• Nashville-based quintet is riding the success of latest release, The Wave

By Brent Thompson

Photo Credit: Mick Leonardi

Sometimes a project steers itself and you are smart enough to recognize it and let it happen. That is what Los Colognes frontman Jay Rutherford and his bandmates did for the writing and recording of the band’s new album, The Wave. Released in May of this year, The Wave finds the band changing its recording approach and threading its songs together through common themes. Riding the success of the album and the single “Unspoken,” Los Colognes will perform at Iron City on Friday, October 6 in a show presented by Birmingham Mountain Radio. The band is currently touring in support of Hard Working Americans. Recently, we caught up with Rutherford by phone from his Nashville home.

Birmingham Stages: Jay, thanks for your time. You’re a Chicago native based in Nashville these days, correct?

Jay Rutherford: Myself and Mort [drummer Aaron Mortenson] moved here from Chicago in 2010 and then our bass player moved down shortly after that. [Nashville] is crazy – it’s definitely a little frustrating. Nashville was Utopian when we first got here because it had everything you needed to thrive musically – the people, the gear and the studios. It was cheap and easy to get around. It’s definitely getting crowded now and I want it to stay small [laughs].

Birmingham Stages: If you will, talk about the creation of The Wave.

JR: On the first two records, the songs came more sporadically and at different times. The songs for The Wave all came at once and they all had a thematic through-line. This record was fundamentally different than the first two because we knew the vision of what the album was going to be and we knew how the material was going to interact with itself. It’s meant to be an album experience, but next time around may be totally different. This album kind of wrote itself in some ways.

Birmingham Stages: The press release for The Wave states that these songs were built layer-by-layer as opposed to previous albums that were recorded with a more live approach.  What brought about the change in recording approach for this album?

JR: On [previous releases] Dos and Working Together, we got the full band in the studio and made the basic bed for the tracks live-to-tape and then we went back and added parts. On this one, the material was hearkening a Tina Turner, Roxy Music Avalon, Pink Floyd Division Bell and ’80s Dire Straits vibe and the songs had an ’80s feel, so we built the songs up using ’80s drum machines and we went back and added real drums at the end. It was a conscious decision in that it made sense for that batch of music. We’ve had a lot of practice at making a lot of different kinds of records in different ways. Next time around, we’ll see what the material lends itself to. There’s no right answer when it comes to making a record as long as the final product is authentic.

Birmingham Stages: Do songs tend to change and evolve even after you take them into the studio?

JR: Yeah, definitely. That’s one of the things about me and Mort’s relationship – we compliment each other. It’s very expensive to get five guys in a studio and cut it live. If you’re still working out what the song is, it’s better to do it piece-by-piece. Sometimes you have to chase something and reconstruct and deconstruct.

Birmingham Stages: How would you describe your writing process?

JR: It’s a yearly purge. I’m always thinking about it and Mort and I have a vocal process of talking about where things need to go. Once a year, the valve opens up and I’ll get a bunch of new ideas and I’ll sit on those until it makes sense for me and the band to work on them. I’ve always got stuff in the crock pot. I can’t help it – it’s part of who I am.

Los Colognes will perform at Iron City on Friday, October 6. The band is supporting Hard Working Americans in a show presented by Birmingham Mountain Radio. Advance tickets to the 8 p.m. all-ages show are $27.50 and can be purchased at www.ironcitybham.com.