Interview: Plants
Indieworkshop.com

Josh Blanchard's and Molly Griffith's romantic relationship begat their musical relationship. Both have been very active in the Portland music scene for year now, but it wasn't until the release of the debut album from Plants (The Mind is a Bird in the Hand) on Audio Dregs early this year that the two combined forces to create music together. And if you are in anyway a purveyor of spacious psychedelic folk, you'll be happy that they did. Their album is a shinning example of haunting themes and melodies pieced together to create something that is all at once familiar and new.

Joshua was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule (which was compounded due to a recent move for the couple) to answer a few of my questions about the project, their music and this album.

Was it easier or harder working with your significant other?
A: Well, I'd say a little bit of both. It can be very convenient for creating music "on the fly" since we live together. It can also be a little difficult to separate the music from other issues like, "Why didn't you do the dishes" or "why were you a dick to me last night". It's largely for those reasons that we recently added our friend Jesse Stevens into the mix, to keep us on task

Did it help or hinder the writing process?
A: I'd say it mostly helped the writing process. I'm very prolific with creating songs and ideas and Molly is good with arrangements and cutting out the weaker bits of what I dream up, so we balance each other out well.

What made you guys choose such a drastically different style than either of you had done in the past?
A: Plants aren't inherently that much different from other things we've done in the past. Both of us have such broad tastes in music and have played in such a variety of bands that we don't feel like we had a specific musical identity to stick with, either individually or as partners. I've written many of my songs on acoustic guitar over the years, even with Point Line Plane, and just transposed them into different instruments and styles.

How do you feel The Plants stands apart from a lot of the psych/folk bands?
A: I think we're capable of embracing darker themes without getting too melodramatic. We're interested in leaving a lot of space in our music and sucking the listener in slowly. Much of our newer music barely even fits with the 'psych folk' tag, just kind of all encompassing psychedelia.

Do you plan on making The Plants your main focus?
A: Definitely. I'm all about integrating music into all parts of my life anymore; relationships, vacations, get-togethers. Point Line Plane was the closet thing to a 'rock band' that I've done and is definitely the last as well. Since we recorded "The Mind is a bird in the Hand" we've expanded the scope of what Plants can sound like to us tremendously so we can throw whatever works into the mix to keep our interest.

Who would you consider your influence for The Mind is a Bird in the Hand?
A: Hmm, do you mean as far as other musicians? Its a real hodge-podge of things but we both love Can, Faust, Donovan, Flying Saucer Attack… much along those lines.

You can't mention Flying Saucer Attack to me without me geeking out a bit. I love David Pearce, why do you think he never really hit here in the US? And with the recent explosion of the noise scene, he still doesn't seem to get the respect he disserves.
A: Now that I think of it, you're right. Those records have been my rainy day soundtrack for years but no one talks about David Pierce much these days. There's a bunch of 90's Northwest space rock bands that were very influential to me that should get more props as well. Bugskull, Jessamine, Magnog…

You got to work with a bunch of people on this record. Was it just a matter of getting friends together who were available, or did you have specific people in mind when you starting writing.
A: A little bit of both. We're fortunate in that our friends our also great musicians with very similar open-ended aesthetics to us, so it was kind of a no-brainer who to ask to come in and play with us.

What other projects are you two currently working on?
I put together a monthly event called "The Church of Psychedelia" that plays host to a lot of local acid folk, free-rock and drone music. Molly is getting her Master's degree in Sociology right now, so that eats up most of her extra time. After years of having two or three musical projects at all times I'm enjoying throwing all my energy into one outlet. We just went to the Oregon Coast and recorded a bunch of improvised acoustic jams in two yurts and an abandoned bunker that we're going to call "Totem". We also are starting work on an e.p for a British label, 'Paradigms' and are almost done with a conceptual ambient album called "Photosynthesis". It's fun to be keep busy!

While the psych/folk scene has been gaining a lot of steam over the past few years, it still seems to only be enjoyed by a small faction of the music listening world. Why do you think the scene seems so exclusive?
A:I think that Psych folk demands a certain kind of patience and introspection that few music fans posses. I wouldn't call the scene exclusive per say as I've found folkies to generally be friendlier and mellower than say, noise musicians or punks. I think these musicians have had to create their community and networks since trippy, acoustic music just doesn't fly in the normal rock & roll, bar circuit.

the album seems to have a lot to do with light and love, was it your intention to write such a positive album or did it just happen naturally?
A: Interesting. We both find the album to be pretty dark in tone, a lot of it is centered around death and catharsis. The record definitely starts out more morbid and subdued and then builds slowly to a more optimistic ending. Still, most of the music is very gentle and melodic. We both used the recording process to work out some of our personal demons so it was a positive experience for us.

