What’s great about “The Middle” is its universal message, yet it also seems personal to the band. ZL: So many people have been able to connect to that song in so many ways, whether it’s someone getting through a tough time in middle or high school. We’ve heard from people who are battling cancer, and that song really helped them. Its message is so simple that people can see themselves in it in a way that they may not in some other song that may be slightly more abstract or esoteric. It has its own center of gravity, I think. (laughs) I’ve always wanted to ask you about your versions of Duran Duran’s “New Religion” and The Wedding Present’s “Spangle.” I recall the original “New Religion” as a great ’80s track and “Spangle” sounding like a gorgeously tattered memory. How did you go about interpreting those songs? JA: “Spangle’s” pretty faithful, and the “New Religion” cover is an exercise in chasing an idea you’re excited about. A quick once-over of the bass line progres- sion and the lyrics are the only things that are similar. My favorite covers are always the ones that artists took and made their own. “New Religion” was maybe one of the first times we went full-on trying to do that. (Also check out their takes on Radiohead’s “Stop Whispering” or Manchester Orchestra’s “Telepath.”) You stayed with majors through 2010. What prompted you to say, “We can do this ourselves” and establish Exotic Location Recordings? JA: With the way the industry was changing, it seemed that labels weren’t going to take as much of a chance on an unknown quantity. It was always sort of moving toward that trend, anyway: You must get their attention, prove some kind of success before they invest in you. With a band like ours, which had slowly been building autonomy with recording and our operations in general, it made sense that if we were going to work with a label, we would be making the record on our own and licensing it to them instead of looking to them for extra hands-on involvement. If you’re a younger band, labels are trying to tie you into 360 deals, and we want nothing to do with that. We’d rather use a bigger label for what it’s good for, as far as distribution goes, and handle the creative side on our own. Tell me about revisiting “Clarity” and “Futures” live (the 2021 “Phoenix Sessions” series). How did you view them as older men? JA: I still like them. (laughs) I’m still proud of them. Here’s what happens when you make a record: You’ll have ideas, go into a recording session where the sky’s the limit as far as your imagination goes, and create this piece of music. Then you’ll figure out, “OK, how am I going to perform this again?” You make choices, and you perform it. Over time, that performance ebbs and flows and takes on new life. In a record that might have been released a decade ago, it’s educational to go back and listen to the original recordings. Because, in playing it over time, so much has changed that may or may not have been intentional. Maybe there are harmo- nies you’re not covering anymore. Maybe you’ve forgotten an element that should be featured more (laughs) because you’ve been playing it a different way. That was the biggest thing for me that jumped out in revisiting those. Not many people of any age can say, “Something I started in high school with my friends is still a going concern.” How do you stay active and engaged as you get older, your priorities change, and you’re no longer the kids who once wrote and sang, “Watch me melt from a man into a boy” (“Chachi”)? JA: It’s about constantly challenging yourself musically. It’s not going to look the same over time. What challenged me three years ago is different than where I feel I want to go now. You’ve got to constantly leave that door open for yourself and look for the reward. Keep it fun. It’s supposed to be fun. There’s really no ceiling to how deep you can go, how far you can push yourself. It’s about enjoying the process. How does it feel to have this catalog be such a part of people’s formative years when you yourselves were once pitched as kids with a contract who weren’t yet old enough to play specific venues? JA: It’s wild, unexpected. We don’t take it for granted. We’re very grateful when anyone bothers to take the time to connect with something we did, especially now, because there’s so much more competition for your time. And it takes time to build those connections. So, if you’re going to spend time with something we did, that’s a huge deal. ZL: There’re two sides to that coin. It’s cool hearing from other people, but it’s not something you really focus on because, along with Jim’s last answer, it’s “Where are you now?” “What’s challenging you now?” “What can you do musically now?” We’ve always been somewhat future- oriented in that we’re looking toward the next thing. It’s important to not get caught up in patting ourselves on the back. It’s a bit of a poison pill if you focus on that too much. Anything new in the works? JA: We’re always working on some- thing. I can’t say that there’s enough put together for a new album, but we’re always working. After all these years, Arizona holds you in high regard. What does it mean to you? ZL: For me, personally, it’s just home. It’s where we grew up. We have a connec- tion to it from the time we spent from being kids to adults, living and working in the area. Our home base is there. Our studio is there. I don’t really know exactly how the area has directly influenced what we do, but it has, because there’s no way it couldn’t. It’s all we’ve known, really. A longer version of the story is available at phoenixnewtimes.com. Enjoying the Process from p 18 (Jimi Giannatti)
