Liner Notes: Wheat, 'White Ink, Black Ink'

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WHEAT RELEASED ITS first album 11 years ago — and this is most likely the first time you've heard of the band, which plays vintage Flaming Lips-like indie rock, swinging from epic layered freak-outs to sparse experimental pop.

But that relative anonymity doesn't bother the group's mainstays — guitarist-singer Scott Levesque and drummer Brendan Harney — in the least.

"Not at all frustrating," said Harney. "[Rather it's] both something that is liberating and something we're basically indifferent about. See, we've kinda found that people really dig one record of ours ... and then kinda want that version of Wheat to be the one that they always get — and that seems to leave a trail of disappointment. ... We are a tough band to follow because of the constant changing."

But Wheat's latest album, "White Ink, Black Ink" (The Rebel Group), is its most straightforward, least obtuse CD yet, featuring 11 songs that are as catchy as they are consistent. Levesque's voice recalls the tremulous croon of Tim Kinsella, but his lyrics address more relatable things than the Joan of Arc frontman's cryptic observations. "Living to Die" and "I Want Less," for instance, address a Zen-like approach to life, which was inspired in part by the February 2008 death of Levesque's father.

Even with the CD's instant likability, Wheat's music still retains the mystery that made its previous releases — four LPs, one mini album, plus expanded reissues — such great headphone gems.

"My love of musical acceptance is always overshadowed by my love of artistic exploration," Levesque said. "But not just being as far out for far out's sake, but all the spaces in between the extremes, like, say, atonal screechy gray noise pressed up against the most pristine and pointed woodwind."

"It's not being willfully obscure; it's more about being very easily bored," Harney said, "and never wanting to even come close to repeating ourselves. We really do love pop, but we really also do love strange and difficult beauty."

Express conducted an epic e-mail interview with Wheat and had Harney and Levesque give a track-by-track tour of "White Ink, Black Ink."

"H.O.T.T." [Click here to listen]
» HARNEY: This one kinda summed up the entire concept of the album in a very simple way. The dichotomy of existence — the totality of it. The "all" of it. And, plus we wanted to set the tone with the groove, and kinda say, "Here we go again, folks; this one is gonna be a different ride again." We wanted to set the tone of the positivity of tone/beat. I think we all feel that half of the time we're OK, and half of the time we're struggling with who we are. This has three distinct grooves laid over each other. Two of them are machine made, and one is a live drummer. The way the title was written that way as sorta a joke by Ray Jeffrey, the guy who recorded the record. He'd put the hand-clap groove in one night, and thought it needed a title to match.
» LEVESQUE: It was for me an exercise in simplicity totally. Four lines — all chorus, only chorus. It was a conscious departure from the rock dinosaur way of the indie-rock band. I'm so beat with simple revival, like we all need time in a bottle to feel like we exist. By the way, your bottle is no match, dino; we exist on a multi-dimensional plane.

"Changes Is"
» HARNEY: This one is about a couple of things at the same time. It's universal in that, we all have that moment in something or other, we're we basically say, "OK, I decide, and I'm out." It's so empowering to know that you ultimately hold that card. And, even when we don't — we should say to ourselves that we do. This one was partly written in the studio. We had the chorus, we had the piano line, and the groove. We took it from there in the studio. Better for it. If you listen close, in the second verse you can hear some commentary coming from the drum room as the tracking was taking place All fun, this song. Pretty easy flow.
» LEVESQUE: Great smash up of writing, like Bren said. For me it was a real celebration of who we are as a group, as people. The middle break was the original track I recorded as was doing laundry — thats the clothes drier going and my daughter asking where her blanket was. Definitely the better part of me.

"My Warning" [Click here to listen]
» HARNEY: We really wanted this one to feel really driving, but really new and fresh. We spent a lot of time getting the rhythm section right, and getting the song to feel cohesive. one of the last songs we got to feel right and complete. A hoary beast in a way.
» LEVESQUE: Way simply and touching place for me — trick was getting it to feel as complex as it's depth. An exercise in simple base being deeper than the ocean. "A Rhythm of the Faints" declaration of unconditional loyalty and love. Everything is gonna be alright, in fact, it already is.

