M. Ward has been releasing consistently brilliant albums
since his debut, Duet for Guitars #2,
in 2000. Ward’s music is instantly recognizable: just listen for his smoky
voice (though he doesn’t smoke); lyrics that can move from deeply affecting to
wisely humorous in the space of a song; and his quick work across a guitar’s
fretboard. End of Amnesia, Ward’s
sophomore album, appeared in 2001, followed by Transfiguration of Vincent, which landed on many critics’ best-of
lists for 2003. Transistor Radio—a
tribute to the independent radio stations of yesteryear—came in 2005 and won
Ward further praise from fans and critics. Ward’s latest album, Post-War, is his first recorded with a
full band and offers further proof that this indie folk singer/songwriter is among
music’s most gifted young artists.

Ticketmaster recently spoke with M. Ward about the new
album, his upcoming U.S.
tour and his many other musical projects.

Ticketmaster: Your
new album Post-War just came out on
August 22, and you have a U.S.
tour kicking off very soon in September. Are you excited to get out and play
these new songs for a live audience?
M. Ward: I am. You know, I’ve had a year’s break from
traveling and my batteries are energized, so yeah, I feel ready to tour. I’m
especially excited about this one, ‘cause I get to tour with the band that I
made the record with. So, yeah, it’s exciting. It’s the biggest band I’ve ever
brought on tour. A bunch of novelties for me.

TM: You recorded the
new album with a full band, which is new for you. How do you think that has
affected the music?
MW: Well, I wanted a more grounded sound than the way that
the Transistor Radio record sounded,
which, to me, is a little bit floaty and maybe sentimental at times. So having
the drums as a foundation was part of the point for this new record…to go
against the record that came before it.

TM: Who were your
collaborators on the album and how did you get together with them?
MW: Uh, let’s see. Well, Jim James came into town, because
he was playing a show with My Morning Jacket. We scheduled a few days so we
could just play around in the studio. He’s always great to work with. I’ve been
working with him off and on for the last three years, I guess it is. And he’s
just somebody I look up to, somebody who’s capable of doing anything.  He’s incredible.

TM: Who else were you
playing with?
MW: Let’s see. Adam Selzer, who engineered most of my first
couple of records and engineered a couple of these new songs. Mike Coykendall, who
engineered most of my last couple of records, engineered most of this one. Rachel
Blumberg, who’s a great drummer that I’ve been working with off and on for the
last couple years. She just left The Decemberists. And there’s a guy named Jordan
Hudson, who just recently left this band called The Thermals. They’re all Portland bands. So I feel
really lucky to be able to have them on tour with me. 

TM: The new album
deals with war, loss and change. What got you thinking about these themes?
MW: The headlines of the newspapers. Books that I’ve been
reading. Songs that I’ve been hearing – ever since I was a kid really. You
know, the biggest inspiration is and has always been older records and older
production ideas…songs that have some of the greatest production in the world,
by people like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. And the records that came out of
Sun Studios were a huge inspiration.

TM: On past tours,
you’ve played both solo and with a backing band. You mentioned for the upcoming
tour you will be playing with a full band. How would you compare playing solo
versus playing with a full band?
MW: It’s like apples and oranges really. They really don’t
have anything in common.

TM: What are the pros
of playing solo?
MW: Well, the pros of playing solo are you don’t really have
to worry about other people’s schedules to rehearse, you don’t have to worry
about waking up the neighbors, and you don’t have to write a set list. But the
pros of having a band are the obvious ones. The camaraderie, I guess you could
say.

TM: I’m interested in
your early days as a musician. You’re a phenomenal guitarist, so when did you
first pick up the guitar and become interested in playing?
MW: I picked up the guitar when I was about 14. And I
learned how to play by reading chord charts in Beatles books, and that was the
way I learned how to play really. That taught me every guitar chord that I will
ever need to learn. If you go through their catalog and you’re a guitarist,
you’ll be pretty hard pressed to find a chord that they didn’t put into one of
their songs – except if you’re getting way out there, and I don’t really get
way out there that much. Thelonious Monk chords, you know, which are hard for
me to incorporate into (my songs)…you know, I’ve never tried to incorporate a Thelonious
Monk chord into an old folk song or something, but maybe one of these days. (laughs)

TM: I know you love
the Beatles, but who were some of your other early influences?
MW: Well, the first live band that I ever witnessed was Firehouse
in Los Angeles.
And Mike Watt’s been a really big inspiration, and it’s especially exciting for
this tour, because he’s going to be supporting the California shows. So that just freaks me out
how great it is.

