With production credits from current golden boy about town RYAN ADAMS, you'd think JESSE MALIN'S superb debut album "The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction" had arrived as if from nowhere. However, his vivid songs depicting life in the hard, raw Big Apple have come about through years of living (and part-owning a bar) in the city's East Village and cutting his teeth in hardcore punk bands since his teens. TIM PEACOCK hooks up with Jesse for a Transatlantic chat and discovers more as the singer/ songwriter prepares for a brace of acoustic shows with Ryan Adams.
With his debut album "The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction"(One Little Indian), JESSE MALIN has undoubtedly delivered one of THE singer/ songwriter albums of the year, with nods to both Alt.Country and - more specifically - the gritty, narrative- fuelled rock'n'roll previously associated with the likes of Lou Reed and Bruce Springsteen.
Totally likeable within seconds, it's difficult not to pick up a rapport with Jesse where music is concerned. We begin by discussing influences and he's off...
"OK, well before hardcore came along, let's see....early Elton John, Ramones, Motorhead, Bad Brains, Neil Young, the Stones, Dylan, John Lee Hooker....oh, hang on, the New York Dolls of course...."
Jesse draws breath...
"The thing is there's good and bad music, that really is the only criteria, even though it's a cliche," he continues.
"Besides, there's always my cinema influences...lots of gritty late '70s movies..."Dog Day Afternoon," John Cassavetes movies, all of Scorsese's stuff.."
Hang on, you made a cameo in Scorsese's "Bringing Out The Dead", didn't you?
"Yeah, I did a little bit, " drawls Jesse. "It's not one of his best movies, but y'know just being around Martin is such a great experience."
What did you learn from him?
"It's his passion and drive that makes him and that rubbed off on me. His characters and vibe are so right on. They always have a great humanity about them and his movies are such great slices of life. Not all his films are great, but you know he's always liable to produce something fantastic out of the air.
"Hell, I got to be around him for a couple of days and I got paid for it!"
Jesse still relates this with the incredulity of the luckiest schoolboy who just happened to be in the right place to meet his hero. He's got the same attitude to his occasional forays into Hollywood with soundtrack contributions...
"Yeah, well I just get called up by people there from time to time, " he shrugs.
"They call me if they want something a bit punky and weird. Y'know, I've done things like "Airheads" and so on. I know some cool people in that game, though. I know Jim Jarmusch, for instance. He's great. I'd love to do something with him in the future."
Of course, there are those out there who will doubtless accuse Jesse of riding Ryan Adams's cult coat-tails, seeing as how the ex-WHISKEYTOWN frontman has produced Jesse's debut LP, "The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction" and also plays most of the lead guitar. This is only part of the story, but Adams does make a significant contribution, nonetheless. What did he bring to the making of the album?
"The vibe would have been different, " notes Jesse.
"It would've been slicker without Ryan. We kept it sober and worked really hard. It was all done in six days. Orginally, I thought the record would be more like Springsteen's "Nebraska"; y'know, very dark, rather than a dark, melodic POP record with elements of The Smiths and Fleetwood Mac that we actually have now."
"Ryan really enjoyed being a sideman, " continues Jesse, warming to the theme.
"He had us all playin' in the room like the 1950s. He'd insist on keeping a song after the first take. Originally I wasn't so sure about the end result, but a little later I heard it in a bar and realised he'd captured it just right. It's so raw and immediate, hardly mixed. It's got a vibe like "Zuma" by Neil Young."
The album also features contributions from other key players like Joe McGinty, keyboard ace who's previously worked with the Psychedelic Furs and Steve Wynn and Melissa auf der Maur, ex-bassist with Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins.
"Yeah, well Joe comes with his own special sense of melody," considers Jesse.
"As for Melissa, she's a super-hot chick, very talented. Everybody was just vibing in the room when we recorded and that really comes across."
The album features a typically rock'n'roll-infleunced title. How tongue in cheek is this meant to be, Jesse?
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"It is, pretty much at least," he replies. " I mean, it's my first solo record and the songs deal with the stuff that helps put up a buffer against all the hell in the world."
"As the process goes, I tend to respond most to the people who are willing to go down with the ship," he continues.
"After all, the beauty of rock is that it gives you a channel to exorcise your demons. I've always been attracted to people with that edge about them, like Jack Nicholson's R.P. MacMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", or someone like Shane MacGowan. Rock does that for me at its' best."
Certainly, someone like Shane could relate to the best songs on "TFAOSD." Jesse's songs are both colourful and real, but are they meant to be autobiographical?
"Generally, yeah, at least about 95%," says Jesse.
"I mean, the names have been changed to protect the guilty(laughs). I try to work a bit like Dylan does in that he won't tell you exactly who his songs are about, but you have no doubt what you're hearing is real and relates to somebody. That he speaks the truth, basically."
"Thinking about the songs on the album, something like "Almost Grown" is certainly autobiographical. "Wendy" is about a girl - not her real name - but there are bits of me in her character, too. I try hard to ensure my songs have enough universal appeal to mean they'll strike chords in people in Zimbabwe or anywhere you like to think of."
Nonetheless, New York's tough urban landscapes remain the setting for the majority of Jesse's songs like "Brooklyn" or "Riding On The Subway." Can he see himself writing equally successful songs that relate to other places?
"Yeah, as a traveller, I like the idea of not being on the same block, " considers Jesse.
"I like being a sponge, absorbing influences and I also like the idea of being transient in hotel rooms. Weeks ago, I was in Paris, Holland, London...the scenery in some of my songs actually comes from touring. For instance, The Clash weren't from New York, but they wrote about the romance of the place so well. I'd like to think I could do that."
Perhaps inevitably, talk turns to New York City before we say goodbye. What do you make of the current vogue for all things retro-punk, like The Strokes, for instance?
"People are sceptical of them, but I love their stuff," Jesse shoots back.
"It's more lo-budget, lo-fi, frankly more rock'n'roll in attitude. Before, we had this horrible gorilla-penis metal shit, so this has to be a good step forward. Sure, it's not really changing the world, but it's still great to see the likes of The Strokes and The White Stripes coming through. The White Stripes wouldn't be my favourite, but I'm pleased kids are relating to something raw with energy at least."
And, finally, the obvious question: has New York changed dramatically since 9/11? What positive things have come out of the disaster, do you think?
"Well, we were into this horrible, Disneyfied, fascist Guiliani state before," Jesse says, almost spitting.
"Since then, though, the city's wised up and stopped getting into that bullshit. It's scared off the people who weren't real New Yorkers. The downside is that it's fucked with the economy, so there's more crime and junk going down again."
"But, do you know what?" he finishes:
"At least we don't have the same Starbucks mentality now. It's like life starts happening when you walk out the door and into the street and, at its' best, New York has that kinda thing going on. Somehow I can't imagine that happening if you're living in Iowa!"
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