The Mynabirds’ Laura Burhenn On Soul Music, Saddle Creek, Religion, More

July 20th, 2010 by admin

Led by Laura Burhenn, Saddle Creek’s The Mynabirds recently released their album titled What We Lose in the Fire, We Gain in the Flood. This soulful debut is already gathering much deserved critical acclaim, and is easily one of the year’s most interesting and refreshingly different albums thus far. After writing a glowing review for it, Sounds Good Ink was fortunate enough to get an interview with Laura. The eventual conversation covered a great deal of territory, thus revealing an artist as fascinating as the music she makes.

SGI: What kind of puppy do you have?

Laura: He’s a mutt from the humane society [chuckles]. They say he’s supposed to be a Chesapeake Bay retriever and cattle dog, but he looks like a black lab with the coloring of a Doberman or Rottweiler. I’m not sure what he is. He’s got half of a tail, which wasn’t ripped off, but he was just born with half-a-tail. He’s pretty handsome [laughs].

SGI: Is this your first dog?

L: Oh no. This is my first one I’ve had on my own, since he’s a puppy. I’ve had my family dog since I was a baby. But my dog’s a cutie.

SGI: Well good for you. Now, let’s talk about your new CD, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood. You’ve read my review, you know how I feel about it. But it’s really a great album. And it seems to have some very deep roots in a few very important musical genres and traditions.

L: Oh, thank you.

SGI: There wasn’t a whole lot of information I could find about you on the internet. But, do you listen to a lot of older, more traditional music? And were you intentional about making this sort of album?

L: Oh yeah…I definitely listen to a lot of it. You know, when I was getting ready to make this record, I thought, “This is my opportunity to make the kind of record I want to make.” And I’ve really tried to be purposeful in that, and to think, “How did I come to music? What music had really touched me the most? Which music do I feel most intimate with?” And I found myself going back to records that I grew up with. Things like Carol King, Nina Simone, and Neil Young. And even things like hymns and traditional folk-songs. Gospel. So, I tried to think not in terms of what is popular. Also, I didn’t try to simply make a record that I thought people would like. I wanted to make something that I thought was timeless and true to myself.

SGI: Now, not to limit you to one thing, but do you expect the kind of music we hear on your album to be your particular sound? I hate to use the word “brand,” but I think you catch my drift.

L: You know, I’ve been thinking about that recently. What do I do for the next record? I think I’m just gonna approach it the same way that I approached the current one, which is to write songs and orchestrate them and record them in the way that the songs require them to be recorded.

SGI: Right. And, when you are the main one in control of your music, you have more freedom to make each album sound different than the other.

L: Right.

SGI: That’s especially true for singer/songwriters. Singer/songwriters are often not confined to one genre because they essentially are their own genre. For instance, Tom Waits has created his own sound. When you hear his music you don’t think of some other genre, you just think of him. I use this example because I wondered where you hope to fit in the spectrum.

L: You know, it’s interesting. When I started making music I’d put out solo records before Georgie James. I had my own record label, but I’m not doing anything with it anymore. And, you know, that was something I always would come back to. But when The Mynabirds came out I asked myself, “Do I want to be a singer/songwriter?” And I thought, “No I don’t. ” In my mind, with a band, you have even more flexibility because maybe I’ll be the primary songwriter, or maybe some other people will come in. But, who knows? Since I am sort of the driving force behind the band then who knows what the next record will sound like?
I kinda wanna go in a bolder, more garage, raw, blues-rock direction. That’s how I’m feeling right now. When I actually record it, it might change. I guess there’s a lot of room to play around.

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SGI: Do you have freedom from your label to do that? To play around?

L: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. I think if I came back with a rap record then they might be confused [laughs].

SGI: How did you end up working with Richard Swift? Was this an old partnership?

L: It’s funny. I was absolutely in love with his record Dressed Up for the Letdown.

SGI: Phenomenal. Phenomenal album.

L: My favorite record of 2007. When we we found out we were going to be doing the album with Saddle Creek, I was talking with one of the guys from the label and I said, “Oh my god, you have to hear this record, Dressed Up for the Letdown,” and he laughed and said, “We’re putting out this album in Europe.” I got in touch with Richard in 2007 just to say, “Hey, I’m a huge fan of this record. It’s beautiful. So if it would ever work out for us to collaborate then let’s do it. ”

We just kept in touch over the years. And, when it was time to find a producer for this record, I thought Richard Swift was exactly the right person to produce these songs. He wanted to work together. He considers it a record that we made together, rather than one that he produced, which is really lovely and a lovely idea. But, I think it’s pretty true to the process as well.

SGI: I really liked his double album set, which had The Novelist and Walking Without Effort on it. That album just really hit me. I went really ga-ga over that one. I actually begged he and his publicist to let me interview Richard, and it ended up happening. But, as far as sounds go, he just has such a true sound. He’s so rooted in the great music of the past, but he’s also unafraid of experimentation.

