Natural Child new album and interview etc.

Natural Child's debut LP, 1971, came out last Wednesday, 4/20. The kind of album it is, it's such a surprising and exciting thing to hear, because yeah it sometimes sounds like the Stones or more generally an album from 1971, except it's in 2011 and these are just some regular dudes; they haven't made history yet. But then, these songs are cause enough to reconsider how regular these dudes are. They're regular, I mean, in that they're not millionaires yet, not headlining music festivals at any California speedways yet, not making movies yet. On the other hand, the songs aren't regular at all, and the feel and the attitude, and that they did all this stuff all the while being just some regular dudes--none of that is regular. It's really new, however reminiscent of old it is. It's a sound that nobody's putting out, but that everybody's getting into. But it seems like Wes and Zack and Seth have been into it for a while; the Stones and Stooges and Neil Young and Bob Dylan and all those 60s and 70s rock and folk and blues records that everyone's looking for are their influences, except that they've figured out how to keep it at that, at just influences, and how to keep their sound theirs. The result is this solid album, which is like a showcase for how to be inspired but original, rock-n-roll but honest and still confident, high as fuck but at the same time talented as fuck. So the album rules.


The interview here is from a couple weeks ago. I talked with Wes and Zack on Skype about the West Coast half of their nationwide tour. After, I sent them a transcription to look over, but they had already left for the East Coast, the other half of the tour. I wanted to wait until we had it all straight before putting up this review and everything, too, so that's why it's only being put up now. I heard from Wes last night; he said the interview was "fucking hilarious" and "perfect." I asked him how the rest of the tour went and he asked me, "You ever seen Jackass 2? Jackass number two. It was just like that."

Here's a couple of back-to-back tracks from 1971.

"Yoko" - Natural Child

"Let It Bleed" - Natural Child

Pick up the album from the Infinity Cat store.

Also, I encourage you to check out Nashville's Dead's hell of a good album review. It's like, after reading that review, I had to think really if there was a point to writing this one.

And don't forget the interview below!




April 12, 2011, about 8PM CDT:

Johnny Whopper: Yeah so how was tour? Nationwide tour, right?

Wes: Yeah it’s nationwide. We’re halfway done with it; we just finished the West coast part, and now we have the rest of the dates in the East like in New York and stuff.

JW: And does this tour have a name? Like what are you guys calling it?

Wes: It was called the Eight Shades of White tour because it was gonna be with Strange Boys, but the girl in their band quit, so then it was called the Seven Shades of Blonde Dicks tour—and we had some other names for it.

Zack: The Wet Burrito tour—

Wes: Yeah the Soggy Burrito tour. The Shitty Burrito tour. But then we started calling it the Trail of Cum tour. And then the last part of the tour was the Friends in Low Places tour. Definitely the Friends in Low Places tour.

JW: [laughing] That’s awesome. And then what about this next episode of the tour? The Next Episode tour?

Wes: Yeah it’s called the Next Episode tour.

JW: And you guys just got back from out West. How was out West—Natural Child out West for the second time?

Wes: It was good man. South by Southwest was crazy, you know; it was pretty cool. We had a good time.

Zack: It was like Wayne’s World 3.

Wes: Yes, it was. And we’re the band in Wayne’s World 3.

JW: So it was good, then. Did you guys play that song that like goes in and out of “I’m a freak”?

Zack: “Bad bad blues.” Yeah we played that song one night and people liked it. That was a good show.

JW: What was like the best date that you guys played? I mean South by was “crazy,” like how was it?

Wes: Man, the best show we played was at this place Headhunters, which is this place that Jimmy Buffett goes to all the time. It’s like a metal bar but it’s decorated like Margaritaville.

JW: Damn, that’s cool.

Wes: Yeah it was cool. Like right before the show all three of us ate some weed brownies, and by the time the first started we were all like flyin high.

Zack: Flyin high!

Wes: And Seth peed his pants, too, which was embarrassing, you know, for him.

JW: [laughing] Sounds like an epic show, a legendary show.

Wes: Yeah we were so high. I don’t know if that was the best show, but it was definitely the highest.

JW: And then you guys went up to Canada, too, right? How was that, how was Canada?

Wes: Canada is sweet dude. People are a lot calmer in Canada, and like nobody looks at you and automatically thinks you’re guilty of something.

JW: So when you guys were crossing the border—what’d you guys do with all your weed?

Wes: [laughing] Nothing. We smoked it all. We put it in like a big pile like right on the border and smoked all of it.

