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Interview with Scott Sinclair of Freeloader
By: Patrick Steven Patterson
 Freeloader frontman Scott Sinclair (Guitar/Vox) left what he describes as a 'cushy career' in 1999 to pursue a much more speculative vocation, that of a full-time musician. Soon thereafter, he recruited a couple of solid NYC locals he had met at a Bradlees to hold down the bass and drum obligations and formed the original Freeloader trio - then booked time at a New Jersey recording studio.
The result was Custom/10, a gritty, retro-leaning mixture of Rolling Stones down-home honks and in-your-face bar-rockers which Sinclair independently released in October of 2001. With most recent additions Mason Pitts on bass and vocals and Adam Chasan on drums, this current (and still three-piece) incarnation of Freeloader has been playing dates together nationally for roughly 3 years.
Catching up with the band following recent shows in Nashville and Austin, NowOnTour was able to secure some interview time the band's leader and chief songwriter in his native Texas.
Is it true that you have a Masters Degree in Developmental Economics? And if so, what the hell is that?
It is true. The Food Research Institute at Stanford was founded in the '50s by a group of economists and policy wonks interested in applying economics to the problem of providing food in poor countries. They dealt with questions like "How does a fertilizer subsidy impact the price and availability of rice in Thailand?" or "What is the deadweight cost of a price cap on grain?" Over time, the F.R.I. dealt more generally with the question "What accounts for economic prosperity?" Or, "How did South Korea do it?"
I've seen you guys called a 'power trio'. So does that mean you're like Rush or Triumph or something?
We would like to be in a Rush or Triumph vein, but I can't sing high like those guys. My four-piece high school band used to cover Rush's "Spirit of Radio" and Triumph's "Magic Power". We are a trio, but Adam's playing is more about control and feel than power. Mason uses a bass pedal that's really heavy to suit his "basszilla" moods. People do comment that I'm a busy guitarist for a singer and that we sound full for a three piece. But my voice is too low to win 'power trio' accolades.
Freeloader is an incredible band name...how did you come across it, and how hadn't anyone else gotten to it before you?
It's funny, because Eric "Roscoe" Ambel said the same thing when we were recording at his studio in Brooklyn: that Freeloader was a good band name. And his rationale was that the people he mentioned Freeloader to responded with that same question: "Is that name still out there?" And there is one other Freeloader we learned of over in Scotland. They wrote us once and we agreed we would tour together if we ever jumped the pond. And I think there is an electronica thing called Freeloaderz. The bad thing about the name is that it tends to go plural: "It's Freeloader, not The Freeloaders" we'll say, looking pretentious. The name was lifted off "Freddie Freeloader" on Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. It's a 1930s word that Woodie Guthrie or Tom Joad might have used.
What's the scene like for both your band's music and fans in New York City?
We've got great fans in NYC. We played the Mercury Lounge on the President's Day blizzard, just before this tour, and none of the other bands could get there, so Johnny asked us "Do you guys want to do it?" and we said "What the hell" and Maggie wrote "The Unstoppable Freeloader" on the board and we played for an hour and a half and drank for another two hours with the snow swirling outside. There were no cars on the road, but we had 60 die-hards there for the whole night, and 40 of them were attractive women. Nobody wanted to leave.
You seem to be touring almost constantly. What is your general plan for how often to play, and how do you create your routing/select where you are going to play?
We're on the road half the time, playing 5 or 6 nights a week. We've been doing a spring tour and a fall tour to California that lasts six weeks. And we've been doing a few month tours to Texas and back. We're hitting markets on the East Coast and through the South to Texas every couple months. We've built our routing by spending time in towns, getting to know people, making clubs money. At this point, we've got venues we like in DC, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston, Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Nashville, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago that know us and want to book us. So it's a matter of getting a few anchor dates at good venues on good bills in key markets, and then building the routing from there.
A lot of independent bands have been asking me this recently: How do I get hooked up with a publicist and/or management and/or distribution? Do you have any comments/insight on this for up-and-coming bands?
We're probably the wrong guys to ask about this. We've done everything backasswards. We had national distribution through Red Eye before we had a publicist or management or booking. So we had a record in stores, but no gigs, and therefore nothing to publicize. The thing to do is to start with booking, either by yourself or with the help of a friend in booking or management. Pick the markets that make sense given your music and your ability to get a little foothold, and then work those gigs hard to get people out and make them want to come back. If you can get to a decent draw and start making money on those gigs, you're in a position to expand your reach and maybe attract some decent professional help. I am in favor of doing things yourself as long as you can handle it, because nobody cares as much about it as you. Hire the publicist after your booking situation is under control and you've got the album ready to go, and then try to think three or four months ahead. Thinking ahead is the hardest part, but booking and publicity and distribution demand long lead times.
Have you played with anyone lately that has really impressed you?
We did a SXSW show with Hookah Brown, Rich Robinson's new gig. The drummer played with our friends in Extra Virgin. I'm a Black Crowes fan, but I was a little skeptical about the Hookah Brown thing until that night. Great music, great show, and an exciting direction. We want to open for those guys. The next night we played with a guy named Cory Branan. Great lyrics and wit. The girls who came to see us wouldn't stop talking about how much they loved his show. It got annoying. Cory's doing Letterman on April 2 and we're playing with him at The Mercury Lounge in NYC on Sunday, April 6.
You recently worked with David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven). What was that like, and are there any other geniuses that you've gotten to work with?
We did a seven day session at David's Sound of Music studio in Richmond last year. Brian Paulson was also on that session as engineer and producer. Brian engineered and produced some early Tupelo, Son Volt, and Wilco classics. That session came about as a result of a couple Cracker shows we opened. We came out of it with six songs that we're now showing around. I caught up with David in Austin before the Camper Van show at La Zona Rosa, and we laughed about the session. I told him that working with Lowery and Paulson at the same time was an embarrassment of riches for Freeloader. Here's one of my major influences and there's the guy who recorded Anodyne and Trace and A.M., and they're here to record Freeloader. It was cool. But it was also confusing. Lowery is known to be a natural producer, which is unusual in the way a great ballplayer who excels as a coach is unusual, but he's so full of ideas he's also dangerous. I wish we'd had more time for creative detours on that session. We should have done three or four songs. Others? Roscoe is an evil genius with wicked fingers. He's played in some great bands over the years, and steps up with us for NYC shows when we can catch him.
What's the 'J' in J. S. Sinclair stand for?
John.
So, you guys are killing me...I've been listening to Custom/10 over and over for about 3 years now and I've almost worn out the CD. If I wear it out, do you guys replace that or something?
Yeah, we'll replace it, Patrick
Well, then when can we expect a new record or any new music anyway?
We've got thirteen songs in the can, ready for an astute record executive to market to the masses. We'll have something out by the summer.
Any other comments about Freeloader or the music scene in general?
We're in Austin, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, Charleston, Virginia Beach, NYC over the next couple weeks. Come see us, y'all.
Freeloader – Discography
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Custom/10, J.S. Sinclair |
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