--==> foxy digitalis : features <==--

Paul Metzger may just be one of the finest American instrumentalists alive today. His newest album “Deliverance,” released this month on Locust Music, is a mind-blowing epic of modified-21-string-banjo improvisations. Metzger’s skill and genre-defying sound manages to place him in a realm somewhere far beyond mere-psychedelia, into the world of universal musical-dialogue, where the mind struggles to place what it’s hearing, be it Appalachian folk, or Classical Indian raga, or some sort of progged-out weirdness.

Don’t let your definition-biased mind fool you. To simply call Metzger’s music an “East-meets-West” type situation would be far too simplistic, and miss the nuances Metzger brings to his own unique style of playing. There’s something much deeper at work in his songs, something exciting and frustratingly ineffable. A quick glace at any of Metzger’s live performances on YouTube will back up such bold declarations. Better yet, check out any of his fine records, which include a split with Ben Chasny and Sunburned Hand of the Man drummer Chris Corsano on Roaratorio.

A veteran of the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene, Metzger played for a number of years in the cult favorite experimental rock-trio TVBC, a band that, rather awesomely, released its own soundtrack to the 1929 classic silent film “The Man With the Movie Camera.” I spoke with Metzger about his decision to play solo, about several musicians he holds dear, and his composing and recording processes.

No training other than quite a few Indian records that set me off in that direction a long time ago. I’ve done a lot of deep listening to music from that part of the world and some of that comes through on these pieces that I’ve recorded for Locust. I like to take my time to develop themes and explore things. I have some Indian instruments that I play these days, mostly sarod and tabla. I adore the surbahar and vina. I was never interested in formal training though.

Dawson from Locust and I emailed back and forth for a while. Eventually we chatted on the phone and I found that his vibe was real good. We have similar outlooks on recorded music. We agreed to do a banjo release so I recorded the three tracks one evening. I sent them to him and he dug it right off. The three tracks are not related. They are compositions that I have been developing for some time and wanted to document. I thought that they would hold together well as an album. My approach to recording them was very simple. I played straight on through with no second takes.

No – I have a friend, David Onnen that is very good at recording. He did my first LP for Mutant Music and Deliverance. I recorded Three Improvisations in Duluth with Eric Swanson. I’ve done some recording on my own but I play better when someone else is dealing with microphones and levels and such. I prefer to sit and play without thinking of anything but the music.

Everything flowed from a conversation with my friend Erik Wivinus in 2004. I was doubtful that anyone would be interested in hearing my solo playing. It was something that I had been doing for decades but for myself only. Erik was very encouraging and convinced me to play out. I adore it and am grateful to him for that. My trio touched on many of the ideas that I am pursuing now but it is no longer together. A moody reclusive loner such as myself is better off as a soloist.

The best part of performing solo is being able change directions instantly mid-piece. If I catch a glimpse of something, I love to be free to head down the rabbit hole. Maybe there's nothing down there but that doesn't matter much to me because I may end up with 15 seconds of something unexpected. The compositions that I've written are starting points that I use in live performance and recording. I approach them without too much expectation. There are certain areas that I know to be fruitful within each piece but I strive to get off the path.

I love the sitar playing of Nikhil Banerjee. He can bring things down to the thinnest thread. The note breaks down to only the highest harmonic remaining, which he then bends as it dissolves. That is something truly that influences my playing. The Indian instrument, the surbahar, is an inspiration for me lately. I mostly have recordings by Imrat Khan. It is very hard to put into words but the low end of that instrument cuts right into my soul. Django Reinhardt is another player that I love. His dynamics, pure verve and mastery amaze and inspire me. The singing of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his Qawwali transcends. It's odd to list off these artists like this - it seems to diminish what they mean to me. I'm also very taken with free players. Especially drummers. Milo Fine and Davu Seru are two that inspire.

I was just feeling weird about mentioning those cats because of the über personal affinity I have for them. Words often fail me with stuff like that and then I end up feeling like a dork. But, yes, there are tons of North and South Indian classical music recordings out there. I don’t claim any expertise or go hunting around much myself - my main recommendations would be recordings of surbahar or vina. You really can’t go wrong somehow with those instruments. As far as my own recordings go, I would say that they all have in them one or two brief moments that kill me. The title track for deliverance has some passages that transcend what I feel I can do; it’s like listening to someone else play in a way. So it’s those little unexpected bits that float by that make me the happiest.

The Roaratorio label is putting out an LP of mine titled “Gedanken Splitter”. The cover art is a pen and ink drawing my great grandfather, Max Kleiter, made in 1900. The pieces on this recording are more aggressive in nature. They’re compositions that stem mostly from my electric playing. The other recording is a cassette tape of an unaccompanied improvisation based on Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”. It’s a tune that I’ve always loved but it is usually rendered in a swinging way that I don’t dig. I try to approach it from the inside out.

Yes. I will be doing some shows in the east in early November. I love that whole thing of playing in a different town. Maybe two or three folks dig what I’m doing and that is more than enough for me. I toured a bit behind “Three Improvisations” in ‘05 and it was great. There are still a few people interested in live performance and I feel lucky to be able to get around to play for them. I would like to play a bit on the West Coast this winter and have fantasies of touring Europe in the spring.

’ve been performing off and on since the mid-‘70s - chasing the long-forms - not the most crowd-pleasing endeavor. So, I am not the best judge of what’s happening with audiences in general. But there are lots of things that people can do other than attend a small venue's musical offering. Most of those things weren't around 20 years ago. I'm always grateful when folks turn out for a show. Now more than ever. Even if it's just a handful.