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radio interview last year
I've been sitting on this for almost a year now,
but here's a transcript of an excellent radio
interview. In fact, it's one of the best radio
interviews I've ever heard, and one of the best
OtR interviews I've come across. Hopeful that it
would be so, I recorded the live broadcast onto a
professional editing hard-drive and cut out
most(over 200!) of the "andumm"s and stutters and
such. In the transcription I omitted a few
conversational mannerisms like "uh huh", but
other than adding subject headings I did not
alter the content except where noted.
The transcript is made available to this list by
yours truly and by verbal permission of the
interviewer, Keith West, of WRVG 89.9FM in
Georgetown, KY. http://www.worldradio.org/ This
is by light-years the coolest station in central
Kentucky, by the way, and can be received almost
all the way north to the Cinti/NoKY area, and as
far west as southern Indiana. They've been
playing several songs from the new CD and are
very excited about OtR.
ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT
WRVG 89.9FM GEORGETOWN KENTUCKY
"RHYTHM" WITH KEITH WEST
INTERVIEW WITH KARIN BERGQUIST AND LINFORD
DETWEILER OF "OVER THE RHINE"
MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2000
LIVE IN STUDIO B
ENGINEER: MIKE FRANCIS
INTRODUCTION
[KEITH]
Earlier this afternoon we had some time with
Pamela Means who will be performing tonight on
The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Also on the
bill tonight are Over the Rhine, and joining us
from the band: Karin Bergquist as well as Linford
Detweiler. Welcome to the show!
[KARIN] Thank you.
[LINFORD] Those are our stage names.
[Keith laughs]
Those are the stage names? No, not really.
[KARIN] I'm Smith, he's Jones, really.
[KEITH laughs]
Well, first of all, you guys have a great CD out
called "Good Dog, Bad Dog"; we'll talk about
that- it's kind of a... you kind of went the
other way around getting this thing produced.
We'll talk about that and we'll talk about where
Over the Rhine is these days, but first, would
you guys like to start us off with a song?
[KARIN] Sure!
["WELCOME TO THE GOLDRUSH" WITH BOTH PLAYING
GUITAR (DI) AND KARIN SINGING]
[KEITH]
Yeah! There's Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine
here on "Rhythm," 89.9 WRVG. They'll be
performing tonight down at The Woodsongs Old-Time
Radio Hour along with Pamela Means. The taping is
tonight, and unfortunately that show is booked
up- all the more reason to phone in the Woodsongs
reservation hotline at 231-5555 and get in on the
next available show.
Once again, Karin and Linford, welcome to the
program and welcome to WRVG. This is your-all's
first visit, isn't it?
[LINFORD] I believe it is. Thank you very much
for having us!
THE NAME
[KEITH]
Well it's our pleasure! When someone mentioned to
me about your band, Over the Rhine, I said, "Oh,
yeah. I know them. I've heard their stuff." And I
said, "You know what Over-the-Rhine is, don't
you?" And they said, "No." And I said, "Well
that's not where you want to be after dark in
Cincinnati." But you guys have been together
performing for over ten years? Is that right?
[KARIN]
Yeah, that's true. We started about ten years ago
when I relocated to Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine at
that time. And that particular neighborhood at
that time was a lot different than it is today.
It's gentrified quite a bit and it's become a bit
of a happenin' place.
[KEITH] Is it?! Yeah!
[KARIN]
Yeah, it really has. Main street in
Over-the-Rhine is just an amazing... it's done an
amazing turn-around and I think it's been good
for a lot of people. I think it's been bad for
some that had homes there for much of their
lives, and sometimes those living in poverty
still end up being in poverty, only relocated,
and I think in some situations that's what
happened, unfortunately. So, good with the bad.
[LINFORD]
There's even a high-tech thing goin' on where a
lot of internet start-up companies are starting
right down there on Main Street.
[KEITH] Is that right?
[LINFORD]
There's talk... there's a number of Seattle
companies that are involved, and it's quite a
mishmash of everything right now.
[KEITH]
I've been out of the Cincinnati loop just a
little bit too long, I guess!