TM: I know you were
in a band before you went solo called Rodriguez. What kind of music was the
band playing?
MW: You know, we were ripping off fIREHOSE. It was a trio
and (we were) listening to fIREHOSE and Sonic Youth records and eventually more
country-influenced music.

TM: Is the Rodriguez
music available anywhere?
MW: No, but I don’t think you’re missing much. (laughs)

TM: Let’s talk about
your songwriting process. Do you start with lyrics, a guitar riff?
MW: There’s no formula. The only formulaic thing about it is
that it starts on the four track.

TM: Did the fact that
you were working with a full band for the new record affect the songwriting at
all?
MW: The composition I do alone with the four track, so I
bring in the band and the full arrangement when it’s time to flesh the song
out. So that’s how all songs start. Every record I’ve made is a combination of
old four track recordings with new four track recordings.

TM: Does writing a
new song come quickly for you or does it take shape over a long period of time?

MW: There’s no formula for that one either. Sometimes they
come like a lightning bolt, and sometimes it takes years to finish.

TM: I really love
your cover songs. There’s a Daniel Johnston song on the new album (“To Go
Home”), and you’ve done several other covers in the past. How do you choose
which songs to cover?  
MW: You know, it’s really as simple as you just like the
song and it gives you a certain joy playing the song. And that’s about it, you
know. You try songs out and if they feel right then you continue to play them.
If it doesn’t make you feel very good, then you stop right away.

TM: I also want to
talk about your production work. You co-produced Jenny Lewis’ solo debut. Can
you describe what it was like working with her and how you two hooked up?
MW: We’ve known each other for a few years because Rilo
Kiley was my backing band on a tour back in 2002 or ’03. And we’ve just been
friends ever since. She came into the recording process with her songs already
written and having some production ideas. We just batted ideas around and just
had fun in the studio. It was a blast.

TM: Has producing
another artist’s work affected the production on your own album? 
MW: Well, learning other people’s songs always changes your own
understanding of music and that’s the way I learned how to play, learning other
people’s songs. Eventually everything that you learn turns into one big, giant
stew, and basically that’s the stew that the records come out of. So it’s hard
to put your finger on exactly what influenced what with any exact precision.

TM: Do you have plans
to produce more albums in the future?
MW: I’m producing a friend of mine. He was in a band called
For Stars. His name is Carlos Forster. And that should be out next year. I’m
really excited about that project.

TM: What kind of
music does he play?
MW: His songs remind me of a cross between Big Star and
Brian Wilson.

TM: Are you going to
be lending any guitar work to the album or just production?
MW: Yeah, a bunch of guitar on it. It’s been a blast, and
it’s almost done.

TM: You have a new,
animated video out for “Chinese Translation.” I don’t think I’ve seen a video
from you before. How did the video come about?
MW: A friend of a friend turned me on to this animator who
is from North Carolina,
and I always loved the idea of doing a music video where I don’t have to do
anything. (laughs) So I was hooked, you know.

TM: So you’re happy
with it?
MW: I love it. I love it. I didn’t have to wear one ounce of
makeup, you know. (laughs)

TM: You recently played
The Late Show with David Letterman. I
found out too late and missed it. Maybe you can fill me in. How did it go?
MW: It was great. It was a blast. It’s on YouTube. I just
got an email that it’s on YouTube.

TM: I’ll have to look
for that. What song did you play?
MW: “Chinese Translation.” We had a great time. It was my
first time doing Letterman. It was really great. It was at the tail end of a UK tour, so it
was just the perfect way to end that tour.