"El Sincero" [Click here to listen]
» HARNEY: Another one that is sorta a major theme of the record. Sincerity — honesty. The whole song was built up around Scott's original piano part from his home recording.
» LEVESQUE: This was the main theme of the record and really clarified the thought for the writing on the record. It was sparked by this "I Have Morals" tag I saw on an old warehouse. I imagined a super human without super powers — just the basic human traits impeccably utilized to bring about harmony and earnestness. No masks — in fact, sometimes falling short of ideals without hypocrisy, but never playing a part. Make or break. Morality was nailed recently by Bob Dylan — all around badass genius — in an article I read recently: "Not a religious thing. Just honor, courage, etc. That's way missing today. Got any to spare?"

"Living 2 Die vs. Dying 2 Live"
» HARNEY: This, again, was put together in the studio. The positive vibes were super high throughout the recording process, and this song just elevates and rides that vibe. It kinda just took care of itself. I love the juxtaposition of elements, like scott's soaring beautiful vocal against my slightly jarring verse vox. Again, a human drum laid over a computer generated groove. But Ray was trying a new drum room out, and the sound was just huge and Zeppelin like, and it kinda then just spoke for itself.
» LEVESQUE: I remember hanging out and getting my party on and friend and I thinking most people are living to die — look at 'em — not simply just dotting the i's and crossing the t's in life, but doing it with real intent and caring. Like time flies, make it count. Heaven is a place on earth. Great and fulfilling lives are survived by other lives. So touch life, live it, don't just brace yourself for its mysteries. Great story about Matisse, tha painter. Someone asks him, "How do you paint goldfish with such life and exuberance?" He answers simply, "First I eat the goldfish, then i paint the goldfish."

"If Everything Falls Together"
» HARNEY: My favorite part of this is when the chorus comes in — I can really hear us all singing our hearts out: Ray, Luke, me, Scott. Like it's the last chorus left on the planet. Huge, beautiful, low-end stuff.
» LEVESQUE: Plus, maybe it's true.

"Music Is Drugs"
» HARNEY: The chorus of this song really drove it home. We didn't have it at the beginning, and it came as we worked on it. We knew what the song concept was, but until we could say it that simply we didn't have the song. Some ridiculous bass drops when the chorus hits! A very sorta rock standard that we wanted to have to anchor things.
» LEVESQUE: Yeah, it was completely written in the studio. In Brendan explaining a concept, a song was born. Music is right up there with some of the best!

"Coke and Tanqueray"
» HARNEY: Simple. Short. But, in a way, a big idea. Maybe not ....
» LEVESQUE: Sort of reminds me of how Jules Shear would let things be what they were. Again, four lines. We're working on less, promise.

"Mountains"
» HARNEY: probably the most tricky song on the record to get to feel really right. it was the first one we worked on, and as the album developed this one was kinda kicking around unfinished. scott played the drums on this, and it gave it a kooky/hippie kinda thing that put a smile on it. the outtro part is big time layered vox. we initially were thinking of having it really build, you know, with the big drums and all, but we would have lost the dreaminess. so, we kept it shorter, and more about the vocals overlapping. we do sometimes know when enough is enough.
» LEVESQUE: actually, we are getting better at it... hmmm...

"I Want Less"
» HARNEY: A wild one indeed! The spazzed drum track challenged us in a big way. In fact, we went back and forth about it's effectiveness, but in the end, it always felt flat without it. The was probably the only song we argued about for any real length of time. But we really felt that the record needed the challenge of this song. We wanted to widen the palette of acceptable character.
» LEVESQUE: This one sort of summed up our whole thing, I guess — definitely our main philosophy. Again, we've been "green" forever — reduce, reuse, and recycle. Plus, the groove was an interesting challenge to write over. It's great to always push what's comfortable, or what sounds familiar. Not simply just because, or to be obtuse, but to stretch the line of beauty and harmony. Favorite story No. 2: "Way enlightened Eastern musician comes to America to see an orchestra, and as the orchestra finishes tuning, the man stands and applauds loudly!"

"Baby in My Way"
» HARNEY: The only one that was recorded basically live; vocal and piano recorded together. Quick and in the moment. Then Ray invited Chris Baum to come in, and put strings on a few things, and he just kicked as on the end of this, so it became about that as the close of the record.
» LEVESQUE: It was another exercise in simple stark and harmonic fullness. I played the bass pedals with my hands on an old organ Ray had. I have always been in love with the "Doc at the Radar Station" / "Shiny Beast" period of Captain Beefheart in particular. Sort of a funny look at how having other people share your life, food, etc., offer a life-saving hand ultimately. A celebration on not just habitation, but co-habitation!

