Guitarist and songwriter Robert Roth's rich musical history includes work with poet laureate/punk pioneer Jim Carroll, as well as his success with critical darlings Truly in the mid '90s. He's currently finishing up a solo record for Pattern 25 Records and building a new home studio in Georgetown. Roth plays Chop Suey on Fri Aug 9.
I'm so damn impressed with how warm your record sounds. It's all digitally recorded, but it sounds like a great '70s analog New Yorkish album. I'm assuming the warmth was a deliberate goal--how did you get it out of ProTools? "It's actually a program called Digital Performer, but it's very similar. It was a challenge--when I started this project, people hadn't embraced the technology the way they have now. There weren't that many people to talk to about it. But the way I looked at it, if you listen to a lot of CD versions of records from the '60s and '70s, they sound warm because they were recorded on analog before they were translated to a digital format. So I try to apply that philosophy--and that's what I try to do with my sound, but using my compressors, mics, and tubes. The goal is to capture the traits of analog sound before it hits the computer."
How did your friendship with Jim Carroll form? "Back when we were finishing up Fast Stories from Kid Coma [Truly's last record for Capitol], they were making the Basketball Diaries movie. The director wanted some Jim Carroll new material for the soundtrack, and Jim needed someone to write with. Jim's ex-wife and attorney, Rosemary Carroll, was also Truly's attorney, so she introduced us. He called me up on the phone and we just became friends through these long phone conversations. We wrote a couple of songs over the phone...."
But you finished them in New York? "After Truly finished mixing in New York, Jim and I went to a studio in Brooklyn so he could finish his vocals. The other song was finished by Lenny Kaye from the Patty Smith Group--he mixed it. Jim ended up being a sort of mentor for my songwriting. At one point I was going to have him read poetry during this song called "Angel Head," which was based on an Allen Ginsberg poem. [Carroll] left me a message at the studio one day, saying, 'Don't be surprised if Allen Ginsberg shows up later. I told him about your recording.'"
Eek! "Yeah, I was like, 'Holy shit!' and then AC/DC walked in to check out the studio! I was so nervous and freaked out trying to finish my lyrics before Ginsberg got there that I was totally uninterested in meeting AC/DC--which I kinda regret because they seemed really, really nice. But then Jim called and said he was hanging out with Johnny Depp and they might be going to a party...."
So Ginsberg never showed? "No--this would be a much better story if he did!"
