maria Joyner-Wulf playing trap set and me playing either guitar or a Wurlitzer 200A while singing a guide vocal. She and I played each song until it felt right. Peter and I would then discuss ideas for the song and I’d add other instruments to those basic tracks.
My friend Jenny played congas on half of the songs and I did the rest. My son, Riley, played all the sax charts I wrote and improvised the solos, and a friend of his played the trumpet charts. Lastly, I had some friends, including Mr. Blum and his daughters, sing some backing vocals.
We used a lot of instruments. An edited list includes: mostly vintage Fender, Gretsch, and Gibson electrics; though I think I used my Rickenbacker too, a ’63 Gibson J-50, a ’64 J-45 and a ’68 B-45-12 for acoustics, along with some others, a 70’s Rhodes, a 60’s Hammond A-100, a 70’s Clavinet d-6, a reissue Mini Moog, along with my 70’s Wurly 200A.
Needless to say, who wouldn’t have fun playing all of those?
Q: What are some of the themes that run through Honey, Won't You Spare Some Bills?
A: It’s “people watching” without any judgment, and other times I’m just making fun of people without them knowing it. People have told me that they get different things out of it each time they listen. One person said that it could be summed up as dreams and fantasy. I agree with that assessment. There are definitely some escapist characteristics, sexual undertones or overtones depending on your preferences, and I think there is a focus on persons living through things and coming out the other side sometimes different or changed and other times just as creepy as when they began. As I said before, I think of it as its own life…beginning with possibilities, experiencing years, people and events, and then ending with looking back.
Q: Are you currently playing live in any capacity?
A: I’ve done solo shows in the past in which I hired some people to play. Just Plain Bill plays the occasional show here and there. Presently, I sometimes play solo shows with just an acoustic guitar and/or a piano, or sometimes do open mic shows. Mostly, I’ve been focusing on recording right now.
Q: What else should we know about your musical endeavors?
A: The most important part of music to me is having fun. I’m very fortunate to get to do what I love and have fun. I like to play and record a lot of different instruments. The obvious ones being 6 and 12 string guitars, bass, drums and keys; but also banjo, mandolin, vibes, xylophone, auxiliary percussion, Portuguese guitar, harmonium, harmonicas, bass harmonica, melodicas and even a saw. I’m also fortunate that I married a person who lets me indulge all of these musical adventures.
My first solo project Ink Block Fingerprint was released in 2004. My second was a 25 song double CD release entitled The Whole Year Inn and released in 2011. Honey, Won’t You Spare Some Bills came out in 2017, and was accompanied by an EP of outtakes and demos called Outtakes and Pancakes. Since Honey, Can You Spare Some Bills; I’ve been recording a series of EPs entitled Garage Sessions at my friend Andy Yager’s studio. I play all of the instruments and do most of the vocals. Vol. 1 - Her, came out last November and the next one Vol. 2 - Bills (a reworking of Just Plain Bill songs) will be released March 15th. I hope to release three or four more Garage Sessions by the end of 2019.
As I mentioned earlier, Just Plain Bill has several recordings, all of which are pretty eclectic. The Hedonistic Rituals of the Unemployed is interesting because it is a concept album. It has four sections, some strange instrumentals such as “Path of Excess,” “Xylophalloon” and a cover of “Fancy” by The Kinks. Kalama Tea (Calamity) is a reference to my hometown and is interesting because it includes some longer musical sections, as well as, some straight ahead rock n’ roll. We are recording now and may have something out in the near future.
A: It’s “people watching” without any judgment, and other times I’m just making fun of people without them knowing it. People have told me that they get different things out of it each time they listen. One person said that it could be summed up as dreams and fantasy. I agree with that assessment. There are definitely some escapist characteristics, sexual undertones or overtones depending on your preferences, and I think there is a focus on persons living through things and coming out the other side sometimes different or changed and other times just as creepy as when they began. As I said before, I think of it as its own life…beginning with possibilities, experiencing years, people and events, and then ending with looking back.
Q: Are you currently playing live in any capacity?
A: I’ve done solo shows in the past in which I hired some people to play. Just Plain Bill plays the occasional show here and there. Presently, I sometimes play solo shows with just an acoustic guitar and/or a piano, or sometimes do open mic shows. Mostly, I’ve been focusing on recording right now.
Q: What else should we know about your musical endeavors?
A: The most important part of music to me is having fun. I’m very fortunate to get to do what I love and have fun. I like to play and record a lot of different instruments. The obvious ones being 6 and 12 string guitars, bass, drums and keys; but also banjo, mandolin, vibes, xylophone, auxiliary percussion, Portuguese guitar, harmonium, harmonicas, bass harmonica, melodicas and even a saw. I’m also fortunate that I married a person who lets me indulge all of these musical adventures.
My first solo project Ink Block Fingerprint was released in 2004. My second was a 25 song double CD release entitled The Whole Year Inn and released in 2011. Honey, Won’t You Spare Some Bills came out in 2017, and was accompanied by an EP of outtakes and demos called Outtakes and Pancakes. Since Honey, Can You Spare Some Bills; I’ve been recording a series of EPs entitled Garage Sessions at my friend Andy Yager’s studio. I play all of the instruments and do most of the vocals. Vol. 1 - Her, came out last November and the next one Vol. 2 - Bills (a reworking of Just Plain Bill songs) will be released March 15th. I hope to release three or four more Garage Sessions by the end of 2019.
As I mentioned earlier, Just Plain Bill has several recordings, all of which are pretty eclectic. The Hedonistic Rituals of the Unemployed is interesting because it is a concept album. It has four sections, some strange instrumentals such as “Path of Excess,” “Xylophalloon” and a cover of “Fancy” by The Kinks. Kalama Tea (Calamity) is a reference to my hometown and is interesting because it includes some longer musical sections, as well as, some straight ahead rock n’ roll. We are recording now and may have something out in the near future.