JD McPherson

JD McPherson with special guest Kate Clover

Over the course of 12 years, four studio albums and two EPs, JD McPherson has blazed a singular musical trail, one steeped in a deep affinity for foundational rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and r&b (among other mid-century American-made sounds), and filtered through a unique and alluringly idiosyncratic songwriting sensibility. While the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native testifies that he "really loves those classic styles, and the driving force of those old songs," he also affirms that he doesn't approach his music like a museum piece. Rather, McPherson says, "I think about it like, 'Why not throw some of those rhythms and sounds into a blender and see what comes out?' "

Why not, indeed. And to be sure, what has emerged from JD's musical blender this time out is something unlike anything in his catalog. The new Nite Owls, his fifth studio full-length, shows McPherson further sharpening his songcraft in the service of ten tight, dynamic and hard-hitting rock 'n' roll tunes. At the same time, he also reached deeper into his stylistic toolbox to incorporate elements of glam, new wave, post-punk, surf rock and other sounds into the mix. "To me, the thread between Duane Eddy and Depeche Mode is that single-note, reverb-y guitar style," McPherson says about connecting some of these sonic dots. "So it felt natural to blend that kind of big-string guitar thing with the classic stuff and a dash of surf. It made sense."

He laughs. "Although I have sent this record out to some friends, and a couple of 'em were like, 'What are you doing?' "

We're here to say: relax, friends. JD's got it handled. Nite Owls kicks off with one of McPherson's most infectious tracks to date - "Sunshine Getaway," a blast of beaming, T. Rex-y glam rock that, despite its title and, yes, sunny musical demeanor, has a darker sentiment at its core. "I wrote it with my good friends Jack and Page from the Cactus Blossoms," JD recounts. "They're from Minneapolis, and we were talking about how the cold is really a problem there. I remember Jack saying, 'If you drink too much and you come home and you can't find your keys, you can die on your porch in the wintertime.' That's serious. But then that conversation turned into a song about being kind of stuck in place and dreaming about beautiful sunny skies."

Musically, "Sunshine Getaway" is "a real 'stroller,' " JD continues. "And I couldn't believe how huge it sounded when we got it back from the mixing sessions - it blew my head off. Everybody was like, 'This has to be the first single!' "

From there, we move into "I Can't Go Anywhere With You," a tightly wound r&b rave-up in which McPherson chronicles the fabricated plights of Tony Mandatori and Eddie Rockefeller, "a filthy type o' fella" ("it's very Leiber-and-Stoller, tongue-in-cheek humor," he explains), before landing on the gorgeous "Just Like Summer," a slice of melancholic, new-wave-tinged dream-pop that finds JD reminiscing about the type of long-lost love that can "burn you like the bright, blue summer" ("a little high-school story"), as dew-drop guitar notes and gently warped chords fill in the sonic space around him.

Elsewhere, McPherson conjures a vivid, detailed story-scene in the evocative title track ("it sort of makes me laugh because of how wordy it is," he says); invokes a Beach Boys-esque vibe, replete with chiming bells and exquisite vocal harmonies, on "That's What a Love Song Does to You," and teams up with Ryan Lindsay, of Oklahoma indie rockers Broncho ("one of my favorite bands, ever"), on the breezy love - or is it lust? - song, "Shining Like Gold."

Throughout Nite Owls there are also a handful of tracks that longtime McPherson fans may recognize as more characteristically JD - the twangy "The Rock and Roll Girls," for one; the garage-rock groover "Baby Blues," for another; the Shadows-like instrumental barnburner, "The Phantom Lover of New Rochelle," for a definite third. But, really, it's all of a piece. "There's no saxophones this time, there's no r&b piano, but it's a rock 'n' roll record," JD says of Nite Owls. "To me, it's the next logical step from my last one, Undivided Heart & Soul."

That album, it's worth noting, was released back in 2017. And while McPherson did issue one more record of original material, 2018's SOCKS, that one was comprised of holiday-themed songs, making Undivided Heart & Soul "the last non-seasonally-sensitive record I've made," he says with a laugh. "And that was now seven years ago."

