Street Roots • March 13-19, 2015
News
Page 4
Tweedy — consisting o f Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy, left, and son Spencer Tweedy - are playing Portland's Crystal Ballroom on Saturday.
Spencer
Tweedy is
m aking
music with
his father -
Wilco’s j e j f
Tweedy -
a n d paying
tribute to his
mother, who
is fighting
cancer
Inspired by family
BY SUE ZALOKAR
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
TT ast year, at 18 years of age, Spencer
Tweedy learned has mother had
cancer.
That sent him and the Tweedy family
reeling. He decided to defer his acceptance
to Wisconsin’s Lawrence University for a
year to be with his family during his
mother’s treatment. A year later, his mother
is doing well — as well as one could hope for
after months of chemotherapy and
treatment for a chest tumor.
In an effort to process the negatives of
his mother’s treatment, Tweedy went to
the music studio with his dad, Jeff Tweedy
of the band Wilco, recording drum tracks
for his father’s new album. That’s how Jeff
Tweedy’s long awaited solo album turned
out to be a duo with his son. And so the
band Tweedy was formed, and the album
“Sukirae” followed. The album, released in
September, was named in honor of
Spencer’s mother, using her nickname as
the album title,
“Mom is kind of the center of
everything,” the younger Tweedy said. “I
have no problem enshrining my mother in
an album. It makes sense. She’s number
one in the whole operation.”
Ä
The duet played its first show in Detroit
just four days after Spencer Tweedy
graduated from high school - with only four
full band rehearsals under their belts.
I caught the young Tweedy in a moment
of repose, preparing to begin the Tweedy
tour with two hometown shows opening
soon after this interview.
The duo will play to a sold-out house on
Saturday, March 14, at the Crystal Ballroom
in Portland.
until I was 4. So I have some memories of
listening to bands during sound check and
rolling around on the disgusting, liquor-
stained and cigarette-littered floor.
. S.Z. Ah, the good old days, back when you
were 4.
S.T. Yes! Back when I was 4 and being
babysat by the doorman at the club ...
S.Z. What do you think ofWilco’s music?
Sue Zalokar: Tweedy. That is quite a
namesake. The name must come with some
benefits...
Spencer Tweedy: Absolutely. I’ve felt
guilty at some points in my life about the
massive privilege that is afforded (me),
being my dad’s son.
My parents have raised my brother and I
as a “normal” family - as normal as we can
be with whatever status my dad has.
S.Z. What is your earliest musical memory?
S.T. Probably walking around as a really
little kid at The Lounge Ax, the club that my
mom used to run until it closed in 2000.1
spent like every single day of my life there
S.T. I love it. People might think that I’m
lying or getting paid to say that, or maybe I
have to say that because my parents feed
me, but I really do love Wilco’s music. I have
listened to all of their records a ton over the
years. I am a Wilco fan even though I am
part of the family.
S.Z. That's awesome. Aren't we all Wilco
fans, even if we aren’t part of the blood family?
S.T. Well, you’re all kind of a part of the
family too ... not to get too sappy.
S.Z. What impact did Wilco have on your
See TWEEDY, page 5