Interview: Rocky Votolato
08.02.15

A mainstay of the Seattle music scene for over 15 years, Rocky Votolato has garnered critical applause for much of his catalog. With the release of his ninth studio album Hospital Handshakes earlier this year, he has proved that despite taking a break from the music, both his talent and fan base are as strong as ever. Emotionally transparent and spanning a range of influences, the new album fits my headphones like a glove, serving up a Chris Walla-produced gem of determination and lyrical mantras. Along with Walla, Votolato assembled a killer team of musicians including fellow Seattleites Cody Votolato (Rocky’s brother who’s also in the Blood Brothers), Eric Corson (The Long Winters), Andy Lum (My Goodness) and Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens) to play, and the results are a perfectly timed, off-the-cuff album that feels both immediate and reflective.

SMN: So we actually were just up in Everett at a My Goodness show last night.
Rocky: Cool did you see Andy?
SMN: Yeah Andy and Cody and Joel were all up there.
Rocky: Ah that’s great.

SMN: So just to start it off I’m going to throw a roundabout question out for you. What’s something that people would be surprised to learn about you?
Rocky: You know those are the kind of questions that I’m not good at. It’s like somebody asked me on my last interview, “What’s the most adorable thing you’ve ever heard?” And I was like, “You know, I just don’t know.” I don’t know something that would be surprising for people. Most people, if they follow me, know most things about me because I’m so open in my interviews. Maybe they’d be surprised that I really like anime, like you know Miyazaki, the guy that does the Studio Ghibli movies. I really love those movies. Maybe somebody would be surprised by that.
SMN: Yeah, that’s cool.
Rocky: That’s not something everybody in music is super into but I think his movies are genius. He’s probably one of my favorite artists of any medium.
SMN: See, it’s just something fun. So you’re out on tour right now and you’re headed our way, ending here in Seattle.
Rocky: I’ll be there in late August.

SMN: So how’s the tour going so far?
Rocky: It’s going great. It’s funny because you saw those guys last night but they’ll both be with me at the Seattle show. I’m fronting these bands and Cody and Andy will be in the band.
SMN: Nice! Actually, that was one of my later questions, because you recorded with them but you’re touring with other band members?
Rocky: I’m just touring solo right now but I’m getting the band together for the show in Seattle. The tour’s going great. I’m out here with Dave Hause and Chris Farren, both of whom are really good friends and great songwriters that I respect a lot and it’s a fun package. Three songwriters, basically, doing our thing. We’ve been having a really good time and the shows have been great. I’m in New Orleans tonight and I haven’t been here in three years or something, so it’s pretty cool.

SMN: It’s been a little while since you were out. You took a little break. What do you think is different or new about what you’re doing now with your music?
Rocky: You know, basically I went through a period of not writing and then just had an explosion of creativity and we made a new album and it all just poured out in a few months. With this new record Hospital Handshakes, the addition of the new material, it’s really worked. It really just breathed new life into the set and into everything I’m doing. It was really an inspired period of writing and I’m excited to get out on tour and bring these songs to people.

SMN: You’ve experimented before from going from a quiet indie-folk sound to more of a driving-rock, punk sound, I feel like you strike a nice balance on the new album but is there one of those that comes more naturally to you?
Rocky: It’s interesting because they both are such a part of how I write, just forms of expression that I really enjoy working in and styles that naturally come out. It’s always been a little bit of a struggle to figure out which direction is this project going in. When I had Waxwing, I had all those louder ideas and more hard-hitting songs with the band, and then all of the stuff that was more singer-songwriter and folk and more mellow would end up on the solo albums.

I think since I just have this one project, it’s like trying to strike that balance between the two but also just pick the best songs and I think that’s what ended up being the deciding factor. I think I wrote around thirty songs for the record and we really went through all of them and just picked the ones that we thought were the best songs and let that dictate, rather than focusing on genre or style necessarily. With the band and how we produced the record, I think Chris [Walla] did a good job with this, was trying to make everything cohesive and feel like one approach and one project, even though it does span some different styles, there’s definitely different moods and feels on the record, but I think it goes back to the songs for me. Underneath, it’s just my songwriting.

