New West recording artists All Them Witches will make a stop at A&R Music Bar tonight – the last date they’ve booked stateside before they embark on a European tour for much of August. Their latest album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, is a carefully crafted set with its roots planted firmly in psychedelic rock and tinged with jazz and soul. Band members Charles Michael Parks, Jr. (vocals/bass), Ben McLeod (guitar), Allan Van Cleave (keyboards), and Columbus native Robby Staebler (drums) first broke out in 2012 with their debut album Our Mother Electricity. Leaning into their jazz influences, All Them Witches has gained notoriety for not just their intensive performances, but their unwillingness to stick to a script – both on stage and in the studio .The band makes a concerted effort to track their songs live when they do record, which is acknowledged by many in the industry as a fading art. Guitarist Ben McLeod explains: “We go in the studio with about half the songs written, then a few more only partially written. We end up using a lot of spur of the moment jams. We will take bits of them and splice them as intros, endings or just add vocals to them to make a complete song. It’s a lot of fun. We never know what is gonna happen.”
McLeod and I had a chance to exchange some questions and answers as they prepped for their Columbus show this week, where they’ll share the bill with Rochester, New York-based rockers King Buffalo.
It’s rare to hear bands who include instrumental tracks on their projects – more seem to save those for live performances – but you have three full-length ones on “Dying Surfer…”. Do you intentionally sit down and develop instrumental pieces, or do those just evolve and you then just get a feeling that vocals don’t fit them?
“‘Mellowing’ and ‘Caveman Future’ were written before we went in. ‘El Centro’ was literally one riff that we jammed on a few times. It was the first song we recorded for Dying Surfer... If an instrumental is strong enough, we don’t bother. I always want Parks to come up with a vocal melody on everything, but sometimes we agree just to leave it as a jam.
I’ve talked to a lot of musicians recently who have transitioned from being connected to a label to being completely independent. You’ve just recently signed with New West after being independent for three years. How have things changed for you since you made that move?
‘Well, it was bittersweet for me personally. I loved being able to release live jams and EPs whenever we wanted. But we are very close with the team at New West. It was smart to kind of say, ‘Hey let’s try and have some strategy here…plan releases around tours and what not.’ Also, getting recording advances is pretty sweet. We have a good relationship with them and feel like we can record whatever album we want, with whomever we want.”
You’re playing a lot of dates overseas this fall. Has there been a difference in booking shows and working with venues abroad than what you’ve experienced here in the US?
“Yes. Huge difference. We have been touring for 3 years solid in the states, then we get to Europe and do our first tour and sold out every show but two. We are barely selling out places here. We have great fans in the states….just way more overseas.”
You’ve listed many influences from the late 60s and early 70s that have greatly impacted your music. So if you could record just a single track with one of those artists, who would it be and what do you envision that song would sound like if you had the chance to pull them into a studio?
“We would record ‘Wharf Rat” with me, (Jerry) Garcia and Roy Buchanan trading solos…for 2 hours.”
I know Robby is from and lives in Columbus. Has he been hearing anything interesting or intriguing in local music that’s caught his attention? Is there a such thing as a “Columbus sound”?
“Robby says Columbus could use more bands. It is a great city with so much potential. Our friends, SHVS and Beggars are great too.”
Regardless of intent, all music has societal commentary – even if it’s abstract. What are some issues that are the most important to you, and do people pick up on them when they listen?
“I hope there are no issues in our music. I know Parks keeps lyrical meanings to himself for this very reason. He respects listeners’ own ideas about what his lyrics mean. Same reason why music videos are pointless for us. Everyone sees different things when they listen to a song. There is no one viewpoint for our music.”
When you’re not creating in the studio or touring, what might fans be surprised about that you all do during your days off? Or do you take days off?
“This tour: lots of swimming. We normally hike a few times a week when we go out to the west coast. I surf when I can get my hands on a board on the coast. We take one day off out of seven. It’s funny because when we stay with friends on days off, we are so tired and just want to watch Rick and Morty on the couch.”
All Them Witches and King Buffalo will appear tonight at A&R Music Bar in the Arena District, 391 Neil Avenue. Tickets are $15.00 (plus taxes and fees) via Ticketmaster. Additional information, music downloads, and other merchandise can be found on the band’s website.
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