Brad Wood: Stylistically, the early sessions seemed unfocused and more traditional sounding (to my ears). John had a notion of how he wanted things to sound &, frankly, I didn't like it. As far as "working relationships", I recall not liking the chemistry between Liz, John & myself. Its no coincidence that I haven't spoken to John in ages. Working with Casey was a big improvement: he is a musician, for starters & we were pretty much on the same wavelength when it came to getting sounds. I doubt any early sessions survive: we were perpetually broke & re-used a lot of the 1" multi-track tapes that make up the Guyville sessions.

> > 2. A question about the Exile in Guyville master tapes. The tapes were MIA at one point, unable to be found in the Capitol vaults. It was rumored that you located the tapes in storage while back in Chicago. Can you confirm that the master tapes have been located and are you aware of any plans for them (remastering, re-issue, etc.)?

Brad Wood: The Guyville multi-tracks were missing for quite a while & I spent a lot of time searching for them. I went so far as to contact Atlantic & Capitol Records in advance of the 10th anniversary of the album's release, but there was no record of their being logged into any storage system. In early 2004 I had a friend ship the last of my old studio equipment from Chicago and, there in the first box, were the Guyville tapes. I felt (& still feel) like an idiot, especially after growling down the phone line at various unlucky label staff. The tapes were shipped to Liz' management in Chicago. I do not know of any plans for their use.

> > 3. Out takes > The tracks that made it on to Exile have gone down in history, but was there other material that was worked on during these sessions? Were some tracks worked on but tabled and were later ressurected for the whipsmart sessions? Were others just set aside and never used?

Brad Wood: Looking at the track sheets for Guyville, there was very little, if any, material not already in use. There is a slight chance that a DAT of rough mixes from the "Henderson" sessions might exist, but I haven't seen it. Very unlikely.

> For Whipsmart, other tracks were done but not used like Six Dick Pimp. Any other additional work from these sessions that were tabled or that showed up on Space Egg?

Brad Wood: No. There were no other extra tracks, as I recall. WCSE was a completely different era that began years after Whipsmart.

> The Space Egg Sessions, Liz stated that you guys demo'ed 12 songs during your work at the Velvet Studios but i believe only five of the tracks made their way onto the album. Any info you can give us on these other tracks?

Brad Wood: Liz worked @ Velvet Shirt Studio before I came on board there. The songs that I worked on all appear on WCSE. There was no extra work recorded with me for that record, but Liz tracked a lot of songs in Los Angeles and in studios in Chicago. Again, I have no info about those sessions.

> 4. Expectations: The initial expectations for Guyville were low. Liz thought it would sell 3k copies, Gerard Cosloy thought it would sell 5k, and you and casey thought it would hit big and sell about 30k copies. It went on to sell 300k initially and eventually went Gold. Did the lack of expectaion help the creative process? Did the ensuing success of EIG hinder Whipsmart?

Brad Wood: Making Exile was a breeze, once the logistics were simplified. Liz had moved to her parent's house, making for a long commute to the studio. It was slow going, since recording had to be squeezed in around my work schedule at the studio and as a janitor. When Matador signed Liz, she sublet an apartment close to the studio & we established a good work pace. There was no thought given to sales at the time. When Whipsmart sessions began, there really was no thought given to sales either. I know I felt pressure to play the drums better, but we still spent lots of time finding fun ways to record stuff: the Casey-spun giant Leslie guitar part on Nashville, recording the Shane drums with an old dictaphone recorder, mic'ing a toy car for the ratchet sound on XRay Man, etc... I felt pretty unfettered then, but Liz seemed unhappy.

> In my interview with Casey Rice he stated: "I think what did differ, however, were the decisions made about how to mix the record. I felt like the others were second guessing who this new Liz Phair audience might be (since the first LP had sold quite a bit), and trying to tailor the sound to meet expectations. I thought we should have just carried on with the way the first one sounded, but I think there was some push to somehow "improve" things." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? If so was it a function of Indie vs Major label Release?

Brad Wood: No, I don't agree with that statement, as far as it applies to me. What Atlantic or Matador or Liz' audience wanted was honestly not a concern of mine. Gerard & Chris never offered anything other than full support when I spoke to them. Atlantic never even called until after the record was delivered & David Kahne was hired to mix a radio version of Whipsmart. David was really cool to talk to & even came to Chicago to chat further. It started a friendship that has lasted for 12 years & his advice through that time has been helpful to me... I felt really happy with Whipsmart and it remains my favorite Liz record from a sonic standpoint. The second half of that album kills me. Mayqueen? I'm really proud of that.

> 5. Casey decribed the creative process on EIG this way "Listen to her four track versions of the tunes, and try to come up with ways of doing them as a 'band'. I do recall there being no lack of candor and if someone wanted to do something, we tried it. If it sucked, no one would hesitate to say so if they believed it." Were there any songs that just didn't translate well when attempted, or some that took many different iterations before they reached their final version on Guyville?