Which is not to say he hasn't been busy. In 2023 JD released the Warm Covers 2 EP, featuring his interpretations of songs by five artists, spanning from Oklahoma r&b and country legend Big Al Downing to Iggy Pop to the Pixies. And he has also spent the last few years on the road with two other American roots music enthusiasts, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, serving as the support act on the duo's ongoing joint tour - and also, incredibly, as a guitarist in their backing band. "The first year, I was holding on for dear life, just trying to keep up with Robert and Alison and the band," JD admits. "But once I got over that, I learned so much. And I am continuing to learn so much from playing with those folks."

These experiences, JD says, helped him through a particularly difficult period in his personal and professional life - one that also coincided with the Covid lockdown. "I actually recorded a version of Nite Owls several years ago in L.A., but the environment within my band just wasn't working at all," JD reveals. "It was a painful time. And then the pandemic hit, and I went pretty dark. I thought it was all over for me in the music world - my band was gone, I wasn't playing shows... it took me a long time to get back into enjoying it."

What changed? "Joining the Plant-Krauss band was a big part of it," he says. "And then meeting some other musicians and going in and doing the Warm Covers project was a hugely important thing, because that was pure fun. These were steps towards healing a little bit. And now we have this record."

To make the version of Nite Owls that we have before us, McPherson retreated to familiar environs, Reliable Recorders in Chicago, with a core group of musicians that have been in his orbit for years - guitarist and "auxiliary" player Douglas Corcoran, bassist and "good friend" Beau Sample, and drummer (and Reliable proprietor) Alex Hall. "I went back to where I made my first record, and it was a wonderful experience," JD says. "We pretty much did everything in-house, and we recorded the thing quick and fast and live."

That electricity and immediacy That electricity and immediacy is baked into every groove of Nite Owls. "I'm just trying to share an infectious enthusiasm," JD says about his musical intentions. "That's something that's missing in a lot of bands. Like, everybody's so sullen and serious! But me, I want to enjoy myself and make the music I want to make, and I'm so full of gratitude that I get to make it for a living." He pauses. "I guess you could say I'm kind of a professional enthusiast, you know?"


Kate Clover
Indie Rock

Kate Clover is a songwriter and musician from Los Angeles, California. From the local lineage of bands like X, Germs, and The Gun Club, to the glamorous destitution of the downtown streets, Clover is inspired by the city that raised her, exploring the intricacies of self-discovery, self-creation, and self-preservation in the place where dreams are born to die. With the live-wire energy and crackling force of defiant fists raised in the air, Clover's music is the rallying cry of a natural born killer. Leading an ace band of rangy, rowdy boys, Clover cuts an electric figure--a next-gen underground hero for the would-be believers.

With Patti Smith and Iggy Pop as her artistic North Stars, Clover mastered three chords and defected to art school, where she learned to play "Chinese Rocks" by Johnny Thunders, and wrote her first song. She cut her teeth playing in various projects but was determined to go solo, seeking independence and total control.

In 2019 she parted ways with her former bands and was in search of a new start. In need of self-discovery and an escape from her life in America, she headed to Mexico City to write. A four day trip turned into four months, as Clover decided to stay and record her album. Upon her return to the US she assembled a band and quickly carved out a space for herself in the LA scene. Earning a rep for explosive live shows, Clover spent 2019 hitting the road with Death Valley Girls, Crocodiles, King Dude and SadGirl. After independently releasing her first single that same year, Clover's next offering was an EP titled Channel Zero" mixed by Carlos de la Garza (Cherry Glazerr, Bleached, Paramore, Wolf Alice), followed by her debut album "Bleed Your Heart Out" released spring 2022. In support of her 2022 release Clover headlined a National tour as well as a solo European tour with multiple sold out dates.

