Deadstring Brothers Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 1st 2010 11:22AM by David A. Cobb
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Deadstring Brothers stem from Nashville-by-way-of Detroit musician Kurt Marschke and his love of the country-rock music of the late '60s and early '70s. The band's music calls upon legends such as Gram Parsons, the Band, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, and Marschke and company make a point to treat their influences with reverence. Spinner recently spoke with Marschke about the band's new album ('Sao Paulo'), his thoughts on SXSW and his plans for 2010.

Listening to your music, we get a real sense of blues-y rock, like 1970s Stones, or maybe a grittier Southern band like the Allman Brothers. How would you describe your sound in your own words?

Late '60s country-rock meets early '70s outlaw country and rock.

How did your band form?

The band started kicking around in 2003, and we released a long-player in 2003. We got distribution in England, so we started touring over there in 2004. Then in 2005 we did the Bloodshot [Records] deal, and our first record on Bloodshot came out in 2006.

What can you tell me about the new album? It was just released in the States, correct?

Right. We recorded it in Detroit, in our studio up there. I guess it's a little darker than the previous record, lyrically. You know, it's another country-rock record from the Deadstring Brothers.

What inspired the song 'Houston'?

Texas. We've been going down doing SX since 2005. I just love Texas. I love going down there, love playing there and love the people. So I wrote a fictitious story just naming Texas towns, and it's a cool little tribute to a state that I just love.

What are you looking forward to most at this year's SXSW?

I recently relocated to Nashville, but historically what I like about going down to SX is that you leave Michigan. Mid-March in Michigan is total s--- weather. Believe it or not, we can get snow into April up there. Going to Texas in March, you get to breathe fresh air, you know. You get some 80-degree weather, you get some sun. SX is just a treat. Yeah, business gets done down there, but most of the people I know that go down there -- anyone from the North -- is just happy to be down there.

Other than SXSW, what do you have planned for 2010? Planning to tour to support the new record?

Yeah, the road, hardcore. It's getting off to a slow start, but come May, June, July, August, September, we're going to roll through the whole year on the road.

What's your favorite part about touring?

Just playing. If you're going to be a musician, you've got to play every day. You feel like you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Playing live, recording, and writing is what I do.

What do you consider to be your musical influences, and how do these play into the music you make?

They play pretty directly in. You've got the whole late-'60s country-rock movement -- Gram Parsons, Dylan, and the Stones and the Band -- into the early '70s "outlaw country" movement -- Willie, Waylon, Kris Kristofferson. The whole early '70s country thing, which we're hugely influenced by as well.

How did you come up with your band name?

It's loosely drawn off of a song I had written. The song was called 'Six Dead Strings,' and it was about just trying to play a guitar that wouldn't tune. I had to name the band one night when a friend asked me to come play.

Beatles or Stones?

You'd think it would be the Stones, but I couldn't answer that question, because the songwriting of the Beatles and those performances are so profound. We play Beatles songs in rehearsal all the time. It's a draw.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I don't mind admitting to anything, but the early '70s Bee Gees -- just pre-disco Bee Gees -- is some of the best s--- ever.