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By the time you finish reading this sentence, Steve Gunn probably will have recorded a new album.
Or hell have finished perfecting a ten-minute Portuguese freak-jazz solo with his minimalist drummer.
Or produced new albums for one or two legendary English guitarists, who count Gunn as a peer.
Maybe hes already thinking about his next solo album.
But I had been doing it kind of privately.
This was around the time I started listening to a lot of Michael Chapman.
[Singing] was also such an extreme change from what I had been doing.
But I was welcome to it.
It was a challenge to me, and I also figured out that I loved doing it.
I listen to a lot of drummers, he says.
Its sometimes the first thing I listen to.
Theres that saying that your band is only as good as your drummer.
For [The Unseen in Between], I was looking for someone who had more jazz chops.
Its more being sensitive to the swing of a song …
I now had some shows under my belt.
I had these songs written for a long time some of them for years.
When we went to record them, I just knew them.
Also, some of the early stuff that I did, they were always really long.
I couldnt figure out how not to write a ten-minute song.
So now I was like, Lets be more concise.
It was also the first time that I worked on lyrics and really thought about what I was writing.
I was seeking inspiration in my immediate surroundings.
I think its important when youre walking around to kind of be aware of the people youre around.
Theyre not stopping and looking around.
Its such a rich environment.
I still think about the way we made that record.
Everything just aligned perfectly.
I remember it was February and there was so much snow on the ground.
It was likeThe Shining.
We were locked in the studio and everyone was staying there for like four or five days.
I didnt stress or pull my hair out over the words.
It was one of those rare times where the song just kind of happened.
Thats when I quit my job, actually.
It was a scary prospect, but of course, I was going to quit my fucking job.
Gunn wasnt sold on the idea.
[But] for me, I kind of struggle with the termAmericana.
I feel like its a weird word to use because I dont know what it exactly means.
When I hear the wordAmericana, I hear Americans making watered-down or contrived music.
I think of a guy with the leather vests and a cowboy hat singing a slick, boring song.
But it was also a lot of fun.
I did feel a lot of pressure though, like,Were gonna be thisrockband.
I was definitely out there thinking,What the fuck am I doing?
Its this sort of hopeful dystopian song, and its how I was feeling at the time.
I understand why he would say the songs are not personal, says Gunn.
I also understand how you would want to give the song to other people.
You dont want sympathy, you know?
For me, thats how I look at songwriting, too.
Vagabond (The Unseen in Between, 2019)
Vagabond might be the most Smiths-sounding Steve Gunn song yet.
Gunn, a devoted Smiths fan, says this was intentional.
This was my nod to them and my appreciation for them.
Stonehurst Cowboy (The Unseen in Between, 2019)
This was a big one, he says.
And also being positive paying tribute to things and not being woe is me.
I wanted to create a universality to it where others can relate.
Even if its like, Shit, Im sorry your dad is gone, but I love that song.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
