A Brief Philosophy On Songwriting With Lee Baggett Interview
With every release you make, what elements are most important to you when starting a new project? When and where did you meet our mutual friend Kyle Field? What’s it like to work with him on projects such as split releases and Be Gulls?
I was living in Avila Beach at the time Unocal started its decades old oil spill clean up. They paid my relocation rent for a few months and I was able to rent a room at my friends house near downtown San Luis Obispo and keep my Avila place at the same time. I was enjoying my hermit life in the Avila ghost town a little too much so getting in the current of uptown stimulation was good for me. This is where I met our mutual friend Kyle Field. He just formed his Little Wings project and I was able to hop on some of these gigs around town with my guitar (I’m still doing the same thing now, though we live in different states). We did record a few songs then for his Grow record at the Avila place, with Tim and Eric Bluhm, in which the ship wreck, pirate feel is truthfully accurate. Kyle took me up to Olympia to help him make Magic Wand at K. It was a magical and a bit spooky experience. I found out later that you don’t leave here after you’ve drunk from the artesian well. Kyle has a far sighted kind of tunneling vision when he makes records and things, to be realized by me later. On our weird little musical adventures I’ve learned the hyperdrive should kick on in the nick of time. I’m always learning something from him. Like how to play guitar with a singer-don’t squash the words, don’t play the chord, do even play the melody.
What comes first for you, the music, or the poetry? What do you like most about recording your music vs. performing it live?
The music/melody and the lyrics have to come together at the same time for me. I sometimes come up with a song while walking, or driving and I have to find an instrument to get the chords down, hopefully before I run into, or talk to anyone. It gets tricky, I can loose it real fast. Then I’ll get hung up on a couple of lines that won’t leave me alone. They’ll get in my sleep, or when I’m watching a movie, or when someone’s talking to me. A phrase from a conversation, or idea that sounds like a title can be a good starting point for a song. I sometimes write down some poetry for myself. It sounds like someone reading poetry. It won’t work for music lyrics at all, which is a little weird.
How much does your environment impact your writing and approach to songwriting? How much does the guitar and/or instrument play a role in the channeling of the music for you as a songwriter and performer?
If I make up a rocking song on electric guitar it has to have a band destination and time limit. l don’t usually play electric guitar by myself. I’ll end up on the Voodoo Chile, Eyes Of The World ride. Not being productive. When I do get a song made up it’s always good to try it out on piano, or start it on piano then see how it is on acoustic guitar. Things happening now in the world and my environment should show up more, but I think I go to a timeless place of nature, blues and romance for my songs. There’s also always a deep trough in the farmland east of Fresno, where I grew up, for me to draw upon.
What is your particular process and approach when readying for a new album and/or recording project such as last year's “Anyway” that was released on Perpetual Doom? What has your 2023 shaped up to be so far?
I wanted to do the Anyway record with the same formula as the Just a Minute record, which at its core is Bob Thayer. Zeb Zaits, and me meeting for a little surf session then recording songs in a slightly improvised fashion on Bob's tape machine, adding Sam Farrell on bass. So we planned it that way, and did it that way with the band member population expanding (notably with Cory Gray on keyboards, horn and mixing). We have also recorded the next one the same way (Cory finishing the mixing at this moment). Potentially, it will be the third in this vinyl trilogy on Perpetualdoom. Doing recordings this way has been real fun and kind of like a live performance for me. We are getting some shows on the calendar now though. It’s going to be so nice to turn the amps up, jam a little, and see what happens to these songs in that unpredictable environment.
