‘It’s our people:' Wilco returns to Missoula
Story By Justin Franz - Published in the Montana Kaimin Feb 5, 2010
They have to tour the country to make ends meet and have never had a Top 40 hit, but that doesn’t bother the members of Wilco, said drummer Glenn Kotche.
“None of us got into this for that,” Kotche said.
On Sunday night, Wilco, one of modern rock’s hardest working bands, will take the stage of the Adams Center for its second Missoula show in less than two years.
Formed in 1994 by frontman Jeff Tweedy, the Chicago-based band has gathered legions of steadfast and dedicated fans, even though they have remained in the shadow of mainstream popular music.
One of those fans is Chance Petek, a University of Montana student and musician from Missoula, who plans to attend this weekend’s show.
“They’re like the great modern American rock band,” he said. “Name another band that sounds like Wilco.”
In its formidable years, the band experienced a number of lineup changes, causing it to consistently change its sound. Moreover, though, the band consciously tries to make each album sound different from the last, Kotche said.
“You make a record and play those songs for two years, the last thing you want to do is make those songs again,” he said.
That was certainly evident in the band’s latest effort, “Wilco (The Album).” Released June 30, 2009, the album has sold almost 100,000 copies. Part of that success, Kotche said, is that this album is the result of both a lineup that hasn’t changed in the last five years and a look at the band’s entire history.
“It’s a picture of Wilco the band, which is why it’s called ‘Wilco,’” he said. “It’s an idea of where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Kotche joined the band just before the release of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in 2002. The album became one of the group’s greatest successes, but was surrounded by controversy when the band’s label, owned by Warner Music Group, refused to release it. The band then took the rights and released it online for free before another label, also owned by Warner, released it in the spring of 2002. The album has since sold more than a half million copies in the U.S.
For Kotche, joining Wilco was the opportunity of a lifetime.
At the time, Kotche had been working on various music projects in Chicago, but when Tweedy approached him, he dropped everything to join.
“Wilco fell in my lap,” Kotche said.
Since then, Wilco has grown in popularity. Its 2005 album, “A Ghost is Born,” won a Grammy for Best Alternative Rock Album. Since then, both of its studio releases — “Sky Blue Sky” and “Wilco (The Album)” — have been nominated for Grammys.
They played the Adams Center in May 2008 as a part of their “Sky Blue Sky” tour, marking the third time the band had come to Missoula. The success of that 2008 show will bring them back this weekend, which didn’t come as a surprise for UM Productions Director Rebecca Seliskar, who expects more than 2,500 people to attend this weekend.
“This will be one of the year’s big shows, for sure,” she said. “It’s an Adams Center show, so it’s definitely a big show.”
This is due to Missoula having the type of crowd the band often seeks, she said.
“Wilco has always been a college band and Missoula fans are always loyal,” Seliskar said.
Kotche agreed, saying that Missoula is the type of crowd to which the band gravitates.
“We’ve always had really good shows there and the audience is receptive,” he said. “Missoula is a good fit for Wilco. It’s our people.”
The upcoming Missoula show comes just before a tough tour schedule that will take the band through the Northwest before heading north for a free show in Vancouver, British Columbia, as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. After that they’ll make their way back east, ending in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 3.
While demanding tour schedules can be draining, Kotche said it is part of what the band is all about.
“We tour our butts off to make a living,” he said.
But even after the countless shows, Kotche said the band still enjoys what it does every night.
“It doesn’t get old. It’s hard being away from home sometimes, but I can honestly say that it doesn’t get old,” he said, adding that the band goes out with the same high level of emotion each performance.
“I feel a responsibility to play my ass off for the audience,” he said.
If they didn’t feel that responsibility, Kotche said, they would know it was time to “hang it up.”
But he said that won’t be for some time. The band plans to enter the recording studio to work on their next album later this year.
“This time next year, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a new record,” he said.
And, keeping in the band’s tradition, it will be something completely different.
“We all want to push things in a new direction,” he said.
That keeps fans like Petek coming back for more.
“The reason they are so great is that they do well on every front.” Petek said. “The lyrics are great and the music at times is too catchy to ignore and too powerful to resist.”
And if Kotche has anything to do with it, the band will stay that way.
“We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do and will do,” Kotche said.
