It’s been a little over a year since Jeff Tweedy appeared at the Iowa City Songwriter’s Festival, shortly before the release of his triple album, Twilight Override. Since then, he’s played at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, and this weekend he’ll be returning to Iowa yet again to perform at the Capitol Theatre in Davenport. An Illinois native who still lives in Chicago, Tweedy has always enjoyed Iowa and its “nice college towns.“
If you still haven’t given Twilight Override a proper listen, the words “triple album” might give you pause for any number of reasons, but it’s a solid record from start to finish and full of classic Tweedy moments (we've been especially fond of “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter”). Tweedy says he always intended for Twilight Override to be a triple record, and was surprised at the “warm reception” that it received upon its release.
“(A lot of) people would obviously argue against putting out a triple record, but I could never really make it feel the same way as a single record or even a double record,” said Tweedy. “It just seemed like the whole point of it was to kind of luxuriate in a sonic space with more short stories kind of washing over you. (But) a long record like that has the potential to be kind of risky for a lot of our short attention span kind of culture.”
“It's one of the records I can think of in my life that was responded to in real time the way that I kind of hoped it would be,” said Tweedy. “You know, a lot of records I've made, people kind of came around to — even some of the ones that people now talk about as being some of the better ones. But this one seemed like people were ready for it or were wanting it, something like it.”
One of the albums Tweedy might be talking about hit its own milestone just about a week ago: the classic Wilco album Being There. It’s now 30 years old, and many of its songs are still part of Wilco setlists, including “Misunderstood” and “I Got You (At the End of the Century).” Tweedy calls it a pivotal record for him.
“I think the first Wilco record was made with some idea that I should be hanging on to the Uncle Tupelo audience, and I think the second record was kind of where I figured out that I should just be making a new audience, or just doing what I want to do,” said Tweedy. “I love that I didn't do what I wanted to do on A.M., but I think I was still writing songs that were meant to be placed next to someone else's songs. And on Being There, I was just kind of thrilled at the opportunity to not do that anymore, you know?”
Tweedy’s opening act for this tour is Case Oats, led by vocalist Casey Walker, who is also Tweedy’s daughter-in-law. (She’s married to Spencer Tweedy, who is Case Oats’ drummer and is also a record producer, among many other projects.) The younger Tweedy is near and dear to our hearts these days, because he produced the upcoming new album from longtime friend of Studio One Elizabeth Moen. Moen has opened for Jeff Tweedy and performed “California Stars” with him on more than one occasion.
“Elizabeth's gone out on tour with me before doing some solo shows, and she's a powerhouse talent,” said Tweedy. “I'm glad that record's finally coming out. I'm glad she's rightfully beloved.”
As fate would have it, my conversation with Tweedy took place on Election Day, in the afternoon, well before any results could be anything other than guessed at. Tweedy was in Providence, Rhode Island, driving around before a show that night. I asked him if the weight of the occasion made him consider the role of artists and musicians in our society, and his answer was twofold.
“The basic implication of making any art, and putting it into the world, is that you have some hope and that you have some belief in the future, and that you can make a world that you feel is worth fighting for,” said Tweedy. “And I think that's inherently political — to tell the world it doesn't have to be this way, and to share your imagination and share inspiration.”
In addition to his role as an artist, Tweedy is also a participant in what he calls “a big messy democracy,” and he’s as full of “hopes and anxieties” as anyone on Election Day.
“On a more practical level on a day like today, I'm playing a show and I would facilitate some consolation if it was needed,” said Tweedy. “And I would hope that I would give people a sense of community, regardless of the outcome of an election. But to me, playing shows is like the most political thing I kind of do right now. It's a rare opportunity for people to have some community and congregation, in a real human space, with other people breathing next to them. We've gotten really bad at that, so I feel good about that being a profession that I participate in.”
This year’s Iowa City Songwriter’s Festival is underway, and Tweedy has some tried and true advice for the aspiring songwriters in attendance.
“Nothing happens unless you pick up the pencil or the guitar. Sitting around waiting for inspiration is not a feasible way to work at it,” said Tweedy. “I also think that failing is the only way you're going to learn anything. So if you just start, you're going to fail more often, and you'll probably learn something. And you can cover up a lot by just acting like you intended to do it.”
Tickets are still available for Jeff Tweedy’s show at the Capitol Theatre this Saturday.
