Chris Kasper released Bagabones on October 1, 2013. The self-produced, indie output is the 4th album from the Philadelphia mainstay. Bagabones was written in a small cabin owned by Chris’s late uncle in West Hurley, NY, just outside the town of Woodstock. The energy of Woodstock danced its way into these songs, along with the calm of Byrdcliffe Mountain and a generous homage to Chris’s musical heroes. While the album was engineered by Matt Muir of Kawari Studios and mastered by Philly soul producer Jim Salamone (Teddy Pendergrass), Chris Kasper stepped into the role of producer and arranger for this new work.
Despite Bagabones being Chris Kasper's fourth album, this is my first album to listen to for Kasper as a relative new-comer to the Philadelphia scene. I knew of Chris Kasper only by reputation from others in the scene. In fact when going to his album release show in late September, I went without knowing any of his work, but it felt like a must-see after talking to other friends in the scene. Once I arrived, the feeling was confirmed as it was a relative who's who of the Philadelphia scene in attendance.
In the months after the Bagabones release show, I really wanted to get to know more about Chris Kasper and his thoughts recording the album. We recently connected over some questions about the making-of including muse, musicians, and funding!
The album final steps were crowd sourced through PledgeMusic. There seems to be two conflicting views out there in the music world with crowd-sourcing. Some see it as a one & done, where it's a one shot and musicians won't ask again. Others in the Amanda Palmer part of the world consider as long as they have fans are willing to do it; they almost expect to do crowd-sourcing as long as they can. How was the experience for you, and would you do it again? (Have you done it before?)
"This was my first time crowd sourcing. The experience was pretty crazy. I ran through the whole gamut of emotions that go along with it and it took a bit of a toll on me. When it all worked out, even that was a lot to handle emotionally. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. It was beautiful. It also really united me to fans and opened my heart to what was possible. I would do it again if it made sense/felt right, and I had another solid record or project to offer. It's really a personal thing between an artist and their fans. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I think it's an honest way to get things done."
'Blessed Little Secrets' - Either you are madly in love... or your parents are? Please tell me this isn't some songwriting liberty and this is based on some real life experiences.
"The melody to "Blessed..." was hanging around my head for a long long time. I was hacking away at lyrics in an empty Germantown apartment. I had a table, a computer, and an expensive bottle of Absinthe that a friend sent me as a birthday gift. I was going through my homeless and lyric-less melodies and drinking away. This was the last one I wrote before falling asleep. It's all taken from real life, yes."
'Waterline' is track 10 on Bagabones, but the first video released. Interesting move, placing your "lead single" last on the album.
"That is interesting how 'The Waterline' worked in terms of placement. That was definitely talked about. In my original order, it was last, and then the radio started playing it, so we moved it around and tried to find a different spot. It was driving me nuts so in the end I decided that in the context of the record, it sounded best at the end. These days, I don't know if it matters much at all."
With great musician friends, what comes first, a groove in your head or playing the bones and your friends fill in? Take for example, Phil D'Agostino's bass groove and Kiley Ryan on violin for 'Raven and the Rose'.
"I like to imply the groove when I bring up a new song. I nudge people toward what I'm thinking, then let them take over. Like, that violin line was based on wrong note I played while work-shopping the tune. I was listening to the demo and when that weird interval happened, I lit up. It changed the mode of the scale and gave it a wonderful tension. So when I brought it to Kiley, I said "listen to this note" and sang "ahhhhhh ahhh". She played it on the fiddle and I got chills. Same with Phil on bass, I just tapped my foot plucked the bass line on the guitar, and he took it from there. Groove heaven."
With having a high status in the local scene, how much pressure is there when releasing a new album? Even more, can you have a fun side project like Foxhound without having outrageous expectations?
"Thanks! But I don't feel a high status for myself; I've just put in my time. I don't feel much pressure to be trendy, win awards, etc. That stuff doesn't work for me. Those types of pressure to outperform and out sing, out write, out play don't apply to me. The pressure I feel comes from me, to keep moving forward, to be honest with myself and my expression, to prepare as much as possible. Side projects are the same, just less time put in overall. There is less over thinking and I can wear a different hat, but I still want to be as good as possible without trying to be something it's not."
On the other hand, from what I've seen this scene is nothing but supportive. With great studios (Cambridge, Kawari, Turtle, Waking) and ample able musicians that all play on each other's bands, how easy is it making these projects a reality when there's immense talent to work with?
Is there pressure to include everyone on each recording?
"You can have access to every color in the world but if you don't have a picture in your head, well then, those colors just sit there. I need a vision or solid idea before I worry about tools and paints. That's where the focus should be, not the tools. When the idea is in place, you're right; I don't have to look far because the studios, engineers and musicians in this town are at the top of the game. I've had the honor of working with the best of the best and that type of experience in invaluable. It helped me to see how the right people and places and tools will help shape ideas to match and expand the vision."
How different was recording Bagabones vs. previous works?
"Bagabones was hard to write. I spent many long hours writing and rewriting. I dug real deep for this one. That being said, it was the easiest to record. I think once I had it, I had it. There wasn't too much second guessing, I was really feelin' the songs and the sounds and the people involved. It was all on my wave and I feel we really broke some new personal ground."
Now that you're a "veteran" does it get easier? Or, now that you've done it a few times to does the complexity increase?
"I think the only thing that gets easier is acceptance. You learn to accept who you are, where you are, what you do, what you sound like. Finding silence really helps with that. If you're quiet, you'll know what you have to do. If you're real quiet, you get songs. Once that happens, you can start getting better at everything."
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Click here for more details and to buy your tickets now!
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Jan 12 Bikenetic Falls Church, VA
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Jan 20 Juggling Gypsy Wilmington, NC
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SPRING DATES WITH AMOS LEE
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