A Picture Made - Heal
INTERVIEW | A PICTURE MADE
Alt-rock outfit A Picture Made recently dropped Heal, their first album in 30 years, which rotates around three tracks comprehending various connotations of the word, ranging from a petition for healing, to real healing, and finally the miraculous consequences of healing.
A Picture Made
Made up of Eric Harris (guitar), Bryan Plumlee (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steve Ritter (drums), and Brian Jones (bass), A Picture Made (APM) formed in the 1980s, and shared the stage with The Connells, The Call, and The Replacements. In 1988, they dropped an EP, entitled Past, followed by Heal in 2019.
Frankly, prior to reviewing Heal, I didn’t expect much. I mean, come on, an alt-rock band from the middle of nowhere – Kansas and Missouri – releases an album three decades after their debut EP! I confess: I anticipated hackneyed music of the worst possible sort.
To quote Gomer Pyle, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Heal is original rather than clichéd, imaginative rather than trite, and damn good. APM has it going on!
So when presented with the opportunity to interview APM, I jumped at the chance to find out more about this band from the hinterland.
What’s the band’s musical backstory?
We grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas, and Joplin, Missouri. Our personal and musical history is hopelessly intertwined. While we each brought musical skill for the role, we exist only as a band together and have been together since 1985-86. Our singer and lead guitarist began in the summer of 1979. They met the bass player in 1983 and drummer in 1985. By 1988, APM opened on a series of dates for the Replacements after touring with the Connells and getting signed with Mammoth Records (sold to Disney) and Venture Booking (Frank Riley – Highroad touring). APM opened for many touring acts like the Call, the Elvis Brothers, Guadalcanal Diary, the Feelies, the Veldt, Camper Van Beethoven and many more …
And how did you come to get together?
Bryan Plumlee and Eric Harris of Pittsburg, Kansas formed a band in middle school. Several years later they met bass player Brian Jones. Vance Powell, the now Grammy Award Winning Nashville producer, introduced them to drummer Steve Ritter of Joplin, Missouri. Vance was their soundman.
Who is in the band (names) and what instruments do they play?
Eric Harris – Guitar, Bryan Plumlee – vox, guitar, keys, Steve Ritter – drummer, Brian Jones – bass.
Who is the lead vocalist?
Bryan Plumlee.
What are the dynamics of the band like? Does the band run like a democracy, everybody has a vote and majority rules? Or is it a benevolent dictatorship? Or something in between?
Bryan Plumlee writes the songs. Eric Harris contributes with some music along with Brian Jones and Steve Ritter pulling their weight. Everyone has a vote on just about every aspect after the song is presented to the band. There is a delicate and unspoken pecking order but the 4 do not feel comfortable on any aspect unless all 4 agree. The band has never rejected a song presented but few songs remain unchanged in some way.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Following a recording session, Bryan Plumlee was arrested in Tulsa Oklahoma after a traffic accident for driving without identification. The band had a gig that night at Club Nitro but Bryan spent the night in jail while the band tried to bail him out. The next night they wrote and performed their new original, “Tulsa County Blues.”
What are the three things you can’t live without?
We are family people and family is first. But as a band, we are brothers. Each one of us three brothers he can’t live without.
Eric gets in a rut and sticks to his Telecaster no matter what. We do not ask why.
What’s your favorite song to belt out in the car or the shower?
Our sound man Vance Powell loved to drive our old brown Chevy van. Together we quoted Spinal Tap’s songs until Steve punctuated the moment by using a cigarette lighter to ignite his spectacular farts. We burned methane before it was cool. One morning we were awakened on the side of the road by a Texas state trooper. We had fallen asleep on a drive to Louisiana to open up for the Pressure Boys. After we came to, we bathed in a rest stop sink and later Bryan met some friends who asked us to stay over after the gig. This was common. If one of us even thought for an instant he could start singing any old song he had in his head, the rest of us would proceed to beat the crap out of him. Fortunately, the rule against such behavior was heeded.
What musicians/vocalists influenced you the most?
