While the BoDeans have built a loyal fan base over the course of the 24 years since the release of their T Bone Burnett-produced debut, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the duo—Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas—is best known as the band whose “Closer To Free” became the theme song to ’90s TV show Party Of Five. But the BoDeans are fine with that and instead focus on making the kind of music they want to, then bringing it to their devoted followers. New album Mr. Sad Clown (429) features more of the duo’s trademark roots-based rock and intricate vocal harmonies. Neumann will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Neumann: I like to listen to jazz when I’m alone at home or in the car driving around. Although I feel funny calling it “jazz.” To me, it’s just a group of musicians sitting around expressing feeling with their instruments. I call it that because people seem to have very strong feelings about “jazz.” Love it or more likely hate it. I know I get some bad sounds from people around my house if put on a track. But I don’t want to get into that. I want to talk about a saxophone player by the name of Stanley Gayetzky (a.k.a. Stan Getz). More so the tone that Getz created with that damn sax. I suppose everyone could describe it differently, but to me it’s the sound of triple-malt scotch wrapped in opium with a morphine chaser. I don’t know how he did it. How he created that mellow, saturated tone. I mean, you hear about musicians and all the drug use and all, but I really try not to believe it was that. I don’t know how else to make sense of it. There are lots and lots of sax players. How could only one of them make this sound? I strive to someday create sound like this with my instrument. Without the use of heavy narcotics. Yet at the same time, I realize what a ridiculous notion this is. As if anyone of this world could ever create something so otherworldly. Ridiculous!
