San Francisco, you really disappoint me sometimes: we lost one of our major artists this year without a struggle. Since she blew into town from Chico a decade ago (where she had played in 28th Day with Cole Marquis, now in the Snowmen), Barbara Manning has been knocking out discerning listeners with her uniquely spooky, hypnotic combination of wide-eyed yet deadpan vocals, psychedelia-tinged music and brutally honest lyrics that take "confessional" songwriting one step further, i.e. she's a writer who pursues the truth in her songs to the degree that she's not afraid to let herself look bad to make a point if necessary. (Listen to "Something You've Got Isn't Good" or her signature tune, "Scissors".)
Both solo and with the ever-changing SF Seals band, the ensuing ten years have brought forth a string of great records culminating with 1212, which featured the brilliant "Arsonist's Story", a 19-minute song cycle I can only compare to, oh I don't know, maybe Kevin Ayers' "The Confessions Of Dr. Dream", only less pretentious. But this album would be her final release on Matador. And the combination of losing her label last year and her home his year (another one of those "owner-move-in" evictions you always read about over here) has made Barbara restless, to the extent that, after a final US tour, she is moving to a small town in the center of Germany. (A country that seems to have an odd affinity for obscure Bay Area artists.) "I have quite a few friends there and I want to play a lot of music with a lot of people," she says.
A poignant farewell show at the Boomerang (lousy turnout: San Francisco, you really disappoint me!) made it clear what we're going to be missing; ranging from her most famous numbers to rarer gems like the crucial Forced Exposure single "Haze Is Free", Barbara ran through a staggeringly great set of songs that reminded everyone there what a killer songwriter she is. (And how far her stage presence has come from earlier days when her solo gigs could be a frustrating experience of spacey nervousness and endless tuning; hard times or no, the woman radiates total command up there now!) Happily, there is some good news with the bad; Barbara didn't go without leaving us one very special parting shot: an EP, Barbara Manning In New Zealand on Communion Records, that's not only one of her finest pieces of work yet, but a tribute to the land and music of New Zealand that captures the sound, mood and feel of those classic early Flying Nun EP's with the help of some of the people that made them. Recorded on a tour last winter, the seven songs range from the morbid piano tango "Lover's Leap" to the ethereal Manning/Calexico/David Kilgour instrumental "Aramoana" to a hazy countryish take on the Clean B-side "Whatever I Do".
Barbara takes up the story: "Before I went to New Zealand in Feb/Mar. of '97, I wrote 14 letters to all of my NZ musical heroes asking for any interest in collaborating. I applied to the Universities to participate in a national tour for the Orientation celebration which the Universities organize. From my letters, I was able to create a super-group to tour with David Kilgour (Clean, Great Unwashed) and Graeme Downes (Verlaines) as my guitarists, and I paid for John Convertino and Joey Burns of Calexico to fly to NZ as my rhythm section. The recording process was a 'go with the flow' plan because all of the recording was done spontaneously with time, tape and effort generously donated from Tex Houston, Stephen Kilroy and Chris Knox.
"The song 'Everything Happens By Itself' was partly written before I got to NZ. Even still, it grew from the influence of David and Calexico. I intended to co-write with everyone because I was particularly interested in making music which would be different from what I usually play. My mother provided me with the inspiration for the song. She sent me some very beautiful Tibetan advice at a time when I was wrought with worry. It was the first song attempted and a super way to start the project. Tex Houston made the whole recording possible and I fell in love with him while we were mixing the song."
On the slinky, sinister "Walking Stick", which features some great flailing guitar from ex-3D David Mitchell: "Stephen Kilroy showed me a very special walking stick which has a story about a Maori man who was sick and angry when he was carving it, but by the time he was finished with the beautiful detail, he was cured. He carved his hurt into the stick and then let its powers go into the hands of an unsuspecting, ignorant souvenir shopper. I got a kick out of seeing how many tourists were carrying similar walking sticks on the plane home."
A summit with Tall Dwarf and home-recording wizard Chris Knox yielded the wild "Your Pies", a catchy, hilarious rant against bad food and bad people. "It's about someone who lives in NZ and his flavor was something I intended to never savor again. Chris was a little demon...he tried to put me off by recording a very spastic backwards rhythm track." When she came back with a song that fit it perfectly, "he got really into the whole thing. We had fun recording all the parts and mixing it. Chris played eveything except guitar and there were so many toys and instruments I can't tell you what he was using. He was literally writhing, fists clenched and face contorted, while I was recording the vocal track. He was my inspiration to scream my heart out."
The next song couldn't be more different. The moody, twisting "Patience Is Gone" may be the best thing Graeme Downes has done since the early Verlaines records. "Graeme came up with the melody and played all the instruments. I was soooo nervous when we were writing the lyrics together. Graeme would leave the room and I'd write write write. Then he'd come back in and I'd clam up. Finally his wife, Jo, put a full bottle of whiskey in front of me and I relaxed enough to get the song done!
"New Zealand is the most beautiful place on Earth. I wish I could spend all my days there. It may be a long time before I can afford to go back. The In New Zealand record is my souvenir of the memories I have there, and making it helped me realize that I can do anything if I set my heart on it."