Kurt Baker recently released his new record with his band, Rock ‘N’ Roll Club, via Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, and it’s a collection that focuses on the eclectic aspects of Rock and the ways in which Rock music brings people together. Around the same time, the SiriusXM Radio channel Little Steven’s Underground Garage announced that Kurt Baker would be stepping into the role of a radio host for the first time with his own show, The Buzz Electric, airing on Saturdays between four and eight AM EST and highlighting, among other things, new music.
Looking at the album and the goals of Baker’s new show, you really get a sense of his two concerns, both the musical traditions that inspired and shaped his songwriting and performance style to this day, and also the joy of discovering new music. The idea behind the Rock ‘N’ Roll Club of the album’s title is not purely nostalgic, since Baker is part of the living tradition of Rock ‘N Roll as a songwriter and dogged performer, and he brings that to the fore as he explores the different aspects of Rock on the album. I spoke to Kurt Baker about his personal history with Rock music, some of the songs on the album, and what he has planned for his radio show, The Buzz Electric.
Hannah Means-Shannon: Around the same time your album, Rock ‘N’ Roll Club, came out, another big announcement arrived that you’d be hosting your first radio show on SiriusXM on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, so we’ve got plenty to talk about. I know you’ve done some DJing before. Did you have a long-term goal of doing this at some point?
Kurt Baker: Musically, the radio has always been so important to me. I grew up listening to Oldies radio, which is what shaped my influences, musically. I still use those 60s and 70s influences. When I was in college, I actually took a course at a community radio station, and that was probably the best thing I did in college. It really helped me understand how to DJ on the air. Radio DJing is something I’ve always loved.
I’ve also DJed with vinyl records, doing dance parties, and though it’s not the same as being on the radio, the idea is there, which is playing great recorded music for people. For me, the feeling is similar to playing a live concert. It’s very exciting for music to get heard and cause a positive reaction for people listening. It’s amazing to have this opportunity, now, to be doing it on the Underground Garage, which is playing a lot of the stuff that I grew up on with the Oldies radio. It’s full circle, I guess!
It’s kind of like someone who was influenced by important teachers in their life and then becoming a teacher. It’s a lifecycle thing about giving back.
Definitely! It’s 100 percent that way. I’m the result of all that in the past, so I’m really excited going into doing this new show. It’s on Saturday mornings.
Was it unusual in your family or peer group growing up that you listened to Oldies music?
Well, it was definitely weird in my peer group. My introduction to music was at five years old listening to The Beatles. I had heard about them and wanted to hear the music. I got obsessed with listening to The Beatles. Listening to the radio growing up, I gravitated towards stuff that sounded like The Beatles. Growing up in Maine, we had this radio station called Oldies 100.9. These days, the format has completely changed. I don’t even know what an Oldie is to people now! But back then, it was The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, and all the 60s and 70s hits. I was really into that, but my friends weren’t really into that as much. I was a black sheep.
The early Beatles music is pretty different from the late Beatles music, of course, but from listening to this new album, I’d say that you were into the early Beatles. The song “In Love Alone” is amazing for combining so many musical traditions.
That song has definitely got a Rubber Soul kind of vibe. I wear my influences right on my sleeve. It has such a 60s kind of groove to it. I wrote that song with Geoff Palmer and Wyatt Funderburk, who are both guitarists. We fused a lot of influences together for that song. Geoff is a really big fan of The Band and Bob Dylan, so that was a big influence going into the bridge that he wrote for the song, and we kind of put the harmonica in there, too. It’s such a mix of different influences, but it all comes together.
It really does. It’s not like a reproduction of an old song, either, but a totally new thing. Of course, everything in the song is absolutely relevant to modern life as much as it was back then. There are exactly the same kinds of relationship complications that we can get into now.
Thanks for picking up on that, because the main thing I always go for when I’m writing is to draw influences from the past, but to make a record that sounds current and contemporary. A great song, no matter when it was written and when it’s heard, should feel relatable in some way and create a human connection. I have tried to put that into my own music. That’s what I’m going for.
There’s such a tradition of love songs across eras and genres, and there’s nothing wrong with a simple and direct love song, but I appreciated that this one is pretty complicated in terms of its story. At times it seems like a hopeless situation, and at times it seems like it’s not.
That’s life, right? There are times when something comes up and it seems like a roller coaster. Sometimes you feel good about things, sometimes you don’t. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album, actually.
I notice that several songs on the album have ocean or beach imagery to them and I think that adds to bringing the songs together. I know the prevailing idea, though, is about the Rock ‘N’ Roll club as a symbol and experience.
