Ricky Schade is a local musician who can pull off bass lines for pretty much any mood and style, on the spot, without needing to hear the song first or practice too much. It might be strutting country, smoky rock and roll, anthemic romantic angst, snarly punk–whatever–and, even if he’s not a fan of some genre, he leans into it with a good amount of intuition. He is a music geek but not so much in the realm of skatepunk or classic rock, even though he plays bass for the punk band VTO. I know this about his approach because, full disclosure, I sing for VTO. And every practice, when we play some grimy punk cover, like the weirdly counted, chaotic “New Rose,” by The Damned, he embraces the vibe, melts into it. And normally, I wouldn’t be writing about my own band, except this is not about VTO. It’s about Schade’s solo project, Clay Secrets. And I probably wouldn’t even write about my own bandmate’s solo project, except that a) Schade will soon be leaving Missoula, and b) Clay Secrets is so wildly different from VTO, it’s like meeting a whole different Schade from a different end of the multiverse. In Clay Secrets, he plays multiple instruments and sings in a beautiful, soulful pop kind of way, but to a soundscape that is far from my wheelhouse. So, in advance of his EP release show, I wanted to find out what’s behind Perro de Monte’s floaty, jazzy, mathy sound.
How do you describe the sonic vibe of Clay Secrets and, in particular, the concept behind Perro de Monte?
Although there are a few commonalities between the three songs on the album, I think each of them are pretty idiosyncratic. I have a really hard time narrowing down a single genre, but there are definitely elements of the music I love: neo soul, jazz, math rock, post-punk, and pop. I really love the idea of using music to create tension or something unexpected, so I include a lot of time signature changes and melodic variations. I think the typical math rock or jazz fusion stuff that I listen to has a tendency to appeal to a very specific subset of listeners, so I try to sprinkle those weird time changes into my songs with a bit more subtlety so that I can reach a broader audience while still giving music nerds something cool to latch onto.
I can’t really confidently compare the entire album to the works of any other artists, but I’m heavily influenced by Hiatus Kaiyote, Little Tybee, Badbadnotgood, The Dear Hunter, and Louis Cole to name a few, and I think that influence is definitely tangible upon a close listen (or I hope so…).
When I wrote the tunes I had just moved back home to Montana after divorcing my ex, whom I’d been with for over 10 years (most of which we spent together in a dream life living abroad). I was in a super dark place, emotionally, so my therapist encouraged me to try to do something creative to unpack all of the negativity I was feeling. The lyrics in each song are representative of that. They aren’t all doom-gloomy, but they for sure touch on a lot of my most painful and present struggles: The ending of my relationship that I mentioned above, struggles with addiction, and my frustration as a worker in the capitalist hellscape that we find ourselves in.
Since this album is just you, what was the process like producing it and what instruments do you play on it?
I wrote the guitar and bass parts using a looper pedal, and then I played along to those loops on my drumset. I’m still very much in the learning stages of drums, but after struggling to replace the drummer that I’d been playing with for years after his departure from the project, I decided to put a lot of energy and focus into learning drums well enough to play parts for this project.
My dear friend and former bandmate (from Hibernator) Phil Yanzick has an amazing recording studio in Basin, and he recorded, mixed, and mastered all three songs. I have recorded in a lot of places, but Phil really cultivated an atmosphere that nurtures creativity. The process itself was pretty typical of other professional-level recording experiences I’ve taken part in. We recorded each instrument individually until the songs were complete, then moved on to vocals. Recording with Phil really stood out in that he gave me a lot of space to explore alternative approaches to the songs, which I think is probably annoying to most engineers–rightfully so. Phil never made me feel rushed or that I had to compromise anything in the interest of time, and actually gave me the impression that he was personally invested in the music and my vision.
Who will be playing the live show with you and how has that changed the way the songs sound?
So for the release show, I have Blair Libby and Sam Robison from Pettifoggers on drums and bass, respectively, and Will Stoskopf from Cosmic Sans on lead guitar. We only started playing together a few months ago, but I think their levels of playing and skill-sets really enabled them to learn these songs quickly, even though the songs are relatively complex. I’d seen each of them individually play shows and was confident they’d be able to figure out my music without issue, but I’ve been really struck by the ease with which each of them have been able to impart their own creativity in the tunes. The general vibe and dynamic of the album persist, but the songs have definitely evolved with each of their input.
Clay Secrets plays Monk’s Fri., Nov. 10, with Dylan Running Crane, VTO, .repetend, and Tiny Iota. $15 if you can.
