Sherman Ewing’s Single Room Saloon arrived with a sound that is at once intuitive and raw, but somehow well-worn and familiar, too. Some of that could be attributed to the folks featured on the new album, from producer Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Billy Squier) to John “JoJo” Hermann (Widespread Panic), from Tom Marshall (Phish, Amphibian) to George Recile (Keith Richards, Bob Dylan). It also has to do with the winding road Ewing took to get to this place.
Ewing attended Columbia University with Hermann, later forming a group together called Sherman and the Bureaucrats. He subsequently worked with a series of New York bands through the 1990s. By 2002, Ewing was ready to launch on a solo career. The resulting Bluemoon, quieter and more personal, brought him together with Diamond, Recile and Neville for the first time. But then another decade passed.
[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: Sherman Ewing’s ‘Single Room Saloon’ possesses a brutal honesty to go with its keening lyricism. Every story rings true.]
Single Room Saloon sorts out some of the challenges that Ewing faced: “having been brought up in Christian Science family and all that entailed … virtually no medical care; childhood trips to the dentist where drilling was done without anesthesia; witnessing the excruciating death of both parents, who chose prayer over medicine in their losing fights with cancer; a personal battle with drugs that took me to the streets, and finally rediscovering my own spiritual path through recovery.” But the record, released digitally earlier this year, doesn’t surrender to the swirling darkness that sometimes surrounds it. Instead, Sherman Ewing walks determinedly forward.
We talked to Ewing about working with Dylan’s rhythm section, watching a legendarily boozy performance by home-state favorites the Replacements, and how a life-long friendship with Hermann continues to inspire his work …
Nick DeRiso: There are times when Single Room Saloon can be melancholy, even sorrowful, yet there remains a sense of rugged optimism. It seems to underscore how music helps us through the tough times.
Sherman Ewing: I was talking about that with a friend the other day, music and tough times. It all depends on the picture frame you put it in. If you expand the frame, then the picture looks a lot of different. Over the course of time, you come to see that the story is never really over. My first CD was pretty introspective. For the most part, this one is looking out into the world. I guess you could say it’s more outrospective.
DeRiso: Being a Minnesota native, most people point to Bob Dylan as an influence, but I also hear Paul Westerberg, front man with Minneapolis’ legendary underground punk band the Replacements.
Ewing: Oh, Westerberg was my hero! I saw those guys at The Ritz, two nights in a row. The first night, they were recording live on the radio and all the record execs were there. Bobby Stinson came out in his underwear; he could barely walk. He threw a six pack into the audience! (Laughs uproariously.) They played (Black Sabbath’s) “Iron Man,” and “Ben” by the Jackson Five. They stopped half way, right in the middle of the song, and then played it again. Then they played two more — and walked off. The next day, with all the radio and record people gone, they came out and just ripped it. They played a show that you’ll never forget. A crazy bunch.
DeRiso: You’ve maintained a long-time working partnership with college buddy JoJo Hermann from Widespread Panic, both on Single Room Saloon and with an offshoot band, the Missing Cats. How has that relationship grown over the years?
Ewing: He’s like my creative angel. I get goosebumps thinking about the question. We have always had a special bond. It kind of blew my mind a little bit that it all turned out so well for him. He’s been so supportive of my music the whole time. Next spring, Widespread Panic is going to take some time off, and we’re going to record again. … What can I say about JoJo? I could talk about JoJo for five hours.
DeRiso: The tune “Bye Bye America” couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time, as the country continues to struggle back from the economic downturn.
Ewing: When I wrote it, I thought it was going to be so timely. But the CD was taking a little longer than I had hoped. I actually wrote that song two and half, three years ago. It was sort of before the financial thing started falling apart. George Bush was in office, and I kept thinking, ‘We’ve got to get this thing out.’ I was really worried I would have an album with stuff that was no longer pertinent. It goes back to what I was saying about the picture frame, though. Who would have thought this would still be going on? That’s not one of those songs that jumps out to a lot of folks, but it’s particularly meaningful to me. It’s something that I feel had some value to it.
DeRiso: You’ve had a chance to work with Bob Dylan’s rhythm section. How did that contribute to the new album’s core sound?
Ewing: I’d also like to put a plug in for Godrey Diamond, who produced the CD. This album is all about the people who were on it. He knew (drummer) George (Recile) and George knew (bassist) Tony (Garnier). When I walked into the first rehearsal, and they were all there and I’m showing them the songs, and they were so locked in and focused. With those guys, I feel like I put a bunch of dots on the canvas and they did the painting. I can’t imagine it was possible for them to be any more professional. It was such an incredible thing to see. Such a thrill. Then, beyond that, to see how focused they were on the music. It was not a big money gig, I guarantee you that. (Laughs.) But they gave me everything they had. I would just go home and listen to the bassline and drums. I could have just kept that.
DeRiso: Did that have something to do with that outward perspective you talked about? You tend to look beyond yourself when there are other voices in the room.
Ewing: I think so. We let these guy go in and do their thing, to really put their signature on it. That was one of freeing parts of the process. It was kind of weird, because it was so easy. There were times when I was concerned that it wouldn’t sound cohesive. But that’s there the writing comes in. That’s the common thread.
DeRiso: Single Room Saloon was issued digitally in January, with a CD to follow this spring. What’s next?
Ewing: We’ll have a release party in June, then book some dates in the north and then the south. I’d like to do five- or six-city runs every month or two and build it from there.
DeRiso: After such a lengthy process in putting it together, the album received a series of early positive notices, including a nice write up in USA Today. That must have made it all worth while.
Ewing: There was a time when I was really caught up in results — probably because I didn’t have any. (Chuckles.) I would use it to be harsh with myself. But when I finished this record, I really didn’t have those expectations. I thought it was as good a record as I could put forward. It’s nice to put something out and not have those expectations, and then have it be well received. I didn’t have a lot invested in results. I was just happy when it was done. It seemed to make sense; it said something I believed — and the process of working with the people involved with it was just a gift. When you talk about a dream coming true, that was it.
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