I’m from Portland, Maine, and that’s right on the ocean, so I tend to head in that direction. I love being by big bodies of water. The energy always pulls me in. I also know that Wyatt is really into that vibe, too. He uses the beach and the sea imagery for lyrics, too. It’s such a mesmerizing thing, in some ways, so I’ve always been into the nautical stuff.
The thing about a Rock ‘N’ Roll club, though, is that you can go into a club and it’s an alternative place where you can hear many different musical styles. On any given night, you aren’t going to just keep hearing a pub Rock band. This idea came about once we were making the record that there are all different styles that you will hear, and the album is not just a straight-up Rock ‘N’ Roll album, but has a lot of styles and influences. Maybe one night, you’ll hear a Funk band. That helped pull the record together for me, conceptual. This is a Rock ‘N’ Roll club. And that’s kind of a dying breed these days, so we’re paying our dues and showing some respect to the places that we’ve grown up and the places that have made us who we are today.
I saw you mention elsewhere that, of course, these clubs aren’t all hanging around and they’ve been through a tough time these past few years. I live near enough New York and Philadelphia that I’m spoiled for venues, but even I notice that some aren’t there when I go back. There’s something special about these very human places, even the humble ones, made special by the people who gather there. These places become sacred, in a way, because they are a space where people can look for something and find it.
Absolutely! If Rock ‘N’ Roll and live music are your passion, it’s like going to a place of worship, like a church. These are really special spots. There are still clubs that have closed, but we still seek them out. Like C.B.G.B.’s, which isn’t even open anymore, but people are still talking about it. I was just in Japan and I met a guy from Australia who was telling me that he used to go to New York City at the end of the 70s and into the 80s and see all these bands at places like Max’s Kansas City. It’s part of the history of alternative music, even though it’s just a building. The people who go there make it what it is and contribute to the lore of it and I find that fascinating myself.
Keeping things a little crusty almost keeps the aura of older times.
[Laughs] The smell of stale beer. It’s great! I was thinking a lot of that type of thing when I called the record, Rock ‘N’ Roll Club.
Does playing in a venue that has this kind of vibe affect how you feel when you’re performing?
It definitely adds something. Some of these Rock clubs don’t have the best sound, but that’s kind of part of it. I’m not too picky when it comes to stage setup. I’ve played on some very tiny stages but felt like I was in a stadium due to the crowd. In general, playing gigs is about whether there are people in the audience showing enthusiasm and enjoying the music. That really is all that matters to me.
When you tour a lot, you can see the differences culturally in how people react to music. In Spain, where I used to play a lot, they are very into it and lively. In Japan, where we just were, they have their own ways of showing how much they enjoy the music. Sometimes in New York people are too cool to show that, when they should be rocking out! It’s harder for the performer if people don’t show that they are having a good time.
That ideal fan reaction is something that’s captured in your song, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Club”, which I’m sure draws on the perspective of fans, too.
That song is the only one on the album that wasn’t written by me, but was written by an old friend of mine, Kit Brown, who passed away a couple of years ago. He was an incredible guy and a fixture of the Portland, Maine, music scene. If anyone embodied Rock ‘n Roll, it was this guy. He had this song partly written that had never been recorded, so when it came time to do this album, we finished the song, and it took on a life of its own. He kind of captures that whole vibe of being a fan and also performing a song.
Kit used to tell me, “I’m a fan first!” And I think he even had a song called that. It rings true for us, for me, and everyone in the band. We just love music. It’s been important to us to be genuine about the music that we do. If we don’t feel 100% into the music, we don’t record it. Everything we play on stage is something we’re 100% into. Kit’s daughter actually did the photography for this album and she sings on some of the tracks, too, so that’s very much a dedication to him.
He’d definitely approve of the album in the way that it brings people together. The video for that song is kind of meta because you introduce the viewer to various venues. It’s really entertaining to see all these locations.
We didn’t really plan to do it that way, but on our last tour, we took a lot of video of us in clubs, and the song was going to be the single for the album, so it was perfect. For us, it’s also nice to look back and remember the trip. Before the days of video blogging, in my old band, The Leftovers, we used to have a little hand-held camera. We used to film almost everything that we did on tour. I feel like it would be interesting to revisit. It’s good to have video footage for memory’s sake.
By the way, what’s your approach to your radio show going to be? Do you have a particular philosophy?
It’s definitely a mix of things. I do like getting into some history, and a lot of times I try to weave in things that are not exclusively about music, but one of the main things about my show, I showcase a special song. I call it my “Super-Sonic Selection”. And that’s a newer song by an upcoming artist or a new track by an older artist and that’s my feature track.
That’s exciting for me because I can get into detail about songs that I really, personally, love, and want to share with people. It makes me explore new stuff, and I love digging for new artists or new music. It’s a great feeling when you discover what could be your new favorite band. Hopefully, I can also help listeners discover new music and new favorite bands.
