Bridget Cross is a sweet person. The former bassist for Unrest and Air Miami and the original vocalist for Velocity Girl manages to keep that sweet disposition no matter my efforts to turn the conversation. How do I really know how sweet she is? Well, she is giving this e-interview from the public library in Seattle soon after giving her kidney to bandmate George Kuhar (more on him later.) Why Seattle? Because they don’t do transplants in Alaska where Cross now resides after decades spent in DC silly.
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It has been an eventful trek for Cross these past few years, including being jailed following an ugly incident in a bar that ended with her boyfriend of the time being arrested for stabbing another man. The legal issues involved would put a heavy burden on her mother and the DC community would do it’s best to rally to help pay those costs. A re-formed Unrest and many others performed a triumphant show at The Black Cat at the Teenbeat Anniversary in hopes of contributing.
Things grew quiet and Cross began compiling the songs that would eventually emerge under the name “Maybe It’s Reno.” You can hear the complicated life swirling around a gentle soul in the collection of songs - all the while bound together by those familiar soft tones. No one in DC has ever sounded quite like Cross and I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing her voice until this new record came out. |
Here is our e-conversation:
You are living full-time in Alaska these days. I honestly expected to hear that you were moving back to the DC area after being released from jail and the Teenbeat anniversary show. What’s kept you up North?
The wilderness and the lack of population.
What were the recording sessions like for this record? (Having the Unrest crew basically intact for a large portion – or were the pieces recorded separately?)
I laid down the bass, vocal and rhodes tracks in Dec ‘05 in Cambridge with Mark. Mark and Phil graciously played on them when their schedules allowed. The last three songs were recorded as a band in Austin, TX with George and Jordan of Basin Street.
How much planning went into things so you could maximize your time together?
There was lots of time spent on this record, but not together.
How were the Austin sessions and where do you know George and Jordan from?
I met George in Alaska, fell in love and moved to Texas with him. He had been playing with Basin Street for 10 years. They broke up last year, but we are planning to tour together this fall as “Maybe It’s Reno.”
Why not call this a “Bridget Cross” record?
Because I want a band, not to be alone in front of a mic.
As primarily a bassist on record, how were these songs composed before involving the others?
I wrote them on bass, had ideas for the basic feel of the songs and let everyone else work their own magic upon them. I’ve played with Phil and Mark enough to trust their creative impulses. The last three were written and recorded a little differently.
Mark seems much mellower these days (have you noticed and why do you think that is?)
It’s the wisdom of experience.
Favorite record ever released on Teenbeat?
Versus: The Stars Are Insane tied with Butch Willis: Superstitious Mummies
Least favorite Unrest song?
Negative questions are self defeating.
Favorite Air Miami song?
World Cup Fever
This recording is rougher and looser than the later work in Unrest and Air Miami and harkens back to the early Unrest days in a way. Was that a result of available time/budget or a conscious choice?
I don’t agree with that. But obviously Maybe It’s Reno doesn’t have major label backing.
How do you think the sound fits given your current “lo fi” living situation (no computer of your own etc..?)
I think it sounds very well produced and as good as, or better than comparable records out there. I didn’t do the recording afterall, Mark did the bulk of it, and George did the last bit. Both of them are much more hi fi than I.
Now that you have done hard time do Phil and Mark show you more “street” respect?
I’m not sure what you mean by street respect. Mark and Phil are both exemplary citizens who know nothing about the street and would never treat me as if I was deserving of more respect because I was incarcerated.
Is “Sugarloaf Mountain” a defiant response to the “hillization” of DC’s only crest? (Not long ago they tried to re-classify that mountain as less than the necessary height for that distinction.)
It’s a mountain near Poolesville, MD. I’ve always loved mountains and would drive out there quite a bit when I lived in DC. Now I just have to walk across the street to get to the mountains.
How much of your legal funding was your Mom able to recover from the support of friends and benefits?
She received $4,000 in contributions. I think the bill was close to $60,000. I am grateful for the support and every amount helped. I certainly am unable to repay her at this time in my life.
It’s really jarring to listen to “December” and it’s painting of your Father’s death following the ramshackle “Drunk Pilot.” It’s almost as if you hid the track on the end of the record. Am I reading too much into it or is it a raw song to deal with for you?
George is the reason that song made the record. He convinced me it was important and valuable to the record. Of course it’s difficult for me. I don’t see how it’s hidden, it’s on there.
No matter who records you – you manage to have this sweet voice that seems to be on the other side of the phone line like a friend you desperately miss. How do you do it?
I don’t know. Maybe I am a sweet person.
Please choose three songs from the record and describe something special about the track (inspiration/recording/references/funny story – just make it juicy – haha!) We will play them with the text.
I’m not very good at talking about meaning in my songs. That’s why they are songs and not books. They contain difficult or complex emotions for me to express directly. But I’ll try:
Gravestones and Christmas Trees is about my friend Billy who grew up on a christmas tree farm that bordered a graveyard.
Feathers and Wings is about the war and a conversation.
Venice Itch is about cocaine, jerks and road trips.
Check out teenbeatrecords.com
Space out myspace.com/teenbeat413
Stay sweet!
