BrightestYoungThings: LUCERO: What's New and Why They're Dangerous

all words: Ian Palmiero
all photos: Paul Goodman

It is the day before the Lucero show at the 9:30 Club. I’m a little nervous and extremely optimistic. I’ve seen the band many, many times. Each time has been through a whiskey glazed, beer fueled energy that has gotten me through the show, but barely out the doors standing upright. This time will be different for more than one reason.

This is their first tour on a major record label. (Universal Republic)
They are touring with a horn section arranged by Memphis great Jim Spake.
I plan staying “reasonably” sober for the show.

Cow Punk, Whiskey Rock, or Country/Punk/Blues... whatever you want to call Lucero is fine, but don’t call them stagnant. These guys have toured more than most bands in the game, and it doesn’t look like they’re about to stop any time soon.

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Brian Venable (co-founder and guitarist of Lucero) got Ben Nichols (lead singer) to stop by his place in Memphis to hear some songs he’d written. Brian said that he tried about every musician he knew and Ben finally said yes. Ben showed up and Brian didn’t have any material. One thing he did have was Ben Nichols through the front door. In few words, that is the Memphis “Country/Punk/Soul/Blues/Whiskey Rock” birth of Lucero. Eleven years later they have released their sixth full length record on Universal Republic, the first time on a major. This time things are different, but not really. It’s still Ben Nichols writing about drinking, fighting, and heartbreak. It’s still Brian Venable crushing through the rock. It’s still Roy Berry and John C. Stubblefield keeping the tempo. I’ve read that Roy also likes to secretly incorporate 2Live Crew Beats into the songs.

What is different is apparent in the record. They seem a little more mature. This record, 1372 Overton Park, is a natural progression for the band and it’s a great one.

I got to sit down with Ben Nichols over an expensive bottle of Black Maple Hill sour mash before the show. It was a lot of fun.

BYT: So the last time you guys played here was with The Pogues right?

BN: Yeah, that was insane. I love those guys.

BYT: I took my mother to see you play at last years Revival Road tour with Chuck Ragan, she thought you looked kind of like a troublemaker.

BN: Yeah, that isn’t the first time I’ve heard that before.

BYT: I let her hear the track “Mom” off of your new record, and now she loves you. You can do no harm.

BN: Ah, now that's good

BYT: Speaking about that track, is it as straight forward as it sounds, or does it have some double meaning about Memphis?

BN: No it’s all about mothers. When I brought that song to our producer, Ted Hutt, and the band it was real hard to play because it was so cheesy, almost too literal. I don’t know... I was just being sentimental I guess. When I finished it up I went home and played it for my mom and dad...they teared up a little bit. My mom loves it. I definately scored some points.

BYT: I’m sure your still in the red as far as points go.

BN: Yeah, you’re probably right.

BYT: Last time I saw you guys at the Black Cat, Brian talked about how much he hates when bands pull up in a giant tour bus. I was surprised when I pulled up and saw one...

BN: We kinda had no choice with that one, because we have 9 people on stage this tour. There’s a 3 piece horn section, peddle steel, a keyboard player, plus the four original players. Oh yeah, a tour manager, merch girl and the driver. So we got 12 bunks on the bus and 12 people on tour. It’s pretty crowded. We’re not going to make much money on this tour, too many people to pay for.

BYT: So it’s go big or go home?

BN: Yeah I guess. For this record with the horns being so prevelant, we just had to bring them out with us. Plus it’s just fun as hell

BYT: The horns are good, I don’t give a shit if the mesage boards are saying it sounds like ska.

BN: I was talking about that with someone today, when people listen to something new they come into it with their own prejudices. You say horns, and then you play a song like 6’s and 7’s, and people are like, ‘Agh, they’re just trying to be a jam band.'

BYT: Well I think the horns are kind of natural progression

BN: It was a logical progression, we’re just getting another step bigger soundwise. It was important for us to bring a true Memphis sound out in this record.

BYT: Is this Lucero’s “Dear You”? (Jawbreaker’s first record on a major that caught a lot of shit from fans because of it’s different sound. It proved to be the last record they would ever put out. It is now thought of by many as the best record they ever did.)

BN: Aagh. Man, basically timewise I guess it is. Yeah, it’s always a possibility. We’re not gonna quit though. Like I said, this is fun as hell for us. The folks that don’t like it, I think they’re gonna come around. Music is so personal, people are just weird about it sometimes.

BYT:The horns are very new on this record, is there anything new you want to mess around with on future records?

BN: I still really want to do a stripped down accoustic record, but who knows, I can’t even think that far ahead.

BYT: So you’ve all moved out of the Overton Park? (For 10 years the members of Lucero all lived in the same warehouse space...wow!)

BN: Yep. I got my own place now, bought a house. House prices are great in Memphis because nobody wants to live there. I dont really spend my money on anything, I drink free and all. We’re just out on the road so much I don’t have time to spend money. So... I bought a house.

BYT: I’m assuming from your solo record, The Last Pale Light In The West, that you’re a big Cormac McCarthy fan? Got a favorite novel of his? (Ben’s solo record is a character study on “Blood Meridian” by McCarthy. Each song takes a look at a character in the book.)

