Har Mar Superstar joins Jill Riley for a virtual session, and performs tracks from his latest record Roseville. Har Mar and Jill talk about the inspiration behind the record, what he's been up to this year, and how this album release has differed from past years.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION

Edited for clarity and length.

JILL RILEY: Hey, I'm Jill Riley from The Current's Morning Show. It's time for another virtual session from The Current and I'm really excited for my guest today. Har Mar Superstar has a new album and by the time this posts, the album will be out. I just want to say congratulations on the new record Roseville. How you doing?

HAR MAR SUPERSTAR: I'm good. Thank you so much. Just chillin' here. I am so excited about the new album. Thank you for featuring it.

We're going to talk more about the record, what it's about, the making of the record--all that good stuff, but we want to get into some performance videos that you made for The Current audience. I know that you've got a video featuring three of the new songs, and I wonder if you could just tell us a little bit about this video that we're gonna see.

It's kind of like a milestone when I'm making an album nowadays to do a session at The Current Studios so it felt a little weird to not have that experience to kind of mark the release of the record so we wanted to go into our friend and bandmate Aaron Baum's studio--Mid City Studio here in town and do kind of, at least as close to, capturing that kind of spirit as we could. We all got COVID tests and played together in the room for the first time ever for these songs. It was a lot of fun, we've all been a little down, pandemic kind of slow, and life has been weird. So it was really nice to get in the room and play these songs and actually confirm that we can do it. [laughs] We had never tried! We made this whole album at a distance so it was just a really fun night and we really want to thank The Current for giving us that opportunity to, and the reason to go do this.

Yeah, to get together. Well let's check out--I know that there are three performances here so, "Solid Ghost," "Where We Began," and "Sleight Of Hand," so check 'em out, enjoy them, and then I'll come back with Har Mar Superstar and we will catch up here on The Current with a virtual performance.

It's a virtual session with Har Mar Superstar, celebrating the new record, which is called Roseville. Har Mar Superstar, boy, it's been a year, but you've been really productive. I mean, in a year that is felt like maybe five years in length. I know it has felt like life has stopped for a lot of people. But it is kind of funny how life does actually continue in a strange way.

Yeah, I mean, you gotta get creative, and you got to fill the time somehow, you know? I can't believe today is is about two days short of my last live performance. I think Heart Bones played in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 2020 and then showed up in Birmingham on the 13th to cancel the show, and then just go home. Laura and I started Coloring Books For A Cause, which was a really nice distraction and also helpful to so many people, and us for keeping our heads above the depression of all of this. From there, I needed to occupy my time, so I became a mailman. I'm a mail carrier now. Made an album in the middle of all that, which I didn't really expect to happen. For like seven months, I couldn't even imagine writing a song. I adopted this little friend Figgy here. I think all those experiences kind of led to the making of this album and I'm really proud of what we pulled off. Honestly I feel like I've learned so much about just recording myself and producing a project like this that I didn't think was possible. We kind of blew ourselves away with the production that we that we got with Roseville.

I'm really glad that you refreshed us about your year in review, because what's funny is I kind of did it too, I made this little list. I was trying to think like, wow, in the last year, I mean, just thinking about some of the things that I talked to you about in the last year when we would kind of check in, you know, starting with that big coloring book project and then getting a job as a mail carrier in Minneapolis and then, again Figgy. Oh, by the way, happy belated birthday to Figgy. I know that you posted on Twitter that--how old is Figgy now?

He's four now. He's a four year old.

He is so sweet.

It looks like I just have him in my pocket or something like "Hey, what's up? Here comes Figgy."

Put him back in his little bag. [laughs] Somewhere though in the year, you got inspired to make this record Roseville. So when did it start? When were you like, "Okay, I'm ready to make a record. I'm feeling creative. I've started writing some songs," how did it all start?

Well, I had a couple songs in my pocket, "Where We Began," and "Hearts Have Misspoken," were already basically recorded. Jake Baldwin, and I kind of co-wrote, "Where We Began," when I was on tour. We were all on tour with The Afghan Whigs. In 2017, we had a day off so we stopped at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas and wrote a bunch of songs which, the rest weirdly didn't make it. I didn't even think about that until maybe just now. But we had this song that stuck with us, and we started playing it live on that tour. So people might have heard "Where We Began" for the last few years.

Then John Fields and I wrote "Hearts Have Misspoken" in his studio long before the pandemic and I knew there would be a Har Mar album. But I just didn't know when I would feel inspired to make the rest. For me, classically I will just all of a sudden one day, once I have a third or fourth song, it's game on. Then the album's written in the next few weeks. So that's what happened in September, October area, I just was ready. I felt like, I found kind of the niche in my brain where I can write songs that are from a character's perspective that aren't necessarily from a straight white male point of view, which I was really afraid of. That was my biggest fear when thinking about writing, I was like, I don't feel like my viewpoints are necessary right now, you know? Not "woe is me," or anything. It's just there is more focus on more important things and, and equality and all that. So I found a way to, in my brain make more of a universal connection. So that's just kind of how it went. Then I went in, I would record piano or guitar parts with my vocal ideas and send them over to Aaron and Ryan Mach, who produced the album with me my bandmates and they would kind of produce out the tracks.

