URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/03/08/PK59309.DTL
It
seems appropriate that John Wesley Harding turned to longtime pal Chris von
Sneidern to co- produce Harding's latest album, "Awake," on Zero Hour
(see review on Page 44). What better bond than
that between two underappreciated local singer-songwriters?
"Now
he's my roommate," von Sneidern said, laughing. "He is in my life big
time. But we haven't spent the night under the same roof. He's storing his
boxes with me while he's on tour. It's just a tedious arrangement of
convenience."
von
Sneidern describes the disc, which was recorded at his Ordophon-Upon-Avon
studio, as more progressive than Harding's previous work.
"Wes
wanted to experiment with what he calls 'gangsta folk,' " the producer
says. "He's got beat box, sampling, loops, a lot of machinery." The
record is just one of many projects von Sneidern worked on in the past year. He
played guitar on Jewel's contribution to the upcoming Fleetwood Mac tribute
album, and on the version of the national anthem she lip-synched to at the
Super Bowl in San Diego. He formed Map of Wyoming with former members of Flying
Color and Translator, and he played organ for San Francisco surf-rock group
Saturn V. von Sneidern also found the time to make his fourth solo album,
"Wood and Wire," for the label run by Berkeley-based record retailer
Mod Lang. Doesn't he think his music deserves a wider audience?
"That's
my own fault for not seeking a wider audience," von Sneidern says. "I
have no business putting out records on Mod Lang. I think it's a control issue.
I produce my own records. I write my own songs. I have trouble keeping a band
together because I like to know who's in my camp and who's not. I work with Mod
Lang because I know they're not going to cheat me out of one dime."
--
Aidin Vaziri