On August 4th IndyStar published an interview with Carl Broemel.
Keywords:
For MyMorningJacket guitarist Carl Broemel, Sunday's appearance at the Lawn at White River State Park will be a homecoming show.
While the band rose to fame in Louisville, Ky., and Broemel lives in Nashville, Tenn., the guitarist grew up in Indianapolis. Broemel's alma mater, Pike High School, inspired the band name Old Pike -- a quintet that signed to major-label Sony 550 in 1998, issued the little-heard album "10,000 Nights" in 1999 and disbanded in 2001.
Broemel joined My Morning Jacket in 2004, paving the way for an appearance on " SaturdayNightLive" and the cover of Spin magazine.
He's appeared on three of the band's six albums, including this year's "Circuital." Broemel made his solo debut, "All Birds Say," in 2010.
Question: Between the demise of Old Pike and joining My Morning Jacket, did you have doubts about how everything would turn out?
Answer: There were definitely moments when I was not sure what I was doing. I went out and was a guitar tech for a while. I played in (Indiana-based band) Transmatic and some other bands in L.A. when I was
on the short list of guitar players who would step in and do tours. But it was sort of hellish. Old Pike was, for all practical purposes, my brothers and my best friends . When we decided we were done, it was really heartbreaking. It was weird to then jump around and be in different situations. When I look back, there's really no other way I could have gotten to where I feel like I truly appreciate being in this band.
Q: Rolling Stone magazine named you and Jim James as "new guitar gods" in 2007, but "Circuital" isn't dominated by guitar. Before you make a record, is there a plan for the eventual sound?
A: We always try to make a majority of a record when we're all playing at the same time. This time, we tried to push it as far as we could. There are live vocal takes on most of the songs, so that dictates how it
comes across sonically. We're all playing something, so everybody has to take a job. The songs sound the way they sound because they weren't done once and then redone, with intent of choosing a specific
part. It was, "We got our take. That's what I played that time, so that's it."
Q: My Morning Jacket plays big shows, and you're on magazine covers, but it doesn't seem to be accompanied by invasive TMZ-style attention. Is that the best scenario?
A: I'm in a position now where a person might lose their mind if they meet me or a person might not know who I am. I recently went to a wedding and had a great time. But some people who didn't know me or
(My Morning Jacket) thought that I might possibly be somebody they should recognize. They treated me differently, and I didn't really like it that much. All and all, I do feel like this is the perfect situation. We're trying to focus on playing well and making cool records that we like