[KARIN]
So have we, actually. We've been traveling so
much that when we go home it's a new place for
us, actually.
THE HOME RECORDINGS
[KEITH]
Let's talk about "Good Dog, Bad Dog", the album
that is out on Back Porch and Virgin. This is a
collection of home songs, is that right? How did
this album come about?
[LINFORD]
Well you probably remember the band when we were
on IRS Records. We actually had three records
released on that label. I think the last one came
out in '95, and not long after that the label was
sort of absorbed into a larger company and ended
up closing its doors, and we were sort of out on
the street starting over. And we had poured quite
a bit of our life and energy into those first
three records and had travelled around the world,
often, you know, staying in one hotel room and
that sort of thing.
[KEITH] Right.
[LINFORD]
And for me personally at that time I really,
really questioned whether I should pack it in.
[KEITH]
I was going to say, when that happens, 'cause
you're obviously not the first band for that to
happen to, and sometimes they say, "Oh, the heck
with this" and pack it in and go do the
nine-to-five somewhere. How did you handle that
personally? It was almost, I bet, like starting
over from scratch.
[LINFORD]
Yeah, in one way it was liberating because labels
sometimes try to second-guess what people want to
hear and there'd been a little bit of meddling
going on in the record that we were working on
which became "Good Dog, Bad Dog". And we were
trying to write fairly honest songs that sort of
represented our own experience and we were
writing from a pretty personal point of
departure. And we ended up putting out this
little record on our own after we left the label,
and it's been a really special record for us. It
just seemed to develop a bit of a life force
early and it ended up out-selling anything that
we'd put out on IRS. And we got some great
opportunities that followed the release of the
record, and it ended up being picked up just a
few months ago.
[KEITH]
Yeah. Did you guys take some time off between the
defunct IRS label and the time that you put out
"Good Dog, Bad Dog"?
[LINFORD]
Well when things were in transition at IRS we
ended up waiting around for quite a while. So
when we got out of our contract and when they
closed the doors of the label, we did put this
out just in a matter of weeks. We didn't wait
around. These were the songs we were planning on
re-recording for our next project, but we just
decided to keep the initial documents of the
songs. And sometimes that's, you know, more
powerful than the rehearsed version, you know?
[KEITH]
Yeah. Central Kentucky listeners have been
getting quite a good dose of "Over the Rhine".
You guys are on our charts so to speak and so we
have been playing this quite a bit in the last
couple of weeks. A great piece of work that you
guys have.
[LINFORD] Well, thank you.
ON THE BACK PORCH WITH THE BAND
[KEITH] Back Porch: is this your label?
[KARIN] Back Porch is actually a division of
Virgin Records.
[KEITH] I see.
[KARIN]
It's just starting up, and they've got a couple
of acts on it and we're one of them. So it's a
new, smaller division. But we are really happy
with these people, actually.
[KEITH] Are they easy to work with?
[KARIN]
Very. Yeah we're really pleased with them and
actually some of the staff is actually located in
the mid-west, so we speak the same language,
which helps! [they laugh]
[KEITH]
We're with Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine
and they'll be performing tonight on The
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. This is, I
believe, your seventh release, is that right?
[LINFORD] Yeah, that's right.
[KEITH] Overall, I guess?
[LINFORD] Yeah.
[KEITH] Who is in the band now? Has the band
changed much over the years?
[LINFORD]
It has evolved a bit, yeah. Karin and I have
always been in the band, and we've been playing
with a drummer that is one of our musical heroes.
He was in a band called Lone Justice and he's
recorded with Dylan and Victoria Williams and The
Wallflowers and just a bunch of people that we
sort of have bookmarked, obviously, along the
way. And we're playing with a bass player from
Atlanta...
[KARIN] His [the drummer's] name's Don
Heffington, by the way.
[LINFORD] Oh, yeah! Don Heffington. [ALL LAUGH]
[LINFORD]
And a bass player from Atlanta. And our guitar
player we met over in England actually at a
festival, and he's been playing with us for a
couple of years now, so.
