If you’ve ever read Peter Case’s book As Far As You Can Get Without a Passport (Everthemore Books, 2006) or his weblog, then you wouldn’t be surprised to hear him rapping like a hipster young version of Neal Casady in a conversation. More in line with the reasoned persona he’s created since returning to his folk roots– following the initial run with the sorely-underrated Plimsouls– are the latter stages of his interview with Doug Collette, where Case expounds on the state of the music business, the pros and cons of life on the road and the longevity of his career on the whole.
It’s the wizened perspective of a man who endured open-heart surgery in 2009 and now has a healthy in regard to all aspects of his life’s work. But Case takes nothing for granted, no doubt why he keeps so busy with touring (solo and in collaboration with assorted like-minded musicians), his songwriters workshops, recurring reunions with The Plimsouls and since his recuperation period, the researching of his archives; the first fruits of which are The Case Files collection just out in May. He qualifies as a Renaissance Man.
Are you already to go to Europe? I see you’ve got a pretty extensive tour lined up.
Yeah, plane takes off tomorrow man
Are you going by yourself and are there other artists going over to play with you and share the bill?
I’m going by myself. I’m meeting somebody there, a guy who’s going to drive me around the UK. I don’t drive on the left, ya know? – formula for death for me to be doing that after a gig or something. Looks like I’m doing twenty-five or thirty dates: it just goes one night after another you know? I’m going down to Spain: I’m playing with a drummer (there) who played with Paul Collins, young drummer guy who’s twenty-three, then I’m playing some festivals in Holland, so that’s the deal. I’ve got some musicians playing with me in some places, but mostly I’m playing solo.
Sounds like a pretty good time…
Solo electric, I call it, because I play this big twelve-string, then I also play electric guitar, sort of line intense solo fare.
Is this the European tour that had to be postponed when you had the heart surgery a couple years ago?
Yeah, I guess it is. I was all set to go on a big tour over there. It’s the first time I’ve been over there…. I was over there in 2008 I guess. I was supposed to again in 2009 but I didn’t make it. I don’t usually cancel gigs, man, but that one was pretty heavy (Case had open heart surgery in 2009).
Certainly sounds like a reasonable exception to the rule. How are you feeling these days?
I feel great! You know, I feel a lot better than I did. It’s a big improvement ya know?
Yeah I had a couple scares with my health last year and it certainly gives you a different perspective on things when you go through something and come out the other side.
It kind of does really. So I tell all my friends they should try it, get a bypass, when it’s done you’ll really enjoy how you feel.
I wanted to talk a little bit about The Case Files that’s coming out next month. Had you been thinking about archiving– getting into the vault– for quite a while?
Yeah it’s been something that’s been going on for quite a while because there are so many tracks. The main thing about it is I got so many tracks that are, like, recording sessions between albums. Like you make your album, and you work with a producer, you do what you’re going to do or you do it yourself, whatever, but it’s organized and you do it in one shot. But you make albums about every two years, ya know, when I make a new album of original material.
But you go into the studio sometimes spontaneously or on a whim or you get an opportunity or just for a laugh; a lot of the best things, very often, there are things you really enjoy, but there’s no real home for them to put it out. One track here, one track there—you just did it for a laugh…it’s really fun…you post it on a couple of sites. It’s that kind of thing. I started pulling them altogether and finding a home for all these tracks finally, I’ve been wondering what to do with them.
So it might be a series because there’s quite a few and I wanted to put some out that seemed to kind of fit together instead of just random tracks, sort of like an album. So there’s an electric side and an acoustic side—side being for the vinyl lovers—sequences I guess you would call it for the CD people. A lot of it is real rock and roll.
It’s a really good cross section of the kind of stuff you’ve done over the years on your regular albums.
Sometimes, in a weird way you go on these kinds of things, it’s not like you got anything to prove. It’s experimenting or just having fun making music. So that’s what we try to do on the records anyhow – that’s what Wig (Case’s 2010 release) was. This one does capture a lot of different moments, so that’s what it is; it’s almost like a collection of singles—weird B-sides and singles you couldn’t get somewhere else.
