E-mail a friendNeko Case
original airdate June 21, 2006
Although her early exposure was to country and gospel music, Neko Case claims no particular musical genre. She's made her mark in everything from punk to pop, in groups and solo. Case calls Tacoma, WA home, but began her musical career in Canada. She taught herself to sing and play guitar and other instruments. She's also an accomplished visual artist. This year, Case was named Female Artist of the Year at the Plug Independent Music Awards and released her 4th solo album, 'Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.'
Musician Neko Case explains her decision not to use "auto-tune."
Neko Case
Tavis: Neko Case is a talented singer-songwriter whose latest CD is one of the most acclaimed discs of the year. This summer, she's out on a tour which will wrap up with a special night at the Hollywood Bowl here in L.A. in September. Can I get tickets?
Neko Case: (unintelligible) (Laughs)
Tavis: A little later on, (laughs) brother trying to get his hustle on. A little later on, she'll perform one of the tracks from 'Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.' But first, here's some of the video now for 'Maybe Sparrow.'
Tavis: It is an honor to have you on the program, Neko, nice to meet you.
Case: Thank you, nice to meet you too. Thanks for having me.
Tavis: The answer to the question about the tickets will determine how nice I am to you in this conversation. (Laughs) So you did say yes, right?
Case: You can come, you can come, yes.
Tavis: Okay. (Laughs)
Case: No, we would be pleased to have you. Please come down.
Tavis: I'd be honored to be there. Glad to have you here.
Case: Thank you.
Tavis: This video, was that, like, the cutest video or what?
Case: Yeah, I wanted to have a video that I was not in very much. So I asked some friends of mine from college if they would animate it for me. I went to college in Vancouver, B.C. with a guy named Paul Morestad. (sp?) And he is now an animator for the NFB, the National Film Board in Canada. So I called him up and he said yeah, sure. And his sister, Julie Morestead, is also a really talented animator. So they both collaborated on it, and it turned out really nice.
Tavis: Nice to have friends from college, huh?
Case: Yeah, it is.
Tavis: You said something I have to follow up on. Why a video that you are not in? Usually, most artists are the other way around.
Case: I'm a little camera shy. Well, I guess I'm a little camera shy, so.
Tavis: Yeah, that's why?
Case: But I'd rather look at birds than look at me.
Tavis: Yeah.
Case: Or animation. (Laughs) So.
Tavis: So how are you handling, then, all this fame and fortune and exposure? It's kind of hard, especially on tour, to not see you on tour. On the stage.
Case: Yeah, well, we play live every night, and that's something I'm used to. So, that's something I really enjoy doing. So, I've been having a good time, and more people have been coming to the shows, which has been really nice. And I don't know; it's been exciting.
Tavis: What do you get out of the live performances? It's not just that you perform live. In your case, you perform live, funny though it may seem with live instrumentation.
Case: Yes.
Tavis: So, what does that do for you as an artist, to have the opportunity, on a regular basis, to perform live with live instrumentation?
Case: Well, when you put out a record, it's a little strange. 'Cause you can read the reviews or hear what people are saying about it. But in the live situation, you're actually seeing your audience and making a connection with them. And on one level, it's really gratifying to actually be performing songs in front of people, but on another, it's a really special feeling to be involved in a situation where people have come down to see you in their town, maybe in a little bar that they like, and it's a really community feeling.
And in the United States now, things are very corporate, and everything is very big business. And so, it's one of the last things besides independent restaurants or something where you can feel like you're actually in a really unique little piece of your community. And it's not just about the band playing on the stage, but maybe it's the place where somebody meets their future husband or wife, or people are blowing off steam on the weekend.
I don't know, it's just a really nice feeling, and it feels very unique. Even though we do it every single night, like, every single town is completely different. And it is the one little thing that makes communities really unique. It's not the one thing, but it's one of the last things that seems really unique to a specific place. Whereas there's Wal-Marts everywhere, and Pizza Hut. So it doesn't seem like neighborhoods are so unique from each other anymore, which is sad.
Tavis: I get the sense that even though you can and obviously do play major venues, I get the sense that from the kind of music you perform, which I wanna talk about in a second, 'cause you are, like, impossible to box in or to label. I get the sense, though, that you actually like playing these smaller venues, though.