Brad Wood: The early sessions were mostly misfires, with only one song, Johnny Sunshine making the record (I think). Since most of the songs were built from the guitar and vocal, anything that didn't sound right was discarded. Mesmerizing took a few tries to get the percussion right, but most of the songs had a long time to develop, due to the time constraints in 1992 (see above). We would do a lot of thinking in between sessions...

> 6. You have mentioned Fuck and Run as one of the first tracks you and Liz worked on and how it totally captured the sparse sound you were looking for. For you, what are some of the other highlights that stick out at you when thinking back on the album? One for me is Stratford On Guy and the other worldy intro with the drums. How did you get that sound?

Brad Wood: Fuck & Run is my sentimental favorite. It was the night that Liz & I finally got something recorded that made us both dance around & sweat. It happened quickly & pretty effortlessly, in between PBS shows on channel 11. It was right: simple, driving, direct & blunt. I was glad that the new version was so different from the Girlysound tapes- such dark lyrics tied to such a happy beat. I liked the contrast... The drums on SOG were tracked with one mic, then that track was recorded onto another track on the 1/2" 16-track that was locked to the 1" 16-track. While it was in record, I manually changed the offset of the 1/2" machine by sub-frames to slowly slow down/speed up the eventual playback giving you: flange. Sounds hard, but it wasn't... So many great moments, but it all comes down to those amazing lyrics. Just the best stories. Liz could really take you places with her words.

> 7. I noticed in the whipsmart credits on Chopsticks that there is a credit for John Henderson for distorted guitar. Was Henderson still in the loop at this point, this a misprint, inside joke, or nod to some creative decision he made back in the day during the Guyville sessions?

Brad Wood: That version of Chopsticks dates back to the earliest sessions for Guyville on which Henderson played a guitar part, which is why he is credited. No inside joke or any such sinister intent.

> 8. You mentioned your love of Whipsmart sonically, and the strength of the second half of the album. These are sentiments i have echoed in many a discussion on Whipsmart. It seems to be a much more rhythmic album, it has an undulating feel when listened to straight through. It is also a very good example of Musical synergy. The individual tracks are good but taken as a whole they rise way above their individual parts, and there is such a beautiful flow to the album. Could you comment a bit on the masterful sequencing job that went into Whipsmart? What other conscious decisions went into crafting an “album” as opposed to just recording 12 or 14 songs to throw on there?

Brad Wood: I recall Liz wanting a blueprint for Whipsmart similar to Guyville, but the sequencing ultimately fell into her capable hands. She did a great job of putting that order together. Casey may have helped, but I know I didn't. Sequencing a record is really the last chance for a band/artist to obsess and fool around with their document before it is presented to the public. It can be a very emotional and even traumatic process and is best left, I think, to the musicians who wrote the songs. Not to mention that I don't think I am very good at it...

> 9. Could you comment a bit on the two different sessions that went into the recording of Whipsmart. What were the musical highlights for you of the Chicago and Bahamas Sessions? What was accomplished in the Bahamas that you couldn’t get in Chicago?

Brad Wood: The Chicago sessions were a bit perfunctory. I didn't like recording at Idful in the winter- the heating was spotty at best and it was the time of year that reminded me most of all the shortcomings of that facility. When it came time to record vocals, none of us felt too inspired and the suggestion to record somewhere else, preferably warmer, was all we needed to go to Compass Point. That was a great time. We slowed the pace and mostly recorded vocals, watched the 1994 Winter Olympics on satellite tv, drank local rum, played pool, hung out with Ozzie (our assistant), Terry and Sherri Manning, ate food. It seemed a good time to reflect. I liked it a lot, but I don't know if it affected the sonic outcome of the record. We just took a bit of a working holiday, that's all.

> 10. Of the songs that you did with Liz for whitechocolatespacegg, several had a more electronic feel to them (What makes you happy, Johnny feelgood, Uncle Alvarez). Was this a joint decision? A function of some of the other albums you were producing around that time (Smashing Pumpkins' Adore, Whale)? Or her working in a similar vein of some of WCSE's tracks (Headache, the title track)?

Brad Wood: The electronic touches reflected what I was listening to at the time. I was really enjoying electronic music and thought Everything But The Girl's integration of techno, drum & bass & house was brilliant.

> 11. Before > > working with you on WCSE, Liz went back and listened to her earlier stuff and was blown away.

Liz Phair: I don't look back very often, and that's a fault, because it would behoove me to re-examine my previous work more often. What it did was really shock me, because I realized just how much that was special about it was owed to Brad. I had always assumed I had all these great ideas -- and I did -- but a lot of it was him, in terms of how things sounded, and the way he miked the instruments, or the way he mixed it. And I was just flabbergasted at how much of his talent had maybe been taken for granted.

Do think this realization lead Liz to abdicate ownership of some of the musical portion of her work and make some of the musical decisions she did with her most recent albums (self titled, Somebody's Miracle) as far as her choice of producers and shared songwriting?

