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Submitted photo by Michael Poole
The Jackalope Saints are, from left, David Celis on trumpet, Steven Schob on drums, Jay
Parshall on bass, Clinton Herrick on guitar and vocals, Lucas Welliver on keys, Sharon Can-
non on fi ddle, John Chap on mandolin/banjo/guitar/vocals.
Five Minutes With ...
THE JACKALOPE SAINTS
Q&A by RYAN HUME
We spoke with Clinton Herrick, the singer/songwriter at the core of Portland-based
folk pop band the Jackalope Saints, about mythical creatures, murder ballads and the
Mystery Condition prior to the band’s two-night engagement at the Adrift Hotel in
Long Beach, Washington, at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23 and 24. Get a taste of
the Jackalope Saints at www.jackalopsaints.com
I like the name Jacka-
lope Saints. How does the
spirit of the jackalope —
that mythical horned rab-
bit of the American West
and Midwest — present
itself in your music?
Thanks! One of the sto-
ries of the jackalope is that
it can mimic any sound it
hears. Cowboys would sing
songs around campfires
and attribute their echoes
to the jacklaope, and in a
way I feel like that is what
we are doing, repeating
what we have heard and
mashing it all together to
make the genre of music
we play. That’s why we have
such a hard time putting
a label to our music genre
and resort to Americana or
folk, two fairly vague musi-
cal descriptions that cover
an array of possible sounds.
The name also eludes
to the idea of reverence.
As a musician or song-
writer, who do you most
revere and why?
Bob Dylan and Paul
Simon were the first two
songwriters that had me
obsessively listening to
lyrics. I would (and still do)
listen to their songs on
repeat, dissecting every line
of their lyrics.
Tom Waits and Townes
Van Zandt both became
huge influences once I
started writing. Waits can
paint a mental picture full
of colors, sounds and smells
in one line: “The road is
out before me/the moon is
shining bright/I want you to
remember me/as I disap-
pear tonight. But today
is gray skies/tomorrow is
tears/you’ll have to wait/
till yesterday is here.” He’s
full of gold! Townes can
break your heart with three
well-placed words. His word
choice with his lonely, des-
perate, honest voice cuts to
the bone every time.
One thing that strikes
me about your lyrics,
besides the strong Amer-
icana imagery, is your
commitment to narrative
storytelling within the
tradition of the folk bal-
lad. What types are stories
are you trying to tell and
to whom?
For the most part, unfor-
tunately, we are telling sad
stories to upbeat music.
Heartbreak, loss of a loved
one, disappointments in
life that we have gone
through and most likely
will all go through again.
Turmoil and\or unhap-
piness seems to be what
cultivates inspiration for
writing. It doesn’t have to
be a life-changing issue;
one gloomy day can be
enough inspiration to write
a murder ballad. A sunny
summer day in the park
will never lead to a new
Jackalope Saint’s song. As
far as who we are trying to
tell the stories to, anyone
who cares to listen and
can relate in one way or
another about what we are
playing, be it musically or
lyrically or both.
Last time I checked,
you clocked in as a sev-
en-piece ensemble. Is this
the line-up one should
expect during your two-
night engagement at the
Adrift Hotel?
We are a seven-piece
group. There will be six of
us for both of the shows at
the Adrift.
Your last record, “Illu-
minations of the Mystery
Tradition,” came out in
2013 and saw the Saints
exploring an expanded
sound with some very
intricate arrangements.
What do you foresee for
the Jackalope Saints in
2015?
“Illuminations of the
Mystery Tradition” is where
we really started messing
around with actually com-
posing music with the help
of our friend Gabe Salo. He
wrote out the intro, outro
and all of the interludes,
and then we recorded them
in hopes to have the album
have a close-to-seamless
sound from start to finish.
Since then we have add-
ed some new members,
Sharon Cannon on fiddle
and David Celis on trum-
pet. These two have been a
huge part in the evolution
of our music over the past
year.
When we started playing
music as the Jackalope
Saints a few years ago,
we were wanting to be a
rowdy bluegrass band with
face-melting solos (we still
are advocates of this). But
we have expanded our
sound to a point where
most everything now
sounds as if it has purpose
and has been thought out,
adding (we hope) textures
and depth to our music that
we had never had before —
while still working in some
face-melting solos provided
by John Chap.
As far as what I foresee
for the Jackalopes in 2015:
I hope to mix the simplis-
tic and direct songwriting
style of say, Woody Guthrie,
while blending in the full
and rich sound of Ennio
Morricone. In other words,
we are going to aim for the
stars and hope we at least
hit the horizon.
NW
word
Dismal
>Gܼ]mԥl@
adjective
1. dreary or woeful; of
gloom, doom or melancholy
in mood, condition, circum-
stance, sound or forecast
2. obsolete. Unlucky or ca-
lamitous; sinister or evil
noun
3. informal, U.S. South: local
name for a tract of swampland,
usually near the coast, esp. in
North Carolina
4. Dismal Nitch: AKA Megler
Cove, a natural recess and
present day Washington State
Rest Area on the north shore
of the Columbia River within
Lewis and Clark National His-
torical Park
Origin:
First recorded in English
as meaning “gloomy” in 1593.
Enters the language by way
of the Anglo-Norman in 1256
through the Old French, dis
mals, from the Medieval Lat-
in, dies mali, literally meaning
“evil days.” Medieval calendars
marked two days each month
as unlucky days, sometimes re-
nerd
ferred to as “Egyptian days” as
these portentous dates were
supposedly fi rst noticed by
Egyptian astrologers. DISMAL
NITCH takes its name from a
reference to the spot in Capt.
William Clark’s journal: “I had
the canoes loaded in great
haste and Set Out, from this
dismal nitch where we have
been confi ned for 6 days…”
The rest area was offi cially
renamed in 2005 from the
Megler Rest Area.
“Based on recent research, NPS and
the Washington Historical Society (WHS)
believe the actual Dismal Nitch – so
named because of miserable weather con-
ditions the expedition experienced there
for six days starting Nov. 10, 1805 – is
located about a mile east of the rest area.”
— “Dismal Nitch won’t be quite so dismal after
facelift,” The Daily Astorian, Dec. 23, 2013
“[Rex] Ziak was the fi rst writer to fully
highlight the stay of Lewis and Clark on the
Washington bank of the Columbia River before
they overwintered at Fort Clatsop. His focus was
on the 30 days between Nov. 7 , 1805, and Dec.
7, 1805, a time when Clark’s journal entries
were vague and confusing. He researched the
precise site of Dismal Nitch and other locations
by going out in a canoe and checking on the
locales.”
— “Rex Ziak’s story on national TV show to-
night,” The Daily Astorian, Dec. 24, 2009
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January 22, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 19