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M.
Ward
by Neil Rhodes
Through much adversity, I struggled to get this interview with M.
Ward. Showing up too early (by a day), M. Ward’s late arrival to the
venue, and the loss of a guest list (making it hard, but not
impossible, to get in) couldn’t prevent me from getting this
interview. I caught M. Ward immediately after his set and, on a cold,
wet curb outside Common Ground in Gainesville, I began:
NR: Just about every Review compares you to Tom Waits (amongst
others). Who do you feel were some of your influences?
MW: Well, I would say, for the last couple of
records, this guitar player named John Fahey. I’d recommend him.
And…oh…like a million other people. But he’s the first one that comes
to mind.
NR: The Transfiguration of Vincent seems to be a bit of a story. What,
exactly, is [the album] about?
MW: I’m more interested in other people’s
interpretations than my own. But I guess…it’s hard for me to put in a
nutshell. [It’s about] some people who passed away, that’s what it’s
about in general. Dealing with loss in a healthy way.
NR: So, there isn’t specifically anything that you expect anyone to
take out of it in relation to yourself, as long as they take something
out of it for themselves?
MW: Yeah, I’d prefer that they make their own
interpretation. Other people’s interpretations are always more
interesting.
NR: Some kids say, "When I grow up, I want to be a fireman!" If you
were doing today what you wanted to do when you were a kid, what would
you be doing?
MW: Probably studying dinosaurs. What do you
call those people, archaeologists?Archaeology, paleontology…something
like that.
NR: At what age did you decide that [music] was something that you
wanted to do?
MW: When I realized that you could make a living
at it. Which is only about between two and three years ago.
NR: Did you have [another career] at that time?
MW: I was working with kids that had a hard time
reading, like dyslexics. I still like doing that.
NR: Was it hard to move on to doing something like this where you’re
out touring a lot?
MW: It is a constant struggle; but it’s a great
job to have. I can’t complain too much. I’ve been able to play with a
bunch of really great musicians. I’ve been travelling wherever I want
to go, so it’s been really great.
NR: When you get to the end of a tour, after you’ve hit a lot of
cities, you’re constantly moving…how do you keep it from wearing down
on you and prevent you from performing at the same level every night?
MW: Try to sleep more…and watch what I eat. I
try to change the set more. Basically, make changes on stage to keep
myself interested.
NR: And now for the hard question: What scares you?
MW: There’s a million things. One of them
is…getting old. That’s inevitable. But that is a fear. But, I am also
looking forward to it at the same time. So it’s fear and anticipation
at the same time. I think about that a lot: Age, aging, decay.
NR: Speaking of aging, where do you see yourself in twenty years?
MW: Touring less and recording more.
NR: Would you say you would like to do more soundtracks and scores for
film?
MW: Oh, yeah!
NR: Has anyone ever approached you about [scoring a movie]?
MW: I have had some songs in a couple of movies.
Two European ones, a Canadian one (they’re all independent), and one
in L.A. One of them is called Strong Man, and then another one is
called Soho, I think. And then…there was a documentary in France about
geese.
NR: Has there ever been one album, or even one song, that was so
beautiful it made you cry?
MW: I would say "Julia" by the Beatles.
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