When I get him on the phone, Chazy Prymek is driving with his new friend Michael. He doesn’t really know Michael, and neither do I—they met following a Craig’s List search for a ride from California and… you know what, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is this: When I get Chaz Prymek on the phone, he’s driving on his way to Boulder, Colorado to perform a set under his now modestly-aged moniker Lake Mary. And he’s in a fantastic mood. We’re talking and laughing, and it feels like he’s right here next to me. Like maybe we’re having tea on the porch or something, outside and enjoying the springtime weather. But no, we’re on the phone, he’s in the desert with Michael, I’m at home in my pajamas, and we’re talking about his upcoming set for Communiky Festival. And this is OK… it feels like we’re both dreaming.
This Saturday, he’ll be joined by a fairly large group of like-minded meditative droners at the Tea Arbor showcase as part of the festival’s regularly scheduled programming. So we know what you’re thinking: “Really, Tome? Really, Tome to the Weather Machine, two interviews in a week covering the same festival?” Yeah, really guys. We’re really doing it like that. Because first of all we’ve been short on features for a while. Secondly, the festival is clearly a really extremely cool thing and we think you shoud know about it (scroll down exactly one post for some more evidence). And last but not least, Lake Mary makes some drop-dead gorgeous music we think you’ll like.
But if you’re a regular here at Tome-central, of course you already know this. And you already know that Prymek has issued two releases in the past 12 months, both of which we’ve reviewed. One features heavenly drones and surrealistic tape looping on a split cassette with avant singer-songsmith Jordan Knecht (more on Knecht to follow in the interview below), and the other is a self-released EP that finds Prymek weaning slightly away from his droning tendencies and experimenting with a free jazz/folk music hybrid with highly intriguing results (and is, by the way, still very much free of cost at LM’s bandcamp). Whatever style he’s managed to wrap his acoustic guitar around, beauty seems to follow, and with it something of a unified voice has emerged for the young musician. We had a lot of fun chatting on the phone about various sources of inspiration, leisure activities and the many musical directions Prymek has explored/will continue to explore/wants to explore in the future. We invite you to please enjoy the following interview and to check out his performance at 1PM Saturday at Naropa in Boulder. Need we remind you that we had Lake Mary out for GOLDRUSH this past September and it was wonderful? No… no you already knew that too.
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Lake Mary performs at GOLDRUSH Festival 2011, Denver CO
The TOME: Are you still calling Salt Lake City home base?
Lake Mary: Good question! No, I think I’m going to go with my new territory. We just moved out to Ojai, California.
How’s the new territory treating you?
It’s different, it’s not quite home yet. But it’s nice. It’s 11 miles from the beach. I go surfing every once in awhile, there’s farmland all around. I can’t complain.
Who got in touch with you about Communikey?
When I played Goldrush, I ended up playing at a garden party for Kate Lesta who’s one of the curators of Communikey. So I harassed her enough and gave her that Slow Walker tape, and then eventually she e-mailed me and said if I could get down there I could play a set. I was so stoked. And here I am!
The Sheep Dog EP is different from the other stuff I’ve heard from you. It’s got a lot more instruments and things, more orchestrated. Is that something you always wanted to do, or is that a recent development to add those textures to your sound?
It spawned from when I was getting really deep into some free jazz stuff, like I listened to a lot of Pharaoh Sanders and John Coltrane andthose guys and I was playing in this group in Salt Lake called the Utah Free Jazz Collective. And so through that, I wanted to blend these folky styles and free jazz music and see if I couldn’t make something out of it. So that’s where that came from. I think it came out OK.
Jordan Knecht appears on the record too. Was that a long distance collaboration?
Oh no, he actually played at our house in Salt Lake City… so around 2 AM I made him sing on the song, because I’m a terrible singer, so I don’t usually sing on my albums. But I had this idea to have these wonderful voices sing this song that I’d written, and Jordan having one of the most unique, wonderful voices that I’ve heard, I just figured it was a good time to ask him if he could do it.
Was he just out and around Salt Lake City at that time?
He was passing through on tour. He was in Salt Lake for a few days. We’ve become way good friends over the past few years of touring around. he’s actually coming out to Denver, so we’re going to kick it.
I understand you’ve gone through a lot of different musical incarnations in the past. How has your sound developed through those changes?
