Heartless Bastards

CMG's Candice Osmond (CMG): You start touring soon, right?

Erika Wennerstrom: Yeah, we start in mid-October. We've already done a couple of dates here and there. I just really wanna get out on the road and, ya know, promote the record. I love playing, so it's killing me not to play.

CMG: Is stage fright an issue at all?

Erika: Oh yeah. Definitely. Sometimes when I'm really nervous, the show goes well, and when I feel confident it doesn't, so I never feel completely confident no matter what. I can't help but get butterflies. I'm extra nervous, and I always get butterflies before the show.

CMG: Ok, so about All This Time -- from a songwriting standpoint, did you approach this new record any differently than Stairways and Elevators?

Erika: Well, I would say the difference is that with the first album I wrote having the intention of having the other guitar in it, but the other guitarist left and we had to keep on playing. The tours were booked and we figured that we had to play the shows or we wouldn't get the chance to come back, you know? But with this album, knowing that there isn't another guitarist, I knew that I had to play a little bit more. Whereas before, I had someone else to play the details. Not that my guitar is that detailed anyway.

CMG: Is there a time or mood or something when writing comes most natural to you? For some it comes and goes, and for others it's a full time job, something they're always doing...

Erika: Well, the writing process for me is like...I get a melody in my head and I never record it, because I figure if it's strong I won't forget it. But then I think, damn, that's bad; what if I'm losing my memory? So I originally got a little recorder. But usually the melodies stick with me and I think well, ok, I should try to record it, develop it, and then I just, I try to form words over it.

CMG: Your songwriting style has been often described as "simple" -- not necessarily in the sense that limits the band, but the connotation can certainly be there...is that something you worry about, or do you think that it's more important to stay true to how you want to write?

Erika: Oh yeah, I really think that. As far as me personally, I'm so limited on guitar that even If I tried to do flashy solos or whatever, it would really show that they...weren't [laughs]. I do feel, though, that it's good to try to consistently challenge yourself, as far as guitar solos and things like that. It never hurts to try and come up with new ways to write a song. Generally I go back to the same message, because that's more natural.

CMG: As the band starts to get more exposure, do you feel any sort of pressure building? Does that stuff affect you at all?

Erika: Sometimes, I think if you do something and press goes well, you want it to happen again. I can't say that I don't care what people think, that's not true. If I didn't care what people thought, I wouldn't have found a record label and sent out the record for people to hear. So in a sense, I find it's a really good feeling to write a song that people like. When I get a good response, I want to have that response again. I want to achieve that same response, if not greater, each time I do somthing...to improve upon it. But with art, it's different. It's not like woodworking or something, you get better and better. It all comes down to opinion. I think we did the best we could, so we all feel good about it in a way.

CMG: You seem to continually get compared to the same artists -- Grace Slick, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin. Do you find that flattering, or does it bother you that they're trying to define you and by someone else's music and legacy?

Erika: Well, I feel that being a female, people tend to compare immediately. But I really like those singers, so I don't really mind. I'm just happy to be compared to something I like, you know? People said, um, there was a Robert Plant thing there, and I don't really hear that at all [laughs]. And someone had said that they heard a little bit of Gwen Stefani.

CMG: Oh my god...

Erika: Yeah, and...I don't think so. I'm not downing her at all, but I don't really think we sound anything alike.

CMG: ...No.

Erika: There's other things. I noticed on a couple of things that said we worked really hard to try and change our image. I don't think we really had an image before. I just...we're not an image band. Before, I wrote for a four piece, so that's the only change. The second time around, we had a little bit more of a budget, and a bit more time to add on extra layers and fill it on more. But I don't think I was trying to change the sound at all.

Something else I read recently, they said my vocals weren't very dynamic to the music, and that the band has grown but I hadn't. It's kinda the opposite. But still, it's all a matter of opinion. I couldn't help but read some of it, but I guess there may come a time when I have no choice but to ignore it, because it really does come down to individual opinions. But sometimes when I read reviews, they have a valid point that I may agree with -- like, maybe I can grow from that.

CMG: You write a lot about insecurity on All This Time -- "Came a Long Way" specifically centers around overcoming it. Do you still overanalyze yourself?

Erika: Oh yeah, definitely. I tend to write about my insecurities. Writer's block is something I have a lot of. It's a process, getting through that. In art, especially, I think, because you never feel like you've accomplished something.

CMG: You have really close ties with the Black Keys, who have gotten a lot of recognition in the past few years, even touring with Radiohead recently. Seeing that happen to friends, finding such big audiences...is it something you aim toward with the Heartless Bastards or are you just content making records and touring to whoever will listen?

Erika: The Black Keys, yeah, I'm really happy for them, that's awesome. I think that if we were asked to tour with Radiohead, I wouldn't turn it down (laughs). But, ultimately, to me, it would be so great if I could play music that I've always wanted to do, and be able to retire...well not retire, because I'm always gonna play music, and we would have to get to some successful point in order for that to happen. But, um, we're just taking everything as it comes. I would be ecstatic if we could just always play. But it's so far ahead, and sometimes my opinion even changes. A couple of years from now, you never know...what if you've got kids or something? You just never know.

CMG: You did a cover for the Junior Kimbrough tribute album, Sunday Nights -- "Done Got Old." Jim White did that song for the comp, as well, so I'm wondering -- was there a reason you wanted to do that song specifically?

Erika: Actually, when that tribute came up, it was kinda right when we heard it. It was like, I wonder if anyone's doing that song? But our label liked it when we did it. They were like, "well, why don't we just put it on there twice?" (laughs) The recording I had was... well, you could hear the bugs outside, the crickets and everything. But then later I heard he had a studio recording of it, too. But that first recording was so raw, you know? I think he was probably wasted when he wrote it.

CMG: So, how are Mike and Kevin doing now? I read that Kevin worked as a pizza guy when you brought him into the band...

Erika: Oh, well, he's working in a factory right now. I think that we could actually maintain if we we're on tour, but our tour is starting a lot later than it was supposed to. With bills to pay, ya know...I think that even if we have a few months off, I'd have to work to just do something else, to keep my mind occupied. Plus, his family runs a business, and they just really need his help, they really need him. We'll see what happens, I guess.

CMG: Did you play in many bands before Heartless Bastards? Is this something that you always wanted to do?

Erika: Well, I wasn't always in bands. I mean, I played bass and kinda sang backup in a band called Jesus, and we would all sing together and stuff. But I used to write my own stuff. I always knew, from when I was like, three, that I wanted to sing. I used to love pop music.

CMG: Like Madonna?

Erika: Yeah! And as I got older I know my tasted changed. I liked punk for awhile. But I never felt confident about singing, so I never sang around people. When I was 18, I had a friend -- I was always telling him I wanted to sing. I would go over there and sing him my ideas, and he would be like, "C'mon, belt, girl!" He helped me out of the shell. I went through the time with Jesus [the band] and I think it was just a time when I was mulling ideas.

CMG: Given what you're experienced with this band, do you have any advice for songwriters or bands starting out, in the position you were at 18 and needing someone to help you out of that shell?

Erika: Yeah: if you want it bad, you have to work at it and keep chugging away at it. It's like anything else. If you keep working at it, eventually something's gotta give. That's what we did -- we started playing small clubs with like, five people, and eventually Patrick Karney was there from the Black Keys. So yeah, even if you play for five people, something's gotta happen eventually if you keep at it. There's some totally awful bands out there, and I'm like...they must work their asses off [laughs].