Case: I do. It feels weird when the venues are really large and you can't see people. It's a strange feeling. Or if people aren't making any noise, 'cause then you wonder if people are having a good time. Whereas if people are drinking beer and talking to each other, you kind of feel like you're not just playing for people, you feel like you're setting an atmosphere where people don't feel like they just have to stand there and be quiet until you're done.
Like, they're actually involved in the evening with you. So, I think I just enjoy that more. And you talk to the audience and banter back and forth, and it just feels good. It feels like everybody's there.
Tavis: Big venue or small venue, large or small, one of the things I like about your music, and I can't say this about all artists, although I'm not gonna call any names. But you actually sound like Neko. That is to say, (laughs) you sound like the person on the record. And I think it has to do with the fact that your music is so stripped down, oftentimes, that what you sound like on the record, you sound like in person. There's nothing worse for me as a fan to go hear somebody in person, and they don't sound anything like the record that you fell in love with. Does that make sense?
Case: Yeah, it does. Well, technology now and production styles now in music, people rely a lot on Auto Tune, which means basically that people don't have to sing in tune, 'cause the machine will do it for you. And they use it as an effect.
Tavis: Wait, wait, wait. There's a machine that sings in tune for you?
Case: There is a machine that, it's basic...
Tavis: I'm about to cut a record. (Laughs)
Case: It's about on 100 percent of records that you hear on the radio.
Tavis: I'm about to make me a CD, if you can do that. (Laughs) God. You shouldn't have told me that.
Case: Well, you'll sound better if you just sing like you, though, is the thing.
Tavis: Oh, no, you ain't heard me sing.
Case: Come on.
Tavis: (Laughs) You...
Case: Well, basically, just people use that as an effect. They say it's an effect now, but I think it's more of an excuse. It's just faster if you have a machine to put you in tune. And I've always been very proud not to do that. And sometimes on the record, I hit notes a little funny, but it kind of, as my friend Brian Connolly would say, humans were here. It shouldn't sound (laughs) like it's been put through a machine completely.
Tavis: Yeah.
Case: But that's just a stylistic thing. There are times when those other things sound good, too. But for me personally, I just didn't feel comfortable with it. And all the singers I really admire, like, I know that they didn't do that. And people, like Aretha Franklin wasn't in the studio going, I wanna do this in 15 minutes, and I'd like you to turn on the Auto Tune, please.
She probably nailed it by take three, and there was a live orchestra playing behind her. So, you wanna live up to that. You wanna try to emulate those people. Not that I feel like I'm in a category like that at all, but it's just like when you hear those people's music, you're so inspired, and that's where the desire comes from. And I don't wanna just get in and get it done 'cause we gotta go eat lunch. (Laughs) I'd feel like I was cheating or something.
Tavis: Tell me, I got about 45 seconds left, and I gotta be quick, 'cause I wanna make room for you and the band to perform here. Tell me about the CD.
Case: Well, it was recorded over about two and a half years' time. It took a while because I was recording another live record called 'The Tigers Have Spoken.' And I made a record with my other band, The New Pornographers. And we toured a lot in there, and it was actually really nice to take such a long time, 'cause I could do two weeks here and there.
And sometimes if you spend too long in the studio, you get so immersed that you can't see the edges of it. You just get lost and frustrated. And so you go away, and you can hear it with fresh ears, and you get new inspiration and it worked out nice.
Tavis: It did work out nice.
Case: Thank you.
Tavis: And if you don't believe me, stick around. 'Cause in a few minutes, you can judge for yourself. Up next, Neko Case will be joined by a few of her band members for a special performance. And you're gonna perform, what are you gonna perform here? 'Maybe Sparrow.'
Case: Yeah.
Tavis: 'Maybe Sparrow.' The little video that we like so much.
Case: Yeah.
Tavis: We'll now hear it live from Neko Case. Stay with us.
From her new CD, 'Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,' here is Neko Case performing 'Maybe Sparrow.' Enjoy. Good night from Los Angeles, and keep the faith.
Back to June 21, 2006