The touring reunited frontline of alt-country greats the Jayhawks talk to Russell Baillie
Mark Olson laughs about the early days when he and Gary Louris were still finding what worked for them musically.
"That first record was like Woody Guthrie on speed," he says of the Jayhawks' self-titled 1986 independent debut which got things rolling for the Minneapolis outfit.
But it was also the starting point of a group which became a cornerstone of the American alternative country movement - and it served notice of the Olson-Louris musical partnership, one of consistently elegant songcraft and the sort of hand-in-glove vocal harmonies that usually only spring from brothers with names like Everly or Louvin.
"It just comes natural," says Olson of their dual vocal approach. "I guess the thing is, when he sings with other people they try to follow him on the melody, but I don't. I go to a different melody - something I hear in my head."
"We just open our mouths and start singing and it works," says Louris. "Although we work to be better, the basic blueprint of the two of us singing together is pretty much a simple one - he has a low voice, I have a high voice.
"We listen to each other and have the same sensibilities, so it works pretty well."
But it wasn't always harmonious. In the wake of acclaimed albums Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass and having married singer-songwriter Victoria Williams (they've since divorced), Olson departed the band.
When Louris decided to carry on under the Jayhawks banner, that created a rift between the pair.
"Yeah, for about six years we didn't talk to each other and didn't communicate," says Louris. "So we really lost touch."
As the 90s progressed, the Louris-fronted Jayhawks albums took in powerpop/Beatles influences while Olson took a rootsier direction, recording with Williams as the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers and releasing his own solo albums.
Louris called time on the Jayhawks in 2005. He and Olson had already reconnected after an offer to write a song together for a movie - the song got written but it was never used in the soundtrack. Still, it rekindled their creative partnership.
"We got together and talked everything out, realised any differences were really kind of silly and we've never looked back," says Louris.
"As the cliché goes, time heals all wounds and I don't think we've ever got on better than we do now."
Eventually, the Ready for the Flood album was released under the Louris and Olson banner. It was produced by the unlikely figure of Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, the southern hard rock band and Def American labelmates to the Jayhawks in the 90s.
"They had some name for us," remembers Olson, "like northern liberal intellectual something ..."
Yankees?
"Yeah, that was in there too, but we all laughed about it and it turns out that they weren't what people thought they were either. Chris turns out to be a very intellectual guy as far as music is concerned and other things too. He's just a fun guy to hang around. So Gary and I felt comfortable with him."
The pair have been touring as an acoustic duo and the live set they are bringing to New Zealand draws from the early Jayhawks line-up when Olson was still a member, as well as their new album and respective solo records.
While their sound remains pure Americana, Olson sounds slightly rueful that their music has always been appreciated more away from home.
"When Hollywood Town Hall came out we played in London 12 times that first year and our record first got noticed in Holland; that is the first place we got big crowds. And down the road Spain kind of popped."
Louris has a second home in Spain where a full Jayhawks line-up will soon be playing festival dates, as well as playing another in Minneapolis. It's a city with a proud music tradition - Bob Dylan started off playing locally, Prince was born and launched himself on the world from there and the place also produced the likes of Husker Du and the Replacements. Sounds like a good place to start a band ...
"Well, the winters are long so you are going to have to come up with something to keep you busy," says Olson, who like Louris now lives somewhere warmer, in California.
"It's very simple in that the education system in the city areas is one of the better [ones] in the country and there are music programmes in the schools and a slight alcoholic streak. So there are a lot of bars that have music. That's the trifecta right there."
- additional reporting, Steven Shaw
LOWDOWN
Who: Gary Louris and Mark Olson of the Jayhawks
When: Friday, May 15, Al's Bar, Christchurch; Saturday, May 16, Bodega, Wellington; Sunday, May 17, Kings Arms, Auckland
