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Submitted photo by Linn Hykkerud
Western Haunts is, from left, Michel DeBauge, Jake Witt, Sam Tyner and Nathan Witt.
Five Minutes With ...
WESTERN HAUNTS
Q&A by RYAN HUME
Spend some time loitering with Western Haunts. Coast Weekend asked Jake Witt,
of the Seattle-based band, about the group’s trajectory and what to expect from their
two live shows at the Adrift Hotel, in Long Beach, Washington, on March 20 and
21. Find more Western Haunts at westernhaunts.bandcamp.com for streaming and
purchase.
Over the course of five
releases, Western Haunts
have been progressively
moving from its twangy,
alt-country roots toward
a richer, more atmospher-
ic sound. In what ways
has this layered expan-
sion changed the way you
approach a live perfor-
mance?
We’ve always had a lush
sound really. On the first
records there were a lot of
multi-part vocal harmonies
with a lot of hall reverb.
Our challenge was to try
and recreate that live with-
out monitors feeding back
or pissing off our sound
man when we wanted the
mix to be a little spacier.
Our shoegaze and psyche
influences are definite-
ly more present on our
later records. We’ve really
fine-tuned our live show
dynamics and blend effects
in a way now where we all
feel pretty comfortable and
free to just play.
At Adrift we usually play
two sets. The earlier set
features more songs off our
earlier records, which seem
to suit folks having dinner
better, and the later set is
mostly new stuff. We love
playing Adrift, but it’s defi-
nitely more of an intimate
live experience than when
we play around Seattle.
Your 2012 music
video for “A Zealot Sun,”
directed by your fre-
quent collaborator, artist
Harold Hollingsworth,
reads like a love letter to
your home base. How has
Seattle’s music, culture
and landscape informed
the direction of Western
Haunts?
I had grown up listening
to and loving artists like
CSNY, The Band, a lot of
Laurel Canyon artists, like
Joni Mitchell, and classic
artists like The Mammas
and The Papas. When
Western Haunts started,
originally called silOHs,
there was kind of a com-
mon zeitgeist in the music
scene in Seattle where a lot
of those influences were
being embraced again.
Everyone in the band is
a transplant. My brother
and I are from Ohio, Sam
is a Hoosier and Mike is
from the Bay area. We all
love the Pacific Northwest,
but the video was really
Harold’s vision. He was
really into experimenting
with tilt-shift video and
thought that the song
would be a nice backdrop
for some of the beautiful
footage he was taking
around the city.
Which artists haunt
you? What influences are
you chasing?
Lately it’s been a lot of
New Wave ‘80s artists for
me, like Peter Gabriel and
Kate Bush, Psychedelic
Furs, Echo and the Bun-
nymen and “Boy”-era U2.
Some of which may make
it into some of the song-
writing on the upcoming
EP. Bands like My Bloody
Valentine, Ride, Slowdive,
have always been a con-
stant, though, as well as
some vintage and classic
artists like Neil Young and
Pink Floyd.
Considering the liner
notes on “The Ambas-
sador” and “Utøya” EPs,
your songwriting in part
seems motivated by cur-
rent events and attitudes.
How does what’s happen-
ing in the world influence
the shape of your work?
I’m not very good at
writing party songs. Usual-
ly, I feel, like lyrically, I’m at
my best when it’s heavier
themes or lyrical imag-
ery that has a message
or voices a concern that I
have. Songwriting is always
a good outlet for me to get
that stuff out, especially
considering the rest of the
time I’m usually telling
dirty jokes or talking about
Cincinnati sports or the
Cavs’ Big Three.
You are in the process
of recording a new EP
for a late spring/summer
release date. What forces
are motivating this new
cycle of songs?
A lot of the influences I
mentioned above musi-
cally. Lyrically, this one is
kind of a mix of themes —
some personal, some more
politically driven. A lot of
imagery about belief or
faith in fallen institutions.
Culture clash and the in-
come gap. Overcoming ad-
versity and trying to take
risks and stay inspired. You
know, real heady Dad Rock
stuff.
W
word nerd
By RYAN HUME
/LQJFRG>OܼƾNܤG@
noun
1. Ophiodon elongates: Neither a true ling or cod, this
slender, tasty fi sh is caught off the coast of the Pacifi c North-
west of the U.S. and Canada, often by hook and line, and is,
taxonomically, a member of the greenling family
Origin:
Ling: Middle English, lenge, lienge, later, ling, possibly
related to long through the Germanic as an adjective. Also as-
sociated with “organ,” as in organ ling (fi rst published in 1499).
Cod: Of unknown origin, but this word is often linked with the
Old English, codd, meaning, “bag,” and has been used to de-
scribe anything from the husk of a vegetable seed-pod to the
mammalian skin sheathing a male’s testicles (see codpiece)
to the human larynx and stomach. It is generally understood,
without conclusive evidence, that the codfi sh, of the North
Atlantic, received its name from the same reference, resem-
bling a “bag-fi sh.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary,
lingcod is especially American and fi rst referenced in publica-
tion in 1955 by Dawson in Ahoy There! in the line from P. 205,
“Besides salmon, we catch cod…ling-cod.” Merriam-Webster
places the fi rst known use at 1940.
“The forgetful public was enlightened for a day last Summer by statements in the papers
about fi sh and prices at Yaquina. A fi sherman held our attention a moment to ask why he only
got 1 cent a pound for lingcod and rockfi sh, which were paying 15 cents for here. Mr. Burke, a
wholesaler who handled these fi sh and did something to reduce the local price, claimed that
he paid 1 ½ cents per pound for them on the dock of Yaquina.”
— John Gill, “More Not Eaten Because Cheap,” The Morning Oregonian, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 1918,
p. 10
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March 19, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 23