It's 11:15 p.m., and John Ziegler is on his way home from his job as a Douglas County police dispatcher. It was a "nice and pretty calm" Wednesday night, and you can hear it in his voice.
When talking about The Lupines' "I Blame Creation," he takes care to pause every so often, collect his thoughts and uncover some of the gears that make the song work. His cool delivery sounds nothing like his singing voice, a bit grimey and a hell of a lot more forceful. It drives his garage rock that chugs along with just three chords, a "moronically simple" drum beat and guitar solos that could be livewires dangling from a broken powerline.
These recordings of The Lupines came out of a session with Mark Wolberg, Ziegler says, when the rest of Brimstone Howl didn't show up as planned. They are only an outdated roadmap for the band's live show, though. While Ziegler plays most if not all the parts that make up the waveforms online, bassist Mike Tulis (Monroes, Fullblown, The Third Men), guitarist Mike Friedman (Movies, Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men) and drummer Javid Dabestani (Ghost Runners) have further shaped the somewhat jagged sound on stage.
The Lupines play Brother's Lounge this Friday starting at 9:30 p.m. with Toxie and Solid Goldberg. Read on for more about "I Blame Creation," and learn the song yourself with the transcription below:
Hear Nebraska: I’m curious why you chose to feature “I Blame Creation” over your other songs.
John Ziegler: Because it would be easier to transcribe since it only has three chords.
HN: Did you have a reason for using only three chords?
JZ: They were the chords that fit over the vocal melody that came to me first. The vocal melody came into my head first, then I picked the chords. I usually think that will produce a better song than going the opposite way.
HN: Do you know why it sounds better if it's produced that way?
JZ: If you’re just working with a riff, then you’ve got a vocal melody serving the riff and the arbitrary structure of the song. But if a melody comes to you, there’s only so many ways to build the chords off that, probably only one way when I do it.
I’ve always felt like you get a better song. The melody is genuine, not forced. It's not something that you had to inject into a song. It’s already there, and you put the chords around it, and it's more musical.
HN: Why did you choose to call the song “I Blame Creation”?
JZ: It’s just the punchiest line in the song.
HN: Could you go into what "I blame creation" means within the context of the song?
JZ: It’s about being frustrated to the point that you shake your fist at God, Earth, mankind and all creation. "I get down so low and I blame creation." It’s not a good thing, but I think it's something people do sometimes.
HN: With the line “I pound and I pound” used a few times, it seems like the song takes place in a pretty short span of time. How would you describe the setting of the song, as you visualize it?
JZ: The middle of the night, some guy is pounding on his girlfriend’s door, outside at a cabin or something. She won’t answer. That’s how I envision it.
I was just trying to build off a pretty prototypical rock 'n' roll or blues theme, trying to make it punk and simple. And I still think some of those outdated elements can still be made valid, if done the right way.
They can be real hackneyed, too. This may be hackneyed to some people. Some people might think it’s misogynistic in some way, but it's not.
HN: You say the song “Ohio” was recorded toward the end of Brimstone Howl. Was this song recorded with at the same time?
JZ: Yeah, it was the same session with the great Mark Wolberg.
HN: So you play all the instruments on this version?
JZ: Yeah, that’s why the drums are moronically simple. Somebody told me they were a drum machine, which I took as a compliment. That means I was on time.
Do you have much experience with drums?
JZ: Just that one beat you hear. That's the only thing I can do.
HN: With this song in particular, have the other parts — the drums, bass, guitar — changed considerably with new players?
JZ: Yeah, the guitar playing is better with Mike Friedman. The bass playing is not as prosaic, and obviously the drums are way more propulsive with Javid. He’s like a V12, as Mike Tulis put it, I believe, one day. Or maybe he called him a V8… anyway, nothing like a V6 at least.
HN: Is there a certain effect on your vocals, or a certain way to mic them, that you like to use for each recording?
JZ: I’m not good at describing what methods are used in the studio, but generally I like the vocals to be semi-dirty but still readable, make it sound like it was put through an amplifier. I don’t like totally naked vocal sounds. I don't think I have that good of a voice, and the good thing is you don't need one to do rock 'n' roll. If you can't afford the million dollar effects, the automatic backup vocals and autotuners, then you go the cheap route and make them sound more dirty, which makes them sound better and better anyway.
HN: What led you to record this set of songs in the first place?
JZ: I had ‘em, and I was itching to get them done. Brimstone Howl couldn’t show up the day that we had scheduled, so I did it on my own.
HN: And at the time, were you happy with how they turned out, even though the recording didn't go as planned with Brimstone Howl?
JZ: Yeah, I was happy. I think they sound good. They could always be a little bit better, but as a whole, they all fit together. I didn’t set out to write a concept album, but all the songs are kind of related to a certain theme. And I’m planning on putting them out on cassette with Rainy Road Records.
HN: That's all for questions. Is there anything you'd like to add about the song itself?
JZ: No, not really. The song speaks for itself, and it has one purpose.
HN: And if you could put that purpose in one sentence, what would that be?
JZ: That's really hard to do, but it's to prove once again that you can write a cool punk song and only use three chords with no bridges or choruses.
CHORDS
F#m — D — A repeated throughout
Late in the evening when the sun is down
I pound and I pound and I pound and I pound
Said she ain’t there, but I know it’s a lie
I know my little girl is still inside
She says she don’t want me anymore
But I can’t take it to the goddamn whores
I make a little money and I put it away
But the days and the weeks take it all away
I'm a serious man, I got expectations
But tonight is full of revelations
Late in the evening, I pound and I pound
But I just can’t put my baby down
Maybe you don't really know the score.
What you gonna' do when they don't want you no more?
Waiting in the dark, such a new sensation
I get down so low and I blame creation
Late in the evening when the sun is down
I pound and I pound and I pound and I pound
After so long now, I find me banned
I'm your one hundred year man
Please, little girl, won't you take my hand
Ain't I your everlasting man?
Ain't I your everlasting man?
Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. He prefers to use the doorbell when possible. Reach Michael at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.