Interview: Nine Inch Nails looking sharp, says Justin Meldal-Johnsen
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to get another point of view on what Trent said about the last tour.. and more
AUSTRALIA, get ready. Nine Inch Nails's latest incarnation is ready to break loose.
That's the feeling coming from bass player Justin Meldal-Johnsen, enjoying what passes for a break after the band's recent Lights in the Sky tour of the Americas.
Meldal-Johnsen, renowned for his role with Beck and a collaborator for a who's who of acts from Tori Amos and Garbage to Courtney Love and Macy Gray, joined the band only last year, replacing Jeordie White when he left after three years.
The 38-year-old says playing with NIN is great, but the band's been feeling the pinch of playing the massive, theatrical tour.
"The show itself was magnificent, if I do say so myself. We really are sad that we can't bring it to Australia.
"The worst thing about it, and it's something that Trent shares with me, is the rigidity of the show. It was a show that to some extent was inexplicably bound to the parameters of the stage production and lighting. It has certain sequences of songs that just wouldn't work in certain ways and would work in others. What it meant was that over time, it got just a little bit claustrophobic in terms of creative satisfaction.
"That's about the only thing about it that creates a sense of wanting, and we all felt that way, Trent more so than any of us."
Breaking out
That wanting is likely to be filled when the band, which has recently undergone a line-up shuffle, tours Australia as a headline act for the Soundwave festival, supported by a long cast of rock acts including Lacuna Coil and Alice in Chains. It's a challenge that Meldal-Johnsen relishes.
"The rig that lets me do with Nails what I do to reproduce a catalogue that for me is now about 80 songs is so intricate and deep it allows me at a whim to create a sound.
"Fusing that technology with a practical application and being able to then do it live in a way that doesn't come across like I'm tap dancing or fiddling, to execute that is really satisfying. It's a game, to try to transcend the technical and make it visceral and real. That's what I've always done through my whole career - to travel the line between technicality and true, uninhibited performance. There are very few situations out there in the world in which I can have the kind of latitude that I enjoy with NIN.
"When I sat down with Trent and he started suggesting the ways we were going to do this show that we just completed, not only did my heart race but I had to restrain myself from giving him a bear hug.
"I realised that, wow, not only am I going to be playing banjo, mandolin, bass, upright bass, piano etcetera, we were going to do a section of the set like a modern chamber group in front of arenas full of sweaty kids -- and it was received far more willingly than we ever could have predicted. These are the types of role-expanding, exciting things I couldn't have ever really dreamed of outside of NIN.
"The only thing I can equate it to is Beck. My role with Beck was broad and unfettered."
New faces
NIN has gone through a line-up change over the past year, with White leaving, guitarist Robin Finck rejoining and two other recent departures. Drummer Josh Freese left after the birth of his third child and was replaced by Ilan Rubin, and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini left to pursue his own interests.
"Ilan is a spectacular drummer and a real musical prodigy," says Meldal-Johnsen. "He plays all instruments. I think he's going to add a lot. Then we had to decide what to do with the void left by Allesandro's departure, and we decided to continue as a four-piece, which is where we are right now."
The bassist is looking forward to the Australian tour for a couple of reasons. One is being able to catch up with other musicians, such as Sydney's Dappled Cities, who he has just finished working on a new album with.
"It's been a long year for me, 2008. I've basically been working very, very hard since February. I haven't had a weekend. I've had a day off here and there but it's been really intense, so coming to Australia is a bit of a holiday for me. The summer's still going so I'm going to take advantage of it.
"When Americans come to Oz they freak out on the food because the ingredients are so spectacular and the cross-pollination of food cultures really comes to bear there, so Americans like me like to spend too much money on food there.
"I'm looking forward to the festival, I don't know many of the bands, but I'm willing to be turned on to new music. We're all like, hey, cool, surprise us."
to get another point of view on what Trent said about the last tour.. and more
AUSTRALIA, get ready. Nine Inch Nails's latest incarnation is ready to break loose.
That's the feeling coming from bass player Justin Meldal-Johnsen, enjoying what passes for a break after the band's recent Lights in the Sky tour of the Americas.
Meldal-Johnsen, renowned for his role with Beck and a collaborator for a who's who of acts from Tori Amos and Garbage to Courtney Love and Macy Gray, joined the band only last year, replacing Jeordie White when he left after three years.
The 38-year-old says playing with NIN is great, but the band's been feeling the pinch of playing the massive, theatrical tour.
"The show itself was magnificent, if I do say so myself. We really are sad that we can't bring it to Australia.
"The worst thing about it, and it's something that Trent shares with me, is the rigidity of the show. It was a show that to some extent was inexplicably bound to the parameters of the stage production and lighting. It has certain sequences of songs that just wouldn't work in certain ways and would work in others. What it meant was that over time, it got just a little bit claustrophobic in terms of creative satisfaction.
"That's about the only thing about it that creates a sense of wanting, and we all felt that way, Trent more so than any of us."
Breaking out
That wanting is likely to be filled when the band, which has recently undergone a line-up shuffle, tours Australia as a headline act for the Soundwave festival, supported by a long cast of rock acts including Lacuna Coil and Alice in Chains. It's a challenge that Meldal-Johnsen relishes.
"The rig that lets me do with Nails what I do to reproduce a catalogue that for me is now about 80 songs is so intricate and deep it allows me at a whim to create a sound.
"Fusing that technology with a practical application and being able to then do it live in a way that doesn't come across like I'm tap dancing or fiddling, to execute that is really satisfying. It's a game, to try to transcend the technical and make it visceral and real. That's what I've always done through my whole career - to travel the line between technicality and true, uninhibited performance. There are very few situations out there in the world in which I can have the kind of latitude that I enjoy with NIN.
"When I sat down with Trent and he started suggesting the ways we were going to do this show that we just completed, not only did my heart race but I had to restrain myself from giving him a bear hug.
"I realised that, wow, not only am I going to be playing banjo, mandolin, bass, upright bass, piano etcetera, we were going to do a section of the set like a modern chamber group in front of arenas full of sweaty kids -- and it was received far more willingly than we ever could have predicted. These are the types of role-expanding, exciting things I couldn't have ever really dreamed of outside of NIN.
"The only thing I can equate it to is Beck. My role with Beck was broad and unfettered."
New faces
NIN has gone through a line-up change over the past year, with White leaving, guitarist Robin Finck rejoining and two other recent departures. Drummer Josh Freese left after the birth of his third child and was replaced by Ilan Rubin, and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini left to pursue his own interests.
"Ilan is a spectacular drummer and a real musical prodigy," says Meldal-Johnsen. "He plays all instruments. I think he's going to add a lot. Then we had to decide what to do with the void left by Allesandro's departure, and we decided to continue as a four-piece, which is where we are right now."
The bassist is looking forward to the Australian tour for a couple of reasons. One is being able to catch up with other musicians, such as Sydney's Dappled Cities, who he has just finished working on a new album with.
"It's been a long year for me, 2008. I've basically been working very, very hard since February. I haven't had a weekend. I've had a day off here and there but it's been really intense, so coming to Australia is a bit of a holiday for me. The summer's still going so I'm going to take advantage of it.
"When Americans come to Oz they freak out on the food because the ingredients are so spectacular and the cross-pollination of food cultures really comes to bear there, so Americans like me like to spend too much money on food there.
"I'm looking forward to the festival, I don't know many of the bands, but I'm willing to be turned on to new music. We're all like, hey, cool, surprise us."