BONUS Q&A

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» EXPRESS: With all the label and industry drama you've gone through, I'm shocked you didn't pack it in — or did you, in fact, pack it in at various times, only to come back? Explain some of the dramatics.
» LEVESQUE: I think what had kept us doing it then and now is the simple love of the power of music; meaning that we close off the world, to our own detriment, at times, and just groove on the record concept, the songs, the sounds. We have this, and I think it's true for me as a person, ability to sort of shut out the extraneous trappings of the physical world. So, whether or not we were a buzz at times really was an aside for us, because we were and still are getting that and more simply by continuing the crafting of songs and the doing of Wheat.
» HARNEY: Dude — dramatics! The Wheat story is full of them! From flooded practice spaces, to labels folding, to major label mishaps, to small record label thievery, and on and on. But we've always had as the goal to just continue to put records out. I've never thought of us as incredibly resilient people — in fact, I'm sorta weakly constituted in a way — but, you know, we've really just basically ignored all of the ups and downs, and have counted ourselves lucky/blessed to be in the game at all. And, then, you know, when you communicate with fans of the material, it can be such a meaningful transaction. To touch someone, to give someone some hope, to be their soundtrack — as lame as that may sound — is an incredibly humbling and moving thing. Dramatics in a nutshell: One, early on when we started to prepare to do shows for "Hope and Adams" [album], the practice space — which was a mill building next to the Taunton River — flooded massively by the swelling of the river due to rains of biblical proportions: 75 years since the last rain of that size. Literally, fish in the water were flowing through the building! So, we had to pack it up, and find another space, and sorta start all over again.
» LEVESQUE: Including a massive amount of vinyl getting trashed and water damaged.
» HARNEY: Two, Guitar Player One leaves before the recording of "Mederios." Bass Player One, and an extremely close friend, leaves before the mixing of "Hope and Adams" 'cause he's getting too freaked out by the whole band process. Guitar Player Two — who was with us for every record, and basically from the beginning — leaves after the major label record [2003's "Per Second, Per Second, Per Second ... Every Second"]: going in different directions creatively, etc.
» LEVESQUE: Three, a lot of the guys we then had play with us along the way suddenly need $750 a week, plus a per diem — close to $1,000 a week just to be on the road. I mean, who makes that kind of money? Two dudes a week, plus gas, hotels, etc., plus impromptu unionization to rally a pay increase — Drama 101.
» HARNEY: Also, we signed to Nude Tecords out of London for original version "Per Second," only to have label go out of business leaving our record in legal limbo for the better part of a year before Sony came along and bought the rights.
» LEVESQUE: A bit more than a year, actually.
» HARNEY: Four, major label signs us, and as we go along we realize that it's pretty much oil and water.
» LEVESQUE: Business is another whole half — the music business is a kooky planet! Most everyone has their own rock 'n' roll fantasy, whether they make rock or not, so it's essentially four billion would-be-bitchy lead singers vieing for mic time — you do the math. Tto the tune of "Gloria": "D-R-A-M-A, drama!" But what a cool opportunity to see it all. We are so unbelievably lucky to have done and be doing everything and still have lives.
» HARNEY: But, man, that's all stuff for laughs now. Everybody tried hard, everybody cared. Here we are again.

» EXPRESS: I was also somewhat surprised to see "White Ink" on a label, versus a self-release, considering what you went through. Did you ever consider going this route for the album?
» HARNEY: Man, we, in no way, have it together enough to put our own records out. Plus, you know, we really love collaboration, and almost always there is a bunch of that when you're on a label. We're good at some things, and not so good at others. We do most things DIY style but, man, all that goes into releasing a record is just daunting. It's not enough just to make records — we also want them to get out to people.
» LEVESQUE: Plus, if you're all into business and getting distro, whose being the artist? Whose getting all mystical and boozy? Where is the suspension of disbelief? People who need people ....