L: Yeah…it’s classic songwriting, you know? Like Burt Bacharach and…who’s that other guy? I have to tell you, my least favorite part of an interview is when I’m asked, “Who are your influences and who are your favorite artists?” My mind just blanks. I don’t know what it is [laughs]. I’m always afraid I’m gonna say someone that people are gonna laugh at [laughs].

SGI: Right. Like, “My favorite is definitely Celine Dion.”

L: [laughs] Exactly. I’m like, “Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.”

SGI: You know, I kind of like Mariah Carey’s Christmas song.

L: [laughs]

SGI: Anyways, is Richard Swift considered a part of your band now? Like, is he going to tour with you? Or was this more a one-time only thing?

L: We haven’t made any plans to do concerts, and now I have a different band. It’s mainly because he’s so busy. He’s been producing a lot, and I think he tours pretty frequently. He’s a total family man. He loves to stay close with his family friends, and he really wants to be home. He tries to work around that, which is really commendable.

SGI: Right. I’ve seen his name on a lot of projects lately. And it’s interesting because I think a lot of people have become sick of the sound that the word “indie” has become associated with…

L: Yeah.

SGI: And I’ve wondered what the next sound will be. Well, a lot of the impressive stuff coming out, including your album, seem to have a lot more soul and R&B influences. When I first heard Richard Swift several years ago, I noticed that it had a great deal of soul and even R&B in it. So, I hope that he can become something of a “mover and shaker” in helping craft the new sound that’s coming around the corner.

L: He’s really funny. The one thing I think that a lot of people have in common who’ve worked with Richard, or who know him and love his music, is that we’re all fans of classic R&B, soul, classic rock n’ roll…the roots of where all of Pop music from today comes from. So, it’s funny to me. He had, like, Sean Lennon appear on his last record, and he’s good friends with Wilco…you know, these purveyors of classic pop music in today’s culture. I think, in my mind, that’s the string that’s tying everything together. And, quite frankly, I just think that most all pop on the radio is total shit. I think that indie music is, on one hand, trying to push the envelope and create something new or move in a different direction, but on the other hand hold onto the core of really great classic rock. I personally think one of the reasons for this R&B/soul kind of feel is directly related to a resurgence of early 90s R&B and hip-hop.

SGI: For you personally or on a larger level?

L: On a larger level. And for me, definitely. I’ve been thinking a lot about the music that really influenced me. It was the classic records from, you know, The Beatles , Neil Young, Carol King, etc. But also, when I was ten years old and listening to the radio for the first time, I was listening to the R&B station. Like Boys II Men [chuckles] and all those beautiful harmonies.

SGI: For sure. I think a lot of people forget that they were on Motown. I mean, you don’t get much truer to soul music than that. And for hip-hop, I think that, based on conversations I’ve had with music fans, a lot of people are simply rediscovering how great the early 90s hip-hop was. Often times we listen to hip-hop or rap simply to be funny or ironic or whatever. But, with that early 90s stuff, you listen to it now with fresh ears and realize how creative and risk-taking it was. And not just underground hip hop, but the Top 40 stuff that played back then.

L: Totally. We were driving on tour…I think we were in Birmingham. Anyways, we came across this amazing hip-hop station. It was all hip-hop and R&B from the early 90s. Just incredible, incredible stuff. I thought, “Man, I miss this.”

SGI: There’s also new jack from that time, which mixed hip-hop and R&B. You know, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Blackstreet, etc.

L: Oh, of course.

SGI: A lot of it has aged very well. There’re a few synthesized blips that haven’t. But the overall pulse of it still resonates well. Then there’s the fact that some of those people are starting to make a comeback on their own. For instance, have you heard Raphael Saadiq’s fairly-recent solo album?

L: Oh, I love that record. I picked it up a couple years ago. It’s amazing. It is so amazing. Raphael Saadiq

SGI: NPR recently put out a soul revival compilation, and Raphael has a new song on there. And, I tell you, it is top-shelf stuff. Seriously, it is soul music of the highest calibre. The fact that NPR is now endorsing a soul resurgence definitely says a lot about the direction we can expect music to take.

L: Right. I personally love mixing styles. I think that’s really amazing. It’s interesting, you have people like Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend who will mix in some African beats and different sounds, things like that. I feel like a lot of people are starting to sound a little like Paul Simon, too. There’s just so much music out there. And you can continue doing the same thing, or you can add different elements and come up with something new. I’m interested in going in that latter direction.

SGI: So how have your efforts to move in this new direction been going? Has your new record been getting a strong amount of press and notice?

