Joe Glass: "I Really Needed To Make a Rock 'n' Roll Palette Cleanser"

Joe Glass has been steadily shaping a musical world of his own, one that runs parallel to, but distinctly apart from his work in the live version of Sharp Pins. He's spent the last few years writing, scrapping, re-recording, and rediscovering what excites him about rock 'n' roll, landing on a sound that's louder, faster, and more personal than anything he's released before. His new record, Snakewards, is full of brilliantly disheveled pop gems and ragged rock 'n' roll that feels both nervy and wide-open, reminiscent in a way to Love as Laughter, The Super Friendz, and Matthew Grimson. Punchy hooks, quick turns, and a restless, heart-on-sleeve 4-track grit. Below, we chatted with Glass and dig into the stories and ideas that shaped Snakewards and the path that led him here.

Hot Sounds: Where did you grow up and how exactly did you develop an interest in playing music? What do you think made you want to go into this creative direction?

Joe Glass: My dad is a big music fan and writes rock songs. He introduced me to a lot of classic stuff that I still emulate to this day, like The Who, The Beatles, and Wilco. We would listen to a lot of music growing up. Some of my earliest personal musical memories are from mowing the lawn in elementary school. I would listen to The Beatles' early stuff, and yell swear words because no one could hear me over the mower. Around that same time, I took piano lessons from a deaf lady, and they never really took. I'd start tickling the ivories, playing my assignment, and when I was finished, she would say (yell), "Okay Joe, you can start playing now!" I got tired of repeating myself. 

HS: When did you first start recording music on your own? Do you remember the first song you had written or recorded?

JG: I wrote my first full song, "Aint Nothin' Here," when I was twelve. It’s a White Stripes-inspired bluesy punk song about growing up in Rockford, IL, without any other kids around who played music. When I listen back, it’s hilariously angsty and jaded for a twelve-year-old who just started playing guitar. I had high expectations since I watched rock docs all the time. The song was recorded on a Tascam digital 8-track to a floppy disk or something similar. My dad would help me program a drum beat, and he'd also lay down a little bass line on his Duff McKagan signature model Fender. Most of those recordings are still up on Soundcloud. I was into writing hooky pop-rock stuff; I thought I was Kurt Cobain. My favorite pedal was called "Superbadass Distortion"... yeah.

HS: Aside from playing music, what are some fun super statistics of Joe Glass for the die-hard fans?

JG: I'm pretty sure I've caught an animal on every Sharp Pins tour. On our first tour, I snagged a Broadhead skink at Mammoth Cave National Park. Skinks are really similar to anoles or geckos, and this one had a really psychedelic oil-slick pattern on its belly. On the second tour, in Oakland, I caught four salamanders in the same day; one  was bright purple, five inches long, and the consistency of a moon gel; the others were quite small. I’ve been catching small critters since I was a baby. Mostly frogs and turtles and shit, but one time I grabbed a chipmunk with my bare hands, and it didn’t bite me. I actually held it for several minutes. My biggest regret is fumbling this huge snapping turtle when I was six. I grabbed it by the tail, and I was so shocked that I just let go. Next time that won't happen.

HS: What can you tell me about your new album Snakewards and what period of your life were you in when you recorded its thirteen tracks? 

JG: This record is a pretty honest reflection of the last three or so years of my life, songwriting-wise. After my first record, I spent a lot of time playing in bands, meeting people, and going to shows. I was demoing and recording through the built-in mics on my Tascam digital 8-track (that's how I made my first record), but I wanted to go a little more pro with the recording. I tracked with a few people and eventually got tired of that process and the material I was making. Around this time, the Sharp Pins stuff started happening, and I was thrilled to be playing rock n roll again. I bought a four-track and started demoing stuff that I thought would be exciting live. I have a lot of fingerpicking-based music that didn't make it on this record, but will come out someday. I really needed to make a rock 'n' roll palette cleanser. Hanging out with Kai [Slater] and Peter [Cimbalo] definitely made me connect with my roots. We listen to The Stones a lot. My favorite is Beggars, Kai's is Exile, and Peter's is Goat's Head Soup. Kinda makes sense! They’re obviously both fantastic musicians and songwriters, too, and really inspire me with their own stuff.

HS: How did you approach the songwriting on this album? What did you find yourself mostly writing about?

JG: I can't help being earnest when I’m writing. Most of my songs are focused on personal emotions and then boiled down into something more universal. It's usually cheesy…like "don’t give up" or some horseshit, haha, but I genuinely find it important to "go for it" and write songs like that, rather than always opting for "chill" vibes, or breakup songs. Every once in a while, I will write a Dylan-esque storyline/character song like "Oscar's Midnight Ride" or "Freight Train Woman," but most of the time, I keep it expressive because it is scarier for me. A lot of the songs are about love; some of them aren’t about much, but rather just catchy folk tunes sped up to 1000. I just write folk tunes and then rock them up. Jeff Tweedy said something about that in the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot documentary — always inspired me. I also saw this bullshit on Instagram about how it took Picasso a lifetime to paint like a child. I’m no Picasso by any means, but that’s a cool philosophy. I could play "Eruption" at one point, and have consciously opted for the simpler things…on this record. I’m trying to make something that doesn’t need a lot of production help, hence the dry production and short songs. I really don’t like repeating myself. I’m a "two-verse" kinda guy. 

Photo by Braeden Long

HS: Diving into some of my favorites, how did "New Pose" come about?

