The Making of THE RUNNERS FOUR by Deerhoof - feat. Greg Saunier, Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich and Chris Cohen

06/04/24 • 126 min

For the past three decades, Deerhoof have been one of the most consistently inventive rock bands around. Their seventh album, The Runners Four, remains a fascinating result of a band obsessively recording themselves in their practice space for many months. After Deerhoof first began as a solo harmonica project by Rob Fisk, drummer Greg Saunier joined only one week later. They signed to Kill Rock Stars and soon after Satomi Matsuzaki moved from Tokyo to San Francisco, she became the lead singer. They released their first two albums, and by 1999, Fisk ended up leaving the band, with guitarist John Dieterich joining later that year. Two additional albums followed and after this point, Chris Cohen came on as second guitarist. As a four-piece, they released Apple O’ and Milk Man before turning their attention to their seventh album. This time around, they decided to embrace taking their time recording in their practice space, with each band member bringing in songs they had written. The result was the ambitious concept album, The Runners Four, which was eventually released in 2005.

In this episode, Satomi Matsuzaki, Greg Saunier, John Dieterich and Chris Cohen, have an honest conversation about what it was like to be a band on the rise in the Bay Area and the pressure they felt to deliver a timeless record. Saunier describes the hours he spent tinkering with the free version of Pro Tools in a windowless practice space and the toll it took on his mental health. Matsuzaki talks about how swapping instruments with Cohen for this album, brought about a different rhythm and freed her up to sing some interesting vocal melodies. Dieterich describes using the then new technology of Line 6 POD amp simulators and how this approach allowed them to record in the practice space setting. Finally, Cohen describes the band members’ interpersonal dynamics during this time and how he ended up leaving the band after this record. From self-mythologizing and writing songs about the band, to recording in the hallway, to embracing classic rock, to the intense relatability of Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster, to a concept album about secret messages, time capsules and the flood, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

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The Making of I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT - feat. Richard Thompson and Linda Thompson

For the 50th anniversary of Richard and Linda Thompson’s first album as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Richard helped pioneer British folk rock in the late 1960s with Fairport Convention, he was feeling burnt out and decided to leave the band to focus on writing. In 1972, he married Linda Peters, who had been performing in the folk scene during the same time as Fairport. Richard was under contract with Island Records and released his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly in 1972. The album was a commercial disappointment and Richard convinced Linda to start performing with him in the folk club circuit. Eventually they decided to record an album as a duo and booked studio time with their friend John Wood at Sound Techniques without informing their label. By working with musicians they had played with before, they were able to move quickly and fly under the radar of their label while cutting the album over a few days. When Island got word of the album, they held onto it for a year, claiming that the vinyl shortage was preventing them from putting it out. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight was eventually released in the spring of 1974.

In this episode, Richard Thompson describes his writing process for this album and how he was less focused on guitar than he had been up to this point and how he was more interested in songwriting. Since he was writing different characters, he explains how he found Linda to be a helpful collaborator who could sing in a variety of styles and fully inhabit the characters. Linda Thompson offers her perspective on the songs Richard was presenting and how her background in traditional music and acting helped shape her performances. Due to Linda’s vocal condition of dysphonia, her daughter, Kami Thompson, reads her interview responses throughout the episode. From integrating the electric guitar into traditional music, to coming up with the song titles first, to musical diversity and the importance of track sequencing, to taking inspiration from The Band, to a crash course in arranging horns, to a shared love of bleak songs in the folk tradition, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

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The Making of DIARY by Sunny Day Real Estate - feat. Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner and William Goldsmith

For the 30th anniversary of Sunny Day Real Estate’s iconic debut album, DIARY, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Dan Hoerner and Nate Mendel began playing music together in Seattle in 1992, they asked William Goldsmith to join on drums, despite the fact that he was already playing in three other bands at the time. When Mendel went on tour with another band, they asked Goldsmith’s high school friend Jeremy Enigk to jam with them. Enigk took over lead vocal duties from Hoerner and when Mendel returned, they decided to continue as a four-piece. In 1993, they played what was only their second show as Sunny Day Real Estate when Jonathan Poneman saw them and immediately signed them to a deal with Sub Pop. Embarking on their first cross country tour, they landed in Chicago at Idful Studios to record with producer Brad Wood. Their debut album, DIARY, was eventually released in 1994.

In this episode, Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner and William Goldsmith describe the circumstances of how they first came together and the unique sound they stumbled upon. Goldsmith talks about initially being courted by Hoerner and Mendel after they saw him playing in punk bands around town, and how he learned to adapt his hardcore-influenced drumming style to suit the music they were creating. Hoerner describes taking an experimental approach early on, focusing on drones, feedback and open spaces, contrasting with heavy riffs that were more common in the grunge scene in Seattle at the time. Enigk talks about bringing more of a pop element into the group and how his early acoustic work as a solo artist informed the dynamic music he wanted to create with Sunny Day Real Estate. From the unlikely marriage of a punk band recording with Brad Wood to a grueling tour that led to Enigk’s shredded vocals to taking inspiration from Fugazi, Treepeople, R.E.M., U2 and The Beatles to inserting triumphant hugeness into emotionally heavy songs to a high school relationship that informed the heartbroken lyrics, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.