David Bazan: Control Feak
by Vanessa Gill
It seems there’s a walking-on-pins-and-needles attitude that
surrounds Pedro the Lion’s lead singer, Dave Bazan. Two extremes
surround him and his band’s music: People either appreciate his
honesty and bluntness, and welcome the music with open arms, or they
criticize him for offering no hope, and not being “Christian”
enough.
The only answer to the scrutiny for offering “no hope” in the
end of his albums, which take you through whirlwinds of depression
and thought-provoking stories, is maybe he’s trying to show, in an
indirect way, hope can be found in only one person.
His albums overflow with vulnerable honesty, self-introspection and
raw emotion. The guy puts himself out there. And that makes some
uncomfortable. “I think some people might be disappointed in me,
though, after they get the new record,” he said. But he quickly
says he’s happy with the album. “Control is a far cry from its
original version, I do like it a lot and am proud of it.”
The recording process took a solid year, writing, recording,
tweaking and perfecting. “I recorded the album all the way through
once, and then scrapped it and went back to the drawing board.”
This reflects a shift in content. “I just decided to abandon all
pretenses and let my studio process have more of a ‘what comes
out, comes out’ feel, and I would know that’s what’s meant to
be.
“The songs on the new album are arranged in a much more
interesting manner, so they can stand on their own.” He added,
“Lyrically this album was much better than the past …
‘Options’ is about a couple’s marriage falling apart, but that
is one of the very limited plot lines that only make up about a
fourth to a third of the album.” Bazan continued, “This album
also has a presence of political issues and vague socio-economical
comments about the U.S.”
Although Bazan claims he writes from a strictly fictional
standpoint, he does credit certain current events which direct his
thoughts on the album. One of those direct writing inspirations on
this latest album was the WTO protest in his hometown of Seattle,
Wash., an event that led him to think more of social justice issues.
“I was thinking a lot about the structure of power in this country
and the brilliant and subtle crimes of empire all over the world,
and I set out to write a record just about that.” Bazan then
realized that the outcome seemed too forced and deliberate. His
solution was to combine important elements of those issues with more
domestic ideas such as relationships, families and jobs and roll it
all together for Control.
So does he ever write from an autobiographical point of view? “A
few years before I was in Pedro the Lion, I wrote that way, and
that’s just not what I enjoyed.” He quickly dismisses any notion
that this might leave a personal aspect out of the songs. “I think
my songs are personal and I want them also to be interesting. By
writing the way I do, I can mess around with facets … make words
stronger … and make the narratives more interesting.” Bazan said
actually feels more connected to the lyrics that he creates
fictionally, than those he created from an autobiographical
viewpoint.
But Bazan does admit what happens autobiographically affects his
art. This September marks his third year wedding anniversary. “ I
think marriage is a pretty interesting facet of our culture that
defines a lot of what goes on.”
Musicians are such predominate role models in youth culture and the
words they sing do have an effect on the lives of their audience.
From Bazan observing and learning earnestly from his own marriage,
taking time to acknowlege our country's political issues and always
staying true to himself, Control offers a hidden message that fans
will strive hard to decode. So pick your extreme, but try to see
through Bazan's sarcasm and dark imagery to the fact that he is just
trying in his indirect way to make the world a more accountable
place.
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Relevant Magazine
