It was a loosely-planned Thursday night and we found ourselves among new friends, sitting Indian-style with paper-bagged 40's in hand. We arrived at the little house with no idea that a random jaunt through North Park would lead us to our new favorite band, The Paddle Boat, who took us away with their compelling 1930's vibe and left us devout fans. Their sound was unique and refreshing; a subtle expression of the great talent and ideas that can develop when people commit to working creatively together. The Boat House, where Jane, Jackson, and Jeremy live and work on their thousands of art and music projects, is a perfect model of how good community makes good art, and good art brings good community.
Videos by Jonathan Foster. Photos by Carly Ealey.
When and why did you start hosting shows at the Boat House?
The first show we had at the Boat House was in December of 2007. We just felt like there weren't a lot of places to play quiet music where people would actually listen. Since that time it seems like house shows are popping up everyday and we are very glad!
Jeremy, Jane and Jackson
What were some of your favorite records to listen to as kids?
Jeremy: Faith by George Michael
Jane: Out of Step by Minor Threat
Jackson: Graceland by Paul Simon
If you could score the soundtrack to a film, who would you want the director to be? - Jim Jarmusch
What other projects are you involved with?
The three of us are all members of (the live incarnation of) The Lightning Bug Situation, which is the solo project of Brian Miller of The Speakers. Jeremy and I are in The Vision of a Dying World and Cuckoo Chaos. Jane was in Red Pony Clock for their last European tour and just went on tour with Black Mamba.
Closley related people: Keith (Jackson's brother) is in The Vision of a Dying World, Jamuel Saxon, Charles Musket, and Black Mamba. Aimee (Keith's girlfriend) is in Black Mamba and Jamuel Saxon. Spencer (formerly of Red Feathers) is in Charles Musket and Jamuel Saxon. Craig is in The Powerchords, Cuckoo Chaos, and is my partner in Single Screen.
What are some pros and cons of being in multiple bands?
Well I think the obvious con is the time issue. Most people don't have the time to be in one band let alone three! None of us really ever have any time off. We are either working (Jane also goes to school), practicing, or playing a show. Scheduling is also a nightmare! But the pros are many in number! We love what we do and we get to do it all the time. Also, it's good for any musician to play different styles in different contexts and settings. It forces you to grow! Plus I really enjoy being able to switch it up. There are so many ways to play music and so many kinds of music to play that exclusively playing in one style or genre feels really limiting.
What where the highlights of your last Arizona mini-tour?
We don't have any pictures because it was just the three of us out there, but it was a blast! We have a strong connection to Arizona and a lot of really close friends out there. The shows were really well attended and the audiences were really responsive which is always nice. Some guy got his throat slit by two sorority girls up the street from the bar we played in Tuscon, which was not cool. Jeremy and Jane found out they hate Cracker Barrel. Gas was really cheap. Zach and Miri Make a Porno kind of sucked. On the way to Prescott we saw what we believed to be a space ship and later turned out to be a camera taking a picture of us driving way over the speed limit. We ate at an amish diner filled with complex machines. After the Phoenix show we started driving home but we stopped at Waffle House which was the best decision we have ever collectively made.
So the 7" comes out this month, can we expect a full length soon?
We booked Ken Cinema for our 7" release. Black Mamba is opening, it should be a damn good time. As for the full length, we are going up to the Oregon coast from March 5-13 to record it. Jackson’s brother, Keith Milgaten will track the album and Scott Wheeler, our roommate (and Cuckoo Chaos front man), will do the mix. I would guess it will be in stores some time this summer.
The Paddle Boat's 7" release show is Friday the 13th at The Kensington Theatre. The Show starts at Midnight, doors at 11:30pm. Songs from the upcoming release can be found on Paddle Boat's myspace page.
Check the Photo Gallery below for more images of our evening at the Boat House.