Growing up within the fringe cultures of skating and surfing, Clover has always been attracted to the otherness of west coast counter-culture-- the gritty innocence of the saintly barbarians and dissatisfied kids around her. But it was her brother's copy of photographer Glen E. Friedman's book 'Fuck You Heroes,' where Clover first saw herself, reflected in the energy and intensity of his punk-rock images. "I didn't know what any of it meant yet," she explains. "I was attracted to the rebellion I felt I shared with the subjects of his work. I connected to the bravery." Within those photos, Clover's nascent unrest found a cause to cling to. Weekends at the beach turned to weekends going to shows. "I would go home in a cab smiling, covered in sweat, spit, and beer. I found where I belonged." Determined to enter the fraternity of the artist, she submerged herself in the salvation of rock 'n' roll.

~~~~~~~~~

More JD McPherson

"I was having nightmares every night, thinking, 'Wow, they're going to hate this."

When he talks about his new album, Undivided Heart & Soul, there's no glimmer of self-adulation, or even the confidence one might expect of a veteran artist. Instead, there's a snapshot of McPherson's creative process bringing the record to life, a journey filled with fear and change, then boldness, and, eventually, catharsis.

The best rock music has a story to tell. This record chronicles a series of upheavals, frustrations, roadblocks, and kismet--a cross-country move, failed creative relationships, a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity, and learning to love making music again by letting go.

McPherson calls moving his family from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to East Nashville a decision based "on opportunity" and one he was reluctant to make but notes the profound influence the city has had on his new crop of songs.

"Up to this point, I thought I knew what I was doing with songwriting, that I don't do this or that," McPherson says. "Writing with people who co-write for a living...maybe I saw myself as John Henry, and them as the steel-driving machine."

Along with collaborations with fellow Oklahoman Parker Millsap, Butch Walker, and Aaron Lee Tasjan, McPherson's selections for Undivided Heart & Soul include many deeply personal themes: "Let's Get Out of Here While We're Young" shares writing credits with longtime bandmate Ray Jacildo and McPherson's wife Mandy. He also delved into character profiles, both fictional and based on real-life experiences, stories McPherson has held onto but never thought of as fodder for songwriting, such as the Las Vegas bus station interlude detailed in "Style (Is a Losing Game)."

"That seems like a pretty normal thing for a singer-songwriter to do, to write about personal experience, but I really have never done that," McPherson says. "It felt great but it also was tough at the same time. The thing is, John Henry is trying to beat the machine because he's in awe of it. It was a lot of me saying, 'You're really good at this, and I have a hard time doing it.'"

With a group of soul-baring tracks taking shape, McPherson and crew scheduled studio time to help force the issue. It quickly became apparent that these sessions were not going to work, bringing McPherson's momentum to a halt.

To clear his head, he flew to Los Angeles at the invitation of friend and longtime supporter Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, who was also recording at the time. McPherson, Homme, and his Queens bandmate Dean Fertita played around with some songs, with Homme pushing McPherson outside of his comfort zone in a no-stakes environment.

"His thing was, 'I'm going to throw all kinds of crap onto your songs that you're not going to want to hear, and you're going to play ridiculous stuff you wouldn't normally do,' and Dean was kind of the calming presence," McPherson says.

McPherson calls the getaway "the most fun I've had since I was 15 years old" and returned to Nashville with a clear head, internal filters successfully stifled, ready to move forward.

That fresh perspective in tow, McPherson learned that the long-shot "backup" studio, the legendary RCA Studio B in Nashville, was willing to host his band for the making of the record. RCA Studio B was fundamental to the creation of the "Nashville Sound," and the ghosts of some of the greatest songs in history live within its walls: Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" among them.

Artists who choose to record at Studio B are met with a rigorous list of requirements, including using a recording method appropriate during the studio's heyday. Since the studio is a working museum by day, the entirety of McPherson's workspace had to be reset at night: Load in all equipment in the late afternoon, work until 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., and leave no trace nightly. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

"Those rules would probably turn a lot of bands off, but they turned us on, 100 percent," McPherson says. "I really love walking into a classic studio as much as I love getting my hands on a really old guitar. I like knowing that something was used for a long time and has good things in it."

But this isn't an old Nashville record, by any measurement, nor is it the record McPherson set out to make, with credit due to co-producer Dan Molad (also the drummer for Lucius).

"There's a pretty broad gap in our tastes, what we do and what we're into," McPherson says. Where he's as likely to lean on The Cramps as he is Irma Thomas for inspiration, Molad's left-field production suggestions included a Casio synthesizer and running a Fender Rhodes through a tape delay. (McPherson nixed the former; the latter became the signature sound of one of the record's tracks.) "We ended up learning a lot from each other, and he did a lot of stuff I'd have never thought to do."

During the song "Let's Get Out of Here While We're Young," JD sputters the line "We've worn out all the songs we've sung." This is not a statement McPherson takes lightly.

"This record was difficult for me to make, difficult to write, difficult to record. It took a lot for me to say that I can't force these songs to be the way people are expecting," McPherson says.

Undivided Heart & Soul is a statement record, one that asserts McPherson as he is now, battle-weary but stronger than ever.