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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Cloud Cult: Occupational honors
Wednesday 28 March @ 15:07:52 |
  by STEVE McPHERSON
Having just witnessed Cloud Cult's mid-afternoon set at the Fader party at South by Southwest, the first question seems blindingly obvious and the answer rises up from the band in a chorus of yeas and amens: "It gets all over everything." "Clothes, amps, everything." "Drums." "This shirt was not painted on before this week."
"It's funny," says bassist Matthew Freed, "because the venues are always freaked out: 'Uh ... what are you doing with the paint? What's going on? Why are you bringing paint?'" Freed is sitting on some steps near a loading dock just across from the rear of the stage where they just played with his Cloud Cult compatriots Shannon Freed (violin/vocals and no relation), Sarah Young (cello/vocals), Dan Greenwood (drums/vocals) and Scott West (paintings/occasional trumpet). Not present are Craig Minowa (vocals/guitar/keyboard) and his wife Connie (paintings). For quite a while now, a Cloud Cult show has been more than just another rock show--it's a multimedia experience that includes video projections (absent today due to the daytime show) and Scott and Connie creating paintings live onstage. Hence the occupational hazards of being a member of Cloud Cult.
"It's actually an occupational honor," says Young, and it's true: No one seems unduly put out by all their gear being covered in paint. Part of that comes from the fact that the painters are treated as full band members: At the end of the show, the paintings are auctioned off and the money goes into the pot.
For their short set this afternoon, Scott and Connie were working on smaller canvases (two feet by four feet), but when they've got more time, they're free to stretch out a bit. "Usually, the stage has a lot to do with it," says West. "If we're on a very small stage, sometimes Connie and I will be painting together on one canvas just for space issues, and then usually the bigger performances--the bigger CD release shows, Seattle, New York--we do the larger paintings because we have a little more room; it's a bigger production."
The production I had just witnessed seemed plenty big, especially in contrast to the bulk of bands playing at the über-hip Fader party. Most of those groups' idea of a big production seems restricted to the feat of fitting themselves into skintight jeans and flopping around onstage like dying fish; Cloud Cult's after an entirely woolier and mossier experience. Despite their comparative lack of fashion acumen (and believe me, I'm in the same boat), they've managed to become darlings of the independent press; their last release, Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus, garnered an 8.3 on tastemaking website Pitchfork, and they've sold out shows on both coasts.
 "We're a little bit more about the performance and the show and the music and the art," says Freed, "rather than the fashion statement. It's just not us." But they get across, as evidenced by the warm reception following their set, and the secret, obviously, lies in the music. Big-hearted is not a big-hearted-enough word for the spirit of Cloud Cult's music, a spirit that comes from founder and leader, Craig Minowa. Cloud Cult began as his solo project, but since the release of Who Killed Puck? in 2000, it's grown into an honest-to-god collective, a fact that's often overlooked due to Craig's central role. Their manager, Adrian Young, suggested we conduct this interview without Craig, and it's a treat to get to focus on the rest of the band, especially when it comes to discussing their new record, The Meaning of 8, which is by far the most collaborative they've put out so far.
"This album was the most different album I've ever been a part of," says Young, a longtime member of the group, "but basically, Craig still [worked up songs before anyone else heard them] and gave it to us and a lot of us put a lot of hours into it. So there's a lot of music in there--Craig still has a ton of samples in there--but there's a lot more harmonies, cello lines, trombone, trumpet--I don't know what else. A lot of live instruments instead of just the keyboard samples."
One of the keys to this change in the creative process was Freed's work recording tracks at his own Essential Sessions studio. Craig and Connie live on a farm near Hinckley, Minn., that was the site of previous Cloud Cult recording sessions, so the opportunity to keep it local was a welcome one for the band.
"'Chemicals Collide' and 'Deaf Girl'--we actually worked those up as a whole band in rehearsals before they were ever really recorded," explains Freed, who joined the band recently. "So those songs were much more of a collaborative effort. The core writing--the chords, the lyrics--all comes from Craig; he definitely writes the songs. Craig and I worked together a lot on recording and mixing stuff. He'd work on things up at his farm in Hinckley, I've got a studio on Saint Paul. This is the first album I've been on for Cloud Cult. It's interesting for me to hear about how they did the albums in the past and how this one was different. Everybody chipped in everything they could."
That much is evident from the sound of the final album, which has less of a cut-and-paste feel than previous efforts. The music is still a lovingly disordered mix of achingly beautiful melodies and lyrics and unexpectedly harsh observations on the frailty of human life ("You can take it in stride / or you can take it right between the eyes / Suck up, suck up and take your medicine / It's a good day, it's a good day / to face the hard things," from "Take Your Medicine"). It would be easy to mistake that concern for mortality and the preciousness of life for base sentimentality, but Minowa and co. don't just gush--they're genuine, taking pains to put back what they take. "Ten trees are planted for every 1,000 albums manufactured," read the liner notes to The Meaning of 8. "All energy consumed in the process of manufacturing and shipping is compensated for with the purchase of an equivalent amount of wind energy from NativeEnergy.com."
Just as their live show breaks down barriers between music and visual arts, their business practices break down the notion of music as a mere commodity, a product to be consumed and discarded. That everything they do is done with an earnest heart and not a hint of self-important speechifying is just as important to their warm reception as their music itself. Craig's words, with which I closed my article about them in 2005, seem just as resonant today: "In the music industry, there's so many people that are really caught up in ego or a superficial kind of success or wealth or attention. It would be nice to be to a point where we'd know that we could cover our basic bills and everything and live a good ethical life on top of that, but beyond that, I don't really care; as long as we're all just being good, it's gonna be all right." ||
Cloud Cult play two CD release shows for The Meaning of 8 on Fri., Mar. 30 at the Varsity Theater with Hot IQs and Kaiser Cartel. 5 p.m. All Ages. 9 p.m. 21+. Both shows $13/$15. The 21+ show is rapidly selling out, so please consider attending the All Ages show to avoid disappointment. For more information on Cloud Cult, check out their official website at cloudcult.com.
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