We felt like the majority of well-known musicians had had enough exposure. Even bands we loved like whatever were dumped because “when were these people ever going to die anyway?” We liked unknown groups like the Call, the Alarm, Big Star, the Hodoo Gurus, the Connells, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Veldt, Light in August, Yo la tango, the Feelies, Gordan Gano etc… 120 minutes ruled. Once we traveled to Atlanta and played the Megaplex. Bryan broke the mic clip and hit his head on the pike of the stand. Blood spewed everywhere. They loved it! Some of us remember the singer with Drivin and Cryin there jumping around like crazy. It was likely around 1987. We spent one night hanging out at CBGBs and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze played pool with us waiting to hear what was going on. We played the Pier in Raleigh with the Replacements. They were backstage doing the devil’s business and Bryan broke the mic stand in half. The club refused to pay us all the money we were owed - $100 (we did get a nice write up though). We felt normal with the Connells. They were like brothers cut from the same normal cloth but we also enjoyed a bit of rebellion. We were significantly younger than most – Steve, Eric and Bryan were all under 21. One night we opened for Robin Trower in front of 3000 bikers at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City. We had a rock song called “Mysterious Way” which began with Bryan singing the opening of “Amazing Grace” acapella. The bikers went nuts and tried to boo us off the stage. Imagine singing “Amazing Grace” with 3000 bikers booing. We held our ground and finished – laughing at them boo us while we performed even a part of this song in front of a bunch of psyched up leather jackets. We weren’t religious. But we had a blast sticking it in their eye! It was not exactly the Clash (let that one through) but it was a bit of midwestern punk rock. A cold shower before the Hendrix wannabe came on stage.
What kind of guitar do you play? And why?
Eric plays a Telecaster. He has two – Grandpa and Junior. Eric gets in a rut and sticks to his Telecaster no matter what. We do not ask why. Bryan plays just about any guitar handed to him and Brian Jones has performed with every type of bass ever constructed. Ever.
What kind of drums and cymbals does your drummer play?
Our drummer is a Ludwig man.
The band’s name, A Picture Made, carries a multitude of connotations and implications. What’s the story behind the name and why it was selected?
We came together during the early MTV days. We hated video because the duality of acting to music and performing music was beyond us. We loved albums and live music. There was no desire to stand in front of a camera. A Picture Made simply means, it’s about the music. We hated the idea of photo shoots. We wanted to tell people to listen to the music and stop looking for us in photos. That’s not us anyway. There is very little evidence we ever existed and frankly that’s kinda nice.
What was the inspiration for your latest album, Heal?
The themes of the album are epic. “Quitting Now Would Be Treason.” The best line from that song is “up pops this light…I can’t identify myself to the man.” The complete disassociation of age. In the song “Come to Me” the lyric to take away is “what two eyes see in oval shapes neither painter’s brush nor lyric pose.” In the song “Music is Love” the key lyric is “there’s a star so blinding but I’m the only one that sees it.” In the song “Healed” we sing “and now that you’re better let’s walk out together, ain’t gonna be like it was before I’ll unlock the door.” In “A Signal Hovering Over America,” “a cloud of poison gas is leaking out the radio, have we seen the last good times from the microphone?” In “Boxes on the Floor” the lyric to hear is “if you’re ready I will go, I will leave these shells to be just boxes on the floor.” In “Locomo Mexico,” “promises of destiny, don’t tell a child they’ll never let go.” Each song is cinematic in a way. Heal is a collection of songs Bryan wrote and the band interpreted. The meaning came out of our coming together after so many years. The name of the album was selected after the album was finished. There are many personal reasons the name is significant. But for the band, the album brought us back into the same room to create again.
Why did it take so long to release Heal?
Heal contains songs which are 30 years old, 20 years old, 15 years old and 6 months old. There was no effort to release Heal before 2019. Except for “God Loves a Hell of A Man” which was first recorded in 1986. We rerecorded it because Steve Ritter did not play the drums originally and it was his favorite song. Also, Brian Jones did not play the bass, Bryan Plumlee did. If you find the original version on Youtube you can compare them. We prefer the recent effort.
What is your songwriting process? Does the music come first and then the lyrics?
The lyrics hold a central role in all of our songs and have from the beginning. They are not standard rock songs. They are not standard folk songs. Our first album Past had songs like, “Throw Some Light My Way,” “The Red Wheel Barrow,” “Past,” “Little Boy Wisdom.” These are stories. That is not typical for a rock band. No one ever told Bryan to stop writing these kinds of lyrics. It is the patience the music has for the lyrics that make the songs special. Eric always wants to rock them up. Bryan always wants to slow them down. The tension is what is produced. Only this band with this line up could ever bring the TLC and the spirit.
Why make music? I mean what’s the point?
If everyone would take the time to learn and care for an instrument and attempt to write a song, we all win. Music is Love.
Do you ever plan on touring?
Our plan is to perform the album Heal in Rome in the center of the Flavian Amphitheater.
What’s next for you musically?
We are working on a new album. The focus is power blues with a funky keyboard and classic ‘80s guitar. Song titles like: “Murderer in the Heart.” “Georgia O’,” “Meadow by the Bay,” “Blackhole,” “Angel’s Haircut Blues,” “Let it Snow” and “Superset.” The tentative album name, the Rooster.
Later …
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