You are releasing your first new music in 23 years with the album ‘What’s In Between' due out on June 25 via Electric Moth. Just how does that feel now the record is done?
Rob: We were in Brooklyn, New York with John Agnello mixing the record, and within the first few hours there was already a great sense of accomplishment. John knows exactly how to top a pizza. He's brilliant.
Mike: It felt natural to be working together again, and it shows on the record. we recorded in Paul's studio, Massive Sound, and also at Matt's guitar store, Midwestern Music, so we were essentially recording at home. When we got to mixing, we realized we needed an outside ear to get this thing finished. There's no one in the recording business better than John Agnello, and he had some free time to mix this, so we jumped on it. i've known john for 20 years and he can listen to a song and instantly get where it's going and how to make it work on any and all the levels.
Matt: It feels great to have this record out. I'm proud of the music, the production and the fact that it is being released on vinyl. I'm ready for the next one..
When did the band originally get together, with what ambitions and are you happy with the legacy so far? Are your ambitions for the band different this time around?
Rob: The future is unwritten! And there isn't much change, as far as ambition. Our ambition has always pretty much been the same - to try and get as many people as possible, in the universe, to enjoy our records. So, we're just gonna keep making them. Hopefully the next one will be out in less than 20 years.
Mike: When we first got together, we wanted to make a living -- like any musician taking a stab at their first real band. I'm happy with our legacy, because we've always worked hard, paid our dues on the road, and tried to record the best songs we could. If it takes the four of us dressed as characters from Moby Dick while skydiving into a flaming volcano to get the music heard, we'll do it.
Matt: We originally formed in 1983, I think. At that time our ambitions were to record and play music. It was a dream we pursued. Although most of the recording was in the garage, we did manage to get a lot of gigs. Our first real tour was over two months long. Our first release was a cassette tape, "Sensual Cardboard Event," and actually did well on college radio.... I'd say our ambitions are still the same. It's still about the music. The dream is still the same but the perspective has changed with time. We are as passionate about it now as we were then.
photo: Michael Forrester
You may be better known this side of the pond for your relentless touring and touring partners back in the 80’s Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr and the Flaming Lips to name a few, just what are your memories of that time and anything learnt back then, helping you with your music today?
Rob: My memories from those days don't have much to do with music, really. Much more to do with hanging out with an incredible group of people. Well, okay, watching the Flaming Lips soundcheck with a Pedaljet song or two was interesting. And getting kicked out of a hipster club with Paul Westerberg is memorable. What was the question?
Mike: The Flaming Lips were work horses. they'd get to the club several hours before sound check to set up the lights, smoke machines, mirror balls, etc. They still have that same work ethic -- only the clubs have turned into arenas. Husker Du was the ultimate DIY inspiration for us in the early days -- did their own booking, did their own record label, and didn't give a fuck about being glamorous -- just recorded and played the best fucking music they could. I still haven't heard a better guitarist than Bob Mould. During sound check, his guitar sound alone was bigger than most four piece bands, bigger than page or jack white for that matter.
Matt: Back then we were intent on recording only what we could reproduce live. Now we feel more like we can be free to experiment with sounds and musical texture. Then we were always on the road so our sound reflected that. Now we have the luxury of time to experiment more in the studio, or wherever we might record..
How have the personnel of the band changed over the years to how do you look as a group today?
Rob: We still look like the same bunch of rogues, as a group. An extraordinarily handsome lot. Very sexy.Devilish.
Mike: We started as a three piece that grew out of first band that I started in college in Lawrence, Ks. The drummer, Darrell Laham, and I went looking for a bass player when our bassist decided he was going to medical school (a decision that haunts him to this day as he comes home to his luxurious home and beautiful wife).
Darrell and I went on the college radio station at 2 in the morning and asked if anyone out there wanted to play bass for us. We got one call, and it was Matt Kesler. thus the Pedaljets were born. Matt was a better musician than Darrell and me and before long we all got better because of Matt's influence. Darrell quit the band to go back to school and that's when Rob Morrow joined.
Rob was and is a great rock drummer and helped solidify our sound. Subsequently, we went through several lead guitarists, one of the most notable, John Harper played in the Mortal Micronotz. He also played on our first LP, Today Today. The Mortal Micronotz were underground legends in the early 1980s. Rock writer Chuck Eddy compared them with Iggy and Stooges in the Village Voice. When William Burroughs lived in Lawrence, Ks, he even wrote lyrics for one of their songs, "Old Lady Sloan."