In Salt Lake I jumped around bands a lot and played with whoever. I played in Will Sartain’s band and played in Super Buttery Muffins, and a few other different incarnations. I played in Silver Antlers and with Stag Hare. I played in The Devil Whalefor a tour. I think playing around helped me figure out the sound I wanted to make and how I want to approach the music that I make. I think it’s something that has really helped me develop rhythmically and melodically. Listening to the way people sing, and listening to how certain people play the bass in different bands, it’s really helped me narrow down how I want to sound personally.
Would you say Lake Mary is your pet-project? How long have you been making music under that moniker?
Yeah, Lake Mary is definitely my heart and soul. I’ve only been doing it for the last (I guess) three years now. Before, I was going under Chaz Prymek and putting out strictly acoustic albums, and I figured since I was growing and incorporating more, I might as well change the name.
With each release as Lake Mary I’ve noticed you adding more and more different elements of your music. I was curious when you started experimenting with tape looping?
Right before I put out the Slow Walker tape, I got obsessed with the idea of making cassette loops as an album. I’ve been working on it slowly, and it’s a pain in the ass a bit. A good one. That came in to play, and then I finally got my own computer and as soon as I learned how to manipulate sound a lot, I could take the acoustic guitar to places I’d never taken it before.
Your music finds a nice balance between acoustic and electronic elements… that’s certainly been done before, but somehow your take on it feels unique. How do you see yourself fitting into both of those worlds?
I’m definitely not a trailblazer by any means, but I think it’s happening pretty naturally. Most of the music I listen to is electronic or drone/ambient-based, so that’s been working itself into [my sound], and as I’ve been learning more and more about recording myself and learning how to work certain programs like Abelton and Logic, working and getting more pedals and messing around with it, it’s just happening in a wonderful way. And I think I’m also finding a voice in that. Hopefully. Hopefully it’s not just like some dude playing the guitar wishing he was an electronic musician. (laughs) There’s a lot of elements of drone and classical that I really want to incorporate together.
I definitely heard that on the Slow Walker tape more than on The Sheep Dog EP. Do you feel like you’ll be moving back in that direction with your next release?
Yeah, definitely. I know that the next thing that will probably be out is this collaboration album with my friend Eric Rich. He’s a composer and a pianist. Very little guitar is in it so far. Mostly what I’ve done is put in some drones and loops and mixing. He’s done everything else like accordions and pianos and voices and stuff.
It seems to me that because of all the different kinds of instruments that show up in your recordings, your live setup could change from show to show. What’s your favorite setup to perform with?
Yeah, it changes a lot. It’s kind of like the idea that when you go to see a performer it’s usually different every time, which makes it more exciting I think. In Salt Lake I played a lot with a small chamber orchestra, or have friends like Stag Hare and Silver Antlers come sit in on a set. I try and mix it up a lot. In the past I have played shows with a small chamber orchestra or a horn section or some of my dronier friends would come and jam on it. I think my favorite shows that I play are the shows where the crowd can get into it, everybody’s just laying down, hanging out, soaking it in, a really quiet space or a sacred space kind of show. Where the music thrives and the interaction with people is really give and take.
What is your dream configuration—what kind of things do you want to add to your performances that you’re not able to right now?
I’ve been really liking the idea of playing with a huge string section. That would be one dream. And the other would be to throw on a huge dance party. So if I could find blend of that, I think that would be wonderful. One day I’ll put out a dance album. (laughs)
You’ve been self-releasing your own music throughout your career. Have you entertained any offers to get your albums out on a label? What are your goals in that regard?
It would be amazing to put out music and not have to pay for it and have somebody else to book shows for you and all that stuff. If that comes my way, I’ll take it. But that being said, I’m not really versed in shopping things around and I’m really bad at pitching myself out. So until I get better at that I’m pretty sure I’ll just be putting things out myself. And there’s a lot of freedom in that, because you can take your time and you can really make things by hand. Or you can… not. Either way. I do have some things coming out on
Mooondial Records in a few months once that’s back up and running. I’ve been talking to some people around L.A. and Seattle and stuff, so some things might be working out. We’ll see what happens.
You definitely seem like an outdoorsy guy. What are your favorite activities outside of music?
Oh man, right now? Surfing. Number one. I’m terrible at it, but I love it. Other than that I moved into this sick little spot, and my back yard is the Topa Topa Mountains in Ojai, and I have a trailhead less than a minute away from my door, so I’ve just been going hiking a lot. Like every morning and it’s just been beautiful.
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Interview by Crawf
