New York folk singer Jesse Rifkin, better known as The Wailing Wall, doesn’t just write protest songs. Taking pointers from Hindu Kirtan chanting, Sufi Qawwali, Renaissance, and Baroque church music in his sophomore release, The Low Hanging Fruit, Rifkin takes the folksy genre and throws it for a loop. Rich, dreamy, and chock full of musical derivations from Hospital Blooms, The Low Hanging Fruit features an extensive instrumental menu including singing saw, sitar, and pipe organ, among others.
The Wailing Wall’s debut album Hospital Blooms was put up for free on JDub Records website in 2009 and 15,000 downloads later Rifkin found himself with live spots on MTVU, Fearless Music TV, WNYC Soundcheck and WFMU. This quick harvest of fans has allowed The Wailing Wall a chance to share his passion in a slew of live performances, and though Jesse Rifkin is the constant behind this project, a vibrant collection of friends have played along side him both on record and on stage, including members from Camera Obscura, Wolf Colonel, Titus Andronicus, and many others.
Slightly eerie and certainly exploratory, The Low Hanging Fruit may not be an album that fits universal musical tastes. However, it does take risks in ways many musicians wouldn’t dream of trying and that deserves praise.
Rifkin answered some questions for us from the road this week, as he makes his way through a US tour along with Tom Fite.
Reviewsic: Can you give us a quick recap of what The Wailing Wall has been up to as of late?
Jesse Rifkin: As I write this to you, I am on a blow-up bed in Detroit, MI. I just played a show with my good friend and collaborator Tim Fite, for whom I am opening on tour. It’s been good and fun times, mostly.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jesse Rifkin: – Motley Crue (Have you read “The Dirt”?? Shit’s nuts!)
- Led Zeppelin (Have you read “Hammer of the Gods”?? Shit’s nuts!)
- Black Flag (Have you read “Get In The Van”?? Shit’s nuts!)
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Jesse Rifkin: I wish that I could play the drums like Dave Lombardo from Slayer.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Jesse Rifkin: In the van today, Tim and I listened to “No Depression” by Uncle Tupelo, “Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle” by Bill Callahan, and Townes Van Zandt’s “Greatest Hits.”
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Jesse Rifkin: Three-way tie between Lil’ Wayne, Bjork, and Steve Albini.
Reviewsic: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Jesse Rifkin: The “rock and roll” answer is Bob Dylan at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA in the summer of 1997. But I think that actual real answer might be Sharon, Lois, and Bram.
Reviewisc: Who are three of your favorite local bands/musicians?
Jesse Rifkin: I feel a little uncomfortable with this term, because I think defining a band as “local” is kind of derogatory in that it suggests that their work would have no appeal to anybody outside of a specific regional community. But I will say that I have a lot of very talented friends who make music and just so happen to live in the
same city that I do (New York City), so I would like to give shout outs to my beloved friends Jason Anderson, Boy Without God, Trevor Wilson, and Soul Saint Marie. Also, many others besides.
Reviewsic: What’s the back-story on how the band came to be what it is today?
Jesse Rifkin: Now here’s a little story, I’ve got to tell / About three bad brothers, you know so well / It started way back in history / With Adrock, M.C.A., and me, Mike D./ Been had a little horsy named Paul Revere/ Just me and my horsy and a quart of beer.
Reviewsic: Tell us about The Low Hanging Fruit - is there a particular concept behind it? What was the process of making the album like?
Jesse Rifkin: Yes, there is a fairly loose “concept” but I think its better not to discuss it, at least not yet. I’d prefer it if listeners were allowed to make their own connections and come to their own conclusions. Making the album was a real hoot and a holler. Learned a lot about my work and myself.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as a musician at the point of this release as opposed to when you first began playing?
Jesse Rifkin: Kind of hard to say. I always feel like I’m starting at square one every single time I start working on anything new. What I’ve noticed more are the ways in which my job as a musician has facilitated my “growth” and “development” as a human being in the world.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite cities and/or to play?
Jesse Rifkin: Portsmouth, NH has been very kind to the Wailing Wall time after time, in particular a venue called the Red Door. Earlier this month we played our first show in Los Angeles and that was just a wonderful experience.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst music moments so far in your career?
Jesse Rifkin: That show in Los Angeles (at the Troubadour, with my friends Avi Buffalo) was pretty high up there, as far as “best” things go. The worst, I think, is best left forgotten. Better to move on than to dwell and obsess.
Reviewsic: If you were to play a set of strictly covers, what are some of the songs you’d try to do justice to?
Jesse Rifkin: The Counting Crows’ “August and Everything After” and The Stooges’ “Funhouse,” both played in their entirety, back to back.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
Jesse Rifkin: I plan to be thoroughly awesome.
Tags: Interview, New Release, Tour, Video
