Aimee Mann & Ted

ISSUE #35 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #35 MMUSICMAG.COM Q&A MANN: Yeah. I think he even sent me your saw the challenge as writing for someone full record?” We both realized that was what record and said, “You should check this out.” else’s voice so much as how we were able we really wanted to do. That was where we LEO: It’s an interesting series of cul-de-sacs to make things work for both of our voices. wanted to put all our energy, that’s where and winding roads. We met through other Almost right away, I felt that our singing voices we had enthusiasm. friends, then realized we had this connection worked really well together. After the first LEO: We would largely write separately, from years before. That was a crystallizing couple of songs we wrote that might have and then we did the album in two sessions thing for us, too, in terms of appreciating leaned more toward one side or the other, we in L.A. And both times we played a show the good things you have in front of you and found a third thing that really was a meshing or two before we went into the studio pursuing them with a, dare I say, passion. of our writing styles and our actual voices. to tighten up. MANN: Don’t say passion. How about vim? LEO: Vigor? Describe the writing process. See this collaboration continuing? MANN: Usually one person comes up with MANN: I do. How did the project come together? the initial stem, like a verse, or a verse and LEO: I do too. LEO: Aimee invited me on tour to open for a chorus, and the other person will write MANN: Unless it tanks, in which case, I’m her solo performance, and a couple of things another verse or a different section. There’s out of here. (laughs) I think we both have happened: Being on the road together, we usually a little back and forth from lyric to a philosophy of, you move forward until became better friends, and musically we lyric, but usually, I wrote one verse, he wrote there’s an obvious wall, and then you don’t started to get inside each other’s heads. I had the other verse, he wrote the next section. kill yourself trying to scale the wall, you just this one song in particular, “The Gambler,” I would say nearly all of them could be do the next indicated thing. At some point, that I’d written with Aimee in mind. Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to pressure her about it. She approached me about possibly playing bass and singing on it on the tour, C and I was already singing a duet with her. hristian Lantry The more time we spent onstage together, the more it felt like we had a pretty good vibe, and we should try writing together. MANN: It was a lot of fun. In this business, anytime fun appears on the horizon, you really have to make an effort to spend more AAimeeimee MMann,ann, Ted Leo time next to it. Especially on tour, it can be grinding and wearisome, so if you’re able to work with someone who’s fun both onstage AIMEEAIMEE MANNMANN & TEDTED LEO and off, you want to hunt that down. Nathaniel Chadwick/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images How did fun evolve into a record? Creative chemistry turns songwriting buddies into new duo the Both MANN: Ted gets such a full sound, just him and an electric guitar, that I started hearing SHe’S A GRAMMY- AND ACADEMY something totally different,’ and I think it’s a total question mark,” Mann says. “We have the possibility of a power trio watching him Award-nominated songwriter; he’s a always a good move to chase down what no idea how anybody might receive it.” play. So I started playing on “The Gambler” socially conscious punk-rocker. Together, you’re excited about,” says Mann. and we began talking about writing some Aimee Mann and Ted Leo turned a The excitement began when Mann, 53, How did you meet? songs together and maybe doing an EP. friendship honed online into a new project took Leo, 43, along to open for her on tour LEO: We have a lot of mutual friends. We Also, Ted and I were both in a similar place they’re calling the Both. What began as an in the fall of 2012. Soon she was joining met in person eight years ago and saw each because the business is such a question The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2014 onstage collaboration grew into plans for an him onstage during his solo set, and he other infrequently—once or twice a year. And mark. If people aren’t buying records, it’s EP, which then expanded into a self-titled was singing with her as part of her headline then over Twitter, we started communicating hard to feel super-excited about making described as 50-50. album comprising 11 original songs that performance. Joining forces seemed like the a lot more and got to know each other better. a record, and the idea of doing a project LEO: There are some ‘I really like the challenge fall somewhere between Mann’s literate, next logical step. “I thought the two of us Quick long story, there’s a song on the together really invigorated both of us. songs with chunks that bittersweet pop and Leo’s smart, rollicking could do a really interesting show, maybe record, “Bedtime Stories,” that’s about and LEO: The creative spark when we started, were Aimee’s and chunks of writing for somebody rock ’n’ roll. with a drummer,” Mann says. “I was hearing inspired by this guy Scott Miller, who was in even just discussing writing together, that were mine. There are Their timing couldn’t have been better. the possibility of a power trio.” the bands Game Theory and Loud Family. I was something more exciting than I’d felt some where they were else’s voice.’ –Aimee Mann With the troubled state of the music industry The duo recorded the album last year in was a fan of his work and had some minimal in a long time. more line by line, or part dampening their enthusiasm, Mann and Leo two separate stretches, and they’ll find out contact with him over the years. But Aimee by part, or once the song was initially obviously, we’ll both put out solo records each felt re-energized by the prospect of whether their enthusiasm for the Both spills was actually his friend, and he introduced What were the challenges? written, we’d go back and change things. and maybe we’ll tour the solo records. But working together. “I was like, ‘I’m ready for over into their respective audiences. “That’s Aimee to my music. MANN: I really like the challenge of writing I do like the cross-pollination of playing a for somebody else’s voice, or attempting to Did you record live? set and mingling part of the set. It gives me go into their style, or what I imagined Ted’s MANN: We did it mostly live in the studio. something to look forward to, having my style was—which didn’t go much past that We had this great drummer, Scott Seiver, buddy come up, and I get to joke around ‘The creative spark when we started was something it’s a lot faster, there’s a lot of shuffles, and and we did it in two halves. The first half, and play with him. It takes the pressure off. more exciting than I’d felt in a long time.’ –Ted Leo he uses a lot of chord changes. we just thought we were doing an EP—and It makes it more fun. LEO: You may have nailed it. I don’t think I then we were like, “Why not turn this into a –Eric R. Danton 36 37 M mag 35.indd 36 7/13/14 9:01 AM M mag 35.indd 37 7/13/14 9:01 AM.

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