“Mysterious, isn’t it”

It wasn’t until I sat down to do research for this interview that I discovered just how prolific Robert Fisher’s music career has been. Now the brain child behind the Willard Grant Conspiracy, Fisher’s musical career has spanned decades, well beyond the thirteen year old Willard Grant Conspiracy.

Started in 1995, Willard Grant Conspiracy is essentially a collaborative project set among friends from the west coast to the east. Robert Fisher is the single core member of the group; the group may or may exist without him, but from the start Fisher has contributed to everything released under the WGC name. Started without any real intention, Fisher is still unsure how to describe the formation of the group, “Even after all these years, I am still not exactly sure how it all came together. I don’t remember ever having a thought that we should start a band like this one.” But what started by accident thirteen years ago has expanded well beyond his expectations. The collective has now released twelve albums and over thirty people have contributed.

Despite public perception and media reports that the band is mainly based around Fisher, he says this is more myth than truth. “It is much more of a band than people think…David Michael Curry has been playing in the band for almost fourteen years, about six months ago Paul Austin and I played a show together which makes almost twenty six years of playing together.” All together there has been thirty eight members, Fisher says “I won’t list them all but our newest member has been involved for about six months.” Other notable contributors to the band include Kristen Hersh and Chris Eckman of The Walkabouts.

“The kind of music we make isn’t trendy and isn’t likely to be marketed except by word of mouth”

Given the informal approach to song writing and without a set base of musicians, one would expect playing live would throw up some unwanted problems. For what essentially started out as friends jamming in the living room on a Tuesday night has become much more than that. The majority of the band members have other commitments, however all make time in their schedule to play in this rather unconventional, informally structured group. Fisher declares, “The music is always paramount for everyone involved and there is never a time when someone is playing and would rather be somewhere else as happens with more traditional band structures.” Such is the complexity of the Willard Grant Conspiracy, that when they touch down for three New Zealand shows in early October it will be a one man show. Robert says “The economics prevent anyone from showing up except myself”, he goes on to say “Maybe this tour will prove that there is enough of an audience for what we do to make promoters and clubs more comfortable with bringing down a larger version of the band on the next trip.”

The state of the economy and politics is a topic Fisher is not afraid to be open about. With many people feeling the pressure from poor economic growth and rising fuel costs, it is having a definite effect on bands trying to travel abroad. I asked him if he thought music still has a place alongside politics; “there is all sorts of politics in music. Some I agree with and some I don’t, but the complexity of the surrounding world would suggest that it is unlikely that there will be some sort of galvanising force through music. I’d like to think that politics of personal responsibility infuse what we do. There is power in the search for universal truths.”

Thankfully, Willard Grant Conspiracy have been lucky enough to travel to many countries. The band seem to have a strong fan base throughout Europe and with help from the music press they have reached a global audience. “We’ve always had a good relationship with writers and I’m thankful for that. The kind of music we make isn’t trendy and isn’t likely to be marketed except by word of mouth.” Fisher is not a huge fan of the commercial music industry and likens the current ‘mainstream’ music industry to the 1950s. “The big music industry today behaves a lot like they did in the 50s when they manufactured artists and bands and sold them to the public. There is an arrogance of power there, a sort of “we’ll tell you what you’ll like and you’ll thank us for it”. That said, a lot of people still buy into that sort of thinking. The state we find ourselves in has plenty of blame to go around.”

It’s Robert Fisher’s attitude that has him hailed as some-what of an ‘Alt-Country’ legend. However he is personally not a fan of putting a label on his music, “I try not to define what we do…but if I was forced on pain of death, I’d go with what an English writer friend calls us, “a psychedelic folk garage rock band”. It works well enough and doesn’t limit us to much.” If this sounds inviting to your musical pallet, or you’re just a fan of good ol’ fashioned folk music then get to one of the upcoming shows.

Wednesday, October 1- SFBH, Wellington

Thursday, October 2- Sammies, Dunedin

Friday, October 3- 4:20, Auckland

Tickets $20 from Slow Boat Records and Real Groovy

Willard Grant Conspiracy- The Work Song: MP3

Willard Grant Conspiracy- Lady Of The Snowline: MP3

Willard Grant Conspiracy- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under U.S.A