Interview with Culpepper

Featuring Paul Leslie Culp (formerly of Shaky Hands) and Dana Lacona (formerly of Starlite Desperation), along with Joel Wasko and Paul’s song Max, Portland, Oregon’s Culpepper has recently released their outstanding new eight song debut Superreactor.  I recently had the chance to talk to Paul about the album, having a father and son in the band, their plans for the future (including an upcoming EP) and more. 

 

Can you give me a little background on the band?

Dana and I are from a shithole town in central California. This was pre internet when weirdo freak kids discovered music by talking to the weirdo freak adult who worked at the record store or drove to an open field to tune into the local AM college radio station. There wasn’t a lot of us so when we met we tended to run in packs. We listened to bands like Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Pixies, Spiritualized - things that sound great on drugs. Dana could play guitar and his brother played drums, so I learned how to play sloppy bass and we started a “band.”

 

Dana went on to form Starlight Desperation, moved to LA and played with bands like BJM, Yeah Yeahs, Makeup, and Detroit Cobras. I moved to Portland and played with a band called The Shaky Hands and my own band, Lonesome Radio Heart. We kept in touch here and there but rarely saw each other. 

 

Around 2018-19 I started Culpepper with Joel on bass and Max on drums. We rented an abandoned theater in SE Portland and started writing and recording. Then the pandemic hit and I was writing alone. I would send the bones of songs to Joel and Max and they added parts. Then I got sick and it all went on hold for 6 months. 

 

We started piecing it all together after I recovered but the mood and sound was so different from what we started with. We were wrestling with this when Dana moved to Portland. He joined the project and it came together real quick after that. We finished the album and started playing shows. 

 

The lyrics are credited to you and then music to everyone.  How does the songwriting process tend to work?

 

I write the bones of a song. Sometimes it’s just a raw acoustic song and sometimes it’s a rough demo with just enough accompaniment to get the point across. Then I bring it to the band and it gets ripped up and pieced back together. I think of it like we’re doing a cover of the demo. Just let go of the demo and see what happens. We usually end up with something completely unrecognizable. I think it’s more interesting when you take a little crafted pop song that you might find precious and then sacrifice it to the band. That precious song is somewhere in there but it’s no longer yours and it’s no longer obvious. It’s richer and augmented by fellow songwriters with their own influences. 

 

Your bio talks about a completely different set of songs that were being worked on when a series of life events occurred and a whole new set of songs became the album.  Did any of the original songs make it to the album and do you think we will ever hear any of those other songs?

 

Nothing from before made it onto the album. It was all new material. However, we recently recorded an EP at Alberta Abbey with Sean Flora, a fantastic producer and engineer (won a Grammy for The Shins, Wincing the Night Away) who helped us record two older songs and two new ones. But they also went through the Culpepper grinder and turned into something new. So we’re excited to put that out soon. 

 

To me alot of the lyrics have a bit of a tragic element to them and some seem a bit apocalyptic.  Would you agree and can you elaborate a little on that?

 

Yeah. My wife and I dissolved a 20 year marriage, my dad died, a good friend of mine died, and the pandemic hit. Everything was on fire. Centuries of racial injustice, government mistrust, white nationalism, batshit conspiracy theories turning mainstream, transphobia, wealth disparity, and the beginning of the collapse of traditional work culture.  We got tear gassed, chased by Nazis, and cops and the feds were abducting people in unmarked cars - absolute fucking insanity. We’re irreversibly fucked up because of it. That’s some long lasting collective human trauma. 

However, I have to note, I’ve always written in apocalyptic tones. It comes with the ticket. If anything, Superreactor is the least apocalyptic thing I’ve ever written. It’s just a matter of style at this point. 

 

There seems to be a bit of diversity from track to track, but then at the same time, it’s a very cohesive set of songs.  Was that something you strived for?

 

Thank you for saying that. Honestly I don’t know. They were all written in a short amount of time. Dana and I spent a lot of time mixing it ourselves. Something happened there to keep it together. Collective taste and influences go a long way in a band. 

 

In your press info there is a lot of emphasis on the indie rock and psychedelic aspect of your music, but I feel like there is a bit of an underlying alt country influence on some of the songs including the great Morricone flavored spaghetti western like guitar on “Big Bang” and “All Hands”.  Do you feel that’s accurate?

 

Yeah, you’re not wrong. I was raised on country. One of the first songs I learned was “My heroes have always been cowboys.” One of the first songs I wrote was called “Johnny Cash.” I knew Morricone before I knew John Williams. It’s baked in from a young age. 

 

Another tune that sticks out a bit from the rest is “Lilly Says”.  It has more of a spacy psychedelic sound that wouldn’t be all that out of place at a rave.  Can you tell me a little about that track?

 

I think the ravers would disagree. It’s a protest song. It takes place on a biblical scale so it’s naturally psychedelic. Otherwise it’s deadly serious. But you can dance to it, for sure. 

 

“Going Home” sounds like it has some horns in it.  Is that what I’m hearing?

 

That there is Joel on trumpet. He crazy. 

 

There is a really cool little acoustic guitar section in the middle of “Plague Champagne”.  Can you tell me about that?

 

I recorded that in a studio apartment. I wanted it to be electric guitar but all my stuff was at the theater, so I improvised. We all ended up liking the juxtaposition of the acoustic weaving in with all these big synths. Plus it’s an intimate song and it helps emphasize that, I think. 

 

I hear a little of Bowie’s “Heroes” influence on “Coming Awake”.  Is that something that you thought of when recording it?

 

Nope. We added that last. That was Dana having fun with keys. Otherwise it was way more Tom Petty than David Bowie. 

 

Can you tell me a little about the dynamic of having a father and son in the band?

 

Max and my two oldest kids, Sam and Erik, were both raised playing music with me and everyone else. Max and Sam have their own band, Weehawk, and side projects like Mannies, and Kill Michael. They were writing songs at six years old. We speak the same musical language and geek out about music like old friends and bandmates. When I bring a song to the table, Max knows what I’m going for. If not, all I have to say is “that part in that one Kinks song” and they know. Maybe that’s weird but it feels pretty natural to me. And I think it’s pretty fucking cool. 

 

I see you’ve been playing some live shows.  How have those been going?

 

Amazing. Playing live feels like home. We always want to put on a show, as opposed to going to see a couple dudes playing their songs staring at their shoes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. That’s half of my favorite bands. But we appreciate a bit of theatrics and showmanship. Showing out like we mean it. We want to create memorable, live experiences that are worth the time and door charge. Worth getting a sitter, inviting friends, getting dressed up. That’s our goal. We’re just beginning. 

 

I didn’t see any mention of physical copies of Superreactor.  Is there anything available or in the works if not?

 

Vinyl albums will be here right after Christmas! They’ve been on back order for a long time but we’re excited to hold them and cuddle up to them at night. We’ll announce that and shirts, stickers, custom incense, sigils, homunculi, summoning rituals, and more soon on our Instagram and Bandcamp. 

 

Now that the album is out there what can we be expecting next?

 

We’re mixing a 4 song EP as I write this and are currently writing our second album. Also apocalyptic but with a positive spin and totally danceable. We’re also building a studio to record us and other local Portland friends and maybe grow that into something new. Either way expect a 2023 summer banger. 

 

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

 

Y’all are perfect just as you are. Just try to be better tomorrow. 

(Culpepper - Bandcamp)