There is some real rock and roll on it, like this one thing I did down in Houston: I played a club in Houston with Biscuit from The Big Boys; we were sharing backup musicians and there was this guy David Ensemen—he’s a writer I like but he also plays drums—so there’s drums and bass and I’m playing lead guitar and we did “Milk Cow Blues” which is a song I’ve enjoyed for years in a million different versions (Robert Johnson, Sleepy John Estes), which is a different song, a little bit; Elvis Presley did it on the Sun Sessions and The Kinks did it.
When The Kinks did it… I was talking to Cyril Jordan (The Flamin’ Groovies) and we were talking about this song “Jumpin’ in the Night" –because The Plimsouls used to do it-and I said “Well, isn’t that based that on “Milk Cow Blues?”– so it kind of goes full circle: I used to play “Jumpin’ in the Night” and now I’m playing ‘Milk Cow Blues”! (laughs). It kind of catches the vibe from the Flaming Groovies a little bit; I don’t know if you’re into them, but that one guy that played in The Groovies, the original guy, this guy named Mike Wilhelm, he was the guy who taught how to play guitar and stuff.
Interesting you mentioned The Plimsouls because I noticed over the years you guys have gotten to together to play some gigs on and off; how do those reunions, if you want to call them that, come together? 
Different things happen, ya know. Sometimes somebody makes an offer we can’t refuse. Once that got going, we did a couple benefit shows that were super fun and that would get the band going on another roll. Then you know one time X called up and they wanted us to open up a show for them: big outdoor place, you know we played for like 20,000 people. We had a great show. It’s different things like that, it’s different opportunities to get the band going again and you know it was really fun. We even toured a little a bit a few years ago
I noticed that. Were you involved at all in the reissue of the live set Beg Borrow and Steal that came out last year?
Yeah I was. It’s the same label that’s doing The Case Files (AliveNatural Sounds), I go back with them. They used to be called Bompit’s the same people who used to run that label back in 1976 and 1977. So I knew Greg Shaw, so this is Greg’s wife Susie and her new husband Patrick, so I go way back with her, you know they are the prime buyers of the Nerves thing (Case’s pre-Plimsouls band with Paul Collins) when they released that. So they wanted to do a Nerves reissue and we released that-we finally put all the Nerves stuff out on an album, Dd and vinyl– they did a really nice job on that. Then there’s spinoff band of The Nerves called The Breakaways; it’s like a really cool collection of real good demos from like 1978, and they put that out and then that seemed cool. And then I found these Plimsouls tapes – all these things they did while I as recovering from the surgery. You know I hung out and I was listening to all these things, so I sort of produced all those reissues, meaning I took them in to be re-mastered, sequenced, edited and all that junk. And so you had to deal with the sound of the tapes and all that kind of thing, so, yeah, I was really involved in that. And it was really inspiring to me in a way, it kicked off the latest period of music for me, so that’s how we ended up with The Case Files coming out over there at Alive.
Are you taking pretty much the same approach with The Case Files? Are you picking out the tracks yourself, doing all the annotation?
I definitely did it all myself. I got all the stuff and I’d been thinking about it for a while. I put it all together and played it for a couple people, but basically, it’s coming out of my vault, man– it’s out in my garage is what it is! (laughs). I got files out there in different places, so that’s where it’s coming from.
When it comes to taking stuff from the vault, are you going to concentrate on stuff that’s never come out? I’m curious as to whether you’ve had any thoughts about re-releasing some of your solo albums with extra tracks and putting them in historical perspective?
We had planned for that, man. There were plans for that at one point, plans for a reissue of the first album: it was going to be really great and it was going to come out on Universal, or whoever it is that owns Geffen. They had a lot going on…I was talking to a guy over there—they’d even found some lost tracks and all this stuff. But then it was right around when the financial thing hit you know and I don’t know if they shut down that whole department or what they did. They moved for one thing, the record company left the building they were in.
There was a lot of shake-up and a lot of people left and they seem to have really changed their priorities.
So they elected not to and kind of put the thing on permanent ice, so I don’t know, I wish it could come out because a lot of those records –they deserve to be out and I still play the songs and people like ‘em so…I’ve considered re-recording the songs on my first record…I’ve considered doing a live record later on this year, a whole live record of my solo things…
Yeah I wanted to ask you about that. That would be a great idea to put your solo career, your career in general, in perspective by doing up to date recordings, especially in a live setting.
