Print-friendly Version
John Doe Tackles Information Overload On New Album
The information overload that’s saturated America in recent years has not gone unnoticed by John Doe , best known as the bassist and singer of the semi-retired punk band X. In recent years, Doe has created solo records with an ever-changing cast of band members called The John Doe Thing. The band's upcoming release, "Freedom Is..." includes Doe's anti-stimulus rant “Too Many Goddamn Bands.”
“There’s two messages there," Doe said of the track. "One is there is too much of everything, too many movies, too many people competing for shelf space at record stores, too many kinds of sodas to drink, too many kinds of cigarettes to smoke. That kind of overkill of options drives people insane.
"The verse part--about the experience of being in bands and watching your past pass you by--came from an experience in Cincinnati, Ohio ... We played Sudsy Malone’s--a Laundromat/bar gig--and down the street, the Presidents of the United States of America were playing. They had triple the number of people we had at our gig. We went down to see ‘em before we played. They sounded great and then the P.A. went out and they sounded like hell, which gave me a certain amount of satisfaction.”
The new album, to be released by SpinART Records on July 18, came together over the course of two-and-a-half years. It features an all-star cast of bit players including Smokey Hormel (Beck), Joey Waronker (R.E.M., Beck), Josh Freese (Paul Westerberg) and Mike Ward (Wallflowers), and was recorded in producer Dave Way’s studio, a converted garage equipped with both digital and analog gear.
“I worked with Mike Ward for about six months. Stuart Johnson played drums for a year and a half, maybe two years. People would come and go. The recording [process] kind of went: get some songs together, see when Dave Way had some time available, go to his house and get it done.”
Increasingly involved with acting as well, Doe has a role on the TV show "Roswell" and in "Wildflowers,” a movie starring Darryl Hannah and Eric Roberts. Though the two art forms draw on different skills, Doe said acting is less stressful than music-making.
“[Acting is] hard because you have to have your emotions closer to the surface and make that weigh on your face or actions. What I like about it is that acting is less of a long-term personal investment. You’re drawing from your experiences in both cases, but if a movie goes to shit it doesn’t impact you that much. You did your best and that’s all you could do and if it goes well, great. With a record you are the person that is the narrator ... You’re everybody--director, actor, producer. It’s a more personal investment.”