Once COVID testing was more easily available and free in town that kind of freed me up to get a test, quarantine for the night, make sure I was negative, and go in with Aaron and seal up things track-wise while we emailed all of those tracks to the rest of the band who would record their things on their own time. It just kind of worked on everybody's time. I think we made an album that I never would have imagined being able to make otherwise without the pandemic. There's some sort of positive silver lining, but the original idea for making the new album was to all be in a room together and to all write it together. So I tried to keep that alive by co-writing with separate band members one-on-one after we'd get tested. Nelson Devereaux and I wrote "Sleight Of Hand" together and "Hit and Run". Aaron Baum wrote the tracks for "Hello, Mr. Sandman" and "Neon Glow". I wrote to those and everybody kind of had their had their moments on the album, that was a really interesting process.

Well, it sounds like there's a lot of collaboration on the making of this new record. I think the fact that it's called Roseville--Roseville being the home to you know, the old Har Mar Mall, which you've taken your stage name, Har Mar Superstar from the Har Mar Mall. I wonder, was there something about the pandemic that sort of pushed you to be reflective or, or to have something kind of come around full circle? Does that make sense?

Yeah, definitely. You're right with that. My friend, Jesse Willenbring heard the album and coined the term "existential homecoming," which I thought was exactly a perfect kind of way to describe the album. There was just a lot of connectors. I think the fact that I came home five years ago, this is the first Har Mar album I've written since I've been home. I had some difficult times, I've had some really great times. I stopped drinking two years ago, I've done all this stuff. I feel like I've grown a lot and fell in love and have this whole new chapter of life. I came from a real place of really low depression to a place where I feel like I can help other people now.

As much as Roseville is kind of like a wink at the Har Mar thing but also, I was talking to my friend Melinda Lee Holm who put out a new--she released a new deck of tarot cards and she's an old friend of mine from high school days back at Perpich. She was really proud of her the distribution of the of this amazing tarot deck that she made and it was being distributed to the the Har Mar Mall at Barnes and Noble. But I think that the way it was listed on the sheet that she got, telling her where everything was going was that it just said Roseville 2, like with the number two. I thought that was a really funny album title, I was like, I should just call it Roseville 2. I was going with that for a long time then I imagined, like answering the same question about, "Where's Roseville 1?" a million times. And I was like, okay, you know what, actually, Roseville is just a great album title, to me it feels like this mythical happy place like Mayberry, but from the future that you can make anything you want. In the middle of the pandemic, it just seemed like I wanted to imagine this other world that was kind of nearby, that was not real, but also kind of was, if that makes any sense. Roseville is kind of more of a state of mind. It's kind of really close by and most of my cinematic memories of like my early 20s were going to the Har Mar Mall to see movies. That's why a lot of the photoshoots are in movie theaters at the Riverview, and I really missed that theater. I miss a lot of elements of the mall, like the cub scouts, or you could just go buy random patches and things like that, or just like weird stuff. But I still try to peruse around sometimes when I'm not doing anything or I'm going to take a bike ride. I'll go out there. But I think, you know, Roseville just kind of summed up everything and seems like, I don't know, there's something very Mayberry about it too, that I like. Just the word, you know?

Well, I think the the Roseville Chamber of Commerce needs to get ahold of you now about that line that you just said: "Roseville, it's a state of mind."

[laughs] They also need to come back and we can co-recreate, whatever Roseville team jerseys they might have had at some point or there's got to be some great 70s t-shirts from Roseville, Minnesota. You know what I mean? I want to get those designs and have them be you know, officially licensed or whatever, just like bequeathed to me if they could that'd be great.

Speaking of t-shirt designs. Hold on. I had to wear this t-shirt today.

Yes! Taco John's, definitely unlicensed. But I think they support me in that. They've been out there a bit.

I was thinking, well, should I wear this t-shirt today? Is it like wearing the t-shirt to the concert? Is that an okay thing to do? But I'm like, c'mon! I'm talkin' to Har Mar today.

Yeah, I think post-pandemic, that rule is done. I think you can you can show your excitement. You can go to the show in the band's t-shirt. I think that should be allowed.

You can be whatever you want in the post-pandemic, how excited are people going to be? Have you been thinking a lot about that? We talked about, you kind of mentioned it's strange to not come into the studio to mark the occasion here at The Current. But you were able to get into the studio and make some of your own videos. How strange is it to release a record and not tour it right away?