Yeah, I think so. I think it’s possible. We’re thinking about doing two nights at McCabe’s later this year, like one with DJ Bonebrake (X drummer) and Ron Franklin on one, then maybe another solo that would capture the whole thing with a lot of those tracks people can’t get.
That’s what I was thinking of too. If you did a run of two or three nights, put together a special band for it, then ran through the whole history. That’d be great!
Yeah, I’m thinking of it. It’s in the planning stages, we were actually thinking about October, and so we’ll see what happens.
You do the McCabe’s Songwriter’s Workshop on a pretty regular basis, don’t you?
Yeah, I’ve been doing it for ten years. My kids were little back then and I didn’t want to be on the road all the time, so we were trying to figure out a way I could still make money and still be home. And so I start doing that, teaching—I had no idea what I was doing, but I was really enjoying doing it. Now I’m back on the road a lot, but I’m doing it twice this year: I did it in January and then I’ll be doing it in the second half of July and then into August. I’ve done ‘em on the road; you know I’ve done ‘em in Belfast, done it in San Francisco, Portland, a lotta different places.
I wanted to ask if you ever did them outside of town, so to speak, because it would be a fascinating thing to take on the road and see what kind of different people showed up and what different areas you went into in different parts of the country.
I’ve been thinking…I‘ve got a thing coming that I think is kind of cool, can’t really go into it yet, we are talking about doing something that…we’ll be trying. Because I’ve been doing it for so long I’ve kind of got it down: I think I’m working on a book—I mean I think I’ve created a book, I just have to edit it because I have all these notes I’ve done with the class over the years, so that’s one thing, I’ve also go this other book I’m finishing …I’ve got a lot to do and it’s a lot of work to put those kinds of things together. Hopefully I do get to do that because it’s been really fun doing that. Songwriting is a really fun thing to do and actually looking at it like this, it’s something even people who don’t write songs can enjoy doing.
Oh absolutely, to be able to do that…
I mean, people who just like listen to songs can enjoy the class too. I try to teach it so it’s not overly technical, I try to bring in something for everybody. Believe it or not you can actually do that. I have so much stuff that I just picked up over the years and I started writing in like 1965, I was just a little kid ya know, so it’s been a long time: I’ve reinvented the wheel doing this over and over again…
You’ve reinvented a lot of different kinds of wheels…
You can’t really teach songwriting, but you can help people through things bring things to light without really stepping on them.
It’s great to get insight into the songwriting process from somebody who does it and does it well because it’s such a mystery to even the people who do it well. I’m sure you find yourself mystified sometimes where that inspiration comes from and where it takes you.
Oh yeah, the inspiration is tricky: you don’t want to talk about it and step on it, but I think I’ve got it down from teaching the class. You know Daniel Leviton came in and took the class—you know the guy that wrote that book about music that’s so popular ‘(This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, (2006), New York: Dutton/Penguin.) You know that guy? So people really love it and seem to enjoy it, you know? I’m hoping to get some more things done on it, maybe capture some of it on a book or a film or something.
Speaking of books, I noticed as I was prepping for our conversation today that you were think of putting out a sequel to the book you put out before As Far As You Can Get Without a Passport. Where do you stand on that at this point?
Well, it’s just about done. Ya know, it’s another one of those things that needs editing and I’ve just about written the whole thing–I’ve probably written more than I need—it’s written pretty much, there might be a couple things. But then you got to take it…it’s like with albums, it’s the mastering process: you gotta get it ready for publication. So I’m ready to go, I’m hoping to get it out by the end of the year– if I can get a little bit of time at the kitchen table, I’ll be doing it (laughs)
You always seem to have a lot of stuff going on. That project you did called Avalon Blues, A Tribute To The Music Of Mississippi John Hurt. was probably a pretty extensive research project in itself. Do you have any plans to do something like that again?
It comes up every now and again you know. That one was really fun because Mississippi John Hurt was a really character. You know I think about ’em—every once in a while I get an idea we should do one, but you can’t just do one on anybody – it’s gotta be somebody you really care about and somebody that a lot of people care about to make a great record.
That’s what prompted me to write this note because you had mentioned listening to Big Joe Williams and I thought that would be a pretty hot prospect for another musicology project if you could figure out the time to do it.
