16 Horsepower

Utah is a state ranking high on the “warped by religion” scale. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth are metaphors for repercussions of sin. Listening to Low Estate, 16 Horsepower’s brand new album, made me weep, wail and gnash my teeth.

David Eugene Edwards writes all 16 Horsepower’s songs, with some help from the rest of the band. As a child he traveled from town to town while his grandpa preached gospel. His grandfather was a Nazarene minister. The album’s title is taken from the Bible. The scripture reads, “set not your mind on high things, but condescend to men of low estate, and be not wise in your own conceits.” Edwards remains a religious man as his words demonstrate, yet he has some difficulty with organized religion and his life as a secular musician offers plenty of conflicts, I’m sure.

The disc itself has a fuller sound than Sackcloth ‘N’ Ashes, the previous work. It was produced by John Parish, best known for his work with PJ Harvey. It was recorded in Lafayette, Louisiana’s Dockside Studios — an antique recording studio in a barn. Many critics are at a loss to describe the music. Goth-bluegrass is a familiar term. After speaking to Edwards and listening again all the influences come through. The church music of Edwards’ youth, the Appalachian bluegrass of his relatives, the Cajun tunes he loves, a touch of gypsy and European folk music. The influences are blended with a coal miner’s pick on a pulpit. Jean-Yves Tola remains on drums and percussion from Sackcloth ‘N’ Ashes, and he is a Frenchman as is Pascal Humbert, the double bass man. Tola has formal training in classical and jazz. Put the elements together with Jeffrey Paul Norlander, the multi-instrumentalist and Edwards’ old friend who plays fiddle, guitar, cello and organ, add Edwards’ howl and his lyrics. The result is like nothing else in recorded music.

Before arriving at a little discussion on religion, I asked Edwards about his earlier band, The Denver Gentlemen. I learned that the Denver Gentlemen played music very similar to that of 16 Horsepower, except they lacked a drummer, and while Edwards provided most of the music, with Norlander as the singer. Norlander joined 16 Horsepower last year and his ability fills out the sound and complements Edwards’ talents on banjo, accordion, bandoneon and hurdy gurdy.

What do the Nazarene’s believe was the next question. Edwards: “It’s basically just straight Christianity, but the differences are; they believe that if you sin, you lose your salvation. You have to regain it by getting on your knees every Sunday and re-giving your life to Christ. You’ll find a lot of people in the Nazarene church, like preachers and what not, that will tell you they haven’t sinned in 40 years. Which is obviously ridiculous. I mean, come on, give me a break. I know it (the Nazarene church) started in Texas, I think in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. When I grew up in it women were not allowed to wear pants, they couldn’t wear any makeup, you couldn’t go to a movie theater, you couldn’t play cards, there were all these rules. Rules that are made, out of fear of losing your salvation.”

SLUG: Sexual desire, pleasure and guilt seem to be themes running through your songs. Is that true?

Edwards: Um hum.

SLUG: “For Heavens Sakes” is an example on the new album. When I talked to you before you told me that you don’t really think about the lyrics, they just pour forth. Is that still true?

Edwards: I’d say 90% of the time. That song in particular I probably thought about more than any other song on the record. As far as what I was thinking about and why I was thinking about it. Basically it’s about suffering for all the wrong reasons. The Bible says that it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing bad. That’s what I’m saying when I say, “I wish that the suffering I have was for that reason.” I wish I suffered for doing what I believed in rather than doing something stupid. Treating somebody poorly, the effects of that or whatever. Basically sinning, suffering for that. It sucks, but suffering for doing something good is a pleasure.

SLUG: Is sex a pleasure? Is that doing good or bad?

Edwards: He pauses. “Sex is a good thing. Sex is a gift from God. It depends on how you use it and why you do it.”

Here are the lyrics to “For Heaven’s Sake” Edwards did a beautiful job of explaining them. “I knew it was a trap ya/ Yet my hands they would not listen/ I shoulda known your word was flap/ Comin’ out all sweet and drippin’/ O where could I go- yes but to the lord/ I been to your house an seen what you adore/ I left there stiff-stiff as a board/ Where could I go but to the Lord/ When will I hurt for the sake of heaven/ All my love well it is madness/ Freely given to you folks with gladness/ I will not live and die-no not by the sword/ I am weak without the joy of the Lord/ Taste and see that the Lord is good/ Let’s bend our knees like we know we should/ We can’t see clear- our eyes are made of wood/ Taste an see boy that the Lord is good.”

