WEST SEATTLE, Washington, February 3, 2010 (WSFB) – Nathan Wade is a local musician and front man for the band Nathan Wade and The Dark Pioneers. He recently sat down with the West Seattle Funblog to discuss his background and style.

WSFB: In terms of your musical background, when did you first realize you were a musician?

Nathan Wade: I used to draw compulsively as a kid, but that was never satisfying enough—it’s a private exercise. Even though I was more of an introvert then, I liked the idea of expressing myself publicly. I started writing songs before I knew how to play an instrument—just lyrics, but I could hear the melody in my head. I was leaning towards piano as an instrument, but then I started to listen to heavy metal; guitar was clearly the path to righteousness.

WSFB: What kind of formal music training did you receive?

Nathan Wade: As a teen, I took guitar lessons off and on, and read a lot of guitar magazines, but as I grew more ambitious, the music in my head was more complicated than what I could easily communicate to other musicians. It wasn’t until many years later that I went back to square one and start taking music classes. I found music theory was easier to understand on the piano than on the guitar—everything is laid out for you on the keyboard—so I guess my initial impulse as a kid probably would have saved some headaches years later. (Of course, I’ve forgotten most of what I learned already.)

WSFB: What was your first guitar?

Nathan Wade: It was my grandfather’s National hollow-body electric that he bought from Sears–I’m not entirely sure of the model because I can’t find out anything about it online. When I started playing it, the strings were way up off the neck and I thought, “if all guitars are this hard to play then fuck this!” I quit playing every other week but eventually became obsessed with making music. I had no concept at the time of lowering the action on a guitar–I was trying to play metal and wanted to shred!

Years later, I played an Electra Les Paul copy that belonged to my dad—I called it my “Lesser Paul.” Then I bought a very metal-worthy Westone…I didn’t have taste in guitars as a teen, but both were easier to play. I’ve since had the action reset on my grandpa’s National and play it on a regular basis. I also play a very different National called a Resolectric, which is a dream for slide guitar and sounds it sounds incredible—I don’t even have to PLAY IT and it sounds incredible.

WSFB: I believe you have an “old soul” vocal style. By that I mean you have marked character and depth in your particular brand of vocal styling. How did you develop this style?

Nathan Wade: As far as learning to sing, just out of high school I worked at a grocery store in Richmond, Indiana that was a 20-25 minute commute. Every day I would sing to the car radio, building my voice. Years later, when I was taking music classes, I also did some vocal training to be more consistent and have better vocal control. I tend to lean towards gritty, soulful music and my vocal style sort of grew alongside my songwriting.

WSFB: Your music comes across as sincere. How and where did you develop this sense of sincerity and conviction?

Nathan Wade: It comes naturally? I don’t know. Things changed musically when I started getting into the Alan Lomax Southern Journey Collection which was a compendium of folk music gathered during the late 1950’s / early 1960’s that captures a lot of live music that was not affected by popular music and radio. This was music that grew out of the local social atmosphere and everyone sang and played with total conviction—it’s too bad, but I feel like we’ve lost touch with that. Religious songs were also pretty prominent in the collection, which sparked memories about my religious past, eventually giving me a new direction to go with as a songwriter.

WSFB: You were raised Jehovah’s Witness, and there are clear biblical overtones in your lyrics. Presumably you had some divergence from the faith with which you were raised. Is this the case?

Nathan Wade: Yeah, I “diverged” when I was 18 and repressed that side of myself for a long time, so a lot of what I’ve been writing hails back to 12 years spent studying the Bible in a very specific type of Christianity. There’s a lot of alienation in the lyrics, too—Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate holidays and there was a sense of being separated from everyone else, especially in school. As an adult, I tend to find comfort in that alienated place, for better or for worse. As for the apocalyptic side of my writing, I think anyone that’s walked away from religion has a little voice in the back of their head that says, “I hope I’m right.” It’s very cathartic to sing about the end of the world, so I like to write songs from the perspective of being very VERY wrong.

WSFB: Who are your musical influences?

Nathan Wade: Wow, that’s a tall list. I listen to a lot of music that has nothing to do with what I’m playing with The Dark Pioneers. Some influences I can name off the top of my head are the late Chris Whitley, (Italian film composer) Ennio Morricone, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Tom Waits. Nick and Tom are consummate showmen, larger-than-life personas like you don’t see much of anymore.

WSFB: You mentioned playing your dad’s guitar (“Lesser Paul”). Is your dad a working musician?

Nathan Wade: Yes, he’s still a touring musician. When I was a teenager, I would see him play and be around that world. I‘d go out wherever he was playing, and watch the show night after night. I learned a lot about showmanship; how to be tight, how to be a stage professional. It frustrates me to no end when I go to see a band around here and they just stand there and play half-assed, muttering at the audience. I feel like if you’re going to get up there – people are coming for a show, so give it to them! I want bands to get nervous if they have to follow us on stage and vice-versa. It should be a healthy competition and everybody wins, especially the audience.

WSFB: What are your favorite places to play in Seattle?

Nathan Wade: The Sunset is always a good time; the Tractor is a great venue, too. We played at the new Crocodile recently (also daunting) and it’s really impressive, especially how thoughtful they are when it comes to the musicians.

WSFB: When we saw you at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard back in 2009, there was a fourth person on stage with you and The Dark Pioneers. Do you often have folks join you for live performances, or in the studio?

Nathan Wade: Traditionally, The Dark Pioneers are a trio. At the Sunset we had Michael Spaly join us on violin and guitar. He plays with several bands, including Creeping Time and Sam Russel & The Harborrats. Lincoln Barr from Red Jacket Mine has also played electric guitar with us live in the past and on our upcoming album – The Gospel of Rust. He did too good of a job, creating these iconic parts that elevate the songs. Unfortunately, he’s really busy with his own band and I’m having a hell of time recreating what he played!

Eventually, we hope to supplement the band with a full-time fourth member so we can do a better job of recreating the recorded songs on stage, but Sam (Collins, bass), Brian (Alter, drums) and I love to reinvent the songs—the album is just a point of departure.

WSFB: Where did you record The Gospel of Rust?

Nathan Wade: We recorded at Two Sticks in North Seattle, owned by Jason McGerr, the drummer from Death Cab for Cutie. Besides being a very “homey” studio (and a drummer’s dream), they made great use of the space. We were able isolate our instruments, maintain eye contact, and record live in the studio—I think that’s extremely important. Technology has made for generations of lazy musicians, so it’s crucial to bring a live mentality to the studio. You can add bells and whistles later, but at the heart of a recording, you can’t beat the sounds of musicians playing off one another.

Stay up to date on shows and album releases here:

http://www.myspace.com/nathanwade

http://full.nathanwademusic.com/