Interview with Al James of Dolorean

Al James is the songwriter behind Dolorean, a Portland-based folk band. Dolorean’s latest release, 2004’s Violence in Snowy Fields, received rave reviews from The Onion and the New York Times, and made more than a couple of end-of-the-year top ten lists. Violence in Snowy Fields, along with Dolorean’s previous release Not Exotic combine lush and hushed folk-pop with slow-burning alt-country and wrap it all up in poetic lyricism. Al was gracious enough to become the first subject of the Burnside Writers Collective’s interview page.

Jordan Green: First off, I wanted to say that Violence in Snowy Fields blew me away when I bought it a few months ago. It reminds of the first times I listened to Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker or Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. What musicians or artists, contemporary or otherwise, are some primary influences in your songwriting?

Al James: I guess I’ve always been drawn to simple songwriters. I never really got into complicated songs or technical musicianship. I grew up listening to Willie Nelson’s Stardust album and it’s still one of my favorite records. I love the production and the arrangements and somehow Willie manages to make an entire album of covers sound like he wrote every one of them. There is also an album of early demos of just Willie and his guitar that came out recently that I found extremely encouraging. Early on in my songwriting I kind of got stuck on Bruce Springsteen and The Ghost of Tom Joad. I don’t think it’s a very good record anymore, it seems sort of fake - all these songs about immigrants and blue collar workers. I guess I don’t believe Springsteen anymore, but at the time, I was really into his narrative songs that told the story from the first person perspective. I copied that a little, but I couldn’t stick to it, because it seemed kind of fake for me to do it too. I don’t listen to too much contemporary music, but there are a few songwriters I pay attention to who are about 10 years older than me - Will Oldham, Bill Callahan, Damien Jurado, and Richard Buckner. I don’t really buy all their records, but I enjoy their songs and enjoy watching the twists and turns of their respective careers. I’ve also been affected and shaped by Chet Baker’s vocal delivery and also by music by The Band, The Byrds, Dennis Wilson, and John Fahey.

Jordan: Do you have any influences that people wouldn’t generally expect?

Al: There are some bands that really divide people. Maybe they seem overproduced or outdated, but I steal a lot of arrangement and production ideas from Bread, America, and Seals and Crofts.

Jordan: More than a few of your songs delve into Biblical themes. Are you ever worried that you’ll be pigeon-holed into being a “Christian Artist”, or that people will take your music the wrong way?

Al: I think that Biblical themes are present everywhere in our culture, so it’s not a big deal that they show up in popular music. Presently, these themes are often used as tools of abuse or guilt by groups of people and I’m hoping that listeners will go a little farther with me and connect to these themes and metaphors without the baggage of contemporary culture. Many of us have grown up with these stories and images and we can make a deep connection through them. I’ve also found that people who are into “Christian Artists” are not into my work. I’ve played it for them, and they don’t like it.

Jordan: Is there a set process that goes into your song-writing? Do you tend to work on lyrics first?

Al: Most of lyrics for the songs from Not Exotic and Violence in the Snowy Fields were written before the music was written. From 2000 to 2004 I was working full-time driving a delivery van. I spent a lot of my time writing songs while I made long drives from Portland to Seattle, Eugene, and Bend. After composing a song and melody I’d get home and figure out the chords that matched what I had been singing. Not every single song was created this way, but for the most part this was the process for the last two records. I’ve been working part-time since December 2004 and honestly I’m having a really hard time writing songs for the next album.

Jordan: It’s interesting to hear you talk about driving for a living. I worked as a courier/delivery driver for a few years, and I always found that the time alone, meeting strangers at each stop, was very conducive to thought. Are there any particular circumstances that make it easier for you to create, or is “The Muse” an abstract idea in your mind?

Al: I think initially I require a bit of solitude to work. So far I haven’t found much success in collaborative writing at the beginning stages of a song. I usually do my best work alone, then bring the framework of the song to the other musicians. Some of the songs come very quickly and whole, but others bounce around in my head for months or years before they feel complete. I don’t write well when I’m on the road, there are too many people around. I think I’m at my best alone, in a moving automobile, but that may have to change. Also, I never like to share songs or ideas with people until they feel done or close to done.

Jordan: This is a question that I find myself wondering when I hear great romantic lines like, “I cannot lie to your face/Your lips your skin, your hips, or your waist” (in “To Destruction”) and “Baby, let’s die at the same time” (in “Dying in Time”). Are these words that are intended for one person, or are they just generally poetic words that you’ve stumbled across, and have no one in mind when you write them?

Posted on December 4, 2005 2:24 PM