As Afghan Whigs singer-guitarist Greg Dulli describes the inspiration for the alt-rock band’s new single, “The House of I,” he reveals the degree to which seemingly innocuous experiences can take on greater meaning when the band pairs Dulli’s obtuse lyrics with its soul-drenched rock sound.
“I saw this clip on YouTube of, I want to say, schoolchildren in either India or Pakistan,” says Dulli via phone from his Los Angeles home, when asked about the track. The group brings its 40th anniversary tour to House of Blues on Tuesday, May 5. “There was a band of kids playing, and the audience was all kids too. There were teachers there to supervise it. It was like a concert. They had two drummers and were playing this polyrhythm. I kept going back to that polyrhythm. I was watching what that did to the audience and to the performers as well.”
Dulli played congas to his drummer, who replicated the rhythm and recorded what Dulli played. Dulli then added guitars and came up with the lyrics and vocals.
“It happened like that,” Dulli says. “I was inspired by this kid band, in particular these two drummers. It was super tribal and very inspirational to me.”
The dark and moody lyrics are typical for Dulli and display his varied influences. You won’t find any cliches in Afghan Whigs’ tunes.
“I’ll tell you, one of my favorite lyricists who does not get enough play for his lyrics is Mick Jagger,” he says. “Ronnie Van Zant is a favorite lyricist. Later on, Prince. Obviously, I like the more poetic fellas like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. And I love Roger Waters and Curtis Mayfield. They’re very visual storytellers.”
Dulli says the band’s forthcoming new album, which will include “The House of I,” doesn’t stray far from the musical path the group has created with past albums.
“It’s a continuation down the abstract highway,” he says of the release that’s due out later this year. “It’s no less poignant for it and no less sensual for it and no less mischievous for it, and it includes all the fun things that can happen in the creative element.”
The album will be the group’s 10th studio release, and Dulli says the upcoming show at House of Blues will likely feature songs from all of those albums except for the band’s debut, 1988’s Big Top Halloween, a collection of demos that he says the band never plays live.”
“I’ve been messing around with a couple of setlists and on one of the setlists, the first eight songs are from eight different albums,” says Dulli. “Just having the ability to do that is cool.”
Looking back on it, it’s remarkable that the group emerged at a time when grunge was popular and even signed to Sub Pop, the label known for grunge. Dulli says Sub Pop featured more musical diversity than people gave it credit for.
“I can tell you this, just within Sub Pop alone, those bands all sounded different,” he says. “They shared loud guitars a punk rock ethos. Mudhoney did not sound like Nirvana. Nirvana did not sound like Soundgarden. Soundgarden did not sound like the Fluid. Fluid did not sound like Tad. There was plenty of individuality within the form. We weren’t from that area. We were doing something completely different, though I will say that our first Sub Pop record, Up in It, found an unconscious pull to do that style a little bit. That’s why I think Congregation was when we became ourselves and that’s when we began talking about how we don’t sound like anybody else. That was when we became the Whigs.”
After a run on Elektra Records, which gave the group the major label push in the ’90s, the Whigs found themselves back in the indie rock world. And that’s fine with Dulli, who says he’s as inspired as ever.
“I listen to music every day,” he says. “I listen to music I already loved, but there are three or four radio stations in the world that I listen to. Shazam is the most used app in my phone. I make playlists constantly. I love getting playlists from other people and getting turned on to things I don’t know about. I’m an omnivorous music lover. It doesn’t matter what style as long as it turns me on. I have loved music since I was a very young person, and I can thankfully report that that has not changed.”
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