SMN: You start with lyrics and then sort of figure out what it sounds like later or do you start on the guitar?
Rocky: It’s usually starting with the lyrics for me nowadays. In the past, I didn’t have melodies and guitar parts and all that. I’ve traveled so much and I write more than ever. I think the ideas and the words are where things start for me these days. I get an idea that I like and once I want to express it, then I kind of figure out the music. The music comes naturally after that.

SMN: How instrumental do you think it was to the album, working with Chris Walla?
Rocky: He was really a big part of it. We did pre-production together and he listened to all the demos with me and helped me pick which songs were going to go on the record and the he played on every song. The production, I’m super happy with. I think it even sounds a little bit like Death Cab [For Cutie] which would make sense because he’s the guy who was producing that and he’s playing on this and producing it and recording it, and engineering everything.

I was really open to that because I’ve always been a fan of the kind of sounds he creates, just his general approach in terms of technical perspective, like how he chooses his instruments and just his tastes. I also wanted to record it to tape, which we did, and that was really important to me because I didn’t want to overthink the record. Probably the last few things I’ve made, I was really in a place where I was being super critical of the albums and the whole process and taking a long time. I spent like, I don’t know, two years recording Television of Saints. There was a lot of thought and a lot of editing going in to everything I did with making that album so as a reaction, I think this time I just wanted to do it really fast, let it flow, and see what happens.

So we did the whole album in a little over two weeks at his studio in Fremont. We recorded 95% of everything straight to tape, live off the floor, and I think it feels really fresh for that reason. Chris was a huge part of that because he’s a producer I can definitely trust with that format. We did Suicide Medicine together, a little over ten years ago now, and that’s the same approach we took for that record. I knew it would work well with him.
SMN: Like immediately capturing the moment.
Rocky: Yeah, it’s a little bit more of a punk-rock approach to music, I guess, which I think is good. There’s pros and cons to every method you take, in terms of trying to record music, but I think for me, and the head space I was in, it was definitely the right way to make this record. I’m super happy with the energy we captured on it.
SMN: You said obviously there’s a little Death Cab in there. Some of the production definitely sounds like it. Another one that came out for me, I think it was on “So Unexpected”, it’s got a little bit of alt-country, Ryan Adams kind of sound to it.
Rocky: Yeah, I think I can hear that there too. It wasn’t intentional at the time but that definitely came out. I think that’s cool. I feel like at this point in my career I’ve kind of established my own sound and my own voice so if it ends up feeling similar to some other artist that I respect, that’s totally fine with me.

SMN: You’ve also worked with both of your siblings before, on this record or others. Is there any sibling rivalry that comes up or are you guys pretty supportive of each other at this point?
Rocky: You know, we were more fiery and competitive when we were younger but I think now we’re both really happy for each other, my older brother, too. We all work really well together and are super supportive of what each other’s doing. Any project that any of the other ones are working on, we are always happy to help. I love having my brothers involved in anything I’m doing.

Cody and I have worked together more than ever on projects lately. He actually co-wrote a couple of the songs on the record with me. They’re involved in producing, just from a standpoint of, when I picked the songs for the album, he was helping me go through and record the demos. We were on tour, even when I was writing a lot of the record. It’s just good to get his feedback and opinion on stuff because I really respect him and I trust his judgment artistically. Having him play on the whole record was really great for me too. Cody played on pretty much all my albums over the years, at least a cameo on one song. This is the one he’s been most involved in but he’s always kind of been a secret member of what I’m doing.
SMN: It’s nice to have somebody in the family to call on.
Rocky: Yeah, it is, and someone who’s seen your whole catalog and your history and knows where you’ve been. Just having somebody there that you can rely on and trust to talk to about decisions is really useful. I’m super grateful to have that through the process of making this record.

SMN: And you’re going to pull that recording band back together for the Seattle show?
Rocky: Yeah, most all the pieces will be there. Actually the bass player will be Andrew from Waxwing.
SMN: Oh, nice.
Rocky: Yeah, which Cody and I have played with for 10 plus years. He’s a wonderful bass player. Andy will be in the band as well. You know what’s interesting? Andy’s going to be playing keyboard. I’ve got a different guy playing drums. I’m looking forward to having the full five-piece band because we’ll be able to realize all the sounds on the album as well. A lot of that stuff, I miss it, if it’s just the guitars. It’s just really cool to have all the extra sounds and everything.