Yeah.. Big Joe Williams… there’s a lot of those guys that are great: Robert Wilkins wrote great songs, really really great songs, so did The Mississippi Sheiks, it’s hard to say whether I want to do that or not. There’s so many things to do I’m trying to call my shots: I gotta finish my book and I’m writing a new album and all that stuff, so it’s hard to say, you know?
What have you got planned for touring in the United States for the remainder of the year? I’d love to see you come to Vermont.
I’ll be doing down to Texas and the Southwest in July. And then I’m off doing a songwriting thing for six weeks at the end of the summer, but then I’ll be back out again: sheesh! I’m going to Alaska! I’m going to be touring the east coast, I’m going back to Buffalo
Nice! Doing a home coming gig in Buffalo?
Yeah, It’ll be kind a homecoming gig. I kind of do one every couple of years—I’m back in Buffalo in October, then I’ll be touring the country behind this new album: That’s what I always do ya know?
You seem not just busy, but happily busy, and fairly content to do what you do, day in and day out, year in and year out.
Yeah the music thing never gets old. You never get through it because it’s a mountain you can keep climbing (laughs). It just keeps going – it’s kind of infinite the possibilities you can keep going with it–it never dries up. The business of music?…very difficult – touring is rewarding but every difficult. The travel is hard. The music and the people are great, so I love playing gigs and I love-playing music.
After what I’ve been through you go through some changes and stuff but I’m pretty happy, writing and trying to bring my thing to the people, getting my thing across. You’re carrying a sound and a message to get across. It’s great to be part of music: people love it! They love having music in their lives and if you can bring ‘em something surprising or what blows people’s minds…what ever you can do. Like if you can bring some beauty man, you feel so fortunate to be part of it.
I know exactly what you mean. The music community all over the world is something very very unique. Musiclovers are a breed apart and when you touch them, it really is a magical sensation
I agree, man. Ya know, I felt that when I went through all that with my heart, man, ya know it was so heavy and people really helped me out and I was just like—really? That’s a good thing.
It must’ve been so gratifying for all those people to step up and help you out (a 2009 benefit concert and other projects) when you had to take care of that (financial obligation), but the practical reality of that’s pretty ominous.
Sometimes you go through mixed bags with that. Basically I’m just glad that I get to do it. I spend a long time learning to play music man (laughs), somewhere I don’t know when it was, but at some point, it struck me like “Oh Yeah!” I remember when I was eighteen, I just felt so young and so white and reedy—ya know what I mean? It took a long time: like I’d listen to my heroes like Lightinin’ Hopkins and go “Oh God…” But you learn a lot of things as you go through the years and you pick up your own musical sense of soul and once you get to a certain point, you go “I just got here—I don’t want to die here!” It’s like Mavis Staples saying, “I’m going to sing until I die” With any luck that’s what I’ll be doing (laughs).
Well, in a way when you talk about the music business, no doubt it’s difficult, but you’ve always been independent, so in a way, as it’s evolved, it’s become more oriented to doing it yourself over the last few years. It must really work in your favor to a great extent.
You have to work to survive. You have to learn to work things to your favor. The thing that’s disturbing is that fact that there’s a lack of support for people in music from the free download thing. Me and Stan Ridgway (Wall of Voodoo) were looking at it: you know there’s like 250 sites where you can get free copies of the records –who wants to pay for it when you can do that? On the other hand, if you don’t want to kill the golden goose or whatever you gotta…you know I can’t drive my car or buy food for free. You gotta think about every time you’re getting things for free… what are you giving back?
It’s troubling and very difficult, everybody’s seeing it in sales and the sales are off on all the records. I know I’m still making good records but I don’t know what that means. I’m just trying to make things for people that are valuable and worth it for people to have. If you can put enough life in it, that it’s worth people having in their homes, you feel like you’ve done an honest job. Hopefully we can continue to get enough support to pay for it. The people that are really the fans they support it!
Yes right...
The true fans they come out and they come to the gigs and they come to all the special things—those are the people that make it possible to keep playing.
You must get great validation when you’re out on the road and you have people come to the gigs and they treat it as a special event. You know, you travel and tour regularly but you can’t be everywhere at once or tour everywhere regularly all the time, so it turns out be really special occasion not just for them, but for you.
Yeah, ya know what they say about the road? ”Every night is Saturday night and every morning is Monday morning…”
