Josh Klinghoffer / Pluralone Interview: “Everything About Music Seems Magical to Me”
Josh Klinghoffer has spent much of his life moving between bands, sessions and his own music. Pluralone gives him a space to step away from all of that and follow the songs wherever they lead.
His fourth Pluralone album, ‘A Drop in the Ocean’, is a noticeably stripped-back record, often built around little more than acoustic guitar and voice. We talked about why he has become drawn to simpler, more imperfect recordings, songs that can take years to finish, the musicians he has learned from over the years, and his place in Pearl Jam. And, as we often do, we finished by talking about records.
“Everything about music seems magical to me.”
‘A Drop in the Ocean’ feels much more stripped back than some of your earlier records. There’s a lot of acoustic guitar and space. Did stripping things back make the songs easier to work on, or was it actually harder because there was less to hide behind?
Probably a bit of both. It’s always harder to be more exposed but it’s also all I want to hear these days. Stripped down recordings, demos, imperfect music. Things that aren’t as contrived or meant to be a product. I still think a lot of what I release is too much. The one I’m finishing up now feels too big. Perhaps LP6 will be one instrument and voice. That’s a real challenge.
You said ‘Feels Like I’ve Done Wrong’ was the first song you wrote after the previous Pluralone album. Do you usually know what a song is about while you’re writing it, or does that sometimes only become clear much later?
I sometimes don’t figure out what I mean by something for years after writing, singing, and releasing it. They always seem to be evolving. This song isn’t about guilt at all. It’s written from the standpoint of someone who feels that everything about the way they perceive the world or conduct themselves is wrong. Writing from that place is a good way for me to move through it.
Some of these songs have been with you for a long time. ‘Give’ goes back nearly twenty years, while ‘Sadly’ keeps the original voice memo. What makes you return to an old song and finally decide it belongs on a record?
Absolutely the song changes over time. Usually when a song lingers for that long, it’s because the lyrics are proving too difficult for me to find my way into. I’ll have bits, ideas, conflicting ideas, sounds, and the job of making it all cohere is more than I can handle…until it isn’t. If songs from the past bump their way into my mind whilst I’m getting everything together for an album, it might finally have a chance. A lot of my problems stem from lack of focus and ability to manage time.
You worked with Eric Palmquist and Chelsea Hodson on this album. What did they bring to the songs that you might not have found on your own?
Eric is someone I’ve worked with a great deal over the past 10 or more years. I trust him completely with knowing where I’m coming from and thus helping me get there. He’s also a wizard in the studio. I’m forever impressed with what he can do in the studio.
Chelsea I’ve only known for a couple of years but we began our friendship talking a lot about writing and our creative tendencies. She helped me a lot in countless little ways. Then, she played me her music. I instantly loved everything about her voice and the idea of including it on this record was quite the high wattage light bulb. It worked out perfectly.
You started playing music very young. When you think back to yourself at nine or ten years old, what was it about music that pulled you in so completely?
What was I looking for in music? That’s an enormous question and one whose answer is also evolving. When I was 9, starting out on the drums, it was a way to be a part of the thing I loved most. I was always obsessed with music, sounds, songs, songwriting, but at that age, it’s not as clear, it’s just music. Starting to play was just a way to be one with it. As you get older, you start to see how the culture that surrounds music, the people, the style, the impact it seems to have on the world around you, has almost as much power as the songs themselves. It was just everything to me. All of those examples you mentioned, sounds, being in a band, or being able to express myself through an instrument apply. The sound of the guitar on ‘Revolution’ by the Beatles. Imagining being in a band with friends who know and understand you. Playing guitar quietly in some interesting new place, all of these things, magic. The way a song can make you feel. Magic.
I can probably type for hours about this. I hope this gets the point across. Everything about music seems magical to me.
You were already working with older musicians quite early on, including Bob Forrest in The Bicycle Thief. What did you pick up from being around people like that when you were still finding your feet?
I’ve always been surrounded by older, distinctive and wonderful writers and musicians. I feel like I learn as much now as I did in the early years you’re asking about. Back then, I was just trying to survive. I thought at any moment these people would realise they let some silly kid in and they’d need to rectify that mistake as quickly as they could. I’ve always, maybe too much, had the ability to read a room and be what I think I need to be in order to stay around. I’m only now learning that I may do this at a slightly abnormal level. The goal for me has always been to be a friend to the people I’m working with. To be a good person.
A lot of your career has involved finding your place in other people’s music: John Frusciante’s records, Ataxia, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction and plenty of sessions in between. Does doing that make your own musical voice clearer, or can it sometimes make it harder to hear?
These are great questions. I’m not sure how to answer this. It does both. It helps me distinguish or distill what it is I want to do, but it can also diminish the level of importance I look upon what I do. These things are so often wonderful things I’m already a fan of. Why would I spend time doing my nonsense? This is all thinking I’m trying to move beyond, but it shows up now and again.
“The minute you think you’ve got it figured out, you’re probably in trouble.”
Your years with Red Hot Chili Peppers produced ‘I’m with You’, ‘The Getaway’ and quite a lot of other music. When you look back at that period now, is there anything about the music itself that you think tends to get overlooked?
It seems like I get in trouble every time I speak about the band. In my desperation to be understood, I’d love to write a list of things for you, but the vile nature of internet news story pull quote click bait silliness is something I always forget about, so I’ll leave this one for now.
With Pearl Jam, you’re coming into a band that already has a very full sound and five established musicians. Has that changed the way you think about restraint, and about knowing when to add something and when to leave space?
Maybe a bit, yeah. I think being older brings a bit of that as well. Pearl Jam is such a strong and full sounding band with 5 amazing players, writers, and overall creative beings. If they trust me to fill in bits of the sound they’d like covered or maybe try something new here or there, I am so honoured and grateful to be in that position. To have their trust is all I could ever hope for.
The title ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ sounds quite small, maybe even a bit hopeless, but the record itself doesn’t feel defeated. At this point in your life, what keeps bringing you back to songwriting? Is it faith, habit, necessity, or something else entirely?
Probably all of the above. Faith it still matters. That music can still make people feel how it’s always made me feel. There is definitely a habitual quality to my desire to keep writing, but mostly it’s because I have so much more to learn. So much more to experience as a result of that learning. The minute you think you’ve got it figured out, you’re probably in trouble. I love pushing myself further and further and usually get down on myself for not pushing myself harder and for longer.
Half of the title might sound small, but don’t let’s forget the second half.
And finally, if you ended up at my place for an afternoon and we started pulling records from the shelves, what would you want to hear first?
David Bowie – ‘Low’
Van Morrison – ‘Veedon Fleece’
De Frank Professionals – (any)
Pan Sonic – (any)
Scott Walker – ‘Scott 3’
There are too many. We’ll find many more. I hope we do get to do that someday. Thanks so much for your incredibly thoughtful questions!
Klemen Breznikar
Headline credit: Emily Ulmer
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