BN: I really like ‘The Crossing’. One of my favorite parts about that book, and I apologize if this is a spoiler, but when his younger brother gets killed. You know, older brother falls in love with a girl, stays in Mexico, and when he comes back looking for his younger brother the locals are all singing Mexican folksongs abut this famous desperado who was executed. So this young, innocent, kid turns into this Mexican folk hero over night. That’s kind of badass.

BYT: Do you and your brothers have relationships like that?

BN: I’d like to think so, we’re all really close. (Ben’s brother Jeff is the writer/director of ‘Shotgun Stories’, of which Ben did the soundtrack. Jeff also has some good news in the works. Major good news. Possible HBO good news... be on the lookout.)

BYT: Is it a nice change to have local Memphis acts with you?

BN: Yeah, it’s great. John Stubblefield (bass) has known the guys in Amy’s band for ever, as well as Cedric Burnside (Grandson of legend RL Burnside). With the whole theme of the record it just made sense to tour with Memphis-centric acts.

BYT: It’s a genius idea. You’ve really captured the sound. Lucero has also catapulted some of its passed touring bands into pretty solid careers. Bands like Against Me!, Murder By Death, Gaslight Anthem... in a way you guys are like the godfathers of this shit...

BN:That’s funny how that works, and then they get a lot bigger than us. Ha! No just kidding, they take what we do and they do it better... I have a lot of respect for that.

BYT: Your track “The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo” is a “Love and Rockets” shout out, do you read any other comics?

BN: I’m a little picky with the comics, but Brian reads A LOT of comics. I think he’s into... uh... I don’t know exactly, I just know he buys a lot of comics. I just think he likes to buy shit, he likes to shop. I’m reading Hellboy, the new Conan on darkhorse has sick artwork. man there was something else.... uh?

BYT: Okay, back to the record... How did you guys get setup with Ted Hutt to produce the record?

BN: I met Ted on the Revival tour with Chuck Ragan last year. He did the “Feast or Famine” record and he came to one of our shows and we met up. Basically the label wanted us to have a producer, we didn’t know anything about that shit, and his name came up. I guess since he did the Gaslight Anthem record (The ’59 Sound), and that sounded good with all the horns and what not. The label was stoked on him, I’d met him, it just seemed like a logical choice. He wanted to be real involved from the very beginning. It was good having him around, he’s almost like a referre between all the band members

BYT: Did he make the horns more prevelant?

BN: Actually the horns were all over the demos, but for a lot of it we did defer to Ted’s judgement. It worked out well. He got that whole Memphis soul thing that we were looking for and ran with it.

BYT: Would you guys ever consider doing a cover song for the “under the influence” series that Suburban Home records puts out? What would it be?

BN: Damn, who would we do? There’s so many good ones, that’s the tricky part about this. There’s so many good songs, you just don’t wanna screw em up. I can think of about 10 Tom Petty songs I would do...

BYT: How’d you handle your first time dealing with deadlines for the label on this record? Did it strain the songwriting process?

BN: It was stressful. That’s for damn sure.

(BRIAN VENABLE WALKS IN)

BYT: Hey Brian, last time I talked to you at the Black Cat you said you hated tour buses. What’s that parked out front?

BV: Whatever man, I LOVE IT NOW. We’ll come out in the spring, without the horns, and probably just be back in our van.

BYT: Looking forward to hearing those horns tonight. I mean come on, Jim Spake (arranged and performed horns on the record) played with Al Green for all these years!

BN: Yeah, he’s a pretty talented guy, he is going to miss some tour dates to go and record some new stuff with Al Green...

The last part of the interview involved drinking a little bit of black maple hill bourbon, and Brian telling Ben he’s not allowed to drink before the show. It looked like a mother telling her child that he can only eat one piece of cake. We jawed on a bit about family, haloween costumes, drinking problems, comic books, etc...

The show was straightforward. What I did not expect was the first opening act. Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm. They are out with Lucero in support of their 2008 record, ‘2 Man Wrecking Crew’. The record title is exactly what they are. Along with playing some of the sickest and most authentic blues I’ve heard in a while, Cedric entertained the crowd with some of his Memphis humor. His jokes were your basic southern incest, but his delivery was on point. Get this record. Get it now.

Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm_3

I wish that I could say that Amy Lavere was great, I really do. She’s beautiful, her voice is mousy, and she is playing a giant stand up bass. All of those things sound delightful, right? There is no doubt that she is very talented, I was just bored after a couple of songs. Everything started to blend after a while.

Amy LaVere_8

Amy LaVere_11

On to Lucero...

I love this band. I’ve seen them much more than a handful of times, and this time I think that the venue was just too large for them. The performance was everything I thought it would be. Ben and Brian really had that chemistry going, the kind that usually leaves Ben on stage at the end of the show drunk, babbling, and singing a song that will break your heart. The horns are a great touch to the band. I was apprehensive at first, but settled right into it after a bit. Sometime in the middle of the show a fight begins to break out before Ben sings ‘The War’. Ben offers his help, “Come on, really. Right before I play this song? Oh yeah, I guess that would make sense though. Anyway, enough with this shit... You drink over at that end of the bar, you drink at the other... alright.” Honestly, by the end of the show I was drunk. As usual. So I’m going to chalk it up as good show, not their best. I look forward to seeing them in the spring, without the tour bus.

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