A Dirty Dozen with PLANCHETTES – November 2019

According to a recent press release: “A crackle of electricity. A surge of adrenaline. A whole lot of noise and ass-shaking. In these fake and fractious times, the unerring power of rock ‘n’ roll has never seemed more vital or necessary. But just in case the world needs a reminder, New Orleans’ Planchettes are here to reacquaint us all with the greatest invention of the 20th century. A fiery but finessed power trio with hearts full of swamp blues, rockabilly, 60’s psych and primitive post-punk, Planchettes are both a twanging, horror-tinged throwback to a pre-digital age and a jolting shot in the arm for today’s thrill-hungry rock scene.” We get Kevan and Tra to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The Truth was a process that spanned over a nine-month period. We were working in a nonlinear fashion untraditional to the normal recording process. In the beginning, there was A LOT of experimenting with the machinery, most of which I had zero experience with prior. This album is special to us because each recording take had a variety of emotions and inspiration at that time. Although the album sounds congruent from start to finish, it features a unique balance of controlled chaos that gives it the Planchettes sound.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Kevan: Music has always been a part of my life, it’s my spiritual medicine. As a child, I was surrounded by music and come from a long line of musicians. My father was raised in Upstate New York and played in various bands throughout the psychedelic era of the late 60’s / early 70’s. The stories he told, the photographs he kept and the music he shared, made a permanent impact on my life. I’ve never known another way of life. I was doomed from the start!

Tra: To paraphrase Joseph Campbell: “Life is a horrendous place and you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that and the first function of mythology is the reconcile to this fact. Life lives on life. I’ll eat you, now you eat me” The best way I know how to reconcile my existence is through rock n roll. It is what has always fed me, yet it the thing that eats me up the most. Brutal truths, wild lies, legends, and strange lessons run rampant in rock n roll, it’s our modern mythology.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Kevan: That’s a difficult question to pinpoint. But I’d have to say the live performances for the American Folk Blues Festivals that toured Europe ’62-72. It features many of the most prominent blues musicians of its time (Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker etc.) and influenced countless of young UK artists into what was known as the British Invasion.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Kevan: Lennon/McCartney, Everly Brothers, Howlin’ Wolf, Scotty Moore, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Page (pre-Zeppelin session man), Syd Barrett, Screaming Lord Sutch, Sergio Dias, and Sakevi Yokoyama.

Tra: Rolling Stones (both of us are enamored), Phil Lynott, Mariska Veres, Barbara Lynn, Dead Moon, and La Chat.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Tra: Over the course of the years we have been doing PLANCHETTES we have created three videos all extremely off the cuff with little budget. We would love to collaborate with more filmmakers and cinematographers to create more elaborate themes and performances. We have lot of desire and vision for these types of projects.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Kevan: I’ve always described Planchettes as traditional rock’n’roll. We try to capture the energy and sound of the 60’s.

Tra: From my perspective the type of music we play is just an extension of the unbridled raw emotion that lies right beneath the surface of our skin. Whether it feels elated or distorted or sloppy or scared or harmonious or angry or sexy or manic or like a revelation from the divine we are all these things. The music is the vibrations of our energy. A primal scream; the blood that feeds. I personally have always been attracted music that leaves no doubt in my mind that humans have a soul.  Songs that show teeth. This kind of music does not belong to a particular genre or have to have a particular style. You know it when it hear it. I can only hope Planchettes can provide for some people that hair standing up on your arms feeling that so many musicians, bands, albums, and singers have gifted to me during my lifetime.

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Kevan: The greatest thing in my opinion is the universal connection between people and the instantaneous bond it can create.

Tra: Being involved in rock n roll is like being able to be a small link in the large chain that is our collective storytelling. It’s a beautiful calling with often brutal results. Not all beautiful stories have beautiful endings. Yet a girl can dream <3

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Tra: Ah yes the interesting topic of the allocation of roles… Kevan is always holding a guitar. I am always holding the boat afloat with magic and half chewed bubble gum. Plenty of deep sleep is key.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

A few years back we had the honor to open for Fred and Toddy of Dead Moon. They were kind wild haired angels with a radiant youthful energy. It was like meeting the primordial mother and father.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Tra: Being able to solely support myself on any of my passions (music, art, performance, writing, healing, or divination) would be dream enough for me.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Tra: Over the years that I have played music the things I would have done differently is dismiss my own self-doubt and avoid negative projections of those meant to defeat me. Both at times have only held me back from creating and enjoying the process that is making music.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Kevan: One session I’ve always dreamt about being a part of was the 1970 London Howlin Wolf Sessions, featuring Hubert Sumlin, Eric Clapton, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Steve Winwood and obviously the Wolf himself. Even Ringo Starr sat in as a last minute replacement for the blues-stomper “I Ain’t Superstitious” due to Watts being unavailable for the session that day.

Tra: I’d travel back to 1967 and be a part of the Chamber Brothers 11 minute plus recording of “Time has Come Today” Everything about it makes me swoon. If you don’t know why; I don’t think I can explain it to you.

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Category: Interviews