Interview with Daytrotter

As his Twitter bio states, Sean Moeller "started Daytrotter in 2006 and that's what I continue to do every day."

The idea is that touring bands pop into Daytrotter's Horseshack studio in Rock Island, Illinois as they pass by on the way to their next show. The ethos is to keep-it-simple so that what the bands leave behind is "four absolutely collectible songs that often impart on whomever listens to them the true intensity that these musicians put into their art, sometimes with more clarity than they do when they have months to tinker with overdubs and experiments. These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive."

Johnnie Cluney  is Daytrotter's illustrator-in-chief ("I play and write songs under American Dust.  I like music, food, bad tv and art."), producing one-off band portraits for each seesion.

I traded emails with them both this week.

The Turnaround: With your distinctive band portraits, artwork is clearly important to Daytrotter. How did they come about?

Johnnie Cluney: well Sean had the idea for Daytrotter and asked me to do the illustrations. They have changed a bit over the years, but I think they have always had a consistent look, and that's what I go for. I was a bit freaked out at first since I only worked with two colors at a time for my fliers and show posters, but here I am working with color, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Johnnie Cluney illustration for Woods session (Oct 2009)

The Turnaround: Do you have a favourite of all the ones done over the years?

JC: Its probably impossible to have one favorite, but... I do like the Woods session quite a bit.

The Turnaround: Any thoughts on favourite album back covers and why?

JC: My favorite back cover to an album is the Walmart version of In Utero. When I was a kid I noticed that all the little fetus babies were turtles on my CD, and that the song "Rape Me" was actually "Waif Me". I found out that Nirvana had released a censored version for Walmart. Major bummer. This back cover made me question morals as an artist, and showed me that Nirvana was not so punk after all.

Sean Moeller: I'm impossible when it comes to favorites.

My current favorite back cover though is Johnny Paycheck's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" album. It's basically the same as the front cover, just with some credits and the song titles. The reason I like this back cover so much is because I like the front cover so much. It's iconic in as much of a way as Paycheck should be and it's a perfect photograph to represent the songs that he writes.

Interview with M C Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger

This week I have had the good fortune to trade emails with M C Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, whose Poor Moon was an early album to feature on The Turnaround. He kindly shared his thoughts on the importance of album art and introduced me to the recordings of Terry Allen.

M C Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger (Paradise of Bachelors)

The Turnaround: How important is the imagery you use on your album covers and how involved do you get in the designs? 

M C Taylor: It's pretty important. I need to feel that there is a connection between the imagery on the album cover and the music, even if nobody else does. I've been fortunate thus far to be able to actualize the ideas I have in my head with the help of Brendan Greaves, who has done the design and layout for all of the HGM covers except the very first one. I think good artwork can be rendered ineffective if it isn't properly laid out. I was also very lucky to have Alex Jako do the line drawings for Poor Moon, her work is unparalleled.

The Turnaround: I read somwhere that you specifically wanted to reference the Nonesuch Explorer Series on the Poor Moon album art. What appeals to you about those designs?

M C Taylor: I like their starkness. They feel classic to me. They feel connected to the music and to other albums in the series. There is an obvious effort to frame the drawings that appear on those covers using a lot of open space, and there is an clear attention to (and affection for) font.


Example from the Nonesuch Explorer Series (www.computeraudiophile.com)

The Turnaround: Did re-recording versions of songs for Poor Moon that originally appeared on Bad Debt change the way you felt about them?

M C Taylor: Not really, no.

The Turnaround: Any thoughts on a favorute piece of back cover art?

You asked this question and I was thinking of the back cover of Terry Allen's Lubbock (On Everything). It's a picture of him covering his face with his hands, wearing a hat. It's an evocative image.

Hiss Golden Messenger have just announced a split 7" with Micah Elephant, released on Paradise of Bachelors, and are working on a new album.

Expect Lubbock (On Everything) to feature here at a future date.


M C Taylor in the studio working on the new album (Paradise of Bachelors)



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