Interview
Soul Asylum
Debuting with the 1984 album Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen, frontman David Pirner still leads the US four-piece Soul Asylum, and with a new album, Change Of Fortune, KS caught up with David to find out about the new release and his thoughts on playing in Japan.
DAVE PIRNER (VO.), RYAN SMITH (GTR.), MARK WADE (BASS), MATTHANKLE (DR.)
* Visiting Members will differ from photo
Debuting with the 1984 album Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen, frontman David Pirner still leads the US four-piece Soul Asylum, and with a new album, Change Of Fortune, KS caught up with David to find out about the new release and his thoughts on playing in Japan.
The new album Change of Fortune has been quite some time in the making. What are the main factors behind this and what effect has it had on the band?
The album was recorded between tours, and we did the crowd-funding PledgeMusic campaign, which took up some time. I have been living and recording at my studio in New Orleans, the band was in Minneapolis, and our producer in Los Angeles, so distance was sometimes a factor as well. But luckily John Fields, our producer, recently moved back to Minneapolis so now we can record whenever creativity strikes.
It’s more honest than any record I’ve made in a very long time, just because there was no one looking over my shoulder and editing me, which was very liberating for me.
It sounds like the vision that I had in mind a really long time ago. When I listen to it, I think, “That sounds like Soul Asylum,” and that’s as good as it gets for me.
You’re no stranger to playing live in Japan. What do you enjoy and find unique about it?
My recollections of Japan are vivid, friendly, crowded, clean, safe, and fun. Colorful seafood, expensive club sandwiches, and really cool people to help us out. A mind-blowing street music festival in downtown Tokyo that we attended, where the bands played simultaneously, seemingly endlessly down the street, and a Soul Asylum show in Osaka on my birthday that will always be a personal favorite. I can’t wait to get back, especially because I thought we could have played better in Tokyo. So lookout – I’m a man on a mission.
It’s nearly 30 years since Soul Asylum’s debut on a major label with the 1988 Hang Time album, that’s a lot of years of material produced. Will the current tour’s set list be a mix spanning your whole career or will it focus more on newer material to showcase the new album Change of Fortune?
It’s going to be a little bit of all of it. Everything on the menu is good.
US alternative-rock band fronted by original frontman/guitarist David Pirner • Club Quattro, Osaka • Rock • 7pm • ¥7,800 • Tel: 06-6535-5569