[KARIN]
Jack Henderson [electric guitars], David La
Bruyere [bass]. We also have like a
multi-instrumentalist that sits in with us: Jeff
Bird. He's actually been with Cowboy Junkies for
like fourteen years and when they're not on the
road he comes out with us some. And we have a
backup singer sometimes: Terri Templeton. So we
just try to keep it open and depending on the
size of the stage... [laughs]
[KEITH laughs] Yeah.
PART-TIME JUNKIES
[KEITH]
You mentioned the Cowboy Junkies. You've got a
good relationship with Michael Timmins, you
mentioned. How did that relationship get
together?
[KARIN]
Well, we shared management, actually. We're still
with Peter Leak as far as our publishing is
concerned, but when he [Leak] was managing Cowboy
Junkies, he began a relationship with us and saw
that they needed an opening act and they also
needed a couple of backup musicians to help them
flesh out the instrumentiation for some of the
songs on "Miles From Our Home" which was the
record they had just released at that time. So
Linford and I gladly volunteered for those
positions and we've been with them of a couple of
years and they keep askin' us to come back and we
keep goin' back because we love 'em!
[KEITH]
So it's kind of like your part-time job! [laughs]
[KARIN]
A little bit! Yeah, we're part-time Junkies, and
that's alright with me! [laughing with Keith]
[Linford]
Michael [Timmins], incidentally, had heard that
record too, "Good Dog, Bad Dog", and sort of
planted the seed for us maybe working together.
So that was another good thing that came from the
record.
[KARIN] Yeah.
[KEITH] Yeah.
[KEITH]
What do you learn as musicians hooking up with
other bands? Because sometimes when you're in
your own group you have set ways of doing things
and then when you get into another group, they
kind of do things differently. What have you
taken back from your experiences with The Cowboy
Junkies?
[KARIN]
Well it's been amazing for me. I have really
enjoyed touring with Margo. And I never thought
much about being a backup singer before, but it's
a whole different school. And of course I have
always looked up to her. I love her voice. It's
just the dreamiest voice. So it's really a
different way to think, when you're singing
backup, and so I've learned a lot there, and it's
interesting to see how the dynamics function
within another band. It's a real... sort of a
living organism; each band that goes out on the
road has their own way of surviving. And I think
we've learned a lot from watching them because
they've been doing this for a lot longer. And so
I think we've been takin' some notes: 'Do this.'
'No! Don't, don't do that!' [They
laugh]'Definitely do that!' It's just been a real
good experience for us and I think they've sort
of taken us under their wing in some ways and
we're really grateful for that.
[KEITH] Well, maybe it's showing now with the
band "Over the Rhine."
SONGWRITING
[KEITH]
Linford, you write pretty much all of the songs
for Over the Rhine. Do you hook up with Karin?
Because she is pretty much the primary vocalist;
do you hook up with her as far as songwriting, or
do you just kind of do it yourself and say,
"Here. Here's the song. Sing it." [laughs]
[LINFORD]
Actually, Karin and I are kind of the songwriting
team that perpetuates Over the Rhine, and it
happens a bunch of different ways. Karin writes
songs that are pretty complete and brings them to
the band. I do that. I think more often than not,
now, we bring ideas that are partially completed
and sort of help each other sort of bring them
all the way home. I really enjoy writing with a
good vocalist. I think we have different
strenghts. It's remained interesting, and as long
as we enjoy the process... I mean, I often have
the feeling of bringing something that's not
quite done, and it ends up being better than I
anticipated.
[KEITH]
Now how does that work out? Do you bring
semi-finished material to Karin and vice-versa...
[KARIN] Mmm-hmm, yeah.
[KEITH]
...or do you sit down together and hammer it out
and write... and put the music to it as well?
[KARIN]
Well, I don't... A lot of times, we just sort of
pass the buck, you know. It's like, "I've had it
with this one, so you try!" Sometimes we'll hash
things through and come up with something
together, which is a lot of fun. It just really
depends on the song. And our mood, probably!
