The festival season is long gone, the leaves are starting to change, and the nights are getting a touch cooler. You might find yourself thinking, “Man, the summer flew by fast.” There is an antidote, a way to bring back that feeling of summer. That antidote is outdoor live music, and you might well find it in Reno.
With eight studio albums under its belt and music that ranges from rock and roll to folk to alternative to just plain beautiful, Wilco is bringing their delectable sound to the Grand Sierra Resort this month. Since 1994, this Chicago-based band has been touring the world and mesmerizing crowds with an ever-changing style and sound.
In a band with a constantly changing cast, bassist John Stirratt is one of two original members of Wilco, along with lead singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy, to have contributed on all their albums. Stirratt and Tweedy have been making music together since the early ’90s with alt-country group Uncle Tupelo and the creation of Wilco.
I caught up with Stirratt on the phone while he was taking a brief vacation with his family on an island off the coast of Maine. He goes out there every summer for a little R&R including kayaking, sailing, hiking, and driving around on rainy days. As he put it, “I live in Chicago, so I have to pay the piper all winter long. We (Wilco) don’t have much nature, and the weather is horrible. The West is beautiful. The band is always in the city so it’s always nice to go to beautiful.”
MOONSHINE INK: Would you say the band is in a good place right now during this tour?
John Stirratt: Yeah. We just got off a European tour. It’s been steady and nuts since September. We are doing more in a year than usual considering we put out an album and have been all over the place. It has been an intense year.
We are bit tired. This current break is a great chance to recharge. In terms of playing, we are getting better and better. Over time, things get fine-tuned. We are playing different songs and finding ways to make the music more interesting. We are definitely improving as the tour goes on. We are in a great spot.
MI: What kind of ride has it been playing with Wilco over all these years?
JS: It’s been great. You get so much deeper with people over time. Everyone in the band is beyond proficient. We all listen to one another. There’s a musical empathy. In our earlier years it was difficult, as we didn’t have the same lineup consistently. Now the band is in a heavy and deep spot. We’ve been playing together for eight years. It really makes you think about other bands that have been in it for a long time. There are difficulties, and things do get static, but with these guys it’s pretty easy.
MI: What are the best and worst things about life on the road?
JS: Being away from family and missing the important things is tough. The upside is you get to see the world, a couple days in Vienna for instance. Traveling is in my blood. I love seeing new places. If I stopped, it would take time to get over it. I like walking a new city every day.
MI: You must feel pretty lucky to have made a career out of playing music. How does it feel?
JS: Absolutely, especially these days. In ’92 it may not have felt as special. It was easier then. It’s definitely tough out there. I have an appreciation for that. We have been working hard for a long time.
MI: How does your latest album, “The Whole Love,” differ from some of your other records?
JS: There’s a sprawling nature to it like only “Being There” has. It’s all over the place stylistically. There weren’t the same extremes on the other albums. There is a real transformational thing throughout. We were able to create a more engaging listen.
MI: With so many songs now in your catalogue, how do you guys choose what to play during any given show?
JS: A lot depends on where we’ve been. If we are in a new place, we touch on songs that we think are more well known. We always rely on the newer material more. We will play the more recent record. It’s fresh and more recent. If we play in the Midwest, we can get a little deeper with the tracks. It’s the same with a theatre versus a festival. At a festival we tend to try and play the hits as the crowd may not be as familiar with the tunes. Jeff is very attentive to how it works. He writes good set lists and puts a lot of thought into it.
MI: Do you find there are major differences in playing a place like Reno versus a date in Europe?
JS: European festival audiences are crazy, especially in Spain. American audiences are way more vocal and fun.