Tickets are still available at all GrizTix locations, including the Adams Center Box Office and University Center. They cost $27 for students and $32 for the general public. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m.
They have to tour the country to make ends meet and have never had a Top 40 hit, but that doesn’t bother the members of Wilco, said drummer Glenn Kotche.
“None of us got into this for that,” Kotche said.
On Sunday night, Wilco, one of modern rock’s hardest working bands, will take the stage of the Adams Center for its second Missoula show in less than two years.
Formed in 1994 by frontman Jeff Tweedy, the Chicago-based band has gathered legions of steadfast and dedicated fans, even though they have remained in the shadow of mainstream popular music.
One of those fans is Chance Petek, a University of Montana student and musician from Missoula, who plans to attend this weekend’s show.
“They’re like the great modern American rock band,” he said. “Name another band that sounds like Wilco.”
In its formidable years, the band experienced a number of lineup changes, causing it to consistently change its sound. Moreover, though, the band consciously tries to make each album sound different from the last, Kotche said.
“You make a record and play those songs for two years, the last thing you want to do is make those songs again,” he said.
That was certainly evident in the band’s latest effort, “Wilco (The Album).” Released June 30, 2009, the album has sold almost 100,000 copies. Part of that success, Kotche said, is that this album is the result of both a lineup that hasn’t changed in the last five years and a look at the band’s entire history.
“It’s a picture of Wilco the band, which is why it’s called ‘Wilco,’” he said. “It’s an idea of where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Kotche joined the band just before the release of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in 2002. The album became one of the group’s greatest successes, but was surrounded by controversy when the band’s label, owned by Warner Music Group, refused to release it. The band then took the rights and released it online for free before another label, also owned by Warner, released it in the spring of 2002. The album has since sold more than a half million copies in the U.S.
For Kotche, joining Wilco was the opportunity of a lifetime.
At the time, Kotche had been working on various music projects in Chicago, but when Tweedy approached him, he dropped everything to join.
“Wilco fell in my lap,” Kotche said.
Since then, Wilco has grown in popularity. Its 2005 album, “A Ghost is Born,” won a Grammy for Best Alternative Rock Album. Since then, both of its studio releases — “Sky Blue Sky” and “Wilco (The Album)” — have been nominated for Grammys.
They played the Adams Center in May 2008 as a part of their “Sky Blue Sky” tour, marking the third time the band had come to Missoula. The success of that 2008 show will bring them back this weekend, which didn’t come as a surprise for UM Productions Director Rebecca Seliskar, who expects more than 2,500 people to attend this weekend.
“This will be one of the year’s big shows, for sure,” she said. “It’s an Adams Center show, so it’s definitely a big show.”
This is due to Missoula having the type of crowd the band often seeks, she said.
“Wilco has always been a college band and Missoula fans are always loyal,” Seliskar said.
Kotche agreed, saying that Missoula is the type of crowd to which the band gravitates.
“We’ve always had really good shows there and the audience is receptive,” he said. “Missoula is a good fit for Wilco. It’s our people.”
The upcoming Missoula show comes just before a tough tour schedule that will take the band through the Northwest before heading north for a free show in Vancouver, British Columbia, as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. After that they’ll make their way back east, ending in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 3.
While demanding tour schedules can be draining, Kotche said it is part of what the band is all about.
“We tour our butts off to make a living,” he said.
But even after the countless shows, Kotche said the band still enjoys what it does every night.
“It doesn’t get old. It’s hard being away from home sometimes, but I can honestly say that it doesn’t get old,” he said, adding that the band goes out with the same high level of emotion each performance.
“I feel a responsibility to play my ass off for the audience,” he said.
If they didn’t feel that responsibility, Kotche said, they would know it was time to “hang it up.”
But he said that won’t be for some time. The band plans to enter the recording studio to work on their next album later this year.
“This time next year, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a new record,” he said.
And, keeping in the band’s tradition, it will be something completely different.
“We all want to push things in a new direction,” he said.
That keeps fans like Petek coming back for more.
“The reason they are so great is that they do well on every front.” Petek said. “The lyrics are great and the music at times is too catchy to ignore and too powerful to resist.”
And if Kotche has anything to do with it, the band will stay that way.
“We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do and will do,” Kotche said.
Tickets are still available at all GrizTix locations, including the Adams Center Box Office and University Center. They cost $27 for students and $32 for the general public. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m.