Tuesdays Robot
Tuesdays Robot
In today’s polarized political climate, it’s hard to stay neutral, especially when you aren’t.
And Minneapolis’ Tuesdays Robot members Rick Robot and Andrew Bartelson, whom you may know from Great Big Dreams and The Como Ave Jug Band, have moved on from the 4-track demo to release a full-length album filled with opinionated social commentary on love, peace and the justice system.
The boomer generation will recall a time when bands used subtlety and adept lyrics to convey their opinion about world events like, say, a war. But in today’s culture of Dixie Chicks/Green Day/Anti-Flag “f-u if you don’t agree with us” liberal Bush-bashing for the hell of it (cough, CD sales), it’s refreshing to see a band take a note from 60s protest songs — and time will tell which is more effective.
And speaking of 60s protest songs, Tuesdays Robot’s self-titled debut is rich in Dylan influence across 14 tracks of blues, bluegrass and acoustic folky goodness. Favorites include the titles-speak-for-themselves: “Constitution Blues,” “Talkin Global Warming” and “Another Cup of Tea.”
We sat down with Rick Robot to talk about exactly what a “tuesdays robot” is, if selling out is really bad any more and what could be more boring than monsters eating your genitals. Read on…
What’s the back story of the band?
Me and Android met in Duluth when I joined the band Great Big Dreams. After a couple years we all moved down to the cities and rented a house in Richfield where we started the thing as a side project. The songs i was writing really didn’t fit with what we were trying to do with GBD, so I needed another outlet. We recorded three discs on a four-track I’d had but it wasn’t until GDB broke up that I had the time and resources to do an album you’d be comfortable enough to send to a CD manufacturer. And so we were a two-piece for almost five years until Josie joined on piani, and then within the same month Hempy got back from New Zealand and got a cheap slide guitar on the net and started jammin with us. I think Hempy’s nickname (it’s his last name) is much more entertaining as he hates any kind of smoking. It’s kind of a “Heroin Bob” from SLC Punk thing.
Where did the Rick Robot thing come from?
It was a nickname in high school. I’m not sure why people started calling me robot, might’ve been to do with the fact that I was a serious space cadet. In college when I first started thinking about being a songwriter I just thought it would be funny to use it because it makes you think more techno DJish type, but then when you hear the songs it was the same old sad bastard songwriter stuff. Also no one can pronounce my last name correctly (it’s “wh-dean”), so that option was out. The name was ultimately vindicated when I read that my favorite guitarist’s first band was called “Robbie and the Robots.”
Is Tuesday’s Robot more I,Robot, Conky 5000 (Pee-Wee’s Playhouse) or Maximum Overdrive (that movie with AC/DC soundtrack where appliances kill people)?
Ah jeez I have no idea. The name didn’t start with any preconceived robotic concepts. Mostly I just thought it sounded cool. Then later I started to think up this theme where it could possibly represent a kind of placid, complacent, and lethargic human state. A “tuesdays robot” being someone who goes to work, does their taxes, passionless, tired, and blank. But then again you could interpret it like Tuesday is a get some sh*t done kinda day, and there are attributes of robots that I do like: unbiased awareness, free from negative passions, physically durable and perennial. Oh, wait that’s why I admire Buddhist monks… I’m not really a fan of ascribing one meaning to anything one creates; it’s just a sure-fire way of making it boring and irrelevant. Again, with this particular creative endeavor, the chicken came before the egg. That is to say, there’s usually something there already before we try and give it any meaning, which is how it usually happens with us.
Do you guys actually dress up like robots to perform? Would you?
Naw, it’s not really and aesthetic thing, more of a conceptual slash nothing-at-all thing. Hmm…it might be fun to try, although currently I’ve been trying to do this “wear my vest from Hinckley till it smells” kinda thing. I’ve always been a pretty good poser. I mean, its fun to pretend to be something you’re not. I suppose I’ve never really subscribed to the “stay true to yourself,” “don’t sell out” and “don’t be a flip-flopper” mumbo jumbo. Mainly because it implies that self, and ego actually exist as something permanent, which of course is just silly.
What do you think of the group Captured by Robots?
I’m not really sure who that is but I did just discover a local band called King Richard Robot which is kinda fun because of the name thing. He’s probably either my arch nemesis, or a future soul-mate type with Voltron potential.
Have you ever felt like you may be taken over by soulless machines?
I’m not sure I know what taken over means. Does it mean like if they stole my brain and hooked it up to a tractor, or maybe the Matrix movies? Naw, I’ve never really felt like that. I think robots have been getting a bad rap recently. All i gotta say is remember “Short Circuit”, or “Batteries Not Included”? Thems was some good natured robots.
Now onto the music, describe your sound.
Dylan and The Band wish-they-were music, with a couple of pop tricks here and there.
Dylan-influence worn on sleeve or shrugged off?
For this particular project he was definitely the major influence. When I started picking songs for it I made a conscious effort to pick songs that had topical lyrics. And the thing Dylan has that not a lot of other topical songwriters have is a healthy dose of irony, and the ability to not take sides. I can’t connect with a lot of what I’ll call hate music I hear, even if I’m in complete agreement with it. I mean, it’s expressive, and that’s good, but you’re not gonna change anyones mind, or heal anything. “F*ck bush” or “Love it or leave it” songs really just serve to drive us further apart. Dylan was real good at exposing how ridiculous things were in a way that wasn’t too preachy, and he never made you feel stupid for not thinking like he thought.
Who are your other major influences?
Mostly non music types, philosophers, poets, different gods all the same, lets see here: Ken Wilber, Rumi (Muslim poet), Gandhi, Bishop Spong (Episcopalian), there’s just too many. Lately I’ve been getting into the history of the Jewish afterlife, where there really isn’t heaven or hell and Dante’s Inferno and all that. The afterlife is just described as nearness to god, and distance from god. It’s more boring than monsters eating your genitals, but it does make more sense to me. That whole idea has been feeding my songs as of late.
Pick a track from the album and tell us why it’s a must-listen.
“Tribalism yodel”, which I’ve since changed to “tribalman’s yodel”. It’s really important for me to do stuff that’s pro-peace, rather than anti-war. And I think that song does it up pretty good.
Were you guys psyched to get “Jiminy’s Jump” on the Rift compilation CD? Have you felt any pick-up from that exposure?
It’s a hard thing to judge. A day after our first CD review I got a myspace message from a Turf Club booker asking us to play, so I’m guessing that the two were related. Success I think for me is more about connectiveness. Sure I want to be a rock star, but mostly I want to know that there are other people who feel the way I do about issues you just don’t often bring up in social circumstances. Songs are a good way to break the ice. Actually, I was quite scared that releasing this album would ostracize me from many of my conservative/republican family and friends, but so far it’s mostly served to the opposite effect, for which I’m very thankful.
Upcoming gigs/other news/other things to add?
Hmm, news… Turf Club Tuesday August 29th, then KFAI LSD on September 8th, Hexagon on the 16th, and BIG Vs on the 25th. And Pluto has been stripped of its planethood, I mean, come on you guys, hasn’t anyone found a cure for Parkinson’s yet?
