Grandaddy: Passing Away

Feature by Milo McLaughlin | 16 May 2006

Despite a sequence of groundbreaking albums which began with 2000's 'Under the Western Freeway', Grandaddy never seemed to breakthrough on the scale they deserved. Vocalist/songwriter/producer Jason Lytle decided to split the band last year, but not before releasing one more epic album of sonic and melodic majesty, 'Just Like the Fambly Cat'. Lytle spoke to the Skinny about the album and his reasons for ending the band, as he was preparing to leave his hometown of Modesto, California, the inspiration behind many of the band's songs.

The recent 'Todzilla' EP was a postcard of discontent with your hometown Modesto, was that your way of telling yourself you've had enough?

"Yeah. It gets pretty ridiculous around here. Part of it is the fact that it's home, but the other part is the fact that people just don't know what to do with themselves so they decide to do the worst version of all the options. All I can do is cruise around and take it in, and just go 'man, this place sucks'. It got to the point where it wasn't funny anymore, and you've just got to do something about it and get out while you're still alive."

So have you left already?

"I'm still here right now, the house is for sale; so it's completely empty and I'm doing things like scrubbing floors, dusting countertops and clearing up the yard, shit like that."

Your studio is in storage at the moment; will you be setting it up again when you've moved to Montana?


"Yeah, that's the plan. That part of it's pretty exciting, it's a complete change of environment. I'm not seeing it like "it's all crashed and burned and I'm ready to throw in the towel"- I'm looking forward to working, and when I'm taking breaks being around good, healthy, inspirational stuff."

You've said that when you're not busy you have a "substance abuse problem"?

"Yeah, it's not like I'm cowering behind a dumpster in an alley, it usually starts off light hearted and social enough, but a part of it is not knowing when the party should end. I quit drinking during the recording of the album because I was falling way short of where I should have been and I could see there was a good chance the album was going to suffer. I had other shit going on, a big relationship that was on the out, and the uncertainty with the band was bringing me down."

So the split has been on the cards for a while?

"Yes, a lot of it was because of the uncertainty. I was hoping and waiting, like we've always done- sometimes you've just got to wait things out but years were going by and there were no answers coming."

Were you waiting for a breakthrough in terms of the size of your audience?


"It was more the financial strain; there's never been a solid sense of security for the members of the band, we've always been winging it. It got to the point where I knew it wasn't going to get any better. The label were petering out and were pulling back on support, it looked like it was going to get harder rather than more fruitful.

The band also knew that I didn't want to go back on tour. I said I would consider it if there was a new way of doing it that was more efficient and healthier."

What it is you hate about touring?

"The whole thing of being stripped of your independence and under someone else's constant routine. If you're granted 30 seconds of solitude at any point at all during a tour, you can think yourself lucky. I loved the excitement of playing in front of people and how frightening and invigorating it was, but all the other stuff was just a waste of time, and the years were racking up."

Do you have a Brian Wilson-like attention to detail during the production process, because the way it's mixed makes it seems that way, there's so much going on and so much depth and warmth.


"That's where it gets down to the unspoken artistic part of it - knowing that you have this crossword puzzle, there's a point when all these words and all of these pieces are going to fit together and it's going to make sense. The challenge and the payoff of finally getting it right is pretty immense.

It was tough towards the end 'cos my back started going out on me. For a while I had a problem with painkillers, and finally I couldn't do those anymore, and I was in such pain that just to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time was insane, it was like a big cruel joke to make sure that I didn't get it right. Then my doctor gave me these non-addictive muscle relaxers so towards the end I was on red wine and muscle relaxers just so I could sit for long periods of time."

The final song, This Is How It Always Starts in particular seems to be coming from rock bottom, lyrically.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, there's a point towards the end where the song is breaking down and there's a little shaker percussion part; that's actually a little container of prescription painkillers and I'm using it as a percussion instrument. That track was to the depths, there and back, and attempting to get it on tape."

What was the story behind The Animal World?

"My mum is, a bit like me, a total antisocial, hermit person and she sent me a Christmas card one year with a picture of all the animals on earth, zebras, monkeys, horses, like Noah's Ark - and underneath it said "Joy to the World" and I thought how hilarious it was because there were no humans in the picture! That combined with the fact that I love watching old movies and every now and then there's a dog walking past or a cat on the fence or something."

Was there a specific story behind the mainly instrumental track Skateboarding Saves My Life Twice?

"I skateboarded on a regular basis since I was 8 years old and totally grew up in the culture. Thinking about who I could have turned into without it scares me, with all the other options that were out there. I had a really bad knee injury and I had to quit for four years, then I eventually got surgery and all of a sudden it was back in my life and I had a new approach to it, it was a lot less strenuous, there was no pressure attached to it, it was totally enjoyable and therapeutic."

Maybe that'll also happen with your music once you've had a break?

"There might be something to that."

Just Like the Fambly Cat' is released on V2 on May 15.

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