True Spiritual Path

The Darker Side of Life and Music’s Ability to Answer Prayers

An interview with Stephen Ray Leslie

There’s a band from Bellingham, Washington that I recently discovered while listening to internet radio.  Named after a very scenic stretch of highway along the Washington coast, the band Chuckanut Drive is spearheaded by a guy named Stephen Ray Leslie.  After seeing the video for “Ain’t Much Action,” I was hooked and purchased a couple albums.  What I noticed right away was how closely the characters in Stephen’s songs paralleled my own spiritual path.  ”Bitter breakups, religious guilt, pride,”  just a few of the themes running through his rich songs.  I sat down with him this week (by virtue of the interweb) to talk about his madness and to find out a little more about these spiritual connections.

Jeff: Let’s start out with the song “Ain’t Much Action.”  It has two of my favorite themes in it.  One, “those pretty little things don’t come around like they used to,” and “Maryann might have been right about the darker side of life.”  Is that one of the first great insults of getting older, that there “ain’t much action.”(LOL)   It’s a great metaphor, what does it mean for you?

Stephen Ray Leslie: I should preface my answers about “The Crooked Mile Home” songs by pointing out that CMH is a concept album. It tells a story from start to finish. Concept albums aren’t particularly common in country or alt-country music, but you can find them. One of my favorite songwriters, Willie Nelson, has written a few: “The Redheaded Stranger” and “Yesterday’s Wine.”

“Ain’t Much Action” is the first song on the album where the protagonist starts to second-guess his decision to leave his girl and follow his wanderlust out onto the open highway. That’s not to say that he didn’t have a good time getting there, but this song marks the start of a long down and out period. As you mentioned, the song does deal with the issue of getting older, but more than that it’s a song about doubt. Doubting one’s original intentions and motivations.Questioning whether your life decisions have led you to where you want to be. And yea, your right, there’s a little bit of a realization in this song that life ain’t getting any longer and the girls ain’t getting any younger.

Jeff: In terms of “Maryann might have been right about the darker side of life,” what an understatement.  I see people to their detriment really trying to deny the darker side of life  . . . God’s going to make it better, have a positive attitude, etc.  when maybe accepting the darker side can put you in a better place to deal with it.  I don’t know, what comes up for you when you think about “the darker side of life?”

SR: I don’t think there is any denying the darker side of life. I think we all learn early on that it’s not a perfect world and that life isn’t fair. I guess the trick is figuring out how to deal with it. Some people run to the darkness and some people run to the light, but realistically I think most people live somewhere in between.

Jeff: In “Back on the Tarmac,” (another great metaphor by the way), you say, “I’ve almost got nothing left to prove,” which caught my ear.  Dylan has a line in “Things have changed,” where he sings, “Only a fool here would think he’s got anything to prove.” What’s the problem with having something to prove?  Where do you see the downside?

SR: For me, the line is about pride. At this point in the album, our hero is broken, road-weary and heading back to the girl he left behind. Full circle. He sets out on his journey trying to prove her wrong. Trying to prove that “the darker side of life” couldn’t lick him. Trying to prove that he didn’t need her. Now he’s returning and tries to set his pride aside. He’s almost admitting defeat. Almost.

Jeff: Your third album “Fidelity Grange” seems really ambitious to me . . . a horn section, B3, great energy, did you feel like you found your voice or made any strides you liked over previous work.

SR: We had a great time making “Fidelity Grange.” On “The Crooked Mile Home” I was primarily focused on making sure the story came across and flowed well when we were recording. I didn’t have to worry about the underlying story on FG, because it’s not a concept album. This freed me up to focus on other things such as production. The goal on FG was to experiment as much as we could in the studio with production. We brought as many of our friends as we could fit in the studio and just let things happen. I think the creative energy of not quite knowing what we’re going to put where came through on the album. I think for the most part we were successful in creating a voice for the record. As far as finding my voice, or finding the voice of the band, I think that’s an evolving thing. I always get a little restless if I feel that we’re becoming too much of one thing.

Jeff: “Kickin in your Door.”  Great vibe.  I pick up the “reclaiming your life,” “getting what’s rightfully yours” theme, but then it takes on kind of holy roller aspect with the rousing chorus, “Oh Jesus, come and save us . . .” maybe you could tell us a little about what you were going for there.

And then also, ” . . . may this be the last time that we meet.” And “splinters falling at your feet to remind you . . .”, is it reinforcing that same theme of letting things fall away to be the person you were meant to be?

SR: “Kicking in your Door” is about a bitter breakup and the joy felt from getting out of a defective relationship. The “splinters” line has a bit of a double meaning. “May this be the last time that we meet, and may these splinters falling at your feet (splinters from the kicked in door) remind you of something that once was strong (the door and their love) something that now is gone (the door and their love) let the choir sing.” I put a gospel choir in there for a little bit of old fashioned guilt. After the initial euphoria of liberation, the main character questions whether he was partially to blame for where the relationship ended up.

Jeff: In “Won’t get you anything,” you talk about the quarter not getting what it used to.  Dissident Noam Chomsky talks about the reason capitalism will never work being that greed will always take over.  I’ve felt that way about the music business ruining a lot of the music.  You seem content doing your own thing in a regional market.  Any regrets about not being in L.A. or Nashville to snag a label deal?

SR: Greed is a theme in “Won’t get you Anything.” It’s a song about how it’s hard for the working man to get ahead these days. I wrote the songs after reading Woody Guthrie’s autobiography “Bound For Glory.” There’s a part in the book where Woody talks about riding the rails west during the great depression in search of work. He gets off the train in California with the rest of the hungry, out-of-work men and is greeted by lush apple and orange trees in everyone’s yards with big signs reading “Do Not Pick.” That scene really stuck with me.

Regarding staying regional or not, we’re actually hoping to expand our audience and put our next record out on a label. The main thing holding us back before was the fact that our old guitar player couldn’t tour nationally. He has since stepped down to focus on a family and we’ve picked up a great guitar player who loves to travel. We’ll be heading out to Chicago and Nashville in September to play for some industry people. Hopefully something good will come of it. It will definitely have to be the right label though.

Jeff: Did music ever take on a spiritual dimension for you?

SR: I think all music has a spiritual dimension. Those of us who have been touched by music know what I’m talking about. I’ve always had a void that could only be filled by music. For a short time in my life I tried to not make music and focus my energies elsewhere. I was miserable and quickly started Chuckanut Drive. I’ve never found anything that could stir the soul like music. Playing music is like praying, listening to music is like having my prayers answered.

It’s amazing how personalized we can make a song that we listen to. Half of the art in a song is created by the listener. I have a hard time answering the question, “what is your song about?” Often times what the listener believes my song is about turns out to be way better than what I originally set out writing; and their version is always better suited for them. I do, however, like the fact that when I put a song out into the world it becomes greater just by nature of people listening to it. Beethoven once said, “Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this creation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist.”