» EXPRESS: When I found out about "White Ink," my first thought was, "Wow, they're back! I hope they don't self-destruct again." I have no idea why I thought you guys may have been self-destructive, though I'm thinking it might have something to do with Wheat being able to write these great pop songs, ones that feel like they should be huge hits ... followed by some kind of epic lo-fi freak-out thing, which may have derailed momentum. Am I off base here, or did you guys enjoying being willfully obscure or obtuse at times?
» HARNEY: Now you're getting into some fairly deep philosophical underpinnings of what makes the Wheat guys tick — and, what makes us good, and what makes us difficult. Thanks — good to talk about. It's not being willfully obscure; it's more about being very easily bored, and never wanting to even come close to repeating ourselves. We really do love pop, but we really also do love strange and difficult beauty. We've honestly never tried to make anything that wasn't about beauty. So, you know, it's not about fucking with people; we just try to find beauty in new ways. We always think that everybody is in the same boat as us, and can feel what we feel, but it's not always true. It's not catharsis as some people have said say about our last record [2007's "Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square"]. Damn, to us that record is really fucking beautiful!
» LEVESQUE: My love of musical acceptance is always overshadowed by my love of artistic exploration. But not just being as far out for far out sake, but all the spaces in between the extremes. Like, say, atonal screechy grey noise pressed up against the most pristine and pointed woodwind. No camp. No manifesto hung up on the rehearsal room wall. Way easily bored, not just with major money sugar-pop extremes, but also with the "I have nothing to say and I'm saying it" from the other extreme. We always talk about fucking things up in terms of sounds for interest and exploration, but never to intentionally in a business sense — that just came as a natural side effect, I guess. Funny, like Bren said, we have always seen our records as a sort or natural focus, tweak, focus thing. Like using a cosmic telescope of sorts, aimed straight at the heavens. Just that the heavens and earth move constantly, so there is focus, tweak, focus ....

» EXPRESS: I never thought about this before "White Ink," but Scott's voice reminds me of Tim Kinsella, the dude from Cap'n Jazz and Joan of Arc, who might be the king of turning left when everyone expects him to swerve right. Is Kinsella a kindred spirit in any way?
» HARNEY: Early on for me the Joan of Arc stuff was kinda important. Loved its awkwardness and strangeness. But beyond that, we've certainly never even thought about them when making music. Again, we're always trying to make soulful, beautiful, honest and touching songs — they just keep coming out Wheat.

» EXPRESS: The new record is fantastic, and it's perhaps the least obtuse one yet. It sounds great and it's super-consistent and focused. Did any particular things change within the band or your mindsets that led to the songs on "White Ink" being as they are?
» HARNEY: Thanks. Well, we really wanted to make a record that reflected the positivity and oneness that we felt as people. We wanted it to really connect on a very elemental level, and in order to do that, the music needs to have a certain simplicity and solidness. There were/are people we really love — some of them fans, some of them friends, some of them family — and we sorta thought of this record as a kinda living gift to them. We can never predict or influence how people hear a record, but we can deal with the intent. and, the intent was love. Real love.
» LEVESQUE: Yeah, it doesn't get any simpler than black and white — just really trying to focus in thoughts and feelings. I think that it also comes from a much broader understanding of being public. Also, like also being aware of being heard or being in front of an audience or something; not a lot journal entries on this record. As a songwriter, I wrote from this quiet place where only I went and it was only for me or just us, while the writing now feels a bit more in the world, in real time. We made decisions based on our past and our experiences doing songs in the world. As far as simple goes, I have always tried to way reduce and reuse; we've been "green" in many ways, for a long time. I have always tried to say things as simply as possible, with as few words as possible. I have songs with four actual lines of verse. Less has always been exciting to us — the directness is a bit of a celebrated new way of being for though maybe.

» EXPRESS: One of the interesting things about Wheat is that you will still be considered a brand new band by many people, even thought you've been at it for 13 years. Is that in any way frustrating? Liberating? Indifferent?
» HARNEY: Not at all frustrating — 'cause as you can see, we haven't given much of a shit about the big career arc. But both something that is liberating — 'cause we can just kinda always do exactly as we want — and something we're basically indifferent about — 'cause, hell, we'd do it our own way anyway. But for a second, I'll challenge the premise of the question: See, we've kinda found that people really dig one record of ours or another, and then kinda want that version of Wheat to be the one that they always get. And that seems to leave a trail of disappointment here and there. We are a tough band to follow, 'cause of the constant changing, but, you know, "Change is, the better part of me."
» LEVESQUE: We were just talking about the balance we have been given over the last bunch of years. We have been able to have a career releasing records world-wide, traveling the entire U.S., Europe, etc.; a few movie sountrack things, tiny TV junk. I mean, I know personally some of the smartest, coolest of thought, pinnacle of artistic thought folks that there are. Our boyhood rock 'n' roll dreams literally fulfilled, etc., all the while having complete and fulfilling real personal lives. Not surrounded by a bunch of "yes" folk. Kind of like having cake and then like taking a piece, eating it, living — taking another — the best of both worlds kind of thing. Without the sycophants hiding in the pantry, or camping out in the garden. I'm way, way way, blessed. My cup constantly run over and over.

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