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Last Updated:
Mar 19th, 2008 - 07:43:02 |
Uncle Kracker
Low-Key, High Spirits
Uncle Kracker takes an elevator to the third floor of his attorney’s law office to rehearse with his band. Nestled in downtown Mount Clemens, it’s only three stories up, but the rickety shaft makes it feel like ten. The rehearsal spot is cluttered with old Kracker flyers, empty cans of beer sitting on top of a pea-green fridge, and a billiard table littered with backstage passes, a box of ear plugs and an ashtray jammed with cigarette butts (Kracker smokes Parliament Lights — or “P-Funks” — as he calls them).
When I arrive in “the Clem” to meet with Kracker, he lets me in the studio from the rear of the building. Dressed down in cargo pants, a yellow jacket, colored Independent baseball cap and a Fat Boys T-shirt, I barely recognize the rocker whose publicity photos usually capture him in flannel, denim or a cowboy shirt. Kracker confesses that he’s a pretty low-key guy and doesn’t talk much (all the while constantly cracking jokes with his bassist and self-appointed “band leader,” 30-year-old, bespectacled Matt Van). Before hanging with Kracker, I read some old interviews, and the majority of the questions were about his relationship with Kid Rock.
“Absolutely, been like that for seven years, kinda unavoidable I guess,” Kracker says. “It’s not like you try to come out of the shadow, but it just gets to a point where it’s like ‘come on.’ And it will go through stages, like they’ll ask, ‘What’s it like touring with Kid Rock? It must be madness. What’s Pam like? What do you think of it? Do you think she likes you?’ It's like whatever’s happening with Rock at the time, that’s how the interview’s gonna go.”
Once we reach the third floor, Kracker shows me around his rehearsal spot, mentioning that it’s been a while since the band has played together and that tonight is a mini-reunion of sorts, as the band is prepping for Kracker’s annual Thanksgiving show at the Emerald Theatre. Van decides that it’s time for dinner, so Kracker and I join him at a Thai restaurant down the block where 33-year-old Matt Shafer begins to “Cleminisce” on old times and talk about his upcoming new album, Happy Hour.
“I think it’s my best record to date,” Kracker says. “I say that all the time anyways, but guess what? It's gonna be the best one. I know that’s wishful thinking, but I think there’s definitely singles on this one. I never put out a slammer where it just came out slamming, it always comes out and then we build it."
As Kracker eats, he chokes on some spicy peanut sauce. This leads to a weird conversation about how his two girls aren’t allowed to bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school because some of their peers might be allergic. Kracker has three girls and he says he’ll take them to their first rock concert.
“I love Run’s House,” Kracker says about the MTV reality show starring the RUN-DMC member. “I admire the way he makes everything a lesson for the kids. I don’t think there’s a lot of dads that do that or are as witty as he is. There’s a lot more yelling in my house than in Run’s house.”
After scarfing some Thai food, Kracker lights up a “P-Funk,” as the three of us make our way back to the rehearsal spot. One of Kracker’s keyboard players is waiting in the alley and the rest of the band begins showing up as Kracker digs out a Walkman to play me a few tracks from Happy Hour. As the band begins to set up for rehearsal, I sink into a chair and enjoy the tunes as a tiny built-in fireplace warms the studio up. The three cuts Shafer plays for me are signature Kracker, two of which, “Happy Hour” (what Kracker describes as Love Boat disco music) and “Another Pop Song” (think a country-fried version of Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Song”) are catchy tunes exploding with toe-tapping rhythm, pop panache and grappling hooks. The third cut, “I’m Not Leavin’” is an epic, heartfelt ballad (perhaps a “Follow Me Now” for the broken-hearted) that has the label excited about its potential to be another smash single. Kracker says he still wants to record about six more songs and that he's done some scratching on this record, something he hasn't done since DJing for Kid Rock.
“I got over it when everybody else started becoming DJs and where they made it to where they showed your beats per minute on the mixers,” Kracker says. “I haven’t touched nothing since I left Rock, five years almost. It was right when Jam Master Jay was killed, we were on tour with Aerosmith and Run DMC all summer, so me and Jam Master Jay hung out a lot on the tour. I remember being home when Jam Master Jay was killed, it was rough.”
As the band warms up for rehearsal by jamming and fiddling with amps, guitarist John Caron gets hooked on Asia’s “Heat Of The Moment,” thrashing on the classic distorted hook from the '80s as Kracker laughs and sings, “do you remember when we used to dance?” The band then goes into AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells,” before running through the set list for the Thanksgiving show which is taped to the wall, Kracker squinting to read the songs. But Kracker’s not losing his eyesight anytime soon; he’s still going to look out into a crowd while rocking out on Thanksgiving.
“[I] feel like I just got out of high school,” Kracker says of being in his '30s and settled down with his wife and three girls. “I remember when I was 18 and I would look at a 33-year-old and I’d be like, ‘That’s fucking old.’ Now, I look at an 18-year-old and I’m like, ‘I ain’t that much older than you, motherfucker.'” | RDW
Uncle Kracker • 11/22 • Emerald Theatre
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