The Bachmann
Interviewed by Josh Tyson


I only know two people who don’t like all of the post Archers of Loaf music that Eric Bachmann has been making, especially Crooked Fingers. I tell these two people that they are poop-headed every time the subject comes up. They can’t get past the strong hints of Neil Diamond in his voice. Whatever. The first time I saw Crooked Fingers live, I nearly cried. My friend Scott, who shits his pants monthly, drinks cheap beer, smokes Winstons, skateboards drunk, rents bad action movies and eats 7-11 nachos was crying during one especially somber tune. Don’t tell him I told you. Each album that Bachmann puts out and each time I see him live, he just seems to get better and better. I’ve been especially partial lately to his cover of Prince’s, “When U Were Mine,” that appears on Reservoir Songs (Merge). I think it’s funny when people play that lazy man’s spelling game. “When U Were Mine, I Would Die 4 U.” Prince does that shit with tenacity. I think I’ll start doing it too. It took me 4eva to write this intro, and it still sux.


Can we talk about Prince for a minute?

Absolutely. I love Prince.

To me, he’s such a freaky little guy. Kind of an enigma. I watch Purple Rain, and I consistently get the willies. It’s just a creepy movie, but the album and the music are so incredible.

Absolutely.

In the next century, he’ll be one of those stand out musicians that people look back on.

He’s amazing. Prince is the man. I have nothing to disagree with what you just said. Though I like the movie a lot, it makes me feel creepy, too, but I think it’s good. I don’t think it’s good the way he wanted it to be good, you know what I mean.

No, probably not.

It’s interesting. It’s cool to watch. When you were a kid it created memories. It reminds me of being a kid.

Prince is … Prince.

Yeah. He’s the man.

The first time I saw you play at the 15th Street Tavern (Denver) you were drinking Newcastle out of the bottle, and the second time you played there, they had it on tap. Coincidence?

I don’t know. I like Newcastle. I don’t know why they gave me cups the second time. I like bottles
better. Bottles are way more fun to drink out of than a cup.

When did you start coming out into the crowd to play at your shows?

That was actually an accident. We did the first time by lack of choice in Las Vegas. Our PA went out on us and we were gonna stop, and I turned to the guy Joe that was playing upright bass and said, “Keep playing.” We kept playing and kept singing and had a great gig. That was maybe a year ago.

My brother lives in Denver and he saw you play at the 15th Street Tavern on September 11. (awww.) He said you played “Fortunate Son” all unplugged from the bar.

Yeah, I might have done that.

Was that kind of a creepy day to be playing?

It was a very creepy day to be playing. The thing was, we weren’t going to play the show and then the promoter and everybody there was, like, “Look, you know we’ve been watching this shit all day; let’s just do something.” I ended up being glad that we did play, ‘cause people were thankful that we played. It was a very awkward night, didn’t say much into the microphone.

What can you say really?

What can you say? Yeah.

Crooked Fingers has always sounded kind of literary to me. Like some of the characters
wandered out of a Bukowski poem or a Nelson Algren book.

I hear what you’re saying, but it’s not because I read. If you tour a lot and drink in a lot of bars, you see that kind of people. People write about these things for a reason. I don’t read as much I would like to.

With the first Crooked Fingers album, it seems almost like a little microcosmic world, like all of the people in the songs interact. I can picture all of these different people bumping into each other on their way to different bars. Does it feel that way to you, or is it just random?

That record is very much about specific people. They don’t all know each other, but it’s not surprising that the record does have that sort of feel. It wasn’t intentional. But as you say it, I mean, it’s very true, it does have that feel. All those people, all those songs, are kind of angry songs about some very specific people. They’re real people. Real friends of mine. Assholes that I like.

I’ve always appreciated the music because it’s emotional without being whiny. It’s more like face value, “Here are some fucked up people, this is what they’re up to.”

Yeah, I don’t like the whiny thing too much. You gotta have a sense of humor about shit. And also, if
something’s real, you don’t need to make it hyper dramatic. If you’re singing about something that’s real, just tell it.

A lot of your music has nautical themes. Have you always been a big fan of the ocean?

I like the ocean. I grew up always in the Southeast, and a lot of it was on the coast. I like the water, that’s obvious. There’s nothing more to it than that. I like the water.

Did the decision to cover “Solitary Man” have anything to do with the rash of comparisons people have made between your voice and Neil Diamond’s?

I like Neil Diamond a lot. And the thing is, I don’t really worry about it because I know that what I’m doing songwriting wise is so different than what he was doing. If it’s just the sound of my voice, well shit man, I can’t help that. I sing the way that I sing, you know. But I have no problem getting compared to Neil Diamond. I didn’t do it because I wanted to be defensive. I get compared to Neil Diamond just as much as I get compared to Leonard Cohen, just as much as I get compared to Tom Waits, just as much as I get compared to Bruce Springsteen. All of those guys are good company to be in.