It's really strange. It was kind of freeing. Honestly, from making the record, it was like, I didn't have to think about how something would translate to a live show, which is the first time I've probably ever done that. Somehow that kind of like circled back to making the songs really kind of easy to present that way. So I don't know how or why that worked but that was kind of a cool thing. I don't want to get too excited about live shows again. So I'm just kind of like, in my mind imagining that I won't even do it, you know, a five or 10 day tour jaunt till at least a year from now. But local shows are a different story. Hopefully, once everybody's had the opportunity to get the vaccine safely and free and everybody's had the chance to accept the vaccine into their bodies, we can start to think about that. But I think, right now, it's just sort of like not getting my hopes up too much. But that was really kind of affirming to go in the studio to do these sessions to know that we can play these songs and to re-feel how fun that is.

Now I'm working on a variety show, obviously, I'm never not working on something kind of insane. So now I'm working on--instead of a live stream, I want to do a variety show for Roseville that'll be like a tour around the Twin Cities, different venues different dance routines, some live performance, some fake commercials, some, you know, whatever it's going to be, some comedy just like an hour long special that everyone can watch together. But that's going to be probably not released till May or June, which will coincide with when the physical records are being shipped out. And the CDs and all the shirts, and everything-- the merch that you can preorder now, but won't be available till May. So I'm kind of hoping for like a second wave of promotion then. It's kind of interesting now, like, this whole pandemic has led to major pop acts aren't releasing their albums. And so last week, The Hold Steady had a #6, a top 10 Billboard album, which is awesome, and I was inspired to finish this album by seeing like chart positions of the Mountain Goats and stuff. And I've never charted, and I've never been driven by that.

But it's kind of like an insane little stop down in record making history where it's kind of like there's a chance to be on the charts. By the time this is out, we'll know. I don't know right now, because we're recording this a week before it comes out. But I think that this album, already from the pre-sales, has a chance to even be in the Top 200, which is crazy to me, and also really cool and kind of niche. It's cool that Mogwai had a number one album in the UK, and it was the number nine in the US, which is nuts.

That's crazy to think about.

Yeah, and The Hold Steady's number six, and both of those albums are independently released. I'm putting out my album on my own, which was also another freedom I had to not be locked into a record contract right now. So I could just sort of put it out and do it however I want, you know, like March 5 is the release date for digital songs. But I can just have the records be on preorder and there's going to be a special edition for indie record stores that's clear pink and opaque red vinyl that comes out May 21. There's just so many different ways you can just, you know, you're not beholden to any classic kind of weird record promotion schedules. So it's fun to just play around with that.

Yeah maybe 2021 will be the resurgence of the the true indie record. I mean, the indie way of doing things.

Yeah, it's cool. It's just a nice break for us to have a chance to kind of be heard and seen and celebrated a little bit, you know?

Well, the new record from Har Mar Superstar, Roseville, is out now. Sean, I appreciate you checking in. Always nice to catch up with you. I miss the days have I missed the days of running into just around town.

I know! It's great to see your face, Jill, and it'll happen again. It'll be soon. You know, I think just everybody's got to still be safe and not lay down before the finish line yet because we've got a little ways to go. But I feel very hopeful about gathering and just, safely enjoying people in person.

I think just the fact that it's March and it's starting to warm up and the sun feels really warm. I'm getting inspired to at least go outside, that light at the end of the tunnel. It's getting closer, but I totally agree with you, we're not there yet. We've just got to wait a little bit longer, you know, and I know that's a tall order.

Yeah, the spring's gonna be good though. I think being able to be outside, it's gonna be--especially here in Minnesota. It's just a huge game changer and the fact that we got through this winter is huge because I was really worried about that in November when it was coming of impending so--

And here we are. Time passes in a strange way, it feels like it's standing still, but yet it's still moving forward.

There are gonna be people with like full grown children that I've never even met or heard of. By the time we get out of here, you know? I don't know, feels weird.

Where did that guy come from? This is--

Who's he? "This is Bruce." Oh, he's your son.

This is my child actually. Well, thank you to my engineers today Eric Stromstad and Evan Clark and producer Jesse Wiza. Thanks to Sean Tillman and we know him best as Har Mar Superstar. Looking forward to seeing you when people gather to see each other, or who knows maybe we'll check in via video or radio again soon.

Yes, I also wanted to say thanks to Isaac Gale for filming the the sessions at Mid City and Brock Lammers for engineering those those sessions too.

Yeah, I will say thank you as well, because for a while we were trying to do virtual sessions where people were trying to play an acoustic guitar on Zoom. We did our best but we knew that there was a better way. So yeah, the artists have been really game to make sure that they're putting some quality stuff on these videos. Well, you take care and we'll talk soon. Congrats on the new record. It is called Roseville and by this publish date it is out now.

Yes, thank you. Enjoy it, stream it. Buy it. Love you.

SONGS PLAYED

02:37 Solid Ghost
06:10 Where We Began
08:40 Sleight Of Hand
All songs appear on Har Mar Superstar's 2021 album Roseville.

CREDITS

Host - Jill Riley
Producer - Anna Weggel
Technical Director - Erik Stromstad
Digital Producer - Jesse Wiza

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