Interview with Ray LaMontagne

11 August 2010 by Richard Wilson

Ahead of the release of his fourth album God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise, Soulshine spoke with Ray LaMontagne about recording the album with his newly formed band The Pariah Dogs. Calling from his home in the woods of western Massachusetts a few days ahead of a comprehensive US tour with David Gray, the softly spoken LaMontagne opened up about self-producing his latest record.

For his fourth album, Ray LaMontagne is going it alone, at least as far as production is concerned. After three successful albums produced by Ethan Johns, LaMontagne has taken the reins himself, largely because of the band he's formed. "I just wanted to try a different approach really. More just about making a record with these musicians I've grown to love working with. Over the course of the past two years of touring I just started to feel like I wanted to first of all do something different but most importantly just capture this great sound that we'd been making live."

At the same time he seems appreciative of the relationship with Johns in his early years as LaMontagne went from unknown to selling over 400,000 copies internationally of his debut release Trouble. "Well I learnt a lot from Ethan, sure. I learnt a lot from him about the business and of course I learnt a lot from him in the studio as well."

For the fourth album, LaMontagne sees the group of musicians he's working with as a bona fide band; one with a future beyond God Willin'. "We formed sort of an official band for this record, so we'll be touring it together, probably through next summer and I think I'd like to make another record next fall."

The band he's assembled contains some of America's most highly regarded session and live musicians. Keyboardist Patrick Warren joined Tom Waits in 2008 for his critically acclaimed Glitter & Doom tour and earlier this year accompanied Bob Dylan in a rare acoustic performance at the White House. Drummer Jay Bellarose is frequent contributor on T Bone Burnett productions while pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz has played with everyone from The Smashing Pumpkins and Beck to Wilco and Lucinda Williams.

Forming The Pariah Dogs though wasn't just a matter of Ray surrounding himself with a crack team of musicians. Instead it was an organic formation. "I just started meeting these guys and getting a chance to play with them. We had a tour, I think it was two tours before I had a break and made a record, and it all just came together."

In addition to stepping out to produce God Willin' himself, LaMontagne also abandoned the traditional studio in favour of the home where he was speaking from. Hearing him describe the place you feel he need only look around him for inspiration. "It's a beautiful place; you know it's an old estate. It's got this lovely ballroom, these 14 foot windows looking out over the field and the hills beyond and it's just full of light and really comfortable."

The decision seems obvious in retrospect to LaMontagne. "It was much more comfortable than being in a studio, that's for sure. Studios can feel very cavernous and dark. You sort of lock yourself away and you lose all sense of time and place in most studios. Here we just felt like it was a natural part of the day to have breakfast and then make music."

Owing to the environment they were working in, the whole album came together in a matter of days. "We had two tracks finished by the end of the first day and it was the same the next day, you know two tracks... two tracks... two tracks and five days later we were done. It was just fun you know. Very spontaneous."

The home, he said, was purchased with recording in mind. "When I first saw that room I thought, you know if I could make records in my own space without building a studio, that would just be ideal. The room sounded amazing, and it really is amazing. And everyone involved said the same thing." Assuredly, Ray adds, "It's probably one of the best rooms they've made music in. So I think I just got lucky. Either that or I just have great instincts, which is probably true."

Thinking ahead before his latest album is even out, LaMontagne sees his home as a great base for future records. "I'll probably make records here often." He suggests that after this latest album and touring with The Pariah Dogs for the next year, he'll be ready to record another in the same manner late next year. "I'd love to do another record with the Pariah Dogs and then we'll see. I hate for things to get stagnant you know."

Perhaps one of the most defining features of Ray LaMontagne's music is his incredibly emotive voice. There's a sense of intimacy to every word he sings, every note he strums. It's almost impossible to imagine the expressiveness of his albums coming across playing to a crowd of several thousand or more as he will on his upcoming US tour with David Gray. But for a musician that's known for his intimacy, performing in front of thousands isn't an issue. "I just go out and I play the songs. I put myself into it completely,  just as I have when I was playing to three people. And it's worked thus far."

Like any band, songs can be expected to grow with time on tour. Recreating the studio product on the road is always a challenge. "That's always been the case because say I make a record with strings, and I get out on the road and I have a pedal steel player. So you hear a record and it's got strings all over it and then I come out and I've got pedal steel, lap steel, mandolin, you know, it's a whole other beast on the road."

But at the same time, Ray suggests that staying true to the song is always important. "That's what people are hearing on the record. I certainly don't want to mess with the melodies too much, especially vocally, because that's the hook of the song. But instrumentally these musicians are so wonderful, they stretch out all the time. They're always surprising me."

Ray has visited Australia only once, but it's not for lack of opportunity. "I know that I've been asked a lot in the past couple of years. I just have such a difficult time getting on that plane for 14 hours," he says, sounding almost agitated just at the thought of it. "It's just so difficult for me to be on a plane for more than a couple of hours. I really, really lose my mind."

But despite this, he has fond memories of his last tour. "I enjoyed being there last time I was there. After the [flight over] it was really nice to be there. The folks that turned out for the shows for the one and only time I've been there were really sweet."

"We'll see...," says Ray, far from ruling it out. "It's very difficult, but I'm trying to figure out a way to do it so that maybe there will be a stop in between. I think maybe they're trying to figure out a way that we can just stop and break up the trip somehow."

Album Reviews

Kimbra - Vows

Ben Salter - The Cat

Seasick Steve - You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin On

More Reviews