original photograph by joy wang

The most appropriate introduction to this interview, with a band whose self-released album has honestly struck me in a way very few albums do (much less a debut), is to let others who have experienced the same awe convince you to hear it.
This link speaks for itself.

Hotel Lights founder Darren Jessee speaks with sctas.

 

+ There is no label affiliation that I can see on the debut, was there a particular reason for the distance?

We are looking for a label, and I would love to have this album see a bigger release. It's mostly people such as yourself who have heard it playing in a store and had to buy it and I am thankful for that. It was nice to record without a label looking over my shoulder. For now the album is available at a couple of local record stores and exclusively through cdbaby.com.

+ Chapel Hill (North Carolina) has a firm "indie" label in Merge - is this be a label you would consider releasing the album?

I own alot of records on Merge, and I actually did give a copy of the record to a friend who works there - that would be great!

+ Some may note that you were in Ben Folds Five, with access to a favorable amount of label executives and the sort - why do you think finding label representation for Hotel Lights may be / is difficult? I see that some of the songs on the album have Sony administration.. .

Well ... that was a completely different band for starters. Ben Folds Five were on Sony, and I don't think I would go the major label route again, so many of those contacts are useless. The Sony affiliation listed is my publishing, a big difference between distribution.

+ I read that the album has been in the "recording process" for about 2 years - is this true?

We recorded the album in January (2004) in Richmond, Virginia at the Sound of Music, and it was released about 3 weeks ago - so someone is exaggerating with the 2 years thing. We have played together as a band for nearly 2 years now, and I really wanted the songs to fully materialize before we actually recorded the record.

+ The album was co-produced with Alan Weatherhead, a man I see in many of my favorite albums - had you worked with Alan prior to Hotel Lights? He's also a credited performer on the album as well.

Alan did play the pedal steel (listed: "you come & i go" and "motionless"). He is a great producer and I know pretty soon something great is going to happen with him. I had never worked with Alan before, and with Hotel Lights I really wanted to start new.

+ As for the other members of Hotel Lights, Marc Price was the drummer for another successful Chapel Hill band Archers of Loaf correct?

Yeah, Marc was in Archers of Loaf. He has actually decided that he does not want to tour, so we are playing with a drummer from Richmond, VA - Miguel Urbiztondo. He has played with Camper Van Beetoven and Crooked Fingers as well as others.. .

+ I see that Mark played the (Roland) Handsonic on the record - what songs were it's shining moments? Did you have a chance to use it at all?

Yeah, it's actually mine - I had asked Mark to try using the handsonic on a few songs to break up the textures a bit . "a.m. slow golden hit " and "motionless" are great handsonic moments . It's great for getting that 808 sound.

+ And with touring, do you plan to expand on a bigger tour of the states?

We have toured a majority the east, I used to live in NYC - so we play there. We did tour last year with Nada Surf and that was great. I think alot of booking agents are looking to tour bands that are more aggressive versus bands that are mellow. We're actually playing in October with Cub Country for his cd release here in Chapel Hill.

+ When you play live, do you get requests for your BF5 catalog? You are credited with 'Magic' from '.. Reinhold Messner', and that is a magnificent song.. .

Thanks so much. I'm really excited about the songs I have written for Hotel Lights, so I am more focused on playing these songs live. Magic is a BF5 song, and I will not be playing those songs with hotel lights - sorry. 'Emilia Bright' is another song that people have been requesting - a song that was from the BF5 era that was never really released. Maybe one day, for a very special occasion I will sing 'Magic', for fun. Ben folds gave an amazing delivery of that song in the studio, and that is one of the big reasons people like it so much.. .

+ Was there ever any conflict with your songwriting getting it's time in Ben Folds Five?

I always had ideas, and Ben would read them and decide whether he would like to write a verse or build off of something. My interest was playing the drums, and there was plenty of great songwriting already there. ..

+ Are there any specific songs on the debut that had been written prior to the forming of the band - as in possible songs that may had become BF5 keepers?

A few of these songs were written while I was living in New York, or were started in a hotel room on tour with BFF, but most are new songs written with Hotel Lights in mind.

+ Who plays the majority of the piano on the HL album (specifically on 'small town shit') - I see you and Chris (Badger) are credited. Was this an instrument you played prior to Hotel Lights?

Chris plays piano on "small town shit ", I am playing guitar. Yeah.. I had been playing piano and writing song ideas on it before Hotel Lights. I found an old upright Baldwin Acrosonic at a used piano shop in Sanford, NC. We all agreed piano was something we wanted to hear on some of these songs.

+ Have you heard any records as of late that caught your interest?

Well, I've been listening to Sun Kil Moon, this newest album by Sondre Lerche and PJ Harvey - she's always right on.. .

+ What makes you happy?

hmm....playing in Hotel Lights! Robert Creeley poetry, getting to bed before 5 am.. . Wes Anderson films

 

 

Hotel Lights Hotel Lights ( self-released )2004 "I'm changing as the lemon light creeps in like a song that you'd forgotten" Darren Jessee is the man behind "Magic", one of - if not the - finest tune to have been part of what was Ben Folds Five. As one of the Ben Folds three, Darren was also the man behind the drumset, and a very integral part of the songwriting for BF5's existence and glowing remembrance. Well, the Five split back then, and Hotel Lights is now. This album has risen virtually out of nowhere, being that it was self-released / co-produced (with Alan Weatherhead) by leader Darren Jessee and has only (as of now) seen a strictly word-of-mouth reception. I purchased the record after hearing it in a faithful record store in Chapel Hill, NC - the town that Hotel Lights calls home. At first listen I was thinking a mix between Josh Rouse (see: "you come and i go") and Will Johnson (see: "a.m. slow golden hit") - and this was before I took the time to check the liner notes to see who this band actually was. Honestly, and I do like you, "a.m. slow golden hit" and "you come and i go" are two of the catchiest, purest & most honest sounding songs you've yet to hear. Not to dismiss everything you knew / know about the Five, Hotel Lights did not neglect the time on the keys on this stunning debut (see: "love to try", "small town shit"), but it's the sparseness and subtlety of this albums instrumentation that truly showcases the albums most valuable possession - Darren Jessee's songwriting and spectacular voice. Please hear this album - it hurts me like the distance between lovers that you might not.