STEVE WYNN--vocals, guitar
JASON VICTOR--guitar, vocals
LINDA PITMON--drums
DAVE DECASTRO--bass
Influences
Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Spiritualized, Neil Young, Primal Scream, Butterfield Blues Band, Television, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, the Auteurs, Gun Club, Serge Gainsbourg, The Who, Yo La Tengo, Howlin' Wolf, Peter Laughner, The Saints, Bo Diddley, Chris Cacavas, Flamin' Groovies, LCD Soundsystems, Modern Lovers, Albert Ayler, Allman Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Joni Mitchell, Thelonius Monk, Dusty Springfield, The Cramps, Faust, Miles Davis, Talking Heads, Green On Red, Lee HazelwoodTeenage Prayers, The Kinks, Judee Sill, Small Faces, The Who, The Fall, Beck, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Clash, RL Burnside, Neu, Big Star, House of Freaks, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Giant Sand, Roxy Music, Daniel Johnston, Dr. Alimantado, Johnny Cash, The Fleshtones, Sly And The Family Stone, Nuggets, Only Ones, Tony Joe White, Silver Jews, Ornette Coleman, Standells, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Randy Newman, Spoon
The days during my three weeks in Ljubljana were pretty simple. I would wake up early and leave my apartment on Trubarjeva Street and cross Dragon Bridge in search of a good cup of coffee which I would I would sip as I watched the vendors in the open market as they sold cabbage, purses, cheap watches and anything else that might be worth a Euro or two. I’d watch this panorama of commerce and barter and think about which song I would drag into the daily laboratory that was Chris Eckman’s home studio.
I had never made a record like this before. I was in Slovenia, far from my New York City apartment and in a musical world that had shrunk down to just two people—me and Chris, the multi-talented producer (Midnight Choir) and bandleader (Walkabouts, Chris & Carla). He had been wanting to make a record with me for many years and seemed particularly intent on stripping things down to my voice and my acoustic guitar and then building up another universe from there.
No band. No session players (until later). No passing of the baton in this relay race. Even Chris would hesitate when I tried to get him to play something. Guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals—if I could do it, I had to do it. And that’s why “Crossing Dragon Bridge” sounds different from other records I’ve done before but also more like the sound inside my head than anything I’ve done before.
But it’s not a record I would have made in New York. Or in Tucson. Or in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow or Mali, It’s not like a record I would make on the moon or on Mars or in New Jersey. It has the sound and the mood and the sights and the overall vibe of Ljubljana. I swallowed the city whole and then waited for the meal to work itself into a digestive hallucination before spitting it out again each day at Chris’ place. And then it was back for a pint of Union beer by the river before starting all over again.
When I left Slovenia a few weeks later both of us knew we had something special. And then we proceeded to add the extra bits that would take the experience further. An eight-piece orchestra was added in Prague to a bunch of the songs and a woman’s choir in Ljubljana was added to others. Linda Pitmon, Kirk Swan, Chris Cacavas and Tim Adams (Teenage Prayers) chimed in from New York, Los Angeles and Germany bringing in elements of familiarity from my past and present.
Finally the whole thing was filtered through the creative and impressionistic mixing skills of Tucker Martine (Decemberists, Laura Veirs) and turned into the record that you hold in your hands. It’s a snapshot, a dream, an acid flashback, a tourist guide, a midnight snack, a morning cup of coffee—it’s the other world that happened around me and inside my head for three weeks last September. I hope you enjoy taking the trip back there with me.
DISCOGRAPHY
KEROSENE MAN 1990
DAZZLING DISPLAY 1992
FLUORESCENT 1994
MELTING IN THE DARK 1996
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT 1998
MY MIDNIGHT 1999
HERE COME THE MIRACLES 2001
STATIC TRANSMISSION 2003
...TICK...TICK...TICK 2005
LIVE TICK 2006
LIVE IN BREMEN 2008
CROSSING DRAGON BRIDGE 2008
with the Dream Syndicate
THE DREAM SYNDICATE (ep) 1982
THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES 1982
MEDICINE SHOW 1984
OUT OF THE GREY 1986
GHOST STORIES 1988
LIVE AT RAJI'S 1988
with Gutterball
GUTTERBALL 1993
WEASEL 1995
TURNYOR HEDINKOV 1995
other releases
THE LOST WEEKEND (with Danny & Dusty) 1985
TAKE YOUR FLUNKY AND DANGLE 1994
THE SUITCASE SESSIONS 1998
PICK OF THE LITTER 1999
MOMENTO (with Australian Blonde) 2000
THE EMUSIC SINGLES COLLECTION 2001
SMACK DAB 2007
CAST IRON SOUL (with Danny & Dusty) 2007
Long time no see. Copenhagen miss you, wrong we need your awsome songs, music and performance......... so that there can bee some joy in the cold times we got ahead of us..... Stay cool!!!!!!!!
After the amazing Chris Eckman show in Hartberg (Austria), Chris gave me a copy of the Walkabouts Tribute album. Your version of "Jack Candy" is really awesome and unbelievable!!!!! Fantastic cover!!!!
Take care,
Alex
See more Chris Eckman pictures on my profile - comments are welcome!
ciao Steve....i was wondering where you and Linda are and i miss you all very much...it's been such a great time on the seaside !!!! and get lost in ravenna with the memphis blues again'..... keep rocking my bro hope to see ya all soon!!! Rigo
Don't forget all you Atlanta people, one of the shows of the year happens this Sunday, 9/27 at the Earl. The Steve Wynn IV, the Minus 5 and the Baseball project. Doors are early, at 8pm since the club has to be closed at 12midnight. Show starts on or near 8:30pm.