Phil Wade joined us on guitar around the time we recorded the second LP. He's more well known now for his Bluegrass band, The Wilders, which has kept him busy since our break up in 1990.When we regrouped to record the new record, Paul Malinowski joined us as lead guitarist. In addition to being Kansas City's most well known record producer, he's also played bass for Rock Titans, Shiner and Season to Risk.It's funny how he came on board. One day after we recorded the songs as a three piece, Paul slapped on a guitar and played the riff on "Clowns and Jackals" and "Riverview" and the rest was history.
I haven't changed much through the years; still spend most of my free time perfecting the art of the mime.
Matt: I look exactly the same as I did 20 years ago except now I'm completely bald with a goatee and a curly mustache.
photo: Todd Zimmer
What was the biggest change you found in the recording studio from your last record to recording the new album?
Rob: Well, with all the new technology the recording process isn't much faster. And tape is still better. Analog plus digital is cool and old school recording techniques win. And the old powder room is now a vocal booth.
Mike: Where's the tape? Without the clock, this could take another 23 years...
Matt: We used to have to save then spend all our money to go in to the studio and record as much as we could as fast as we could. Now we save and spend our money on gear so we can record ourselves when we want to. The new problem is the deadline. Without the money/clock ticking there's no deadline unless we set one.
Tell us about the label, 'Electric Moth' and how did you get together?
Rob: It's our label. So we just kind of looked at each other and nodded.
Mike: An elegant woman in white gloves slipped us a $100 bill, and thus we struck out on our own.
Matt: All of the people at Electric Moth Records are driven and highly motivated. Their only concern, their only goal, is the success of the Pedaljets. It is a natural fit.
Are you still based in Kansas City? Does your home town influence the sound on 'What's In Between'
Rob: Kansas City has such a rich musical history. The bar is set high, and if you want to get there it takes work, and you better be good. The current music scene, here, is big. There are so many excellent bands. To succeed you absolutely have to bring it.
Mike: You can feel the jazz era vibe all over K.C., and it's inspiring. When we were playing K.C. in the 1980s, we were the only indie band doing any real cross country touring other than the Mortal Micronotz, but they were still based in Lawrence, KS. Now you have a few dozen great indie bands here around K.C.
Matt: Yes. We all wound up back in Kansas City. The biggest small town in the Midwestern United States. The music scene is vibrant to say the least. I can't help but think that where we are has a lot to do with how we sound.
Do you think it's any easier starting off a band today than it was in the mid 80's, both from a getting your music heard and a making a living point of view?
Rob: We just recorded a demo of new songs on a cellphone. It sounds better than the cassette tapes we used to record in our old garage. Those took hours of setting up. These took no more than the touch of a button. And then there is, of course, the internet, in which you can spread the word immediately, for better or worse.
Mike: In 1990, you booked shows by phone, interviewed by phone, pretty much did everything on a land line. I spent hours on the road talking to clubs in a phone booth. There was usually some kind of crust on the receiver. Now it's digital, which is faster, cheaper and potentially a much larger reach -- again, for better or worse.
Matt: I don't know about making a living at it but recording and getting heard seems to be a whole lot easier. That has its own issues though because it's easier for anyone to record themselves and get heard. Anyone can record themselves and post their music and/or videos online. I'd guess that there are a billion or two bands out there on the internet. Now the problem becomes rising to the surface and turning virtual success into reality. Bands still need to get out on the road to make it real.
Any chance of the band making it across to Europe in support of the album for some shows this year?
Rob: Yes. And we can't wait! We're planning a tour there before the end of the year.
Mike: We'll be looking forward to seeing you at the pub.
Matt: Let's make it happen!
What were the albums you where listening to during School / College days and do any of them still get played in your house today?
Rob: I still pretty much only listen to Foghat. Cigarettes and Alcohol is a favourite. Cheers.
Mike: I've always been Beatles, Beatles and Beatles....with Bowie, Buzzcocks, X, The Jacobites, Gun Club, Television, PIL, Iggy and the Stooges, and Lou Reed tossed in for good measure. I think we had an Elvis Presley compilation in the van that took a lot of wear as well. Like everyone, I go through phases and will come back to a band again after several years and go "fuck, that's good."
Matt: Soundgarden was a regular on the playlist along with the usual suspects like Husker Du, The Replacements, Velvet Underground, early R.E.M.. Always loved The Jam, Buzzcocks, Killing Joke, Wire, Television, True Believers, Ramones, Beatles, Johnny Thunders, the Clash....... Then there's the Who, Hendrix, Cream, Stones, Bowie, Iggy, The Band...I could keep going..... but I won't.
photo: Michael Forrester
'What's in Between' is out 25th June
