Wilco

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Wilco

Alternative country group

When the progressive country band Uncle Tupelo broke apart in 1994, one of the group’s cofounders, Jeff Tweedy, along with four other band members, knew that he still wanted to carry on. Thus, Tweedy formed Wilco, a group that held on to its country roots, while at the same time adopting a more pop/rock, commercially appealing sound. After releasing their debut album, 1996’s AM, the group quickly earned a reputation as a no frills rock band, and Tweedy proved his value as a simple, personal, and uncomplicated storyteller.

In 1988, two longtime friends with a passion for traditional country and punk music, who were both natives of Belleville, Illinois, a decaying blue-collar suburb east of St. Louis, Missouri, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy formed Uncle Tupelo. Prior to Uncle Tupelo, the two had formed a punk band, the Primitives, which broke up when Farrar’s brother enlisted in the United States Army. Both men shared responsibility for writing music and lyrics, creating a persuasive blend of country punk, an intense style of punk-informed rural music, and were joined by drummer Mike Heidorn (later replaced by Ken Coomer).

The group toured on the Midwestern club circuit for a couple of years before releasing their debut album, No Depression in 1990, followed by Still Feel Gone in 1991, both for the independent Rockville label. These releases brought the group an instant cult following of both country and rock fans, as well as critical accolades from music magazines such as Rolling Stone. Tweedy, who played bass for the group, and Farrar, who served as lead guitarist and vocalist, each provided the group with a distinct sensibility. While Tweedy held the sweeter instincts and a critical interest in music, Farrar added soul to Uncle Tupelo’s songs with his grand, indignant voice and pained tone. The group returned in 1992 with a more subdued, acoustic album of traditionalfolktunes entitled March 16-20, 1992, produced by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, which also earned favorable critical attention. After signing with a major label, Warner Brothers’ Sire/Reprise, UncleTupelo released Anodyne’m 1993, considered the group’s best album. Here, the group placed country in the background and opted for a more progressive sound.

Despite the band’s newfound commercial appeal, major label contract, and growing popularity, Farrar abruptly left Uncle Tupelo in 1994 and formed a new American folk/country group called Son Volt. Neither of the men would elaborate on the exact circumstances of the split, but Tweedy did suggest that “I think it was a personal decision for Jay, but he wasn’t very communicative about anything to us, which was fairly normal for

For the Record…

Members include Jay Bennett (joined band 1995), guitar; Ken Coomer, drums; Bob Egan (joined band 1996), guitar, fiddle; Max Johnston (left band 1996), guitar, vocals, fiddle, mandolin, banjo; John Stirratt, bass; Jeff Tweedy (born August 25, 1967, in Belleville, IL; married; children: one son, born c. 1996) guitar, vocals.

Formed band in St. Louis, MO, started touring throughout the Midwest, 1994; toured with H.O.R.D.E., released debut album A.M., 1995; released Being There, 1996; released Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg; released Summer Teeth, toured worldwide with R.E.M., 1999.

Addresses: Home —Chicago, IL. Record company —Reprise Records, 3300 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505-4694. Website— http://www.RepriseRec.com.

Jay,” as quoted by Alan Sculley in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I mean, a lot of things that were used as explanations were fairly contradictory so I wouldn’t really be able to comment on it.” Even though Tweedy and Farrar had worked together for years, Tweedy further commented that their relationship centered around music, rather than a personal friendship.

From the moment Farrar announced his departure, the remaining members knew that they loved making music together and did not want to stop. Thus, Tweedy took the leading role as guitarist and vocalist and renamed the group Wilco. The former members of Uncle Tupelo, which also included drummer Coomer, fiddler and mandolin and banjo player Max Johnston, and bassist John Stirratt, were later joined by a second guitarist, Jay Bennett (formerly of the group Titanic Love Affair). After closing the door on Uncle Tupelo, the newly-formed Wilco felt truly liberated. “Certain things, I think, would kind of be tossed out before they ever became a song, just on the idea that it wouldn’t really fit in on an Uncle Tupelo record or really didn’t work next to Jays songs— things like that,” Tweedy told Sculley. Therefore, with a new sense of creative freedom, Wilco seemed determined to include all styles of music into their new band. In 1995, they joined the H.O.R.D.E. (Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere) tour, playing some old Uncle Tupelo songs, as well as some new songs that later appeared on their debut release.