Brad Wood: I can't know what Liz was thinking when she chose to work with other songwriters, but I was happy to read the above quote! Its nice to get a compliment like that anytime. I think Liz' last two records are a testament to how difficult it is to interpret her music successfully.

> 12. While you produced several tracks for WCSE, Tom Lord Alge was brought in for mixing. Most of the work you had done with Liz previously you were able to do mixing also. Was it odd to not have final approval on your tracks with Liz? What were your opinions of his work on your tracks? IMHO, he kinda butchered the intro to What makes you happy, I prefer the earlier version with the acoustic guitar intro. That original intro was a nice juxtaposition to the sonic boom of the rest of the track

Brad Wood: I think TLA did a fine job of mixing- remember, he had to piece together tracks from many different sources. I don't remember the old intro, but the final version of WMYH was not exactly what I had in mind- a different beast, but still cool.

> 13. I'll end the interview with a pretty predictable question. I know you and Liz have remained friendly over the years. Can you forsee any possible collaborations with Liz again in the future?

Brad Wood: Highly unlikely. I hardly recognize the artist she is now and, unless she were to change artist direction, I don't know what I could possibly offer her in the studio.

a couple of new questions circa 9/07

1. An article on you in paste magazine referred to your penchant for "referencing" ie listening to the material and putting the arrangements in context(Talking Heads-like rhythm section,” “Harvest-like verses,” “Spiritualized second half,” “Sly & Robbie reggae beat,” etc)

Other than the Stones references, were there any other instances (bads, sounds) that might not be obvious to the listener but that inspired some of the sound of Guyville? I know that you researched some of the recording techniques of the Beatles and Led Zepplin around that time, did they influence the sound any?

Brad Wood: The flanged drums sound on Stratford-On-Guy were a reference to Zepp, but I can't recall the specific song. Sorry. Less specifically, a lot of the sound of EIG was influenced by the Velvet Underground's "Andy Warhol" record. A near perfect record w/a great sense of rhythm. Also- I remember thinking about how great Unrest sounded at the time & Fuck & Run may have a debt to the Feelies' "Good Earth" record. Oh- and I had recently re-discovered Young Marble Giants' "Colossal", which I referenced for Gunshy. Lastly- Jeffrey Lee Pierce put out one helluva record called "Wildweed" that I know I listened to when approaching Divorce Song. Go buy all those records- I love them.

Other than the lead By Casey on Mesmerizing, are there some other songs that have that heavy stones influence? Maybe Six Foot One?

Brad Wood: Mesmerizing, Help Me Mary, 6'1", Strange Loop- all these songs are Stones influenced.

2. I'm curious as to some of the decisions made as far as the transfer from Girlysound to Guyville. Take GirlsGirlsGirls for instance. I interviewed Chris Brokaw and he had this to say

"initially i wasn't really crazy about Guyville. i loved the starkness of the girlysound tapes, and thought that that was the best and strongest vehicle for those songs. i also didn;t have much taste for pop music, at the time, and so the popification of many of those songs left me cold. i also was bummed that several tunes, such as "girlsgirlsgirls", had been these long, almost dylan-esque epics on the girlysound tapes, and then cut down to more sort of bite-sized tunes on Guyville. i really did think that liz was selling herself short. i understood what she was trying to do, i just didn't necessarily agree with it. fortunately for her, everyone else did, so...

i listened to Guyville recently and really enjoyed it. it's an amazingly well-crafted album."

GGG's Girlysound version http://girlysound.com/gs/07%20-%20Girls%20Girls%20Girls.mp3

Liz has stated herself that "Never Said" was designed from the get go to be the "Big Pop Song" as opposed to the girlysound version that is a bit more fanciful and playful.

Was there a conscious effort to reign in some of the more far afield, experimental songs like the girlysound version of GGG's to fit with in the context of a rock response record to the stones?

Brad Wood: If there was any conscious effort to tailor songs for commercial appeal, it would have to have come from Liz. She chose the songs & suggested most of the approaches & if we tried for a pop sound, it was probably in fun- "this here's the Pop Song!". Liz put a ton of time into song selection & arrangements. It was a challenge she set for herself & she did very well, I think.

Also, on a song like Shatter (http://girlysound.com/gs/14%20-%20Shatter.mp3), the song works much better on EIG as the mood piece it is, with the extended build of the song before lyrics kick in. Was this recasting of the song motivated by the lyrics (which seem to fit better with the EIG music) or the need to fit a particular space on the album, (ie kind of as a lull in the storm).

Brad Wood: I love Shatter- everything about it: the length of it, the sounds (the pulsing synth throughout is actually me on mallets played on the kitchen through a delay line), lyrics. I followed Liz' guitar on that song- she played w/out a click & the tempo & meter changes were tricky to sync with. To be honest, I've listened to the Girly Sound stuff exactly once- in John Henderson's apartment- & frankly didn't care about how EIG differed, as long as it sounded cool & pleased Liz. EIG is a thing unto itself.