Zack: It was like we pulled into a gas station and smoked the rest of it and then ten minutes later we crossed the border.

Wes: Yeah. But then we crossed the border and smoked some more weed.

Zack: Yeah like you drive five minutes into Canada and then there’s this guy like—

Wes: He’s like “Ey you wanna smoke a coupla joints guy? I got the really good stuff here; I know where it was grown!”

JW: [laughing] “I know where it was grown!”

Wes: And then another guy’ll come up like, “Hey guy I’ll give ya a five if ya can fill up my bowl,” and then the other guy is like “I don’t want yer five.”

Zack: Yeah, “Keep yer five.”

JW: That’s cool man. Yeah I mean it seems like they’re more like—you know, “No I don’t want your five dollars,” seems like a Canadian thing too.

Wes: Yeah they definitely like share more. It’s like—like they’re not afraid of you automatically. And they’re not trying to save all their weed, you know?

JW: Yeah, that’s cool man. But now you guys are back and like back from tour. What have you guys been doing and stuff with like this little break?

Wes: Well, we’ve been back for like four or five days, and Zack and I have just been getting really drunk and stuff. And then last night we both got super drunk and fucked up a bunch of stuff in our house. We like broke a bunch of stuff.

JW: Damn, really?

Zack: Yeah dude.

Wes: Yeah, but we’re getting ready to go on the next part of the tour like tomorrow.

JW: And how are you guys feeling, I mean do you feel like you guys are about to blow up?

Wes: [laughing] Yeah I don’t know man I mean we always think we’re about to blow up.

JW: Yeah. And then the album is coming out next week, right?

Wes: Yeah and we’ll have some copies like when we go to New York and stuff, so….

JW: Sweet. I bet you guys’ll sell out—I mean sell out of the records.

Wes: [laughing] No we’re gonna sell out of the records and we’re also gonna sell out. Benji from Good Charlotte is gonna write some songs for us.

Zack: Yeah we’re gonna be in the next Jonah Hill movie.

Wes: Yeah we actually got an offer to be in the next Jonah Hill movie—

Zack: The next Michael Cera movie—

Wes: Yeah the next Michael Cera movie, we got an offer to have a song in it but it has to be a song that Benji from Good Charlotte wrote.

JW: [laughing] That’s cool man. So you guys are going to New York and stuff and then you’re coming back home and then what?

Zack: Recording the new album

Wes: Yeah we’re gonna start recording the next album—

JW: For the Love of the Game?

Wes: Yeah, it’s called For the Love of the Game.

Zack: We already have a bunch of songs written for it, we just have to record it.

Wes: I think we’re planning on recording it in like May, and then I think it won’t come out until November.

JW: Hell yeah man. And then are you guys going on a summer tour?

Wes: We’re touring the West coast again like a summer tour.

JW: And I mean are all these dates like just you guys?

Wes: Yeah most of the dates it’s just us. But then later in the summer we have a few dates with Liquor Store, this band from New York.

JW: Hell yeah. I mean do you guys like touring by yourselves? I mean it seems like you guys aren’t like other bands that much. Like when I listen to you guys it’s not like other bands that are around right now, it’s like Rolling Stones and like 60s stuff and like that Hooker n Heat album.

Zack: Yeah, that album rules.

Wes: Yeah I mean we like our band. And like when we go on tour we want to like the band we’re touring with. Like we wanna want to watch their show every night and everything. But mostly we don’t mind going on tour just us, because we like our band and we get along and we know we can like have a good time and stuff. A lot of other bands try to like get on other bands’ tours and be openers and stuff, but we’re just satisfied with like how we’re doing it.

JW: Yeah, that makes sense.

Wes: And then a lot of bands, they like tour all the time for like two years, and then two years later they record an album that doesn’t sound anything like them. We don’t want to do that; we like to record.

Zack: Yeah we like to keep making music and putting stuff out.

JW: And it seems like you guys have a sense, too, that you guys are a good band and the stuff you put out is good, and like your albums are going to be good. Like other bands it seems like they wanna make one album and then make it really big on some blogs or something, and then they disappear forever. But with you guys like—I don’t know how to explain it, but there’s just a sense of like who Natural Child is and stuff, and like you guys are just really yourselves, you know?

Wes: Yeah I mean—we like our band.

Zack: Yeah, we just like our band.

JW: Right on. Well I think that’s it. Thanks guys. It was good talking to y’all.

Zack: Yeah no problem man.

JW: Anything else you wanna say?

Wes: Yeah, we’re Natural Child and you’re watching MTV News.