Splitting time between Portland, Oregon and Asheville, North Carolina, Drunken Prayer released a new album last year called “House of Morgan” on Fluff & Gravy Records.
Below is more with the heart and soul of the band, Morgan Christopher Geer. Read the article on the band here.
First, is this a solo show or a full band show?
Geer: We’ll see. That’s been a thorn in my side since moving back to North Carolina. My band here is composed of loaners so I’ll see who’s available. As of today it looks like Drunken Prayer will be an electric two-piece, drums and guitar.
Was recording “House of Morgan” on a four-track cassette recorder to be a more singular in making songs?
No, it was more like working with driftwood. I took our newfound immobility as an opportunity to work with whatever was at hand, found materials like my limited recording system, unfinished tracks and the instruments I have around me.
How did you get those raw tunings on songs like “Ultrabad” and “KEF-666”? “KEF-666” is dynamite. Playing that must be fun to level at a crowd.
Well they’re probably closer to raw de-tunings. Those two were recorded live with drums and guitar on a Radio Shack PZM mic. The vocals on “Ultrabad” were sung through the pickups of an old Telecaster. Some of what you might be hearing could also be the tape flutter in the initial cassette recording. Unfortunately I’ve yet to play “KEF-666” live since “House of Morgan” came out. I’d love to, but I’ll need a solid band first.
Why led you to revisit “I saw it with My Own Two Eyes,” albeit with a cool co-singer?
This version is creepier. It’s about a UFO encounter I had as a little guy so it felt right. I’m a big Flaming Lips fan and they cover themselves all the time so I figured I could too. It’s really liberating to rid oneself of the rules we put up. The co-singer is me, run through an effects processor that makes me sound like a drowning baby.
“Heigh Ho” is great, hypnotic with a lot of punch.
It’s a 16th Century English madrigal. We used to sing it in my high school chorus at Christmas. I always thought it would make for an interesting Old Time style song, so I recorded the guitar, mandolin and vocals with W.C. Beck at KXCI in Tucson in the middle of a tour, and then I did the rest at home.
Do you see yourself as a restless personality, someone needing constant change of scenery?
Yeah. My single mom and I moved a lot in my formative years. I was forever making new friends and entertaining myself. I’d like to be out playing more than I am now.
Writing songs, are you writing about yourself or the world through as it moves in and around you?
Mostly external but a little of both. I try not to use songwriting just as therapy or navel gazing but it happens. I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t already been said by someone more poetic and qualified, so I try to avoid preaching and philosophizing. I’d rather give you something to preach and philosophize about.
I like lyrics because they’re not necessarily meant to stand alone. Often lines evolve just because the combination of vowels and consonants work well with the melody. The really great thing about that are the unintentional and subjective meanings that can reveal themselves. It’s important to me that the songs have a life of their own, so they can change a lot from performance to performance. The recordings are more like snapshots of what they were doing that day.
Star News, Wilmington, NC