L: Well, you know what’s funny, we’ve gotten some lovely press, and NPR recently featured our album on Fresh Air, which I was really excited about. I thought, “We’re one step closer to meeting Terry Gross” [chuckles]. I’m kind of a nerd. But that’s really been exciting to me. And the record is doing really well, as far as anything I’ve been involved with. And we’re just getting ready to do our first West Coast tour, then we’re going to be out in September and October. I have faith that this record is going to be a little bit of a slow grow, and that is exciting to me. I don’t feel like anything needs to be rushed. And I feel like I aim to make a classic feeling record, so I don’t feel like there’s any reason to push it now. It can take it’s time, that’s fine.

SGI: Are you doing this full time?

L: I have been recently.

SGI: Were you already signed to Saddle Creek, playing as The Mynabirds, upon recording What We Lose in the Fire…?

L: I went out on my own and talked to Richard Swift and funded the entire record myself. I had sort of passed along to Saddle Creek a couple of early demos that I had and said, “Look, I’m thinking of doing this album. Would you like to work with me? How does this work?” I know that they have had lots of artists from bands who have gone on to record new projects and release those projects. So I asked, “How do I do this?” Their response was, basically, “Why don’t you go out and make the record you want to make. And, that way, you as an artist need to be sure that you are working for the right label for the music.” And, at this time, I thought, “Well, they must just hate the music…” But, I went out to make the album that I wanted to make. And I’m really proud of it, you know?”

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SGI: Have you enjoyed working with Saddle Creek thus far?

Oh yeah. They’re really amazing. From an outside perspective, I really loved the idea of working with Saddle Creek. Outsiders (at least I did) think of the label as being a sort of family. It’s this group of people together in this small midwestern town, who banded together to help each other be successful. That really resonated, and it still resonates with me. They’ve certainly extended their family. They have a lot of artists who don’t live in Omaha. But, at the core of it, it’s a bunch of people who have known each other for a long, long, long time. And it really is a family, you know? I’m at that point in my life where I’m trying to decide, “Ok, can I actually make music work as a career? Can I make a living at music? How do you want to do it? Do you want to be involved in the rat-race of the music industry?” And then here I find these lovely, down-to-earth guys who just put out great records. That’s the way they work. They don’t put out music just because they want to make a profit; they just put out music they love. In my mind, that’s who an artist should be working with. Of course, they’re a great label and they do keep an eye on their finances. They make really good business decisions. At the same time, they work for the love of it.

SGI: Do you currently live in Omaha?

L: I do.

SGI: I’ve always been fascinated too by the fact that Saddle Creek was one of the first of the new independent labels of the last ten years that freely encouraged their artists to sing about those two areas that many shy away from: politics and religion. I wouldn’t describe your album as overtly political, but it does make definite use of religious imagery and explores religious/spiritual ideas.

L: It’s funny. I grew up in a very conservative, Christian environment. I quit going to church when I was thirteen because the pastor got up in front the church and said that homosexuals weren’t welcome, and I thought, “Wait a second, I thought God is love…” Since then, I’ve been really, really interested in religions. And it’s amazing, you know? Following September 11th you see what happens to Islam…And I think, after my run-in with Christianity, my upbringing, I started looking for other religions. Did some reading about Buddhism, [though] I would never call myself a Buddhist. In my mind, the fact that religion is a universal thing, that there is something in our human nature that strives to look for greater meaning and greater purpose, is an interesting thing. And sort of finding the thread that goes through all of those religions. Finding the similarities, that is interesting to me.

SGI: I hear ya. And I think we had something of a similar upbringing in terms of religion. But, as I’ve grown older and have reconnected to matters of faith in a healthier way, I’ve developed a new-found appreciation for the literary imagery and themes of religious texts. I think they can be especially effective when it comes to songwriting. And it’s interesting because, if you think about it, throughout the 80s and most of the 90s, musicians either shied away from singing about religious/spiritual matters completely, or artists did it in a way that made for a lot of bad art. Contemporary Christian Music, for example, which always put the message of the music over and against the quality of the music itself.

L: Right. I think it’s interesting how people deal with religion and the idea of faith. In my mind, let’s make it as simple as we can. The idea of talking about faith is interesting. Because you can talk to anybody, whether they believe in god or not, about faith and the belief that there is some purpose to our lives. I think language gets in our way a lot. Words hamper our ability to have a decent conversation about.

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SGI: Sure. But language can also enrich our discussion regarding matters of faith, and our music. For instance, your album title and song, “What We Lose in the Fire, We Gain in the Flood.” Very strong religious imagery, but at the same time it’s such a powerful sounding sentence.

L: The title of the record came to me and, in my mind, summed up the entire process. And that’s what a title should be. The personal journey that I had been through in writing the songs, recording them, and just where I was personally. To me it’s a hopeful statement, but it’s a hopeful statement.

Find out more about The Mynabirds, their album, and their touring schedule at: www.themynabirds.com

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