Taking the conversation to a completely different area was a question on Edwards’ instruments. Edwards played an antique bandoneon on 16 Horsepower’s self-titled EP and on Sackcloth ‘N’ Ashes. The bando­neon “spoke” to him from a pawnshop and he bought it. He also plays accordion and hurdy gurdy.

SLUG: “When did you become interested in the accordion family of instru­ments?”

Edwards: The accordion came through Cajun music, which I love.This was in 1985 when I first started listening to it. I think I first heard it on the radio. A late night radio station, like on a public radio station and I fell in love with it. I’d heard hillbilly music before that, but I’d never heard Cajun music. I really like it, I really liked the accordion.

SLUG: Did you play anything before?

Edwards: I played guitar. I played drums, fiddle and piano when I was little, but nothing that serious.

SLUG: Where does the whole hillbilly aspect of your music come from? Did you lis­ten to Uncle Dave Macon, the Skillet Lickers, J.E. Mainer, that kind of stuff?

Edwards: I have those records now, but originally it just came from the church.

SLUG: It came from the Nazarene’s?

Edwards: Well, no. The music they played was very piano, organ, very white, kind of somber, church hymns. On the other side of the family, on my moth­er’s side of the family, it was more of a hill­billy thing. They’re all from Arkansas and Oklahoma. They listened to that type of music. They listened to Bill Monroe, people like that. Yeah, it’s a family type of thing.

SLUG: So you heard it growing up?

Edwards: I didn’t hear it that much. When I was growing up we didn’t listen to any music besides church music. Not even the radio. You weren’t really allowed to listen to anything else.

16 Horsepower played the Telluride Folk and Bluegrass Festival and as Edwards told me it was pouring rain. The Telluride audience, a very opinionated and close-minded group on the average, still enjoyed the music. Believe it or not, they stayed and listened in the rain.

SLUG: The printed lyrics to “Low Estate” (the title song) are missing some words. ‘Does he love me? No, he loves me not/Does he want me? Yeah, he wants me to rock.’ Why is that?

Edwards: To tell you the truth I don’t know why I didn’t put them in there. Originally when I had written lyrics those weren’t there. Later after playing it live and things like that I just started to sing that at that point in the song. Since it wasn’t the original part of it, I didn’t put it in. I do that more than most people do. It just didn’t  seem important.” Not important? “Does he want me? Yeah, he wants me to rock.

SLUG: How about ‘Ditch Digger’? It seems like a tragic song, but you play it joyfully.

Edwards: Hmm. Yeah there is something tragic about it, but overall it’s a happy song. I’m singing about my wife. My wife doesn’t have the belief that I have and that’s what I’m singing about. I’m singing about digging through life trying to get down to where she is and communicate on that level with her. I dug on down-for to see my true love / She is the only girl-girl I will speak of / Yes I went on down to get my girl / And free her from The Devil’s World.”

SLUG: “Have you had any square dance pits break out when you play ‘Black Lung’ live?”

“Black Lung” is a rip-roaring, full-on bluegrass stomp with Edwards wailing away.

Edwards: “I wouldn’t call them square dance pits, but we’ve had people go absolutely berserk, yeah! Jumping on the stage, jumping off the stage, you’d think you were at a punk rock concert. Especially in Europe people tend to move around to the music more than they do in America.”

16 Horsepower hasn’t toured America for some time. They have an audience in Europe, Low Estate was released several months ago in Europe and it is doing quite well across the sea.

SLUG: Why do you close the album with a polka love song? “Hang Your Teeth On My Door.”

Edwards: It just felt right to put it there.

Martin Renzhofer wrote a piece on Atomic Deluxe for the Salt Lake Tribune. Lara Jones gave up this quote to Renzhofer, “We’ve never been a favorite here, except for the critics.” Atomic Deluxe is a critic’s band in their hometown? Back to 16 Horsepower. In Europe they pack houses. In America they’re a critic’s band. Edwards doesn’t feel 16 Horsepower could draw enough of an audience in Salt Lake City to earn money. 16 HorsePower isn’t about to run up huge tour support debts with shows that don’t make money. If they appear in Salt Lake City “taste and see boy that the Lord is good.” Meanwhile there is Low Estate—Ezra Darbone

Read more interviews from the SLUG archives:
Foo Fighters
Aquabats

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