Sweet Japonic Grows Up

The Midwest has a long history of creating sensational music. From Motown's sweet sound to the Chicago blues scene, to Detroit "rock city," Midwesterners just have a knack for producing soul-stirring hits. Today, indie band Sweet Japonic is right in the thick of it, playing their mellowed-out, bluesy rock to audiences large and small in the Midwest and beyond. Sweet Japonic recently released their third studio album, Where My Devils Go, and I had a chance to sit down with lead singer Lucas Wilson and "new guy" bassist Gabe Dutton before their album release party to talk about the album, their recent East Coast tour and representing the 6-1-6.

Last year, you guys were selected to play at ROTHBURY, how'd that come about?

Luke Wilson: Well, we entered an online contest for one of the last spots at Rothbury. There were over 100 other bands in the running and it was all fan votes, reality show style. But we didn't win.

You didn't win?

LW: [Laughs] No. We came in like eleventh place, but they selected us anyway. They really liked our sound and thought we'd fit in – style-wise – with the other bands playing.

What was the ROTHBURY experience like?

LW: Amazing! How else can you describe eating lunch ten feet from Dave Matthews? But honestly, ROTHBURY was the best thing that's happened to Sweet Japonic.

How so?

LW: Right before ROTHBURY, the band was going through a rough period, and yeah, we've had them before, but this time felt like the end. We were breaking up. Then we got into ROTHBURY and things changed. It was reaffirming and the experience was so great. I think we remembered why we enjoy making music together.

What's the biggest challenge of being a self-produced band?

LW: It's so time consuming and expensive. We can't just play the music. We have to figure out the best ways to promote and interact with our fans. Financially, it's all your money. You're limited to what you can do by what you can afford. We're not a rich band. Not by a long shot. We're just blue collar boys from the Midwest. But, I do think we're lucky. Now-a-days, bands have many of the same resources that the labels have. We've been really successful with our grassroots, online stuff. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter...we take advantage of all that. ROTHBURY is a great example of that. It's not always handed to you. I really believe that if you have faith, have soul, believe in what you're doing and work hard...you'll make it.

Sweet Japonic recently went on an East Coast Tour; tell us about that.

LW: In one word. Awesome. We took a leap. We left our comfort zone in the Midwest and we were really well received. Our music goes over really well on the East Coast.

What types of venues did you play?

LW: Everything from small bars to larger clubs. We met a lot of people. It was really surprising to have people who'd never heard of us spend their money to come listen to us and buy our CDs and merch. Everyone was so supportive out there.

[Gabe Dutton, the band's new bass player, joins the conversation.]

Gabe, you're the "new guy" what's that like?

Gabe Dutton: It's been really awesome. These are great guys to play with.

That's a lot of testosterone in a very small space. Were there any fights?

LW: Not one. You could not have 5 more different guys but we've learned to have patience with each other. We understand each other's temperament. It can be hard sometimes, but we respect each other.

GD: I'd been playing with them for a bit when we went on tour and I thought that'd be the big test-five guys in an RV...but it couldn't have gone any smoother. We became brothers.

You made this trip in a 30 foot RV. How did you spend your down time?

LW: We had a few days off here and there. We camped. Went to the cape. Went fishing in Vermont.

GD: Our lead guitarist, Matt Young, is an avid fly fisherman. We went to this tiny bait shop in "Nowhere's Town" Vermont and bought the place out. They told us some good places to fish. It was beautiful and relaxing.

What's the one thing that sticks out in your mind from the tour?

LW: [Laughing] Driving our RV down 5th Avenue in Manhattan. That was...something.

GD: Definitely! I was the guy driving. We went top to bottom on 5th Avenue. We were trying to get onto the FDR and some guy driving next to us started yelling in his really thick East Coast accent, "Ya can't take that on the FDR!" So we worked our way to 5th. At one point, some of the guys jumped out and ran alongside. Very crazy. I'll always remember that.

Tell us about the new album. How has it evolved from your others?

LW: Style wise, it's more alt-country, rock and soul, with some blues. It's a more mature album. It's more planned than our others. We really wanted to capture the Midwest sound. We're surround by Chicago blues, and Detroit rock, Motown and folk from Ohio. As musicians, we all have different tastes and we wanted to blend those tastes together and represent where we grew up.

Luke, you write all the lyrics, are those different this time around?

LW: Definitely. Before, the music always came first and I would write poetically to fit the sound. Lots of metaphor, very highbrow. This time, I wanted to tell stories. It's less metaphor and more fantasy.