[they laugh]
[LINFORD]
Typically the seeds of the songs, the earliest
points of departure, are a fairly private thing,
you know, with one or the other, and it evolves
from there in countless ways.
[KEITH]
Yeah. We're with Karin and Linford of Over the
Rhine and they'll be performing tonight on The
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour along with Pamela
Means. Unfortunately the show is booked up
tonight. We'll give you that Woodsongs
reservation hotline here in just a few moments
and hopefully you can get in on the next
available show. We'l ldo that here in just a few
moments. Would you guys do another one for us?
[KARIN]
Sure, sure! This is a song that we wrote a long
time ago and it's not on "Good Dog, Bad Dog",
it's on... [to Linford] Which one is it on?
[LINFORD] "Besides".
[KARIN] "Besides" which is a fan club record that
we put out for our loyal few. It's a song about a
girl and a real story. Her name was Lucy.
[a simple, moving rendition of "LUCY". Karin
really lets it out, and they play in unison
almost the whole song]
[KEITH]
Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine here on
"Rhythm" with "Lucy". Some great stuff here!
They'll be performing tonight on The Woodsongs
Old-Time Radio Hour which is all booked up for
tonight, unfortunately. There's not a seat left
in the house; although here is the Woodsongs
reservation hotline (and I would get in on the
next available show): 231-5555. That's
606-231-5555. And if you've got some aspiring
artists in the family- singers, songwriters, or
maybe just an up-and-coming musician, this is a
great way to get them involved in live music and
out of the club scene, because the Central
Library Theater is such a great place to catch a
show. It's the Woodsongs reservation hotline. Put
that number to use- put it on a post-it note, put
it on the computer screen, the fridge or
whatever! Again, that's 231-5555.
INFLUENCES
[KEITH]
Linford and Karin, who were some of the people
that you listened to early, and got you into the
music business- some of the people that kind of
inspired you?
[KARIN]
Yeah. Well I always draw a line between the types
of music that I listen to, somewhere between
Johnny Cash and, like, The Cocteau Twins. I mean
talk about a wide spectrum but it is pretty true.
Just draw a line between those two and you'll hit
somethin'. I listen to a lot of good folk music
and I also listen to a lot of what I think is
good pop music. Oddly enough we just had a song
placed on a compilation that Virgin just... they
took "All I Need is Everything" and put it on a
compilation of all these artists that... if you
asked me who were some of our pop heroes in the
late '80's it would be all these people on this
record. So it's really bizarre, 'cause
there's,like, Peter Gabriel, and Cowboy Junkies,
and gosh I don't know, Bryan Ferry and Kate Bush
and I mean all these people that are just amazing
and then they stuck our little song on there and
it's, like, really trippy! But very exciting for
us. So it's a pretty broad spectrum for me. I
don't know- Linford, you'll speak for yourself
there.
[LINFORD]
Yeah, our record collections are pretty diverse;
I hope our records reflect that. From jazz, like
Karin was saying (what we consider to be) good
pop, which, any good song is, at the end of the
day, something that just moves us; there are no
boundaries really. We just sorta dive in the deep
end and whatever resonates deeply enough will
stay around for a long time, you know?
[KEITH]
I think you hit on something there. Diversity
really has to be the key. Because it's like
cooking- you need all sorts of ingredients to
make a really good bowl o' chili. And, you know,
you can't just stick with one genre. You have to
almost experiment and expand a little bit to mold
yourself as an artist.
[LINFORD]
It's almost as much a feeling as anything. When
something is really coming from the gut and the
heart of another human being, you feel that and
connect to it more often than not. Something that
is coming from a pure place- it's not really
about the style sometimes; it's just that feeling
and being swept away by someone else's story and
emotions and experience and all of that.
A PHYSICAL NEED
[KEITH]
Which do you like better- and I'll pose this to
both of you- do you like being in the studio and
recording and working on the music, or do you
like to be out in front [of an audience] first?