You've been at this for a long time (the whole music thing), have you ever gotten to a point where you were frustrated and wanted to quit?
A: Oh yes. I had all of my instruments stolen about at one point and seriously considered giving up, but I couldn't quite do it. Music is such an innate compulsion for me that I couldn't ever truly stop. Even, if I'm not recording or twiddling around an instrument there's always music playing in my head. I wish I could turn it off sometimes (especially at night!) but I guess that's just my lot in life.

Are those recordings you've finished going to be coming out soon?
A: Yeah, The release for the Paradigms label is scheduled to come out in September. It's going to come out on our friends' label, Collective Jyrk, before we tour in August.

Are you already working on a follow up album for Plants?
A: I guess the closest thing to an 'official 2nd full length' would be the Photosynthesis recordings which are 90% done. We've been talking to a couple labels that I'd be really excited to have it released with but nothing's set in stone yet. Believe it or not we also have a full album's worth of poppier songs written and ready to record, but we're holding out on those ones for a while.

Do you try and work lyrical/musical themes into everything Plants records?
A: I think every album should be a "concept album" on at least a certain level. I'm not talking about double album epic fantasy volumes or anything (though, I love that shit) just keeping material for each record on the same thematic wavelength; be that lyrically, inspirationally or even what key the songs are in. I definitely have a lot of self-restrictions when I write lyrics for Plants. No direct mention of current culture or events, no technology, etc… hopefully that keeps things timeless and a little bit mysterious.

- Jake Haselman | 2006-07-31

The Plants
Written by Guillermo Escudero
Friday, 28 April 2006
Loop.cl

The Plants based in Portland, Oregon is comprised of Joshua Blanchard on voice and guitar and Molly Griffith on cello and piano. They create an intriguing psychedelic folk with a strong spiritual component based on their interest on folklore, nature, animals, plants, mythology, cults, religious rituals and the supernatural. This last is reflecting in the slow and obscure songs. In relation with music they are interest on modern ambient composers, 60’s acid folk and ancient musical texts.

Blanchard has been composing songs since a decade and has played with several bands whereas Griffith is classically trained in medieval music and harpsichord and also she has played in some Portland’s groups.
The Plants recently released the album ‘The Mind is a Bird in the Hand’ on Audio Dregs in which collaborated Michael Hendrickson [Jackie O Motherfucker], Brian Foote [Nudge] and Jason Buehler [Nice Nice].
Link of interest www.audiodregs.com

Your music it has a spiritual feeling and produces a peaceful state of mind. Which are the issues you are interested in?

Molly: "We are interested in forests, oceans, animals and plants. We especially like Redwoods. Our favorite thing to do is go out to the countryside and forget about the city, make music, and sit in front of a fire all night."
Joshua: "My Father was a minister, and although I have moved away from organized religion in my own life I have a deep interest in spirituality. I am especially intrigued by folklore, mythology, cults, religious rituals, false gurus and the supernatural."

My interpretation of the album’s title “The Mind is a Bird in the Hand” is that the mind can fly and go everywhere but nowadays there is lack of birds in our minds. What’s opinion and please tell us about the ancient musical texts you collect?
Molly: "When a person is nervous their hand shakes and clenches. Envisioning your mind as a small bird in your hand helps to calm the hand, and thus the mind. Neither of us really collects music, but we nonetheless have vast amounts of it. I particularly like French Baroque harpsichord music and Joshua likes finding music from the 60’s that he’s never heard before."

What represent for you the psychedelic movement in the 60’s?
Molly: "The psychedelic movement was about letting go of limitations in thought and this manifested itself in all art forms, particularly music. I was fortunate enough to meet and speak with Ken Kesey before he died, and his attitude of perpetual wonder and enthusiasm for all life is, to me, the best representation of the psychedelic movement."

Do you have any side-projects?
Molly: "Joshua sometimes writes music with his old bandmate from Point Line Plane, but otherwise, no. Plants is all-consuming!"

Text Guillermo Escudero
April 2006