JG: This was actually the last song I wrote and recorded. I was smearing drywall mud for my mom’s boyfriend and listening to the New York Dolls, and I started assembling an imaginary punk/garage band. I think I had the title a few days earlier. I'd imagine I was subconsciously inspired by "New Rose." I was listening to The Damned a lot at the time. Machine Gun Etiquette specifically, but that first record sticks like glue. Everything on "New Pose" is four-tracked. The guitars are through a solid-state practice amp. I was trying to write something Buzzcocks-esque.

HS: What's the story behind "Freight Train Woman"?

JG: It's a loose narrative about a crazy lady. I see her as an acid casualty of the '60s or something like that. She’s the type of person who still doesn’t have a cellphone and dated Syd Barrett in 1969, but never mentions it. A total space cadet, with a troubled past. Even when she is there, she's not there, you know? She is on a different spiritual plane altogether. We all know someone like that.

HS: What inspired "Man Who Lost His Diamond"?

JG: I had made several versions of this song, all of which were too relaxed for my liking, so on the third version I cranked the trim knob and blasted the guitars through an overdrive pedal straight to cassette. The drumming was inspired by Paul Collins, specifically that TV footage of The Nerves playing "You Won’t Be Happy." No fills! Melodically, I was emulating Steve Malkmus a bit. I really like it when he hits one falsetto note in a melody. It's a great hook. Production-wise, it's GBV or Ramones, or, dare I say, the first Strokes record. Gordon Raphael is a genius. I just wanted it to sound old.

HS: The album's closing cut "It's A Drag" was included in the second half of our last compilation tape Snap! Crackle! Pop! Where The Action Is Vol. 1. What can you say about this one? 

JG: This song happened really quickly. It's not the most "Joe Glass" track, so to speak, but it’s some of my finest "classic trope" songwriting. I pitched it to Kai as a Sharp Pins tune, and we ended up playing it live several times. It wasn’t going to go on my record, but Kai and Peter convinced me. I recorded it in 30 minutes on an iPhone with the built-in mics, which is why it sounds so crystal clear and wide. The drums were recorded first with a rough structure in my head. I hadn’t written the bridge when I recorded them, so it’s really short; it’s squeezed into one verse's worth of time.

HS: Looking back at your previous releases, how do you feel Snakewards compares both sonically and thematically? What have you learned or discovered in the process of creating this new record? 

JG: Sonically, this album is a lot punkier. I wouldn't call it punk, but it’s pretty fast and bar-chordy. I'm always influenced by folk and country music, and I think that shows. I think of this album as Punk Wilco sorta. Not exactly, but you get the picture. My last record was a lot slower and cleaner, and more influenced by Television, Pavement, and Nick Drake. This one is Buzzcocks, Wilco, International Submarine Band, to name a few. This was my first time properly recording a record with my own mics and stuff. I’d never used a 4-track before this record, or completely mic'd a drum kit. I was just winging it and trying to enjoy the process of recording to tape for the first time. It taught me a lot about how to get various drum sounds and how to enhance things a bit in GarageBand. 

HS: What has it been like playing these songs out live? Also, who's in The Joe Glass Band? 

JG: It’s a blast. We are a stereo band — two telecasters cranked through a Marshall and a Fender, and often both playing rhythm. Joaquin Cervantes plays electric, Cormick Costello the bass, and Warren Glass, my kin, on the drums. Joaquin is probably my musical soulmate in terms of our views towards rock and roll and fashion. They're a genius guitarist and have the best stage presence in Chicago, hands down. If they ever made an NBA-style silhouette logo for rock 'n' roll, Joaquin would make a great candidate. We also play in a punk band called Soaps with Tyler Aspeitia, who used to play bass in my band. Cormick is a pro. Very stoic guy when you first meet him, but prances around the stage like David Byrne. Never plays out of tune, and never gives me any shit. Really glad he’s in the band. Warren Glass is my little brother. He is a rare talent in  music. His drumming is absurdly tight, and he can play any instrument…plus he listens to me cause I'm his big brother. He is in a band called Receiver who popped up about a year ago. They're like Mission of Burma meets The Breeders.

HS: What have been some of the highlights for you playing bass in Thee Sharp Pins? What do you enjoy most being on the road together? 

JG: Oh geez, I don’t even know where I would start. Kai and Peter are my genius musical brothers. We get along swimmingly 99% of the time, and the other 1% I don't remember. I enjoy the actual shows the most; I’m not sure any of us have ever been in a more dialed group. Playing a tight set of Kai Slater's tracks with Peter Cimbalo's drums is a thrill.

HS: How did you meet Kai and Peter and what is it like working with them?

JG: I met Kai by just going to shows and getting food afterward. I had put out my first record, and he liked it, and I liked his. We bonded over the Buzzcocks and GBV. I had seen Lifeguard and thought they were the shit (still do). Kai was already a Chicago legend at that point via Lifeguard and the zine. I really liked his art and was intrigued by his personality and beliefs. We talk about songwriting a lot. His favorite Beatle is also John. I met Peter through Kai! I had seen him on Instagram and thought he looked badass. I figured we’d meet someday, and sure enough, I met him at one of the Hallogallo Raveup shows. He and Kai performed The Who's "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. That was the moment I really understood just how good a drummer Peter is.

HS: What are some future plans for yourself? 

JG: I just want to keep making music and going on tours. I have a Joe Glass tour scheduled for mid-March, so I’m looking forward to that. Also, the release show for this record is January 10th at the Empty Bottle, so I’m prepping for that. The next record will be weirder, hopefully.

HS: Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?

JG: Empathy is important now more than ever. Hating your neighbor doesn’t do any good. We're all getting screwed by the lizards.