A Year in Music – Josh Haden (Spain) – Questions by Killian Laher

What music stood out for you in 2017?

I really liked the latest Bon Iver album (2016).  A little biased because I went on tour with Sun Kil Moon this year but I love the new Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White record.

Any discoveries that had passed you by previously that made sense this year?

One of my sisters gave me an LP by Roswell Rudd that my dad plays on.  It’s called Everywhere and it was released on the impulse! label in 1966.  I’d never heard it before, and it’s really great.  Pure free jazz with great players.

Are you still buying music?  Any recommendations as to where?

Yes, I still buy music, and DVDs.  I buy everything from Amoeba here in Hollywood.  They have an online store that’s really amazing and often have great sales and discounts.

Sometimes it seems there are as many rereleases as new albums.  Are you interested in reissued albums?

Yes, I love reissues.  I love that magazine Record Collector.  I really want Bob Dylan’s Trouble No More, does that count as a reissue?

How are things going yourself?  Any plans for 2018?

My band Spain has been playing a residency in Downtown Los Angeles, the last Thursday of every month at the Love Song Bar inside the Regent Theater on Main St. between 4th and 5th Streets.  I love playing there, it’s really casual and the music’s great, totally unpredictable and fun.  We released an album of some of our “best” moments of the year, with musical guests like jazz icon Bill Frisell, my sister Petra Haden, Bobb Bruno from Best Coast, and more.  The album’s called Live At The Love Song and it’s available from our Bandcamp page as a download or limited edition CD.  Glitterhouse released it as a deluxe double vinyl set and it’s available from their website.

As I already said I was really fortunate to play bass for Sun Kil Moon for some U.S. shows this year and that was so much fun.  They’re on tour in Europe right now and I highly recommend everyone go see them!

2018 is the year of the new Spain studio album. I don’t want to reveal anything right now but it’ll be epic hopefully!