I don’t know if you’ve ever done LSD, when you do, your brain evaluates all these peripheral thoughts that it usually ignores. I get lost in my imagination, and songs are me trying to find a way to translate what goes on in there to other people. JA: I guess I like to think of it as one body of work, but not necessarily a sequel. NWMS: “WP2” sounds like a sequel-and the self-titled debut was certainly cinematic. We really enjoy them as people, so we’re tickled to be off on another adventure with them. JA: I hate sentences that start with “actually,” but… Actually, the first record was on Barrett’s label for the first 10,000 copies, and then Loud & Proud picked it up. NWMS: You went with a different label for this record. Personally, I just try to do my homework so that when we’re together, if inspiration doesn’t show up I still have something to keep the ball rolling. So, as in life, ya just do what ya can with the time ya got. Everyone is off chasing a ball of yarn or licking their own fur. We all have dramatically different personalities with different interests, but when we get to work that diversity manifests into something that works for us. JA: It was a lot like trying to keep kittens in a cardboard box. NWMS: How did you all juggle your other projects to accommodate Walking Papers sessions? It’s definitely a better album because we waited. When we fulfilled that contract, everyone agreed it was time to get the record into the ears and hearts of the fans, where it belonged. We then supported that with a couple of tours in Europe and a couple in the States. Rather than sitting around waiting on other people, Ben and I made the Staticland record. We recorded after our last tour with Aerosmith summer of 2014.
JA: Wishful thinking! We had a solid batch of songs, but when more arrived, they were better. And then there were tour opportunities that kept piling on. It sounded like you were aiming to release it in 2013, so… NWMS: In 2012, you and Barrett talked about already having song structures for a second album. Beyond Walking Papers’ sold-out WP2 release show at The Crocodile on Saturday, that is. Here Jeff explains how his own personal shit-storm informs his lyrics, how the band works around logistical challenges (like McKagan’s commitments to Guns N’ Roses), what they’re doing to remain accessible to fans, and where his songcraft might take him next. He acknowledges past failures and the wisdom gained from them. He sings the praises of keyboardist and fellow Missionary Position member Benjamin Anderson. The only difference is they have each lived through a rock and roll shit-storm and come out the other side as gentlemen, with their senses of humor and humility intact.” That characterization aptly describes the lanky frontman himself. Of his more household-name bandmates Duff McKagan (bass) and Barrett Martin (percussion) he said, “They put their pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. They get together to tell stories with rock.Ĭase in point: vocalist and guitarist Jefferson Angell, when talking with me in 2012 and again this month, focused on life experience, not previous success. It’s the sound of a true “supergroup”- multiple accomplished players who put zero stock in that label. It’s what you get when accomplished artists with wildly varying but equally dramatic life experiences form a band. It’s the sound of a band that’s found its authentic signature, that’s thriving where others would sound cheap and hollow. That’s the shadowy, cinematic world a Walking Papers song creates, be it “Your Secret’s Safe With Me” or “Two Tickets” from the band’s eponymous 2013 debut record, or “Death On The Lips” or “I Know You’re Lying” from their new sophomore effort, WP2. Someone here’s about to hit bottom, experience catharsis, or both. A tinny old radio playing something gritty and evocative: bluesy roadhouse guitar, hard-driving rhythm section, biblical keys washing underneath like an urgent, muddy river. A pistol under a leather jacket, a knife in a well-worn boot. 602 Shares Jefferson Angell – Photo Credit: Ernie Sapiro
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