[KARIN]
I used to love recording more than anything and I
still like recording a lot. And I used to hate
performing. I was terrified and I didn't like it
at all. But I did it because I wanted to do it
and I admired the people that could. So I took a
few notes and I think just having the years under
my belt on stage has helped me a lot. And it's a
different thing for me now. I really enjoy it. I
crave it, actually, which is bizarre for me. And
when we're out on the road and it's been, like,
for or five weeks and I'm exhausted, I still want
to be there. So that's a good thing I think for
me.
[KEITH] Linford?
[LINFORD] Oh, I don't know what the metaphor
would be but it's a little bit like askin' do you
enjoy the cookin' or the eating more! [They
laugh.] They're both wonderful parts of the same
thing. Karin and I were just talking about some
of the grueling hours that we keep when we're on
the road. I can be on the road and grab a little
bit of sleep here and there on the bus and be
pretty wired for a few months and amazed by how
much energy I have, and I think that comes from
the energy of the audience being focused on you
[KARIN says repeatedly "Yeah!"] that it just
keeps something wound up and sort of alive [such]
that when we come home then we realize we're
exhausted and we just come down hard! [KARIN "We
crash!" They laugh] And the missing link is that
live energy from the show.
[KEITH] Well, it's almost addictive!
[KARIN] It is.
[KEITH] The crowd response and the interaction...
[KARIN] It's a feed...
[KEITH] Because once it's gone there is that
letdown, there is that 'when is that gonna happen
again? I need to get back out on the road.'
[KARIN]
I don't know if the audience realizes how much we
need them. It becomes a physical need. I mean we
can't- you can't tour without a wonderful
audience, and when you have wonderful audiences
it's just an amazing experience and you can keep
goin' and goin' and goin', and so for all you out
there listening: we need you, and it's a real,
physical thing. It really is. It's amazing to me.
[KEITH]
I think you've nailed it. It is a physical thing
as much for the artist as well as it is for the
people in the audience because they'll walk away
taking something with them when they leave.
[KARIN] I hope so.
[KEITH] Hopefully that is the case because it is
a give-and-take. They give and you give [more
yeahs] and that's the only way that this art can
survive is that give-and-take-interaction.
We're with Karin and Linford of Over the Rhine
and they'll be performing tonight on The
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour along with Pamela
Means. The taping is tonight at the Central
Library Theater but unfortunately, as always it's
all booked up. That's all the more reason to give
the Woodsongs reservation hotline a call and get
in on the next available show. They've got some
big things going on- as a matter of fact, soon,
in a couple of weeks they'll be celebrating their
one-hundredth performance, their one-hundredth
show, which is... we applaud them because they
always do such a fine show. And they've got some
big doin's goin' on; I can't spill the beans just
yet, but I would pick up the phone as soon as you
can and give the Woodsongs reservation hotline a
call. That's 231-5555. Area code 606-231-5555.
Give 'em a call and they'll make sure that
everybody has a seat for the show.
Before I let you guys walk out of here, would you
do another one for us?
[KARIN]
Sure. We're gonna do a... this is and oldie for
us- hopefully a goodie! This is for Mike
[Francis, the studio engineer]. It's called "My
Love is a Fever".
[A sultry, pulse-quickening version of the OtR
classic from "Eve". I didn't know you could say
the word 'virgin' on radio like that...]
[KEITH, momentarily stunned]
Over the Rhine! On "Rhythm" 89.9WRVG! By request!
[There was a drop out here in the recording. It
is explained here that the request was for Mike
Francis, and Keith thanks his able engineer.]
Karin and Linford, thank you so much!
[KARIN] Thank you!
[KEITH]
Thanks for stopping in and spending some time
with us this afternoon. You're gonna love the
show tonight. Always a great crowd on hand and
they love live performance.
[KARIN] Excellent!
[KEITH] So have fun tonight.
[LINFORD] Great! Thanks, a lot, Keith.
[KEITH] And stop back by again! You guys call
home just sixty miles or so up the road so please
stop back again, would you please?
[LINFORD] We sure will! Thank you!
[KARIN] Yeah, thanks.
[KEITH]
Linford and Karin of Over the Rhine here on
Rhythm 89.9 WRVG...
__________________________________________________
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