Jason Dove - We Should Be Together
“I’ve had this one idea for a long time now,” Jason Dove says, his eyes darting until they spy a pencil. “It’s a T-shirt with the Nike logo on it—the swoosh—but underneath of that it says this…” Dove makes a quick scribble on a scrap of paper and hands it to me. It reads, “Joyce DeWitt”.
He’s a funny guy, this Jason Dove. Many have been amused by his award-winning blog site jasondove.com, his features in Chunklet Magazine, and his YouTube-able video shorts like “The Jason Dove Diaries.” But music is his true calling, and today he is very serious as he talks about the new record he’s just finished, We Should Be Together. And it’s no wonder, because the 14-track album of heartfelt pop songcraft, recorded last year by J. Robbins (known for his bands Jawbox and Burning Airlines as well as for producing acts like The Promise Ring and Jets To Brazil) is a serious work.
“I’m still in a little bit of shock about the way this record turned out,” Jason says. “It’s absolutely the greatest thing that I’ve done.”
Dove, no rookie in the game of rock and roll entertainment, has already done plenty of good things. From 1996-2002 he led the Atlanta, Georgia based Plexorjet, the math-rock band with a heart of gold that won a devoted following throughout the Southeast. Plexorjet released three seven-inch records, among them the “Chita” b/w “Seven Blocks” single on Magic Eye Singles which was named Punk Planet’s 1997 “Seven-inch of the Year”. 2001’s full-length City Under Siege on Moodswing Records (featuring artwork by Chunklet Magazine creator Henry Owings) won positive reviews, healthy sales, and the attention of MTV, which featured three of its songs in episodes of the MTV series Road Rules and The Road Rules/Real World Challenge. Plexorjet also shared CD compilation space with bands like Modest Mouse, Flying Saucer Attack, Deerhoof, Local Thinking Fellers Union, Ida, The Bevis Frond and Tom Rapp.
Since going solo, Dove has performed with such notables as Mountain Goats, Battles, and Trans Am, and with members of Guided By Voices and Superchunk. Most recently Dove and his band The Magic Whip shared the stage with Daniel Johnston, both opening the show and serving as backup band for the eccentric master.
So why so much excitement about We Should Be Together?
Well, for one thing, Dove’s emergence as a serious pop songsmith has been a long time coming. After disbanding Plexorjet in 2002 and moving to Baltimore, Jason recorded a solo album, Pronto (Carbon & Monoxide/Morphius Records), his melodic gift increasingly evident there amid ferocious math rock riffs and jazzy spy soundtrack tunes. But though the record received some good press, Jason’s sights were set much higher, and he set off to write “a far more sophisticated record.”
“I got to this point where I was writing the songs I’d always wanted to write.” Dove says. “This record [was to be] my first completely articulate expression from beginning to end. For two years I spent nearly every day thinking about how it would work.”
The resultant writing spree produced more than forty new songs, the cream of which were brought to his band, The Magic Whip. Drummer Christopher DeMeo, bassist Eric Lowe and keyboardist/guitarist Yuri Zeitz were enthusiastically supportive.
“It was crazy. They had to learn 15 or 20 songs in a really short period of time. I wanted to be ready for the studio so we’d constantly practice, do demos, and play shows. Then at practice I’d show up and sort of sheepishly announce, ‘I’ve got this new one…’”
The final piece fell into place in the fall of 2006 when Jason Dove met J. Robbins at J.’s Baltimore studio, The Magpie Cage.
“As the project began to take shape, classic stuff—Brian Wilson, the Kinks—was increasingly becoming my reference. I was writing pop songs in suites and realized I needed a huge sound, a serious pop production. Strings, the whole nine yards.
J. understood exactly what I was going for and rose to the occasion.”
To answer Jason’s needs, Robbins dusted off some all-but-forgotten production techniques that add depth and cohesion to the record. Effects were wrenched out of unusual equipment, while “Slumber Party” and the title track were recorded in separate pieces and then spliced together into mini-epics.
The completed album is well worth it. From the sprightly ukulele and viola that introduce the theme in the opening track to the spooky fade of the last song, “End of The Year”, We Should Be Together is a panoramic roller-coaster ride through just about all the joys of classic pop music. Raucous and gentle, excited and dejected, frequently in the very same track, Jason’s songs take the listener through rich worlds of sound that also resonate with a raw honesty that’s refreshing in these so very plastic times.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the title song—dramatic, complex, catchy, and perfectly natural in its three movements worth of crunchy rock and roll, layered harmonies, and sweet melody. The song chugs, swells, and dips, from a whispered “You know that you make me/Crazy” to a climactic mantra of “Hold on to love/Don’t ever let me go.” Both the song and the album are a testament to Dove’s ability as a songwriter, and a challenge to contemporary pop music.
We Should Be Together was mastered in March of 2007 by Kim Rosen and Alan Douches from West Westside Studios, a NY outfit known for their work with Fleetwood Mac, Animal Collective, My Morning Jacket, and a host of others.
Jason is looking for a label to handle the album, even while he and the Magic Whip keep busy with live shows and develop even more new songs.
“I’m so proud of this record,” Dove says. “But I can’t rest…do you know, I already have almost 20 new songs in the works for the next one? I think it’s going to be even better.”
Written by Isaac Morrison
and Frank Herrera
Track Listing
01. We Should Be Together (Introduction)
02. So You Know
03. Slumber Party
04. They’re Watching You
05. Every Aspect of Entertainment (Part One)
06. Every Aspect of Entertainment (Part Two)
07. Come Back To Me
08. Wishing It Was Over
09. Old Men
10. Let’s Not Think
11. Stoned On Beer
12. When Autumn Comes Around
13. We Should Be Together
14. End of the Year
Contact
Jason Dove
4405 Newport Ave
Baltimore MD, 21211
(443) 622 8845
