repare for a blast from the not so distant past. Five (ish) years ago, The Juliana Theory was most likely on heavy rotation on your first generation ipod. The band would break up in 2006 and all the while front-man Brett Detar had a secret, a secret that would eventually be brought to light this past month with the release of Bird in a Tangle. The secret? He had grown tired of alternative rock and was having a love affair with old old country music. Bird in a Tangle is Detar’s first musical release in over five years and for those of you still missing TJT, don’t hold your breath. Detar has transitioned into much twangy-er waters displaying a songwriting song of him we almost didn’t see at all. Graciously releasing the Americana record for free via www.brettdetar.com, the now long haired bearded singer/songwriter is looking ahead to a future he almost gave up on.
Let’s do a little background information first. What has your life consisted of since the breakup of The Juliana Theory in 2006?
Brett Detar: Well, I went through a kind of period of displacement, both physically and mentally, emotionally, everything. Right about the same time, I got married and moved across the state and was living in this town I didn’t really feel at home in etc. I guess kind of what happened was I tried to do a few different musical projects but for whatever reason, the timing wasn’t right or they weren’t meant to be, it wasn’t really happening. Between the way TJT ended and those projects not working out, I kind of just gave up on music completely. I moved to Los Angeles, I was there for about three and a half years, I owned a vintage clothing store and sold clothes. I kind of kept writing music though as I went a long even though I was telling myself I quit music. I convinced myself for awhile there that I wasn’t going to be a musician, I wasn’t going to be a songwriter, I really wasn’t going to do anything with music. I guess the problem is when you have that kind of in your blood I think it’s a little bit hard to deny who I really was. So I would write music and songs while I was in LA but I would write them really quickly and I didn’t really care about them. I’d just record them on this little digital recorder as I was writing it and I’d never listen to them again. After awhile, one night I just decided to listen to a bunch of them back and I realized I had this kind of strong beginnings of a record. That kind of just pushed me back into the concept and mindset of doing something with these songs. I made a decision that I was going to somehow figure out how to do a record. A couple months later I ended up moving to New York City. This is where I’ve been able to focus on writing. I’ve been writing with other people and I just scored a movie, I decided that I had to do what I loved.
Bird in a Tangle is certainly an unexpected style shift for those of us who know and loved you in TJT. Have you always been interested in this type of music?
BD: The whole Americana/Roots/Folk kind of thing may take a few people by surprise, I’m well aware of that. People probably weren’t expecting that. It was a very natural progression for me. About seven or eight years ago I started to get into really old country. The last couple years of TJT I was pretty much listening to old country exclusively. When the band ended that love affair with that music continued and grew stronger. No exaggeration, there was probably about five years where I didn’t listen to anything but that. I just totally immersed myself in the music, the history, the culture, the stories and I went on some pilgrimages to some sacred ground, to the history of that type of music. Honestly, I don’t think that I’ve had much of a love affair with any genre of music as I have with mostly the old country and old bluegrass. I guess I just sort of really dug into that stuff and started writing songs that kind of fit that world more. It was a really natural thing; it was nothing that I forced. Maybe if I would’ve decided to do a record like that right after the band broke up, I probably wouldn’t have been as versed in the sound and all the nuances of roots music as I am now. It was really a natural thing.
That’s interesting that you had to physically go places like that to get the music right. This kind of music definitely has a specific subject matter.
BD: (Laughs) The thing is that by the end of TJT I was pretty much almost toally over alternative rock music, like heavy guitar rock music. My heart really wasn’t into that type of music anymore so I kind of knew that if I was going to do music that it had to be something fresh and exciting to me. I guess it just happened at the same time that I fell in love with country. It’s interesting how timing works out.
Yeah, and I think its cool to see guys like Mike Herrera doing music like rockabilly, its just something you’d never expect from a punk rocker like him.
BD: I appreciate what Mike’s doing and the thing is the music isn’t really that far off especially when you look at punk rock and early country. The similarities are amazing. You really have three chords for the most part in Punk Rock and in Country. The thing about Country and the thing about folk and old blues is that it’s basically the roots of popular American music in general. I think you see guys like Mike and I look back to the past more because it’s just respecting your elders in a sense.
I think that can be tough with fans though too, for the average fan of 15 or 16 years old to have that respect level just isn’t there. That was true for me at least. You hate your parents’ music until you get a little bit older.
BD: I think that’s probably true but at the same time I kind of grew up as a classic rock kid. One of the first records I ever bought was a Neil Young record. I remember listening to Springsteen when I was eight years old with my best friend. At least a lot of where I was from and where I grew up, I guess older music was always first and foremost. But I think you’re right, you have to reach a certain age in your life usually to really appreciate what happens before because it’s so easy to be obsessed with pop culture, to be obsessed with everything that’s happening right this second. It’s nice to sit back and look in the past.
“So I decided to give it away and give it to as many people as I can for the time being. I’m not opposed to record labels if it was the right one and the right situation, I’m down. Everybody gives away singles and free songs but I just thought I should give the whole
thing away.”You guys had countless nightmares with your labels throughout the life of TJT and you’ve decided to release this record for free. Does one have to do with the other or is this record just kind of for fun?
BD: I think overall more than anything else I knew that it had been at least five years since I’d put out a record, maybe more. I knew that was a long time and I also knew that being it was the first time I put a record out on my own, that ultimately the first thing I’d want is as many people to hear it as possible, to give it a chance, to give it an honest listen. So I weighed my options and I thought “This is a record I really believe in”, I genuinely feel like these are some of the best, if not the best, songs I’ve ever written in my life, some of the strongest lyrics I’ve ever written, the most comfortable I’ve ever been with my voice and it’s the most I’ve dug into myself to come up with a record. I feel like if people can just hear it and give it a chance, they’ll like it. So I decided to give it away and give it to as many people as I can for the time being. I’m not opposed to record labels if it was the right one and the right situation, I’m down. Everybody gives away singles and free songs but I just thought I should give the whole thing away. With the whole way the industry is going right now, everything is up in the air; nobody is sure what is going to happen with major labels etc. I tried the best I could to take control of my own record.
And this isn’t the only thing you do so if it doesn’t do well, its not going to bankrupt you so it has to be nice to have that kind of pressure off.
BD: That’s how I’m trying to look at it at least. It would be wonderful if I could really pay some bills with this one way or the other but at the same time I didn’t count on it doing anything like that.
Will we see you hit the road with these songs?
BD: I probably will. At this point it’s a bit up in the air. At this point it’s a little bit about supply and demand. If there’s enough demand for me to get out there and play shows and tour, I will. I’ve always loved the road and touring. I’d love to do it.
Yeah, get with Mike Herrera and head out. I think people would dig it.
BD: We’re already chatting about that on Twitter (laughs). We were having a Twitter conversation, Mike, Lewis from Gasoline Heart and I, about getting in a band together and playing some shows so you never know.
I also saw that you will be scoring a feature film. Tell us about that?
BD: It’s done as far as what I did is concerned. It’s a movie called The Devil Inside and it’s about possession, it’s scary. I don’t know a whole lot about when it’s coming out yet, its still being worked out. I know its going to be frightening.
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