But funnily enough, that book that just came out, Gangster Squad? He's in it. They don't use his name [in the book] but Mickey Cohen sent some guys to beat up a bookie after my grandfather had been in his shop. He got beaten half to death and my grandfather got kicked off the force for a year.
At least, that was his story. I assume he probably was taking bribes for beating up bookies So anyway, I read this book and I thought, 'wait a minute, that's my grandfather! Gary: You're writing the next record at the moment. What you're saying is pretty much it. Stories like that must make being a rock and roll guitarist seem tame. Peter: Oh yeah. My other grandfather got in a barroom brawl at 82 and bit a guy's ear off. That's the kind of a life that we don't think of any more.
They were a tough old breed, those old people. Back to the album How did recording in Topanga Canyon influence the sound? Gary: It was beautiful up there for sure. It definitely made us more relaxed. No rattlesnakes, then? Gary: No, not at that time of year. You're up at the top of a mountain, the studio doors can all be opened, there's fresh air. Everything feels breezier and brighter.
You can't help but feel influenced by that environment. So even though the lyrics are dark, that's probably why the music is so upbeat. Why did you abandon the concept of being a country band? Gary: That's a great myth I created that never quite materialised. But it was the jumping off point, you know? I was fascinated by a couple of compilations I had called Country Got Soul which was the inspiration for going into this record and giving it a more soulful, Americana vibe.
What's on that album? Country artists covering Marvin Gaye? Gary: It's literally country songs that sound like soul music, and soul music that sounds like country. Peter: There was a big thing in the South where you'd grow up listening to black music and Grand Ole Opry and somehow they'd cross over. I grew up playing with blues bands - but you'd always listen to what the black bands were doing, because they were always a step ahead.
Gary, are you singing differently with Tired Pony? Gary: It's funny - Garrett kept pushing me to sing worse and worse. Funnily enough, my voice hasn't sounded as good as it's done in a long time.
When you go out and shout in the canyon there must be a fantastic echo? Everyone in the band's a multi-instrumentalist. How do you decide who plays what? Peter: It all depends on the songs Gary brings in. We'll say, 'that one should be a finger-picking one, and this one, let's push it somewhere else'. I go in at noon, and I don't have a clue as to what we're going to do. REM was the opposite, wasn't it? You'd came up with the instrumentals and have to wait for Michael Stipe to add the melodies and lyrics.
Peter: Well, right. I had to write 20 songs and by the time I'd written 20 songs, I'd have a vague idea of where the record was going to go, even if some of them got rejected.
But this is really refreshing - not having a clue. No demos, no rehearsal, no cassette tapes in the mail. It's terrifying in its own way because every day you've got to be as good as you can be. Every day is a brand new song. Do you prefer that approach? Peter: Yeah. Fleet Foxes, Foals, Frightened Rabbit and Grizzly Bear are all evidence of this, as are more than a dozen bands with "wolf" in their names - but the humble pony hasn't got much of a look in.
As well as conjuring-up images of aspirational eight-year-old girls, the word's appropriation for cockney rhyming slang a London patois to signify shoddiness, offers a possible reason why. This group's decision to add the word "tired" - which is often used to mean hackneyed or bland - to the already questionable "pony" is a perplexing one.
Perhaps the name was devised with the intention of scaring away potential listeners? But thankfully, the alt-country supergroup Tired Pony's debut is not as bad as all that. Despite what their name might suggest, Tired Pony's music is not shoddy or hackneyed, although it can be a little bland. The record starts slowly with Northwestern Skies, a ghostly, banjo-driven folk ballad.
The second track, Get on the Road, features the Snow Patrol man duetting with the actress and occasional singer Zooey Deschanel. The album arrived in and featured a small number of guest appearances, including vocalist Bronagh Gallagher and actress Minnie Driver. AllMusic relies heavily on JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to use the site fully. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Jazz Latin New Age. Aggressive Bittersweet Druggy. Energetic Happy Hypnotic.
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