After relocating to Chicago from St. Louis, Wilco released their first album, A.M., in 1996 on the Sire/Reprise label. For the debut, the group, joined by guest guitarist Brian Henneman of the group the Bottle Rockets, maintained its country roots, but also added more pop and rock influences. Consisting of 13 tracks, 12 of which were written by Tweedy, A.M. opens with four solid rock songs, including “Box Full of Letters,” which deals with separation (perhaps in regards to Farrar’s leaving), and “Casino Queen,” a rock song full of unbridled energy. Throughout the rest of the album, the music deepens in scope, moving back and forth between heavier rock songs and mid-tempo ballads, such as the love songs “Pick Up the Change,” “That’s Not the Issue,” “Should’ve Been in Love,” and “Too Far Apart.” Bassist and rhythm guitarist Stirratt wrote and sang one song for the album entitled “It’s Just That Simple,” a tearful, traditional country tune. Later that year, multi-instrumentalist Johnson left Wilco, and fiddler and guitarist Bob Egan joined the band.

The following year, Wilco released their second album, a 19-track double CD entitled Being There. Publications such as Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times raved about the group’s latest collection, using catch phrases like “album of the year” and “ambitious versatility,” and their music saw air play on alternative rock radio stations across the United States. Like their debut, Being There included music from several genres, from neo-punk to rockabilly on top of their firm progressive country foundation. For example, the song “Monday” recalled the swinging rock of the Rolling Stones’ hit “Brown Sugar,” “Outta Mind (Outta Sight)” took inspiration from West Coast 1960s pop, and “Kingpin” boasted the sounds of swaggering country.

The band went back into the studio in 1997 to begin work ontheir third album. In the meantime, they tooktime off to work on a project with British folk singer and musician Billy Bragg in Dublin. In 1998, Bragg and Wilco released the critically acclaimed Mermaid Avenue, a collection of Woodie Guthrie lyrics for which the musicians wrote their own original music. The concept for the album came about in 1995 when Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, gave Bragg reams of her father’s handwritten song lyrics and asked him to write music for them. Although Guthrie had composed some of the music for the lyrics, he did not have the chance to write the notes down before he died in 1967 following a long battle with a rare nervous disorder called Huntington’s chorea. The resulting album, with music co-written by Wilco and Bragg, combined thefolk blueprint of Bragg with the soul and genre-bending tendencies of Wilco.

Subsequently, Wilco returned to Chicago to complete recording songs for Summer Teeth, released in 1999. A strong 1960s pop element came though in tracks like “I’m Always in Love,” “ELT,” and “Summer Teeth.” However, Tweedy contrasted Wilco’s bright pop songs with dark, often disturbing lyrics, although the overall feel of the album was upbeat. “There’s a darkness to the lyrical half of the the record and there’s an overwhelming brightness to the music,” Tweedy informed Curtis Ross in the Tampa Tribune. “The effort was to make the record more hopeful as it progressed.” Like the group’s prior work, Summer Teeth received critical praise and further solidified Tweedy’s reputation as one of America’s most stellar songwriters. Also that year, Wilco toured Europe and the United States, opening for the group R.E.M. in larger arenas and headlining their own show at smaller venues.

Despite Wilco’s success after breaking away from Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy insisted that he still remains an ordinary guy. “I’m not some big rock star, but I do run into fans every now and then who think I’m this super-special person… and it’s weird, because you can’t be who they think you are.” Nevertheless, he admitted to acting “freaked out” when he met one of his musical heroes in 1966, when Wilco shared a bill with Johnny Cash at a show in New York City. “I don’t know if someone coached him on my name or something, but he actually walked into the room and said, ‘Where’s Jeff?’ and my heart stopped,” Tweedy recalled to Thor Christensen of the Dallas Morning News. “After you’ve made afew records, you think you could meet [famous] people and not act goofy. But when I’m around a guy like Johnny Cash, there’s no way I can act or talk normally.”