Interview with Ben Nichols of Lucero

November 29, 2005

Phone Interview

Leah Weinberg: The idea for the DVD...did you guys initially want to do one or were you approached by Aaron Goldman to do it?
Ben Nichols: Aaron wrote us a letter. He saw us play at the Mercury Lounge in New York a while back. From what I remember, it was one of the more drunken-type shows and I think he was like, ‘Yeah, I could film that.’ So he wrote us a letter and we told him that if he wanted to follow us around for a couple months, feel free. So he did. It was totally his idea though.

L.W.: How long was he out on the road with you?
B.N.: Over the course of a couple months, he was probably on tour with us for a couple weeks here and there. Maybe two or three weeks of tour footage and then he went back down to Memphis to do interviews with us. Overall, he probably spent a month’s worth of time on the road and in Memphis with us.

L.W.: Have you all sat down and watched the DVD?
B.N.: Yeah, we actually did a commentary. The one that we sell in the stores has a commentary section where the four of us just sat down and watched it. And that’s even more ridiculous than the movie is. It’s basically us making fun of each other for the entire movie. But there’s just certain things in the movie that, you know, you’ve only got so much time, so a lot of times you’ll be saying something and Aaron will put it in the movie, but there was actually a lot more to whatever you were talking about that got cut out. Things get kind of turned into more--it becomes more black and white than it was in reality when you were actually saying it. So actually the commentary, even though it’s basically us goofing off and making fun of each other, sometimes the commentary actually sheds a little bit more light on some of the things that happened in the movie. But yeah, so the commentary is worthwhile. We all sat down and had some beers and watched the movie.
L.W.: When you recorded the commentary, was that the first time that all of you had seen it?
B.N.: No but it was close. Brian had actually watched it like six or seven times just to prepare his commentary. I think it might have been the first time for John and Roy and I think I had seen it once. So yeah, it was basically the first time we saw it.

L.W.: Do you have a favorite part of the film?
B.N.: Oh goodness. Well, I think Roy’s favorite parts are whenever he’s on screen. Actually, all of the guys’ favorite parts are when it’s them. It’s easier for me to pick un-favorite parts, like the opening scene is just painful to watch. I hazily remember being on stage at the Knitting Factory and not remembering how to play ‘Tears Don’t Matter Much,’ which is what the movie opens up with. Stuff like that, it’s a part of who we are. It happens. Not as much nowadays. But some of that stuff, you’re just like, ouch. Most people are lucky enough not to be on film when they’re horribly drunk. But there’s plenty of good parts. Actually, Roy’s parts are pretty damn funny, I’ve got to admit.

L.W.: A lot was said in the film about the new record deal you guys signed. Can you explain to me how that all works?
B.N.: They call it an incubator deal. At the time that we signed up with East/West, it was something that hadn’t been done very much before. Basically, we started our own imprint called Liberty & Lament and we signed a distribution deal for two records with East/West. It’s cool because there’s a little bit of money there just to get the ball rolling and then you pay them back if you sell records. But Liberty & Lament retains ownership of the master recordings. That’s really nice. Basically what we gave up in exchange for ownership of the recordings, and what makes it an incubator deal, is that Warner Brothers has first dibs on us. There’s a prenegotiated–if they wanted to sign us to Warner Brothers proper, there’s already a pre-negotiated amount of money there. Basically if Sony wanted to come in and give us two million dollars, we couldn’t do it because we’re obligated to Warner Brothers through this incubator deal. But the benefits right now of owning our own record far outweigh any possibility of us actually getting signed to a major label, so it all works out.

L.W.: Do you know how many copies of “Nobody’s Darlings” you’ve sold so far?
B.N.: I don’t know. I think it’s pushing around 15,000, which is really good for us, especially because the record just came out in late May. Selling 15,000 copies in six months is a big step for us.

L.W.: What made you guys decide to make that record more rock than country?
B.N.: I think it was kind of a culmination of the influences and just the stuff that I had been listening to lately. I’ve gotten really big into Bruce Springsteen and just kind of rediscovering the really good classic rock stuff. I think it was those influences, it was just time for those to come through a little bit more. And from playing live so much, we kind of just got louder and a little more rock and roll over the years just because it’s tough to play slow, really quiet songs in a bar full of people. This record just kind of reflects that.

L.W.: So Rolling Stone called Lucero “punktry”....how do you feel about that?
B.N.: That’s just an awful word, isn’t it? It was nice that Rolling Stone called us anything at all, so we’ll take it. But yeah, that was the first time I’d ever heard the word. Hopefully that’s the only time it will ever be used. If I was gonna use that term to describe anything, it just doesn’t seem appropriate for what we do or Limbeck, none of that stuff. Punktry seems like it would be like psychobilly or something.

L.W.: You guys are on tour practically all of the time. What are some of the hardest things about being out on the road?
B.N.: The fact that you don’t have time for anything at home really. You kind of have to give up a bunch of stuff back home. I think that’s the toughest part. You’re always in a strange place with strange people. And when you come home, if you’re gone long enough, you come home and it’s kind of a strange place with more strange people. That kind of sucks. I think that would be the toughest part.

L.W.: How long do you guys see yourselves continuing to do this?
B.N.: I don’t know. I think we’ve got a while in us still. We’re getting older. We’re not a young, hip-type band really. We’re older. But then we don’t really have anything else to do. We’re just gonna squeeze everything we can out of this band that we’ve got going basically. We’re not gonna let this slide away just yet.

L.W.: Three words that describe Lucero
B.N.: I think “simple” is one, with its good and bad connotations. Or maybe “straight-forward” would be more appropriate. Well, we can make that word number two. I’m trying to think of something a little more witty but all I can think of is “busy.” Or maybe “hard working” I guess. “Tired” might be another word. That’s kind of what it is.

Related Links:
Official Website