SMN: I saw you also just put out a six-track, Kindred Spirit with Chuck Ragan. How did that come about?
Rocky: That was great. Basically, Chuck and I have been talking about doing a split together for a few years now and we were just waiting for the right opportunity. We had planned on trying to get in to track something together, but our schedules never worked out. We both had some songs leftover from some other recording sessions we’d done and they reached out to me and said, “Hey, Chuck’s got these songs from his last album that he wants to release and he’d love it if you had a few to go with it and we can make it into a 10 inch.”

From there, I dug through what I had in terms of recordings, unreleased tracks that I thought fit the vibe of Chuck’s songs the best. We came up with that. It’s really cool. He came up with a title, which I think is awesome. He’s one of my best friends. We did 12 weeks together on the road and a couple of tours of duty like that and you feel really connected. I really enjoyed working with him on the Revival tour and we got along really well. It’s fun to be able to do a project together with him. I’m really honored.
SMN: I took a quick listen to the tracks and it sounds like a nice little bundle.
Rocky: Yeah, yeah, it is. It’s all kind of in the same vein. The songs for me are actually older tracks. They’re with a different band and they’re more in, I guess I’d say, an alt-country vibe, but that’s a style that I still write in all the time and I really like that part of what comes out when I go into the studio. I’m just really happy that whole thing came together.

SMN: Speaking of little treats, do you have any favorite late-night snack recommendations? What do crave on tour?
Rocky: For me, on tour, right now, it’s been Butterfingers which is so bad. I shouldn’t be eating that stuff. That’s what I go for. When I’m home, I really like the Theo’s chocolate. You ever eat those?
SMN: Oh yeah, for sure.
Rocky: My wife and I always eat those. I go for anything coffee ice cream. That’s my favorite snack or for dessert. If I can get coffee ice cream, that’s usually my first choice.

SMN: What would you say is your spirit animal?
Rocky: Oh, my spirit animal is a wolf.
SMN: I love that you had it totally ready.
Rocky: Yeah, I know that one, actually. My wife is a falcon and I’m a wolf. We always have the little pictures and glasses with pictures of wolves and falcons. We kind of stick to that.

SMN: If you had to describe your sound in three words, what would they be?
Rocky: This is a tough question because I hate to put category on it. Usually when people ask me, I say singer-songwriter, but is that two words?
SMN: It’s a hyphen. We can call it one if you want.
Rocky: Singer-songwriter and then also folk-punk.
SMN: Okay, I’ll give it to you.
Rocky: Or you can say indie folk-punk. Some people say that. It’s so hard. How do most artists answer that question? Do they just say things related to categories of music?
SMN: Yeah, sometimes people throw out something funny and some take it more seriously and try to actually describe their sound. I’ll take anything.
Rocky: Okay, I’ve got it. Scratch all that that I just said. Can we do this question again?
SMN: Go for it.
Rocky: I would say it’s music for lovers.
SMN: I’ll take that for sure.
Rocky: Because so many couples show up at my shows. That’s really what I’ve noticed these days and that’s three words so there you go.

SMN: Okay, last question. If you’re stranded on a desert island, and can only have one book, one movie, and one album, what would they be?
Rocky: Okay, the one album would be… God, these are the kinds of questions I need to think about. It’s like “Oh God, here we go.” You know, can I email you back the answers?
SMN: [Here we both laugh.] You can, I suppose. We don’t want you to have regrets about your choices.

And with that, we let the ever-game Rocky get back to his tour duties. He followed up shortly after with his picks:

Book: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Movie: The Royal Tenenbaums
Album: The Beatles – Abbey Road

Be sure to catch the stellar line up of Rocky, Dave Hause and Chris Farren as they bring the tour to a close at The Crocodile here in Seattle on August 29th.

Get your tickets here.

And find out more about Zero Platoon and their amazing work here.

Interview by Stephanie Dore