Verna Brock (Beanpole)

Beanpole

An interview with Verna Brock by Mike Appelstein
for Caught In Flux #7

Beanpole is Verna Brock, a student and multi-instrumentalist who lives in Sacramento, CA. She played in Rocketship, appearing on that band’s early singles and A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness album. From there she joined Holiday Flyer, embellishing John and Katie Conley’s fragile songs with cello, piano and sundry other instruments. When not recording with the Conley siblings or studying music and biology, she records her own music under the name Beanpole. These tracks are typically laden with keyboards, woodwinds and strings, yet retain a certain shy, solitary quality. The Beanpole discography so far includes a 12” EP, a 7” single (with at least one more in the works), two collaborative singles with James Rao of Orange Cake Mix, and tracks on nearly a dozen compilation albums and singles. Consequently, it’s harder than it should be to track down Beanpole recordings, although there’s talk of a compilation CD down the line. Verna answered some questions via e-mail.

The typical Beanpole song has a wide variety of instruments flute, strings, keyboards, piano, etc. How many instruments can you play? Did you have lessons, or are you self-trained?
I started taking piano lessons when I was 7, and continued until I was 14. In junior high I played viola in the school orchestra, and in high school I branched out into concert band as well. My band and orchestra teachers were really cool, and they would let me take home instruments that weren’t being used. I taught myself how to play cello, oboe, bassoon, and clarinet that way. My sister took guitar lessons for a couple of months, and when she abandoned her guitar I kinda adopted it for myself. I took flute lessons for about six months before joining the high school concert band, and I studied cello with a Sacramento Symphony cellist for a year or so.

How did you get introduced to music?
The kids who lived next door to me were all taking piano lessons. They could play the coolest stuff, and so I wanted to take lessons too.

What was your first band?
Ugh...okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so negative. It was Graham Cracker Cyclone. It was sort of a Joy Division/New Order/Cure thing. I was in high school at the time. We just practiced, and occasionally we’d play shows. I played guitar and occasionally sang backing vocals. We thought we sere so cool back then, but we actually were terrible!

How long have you been writing songs?
For about eight years or so.

Could you give me your musical timeline relating to Rocketship/Holiday Flyer/Beanpole? In what order did they happen?
I joined Rocketship when Graham Cracker Cyclone broke up... I think that was around Sept. 1993. I met John and Katie (Holiday Flyer) at Jim’s (Rocketship’s drummer) wedding, and started playing with them (and dating John!) in the summer of ‘94. I stopped playing in Rocketship late 1994. The Beanpole thing pretty much was going on through all this. I had a four-track, and I’d write and record stuff in my spare time. John convinced me that it would be worth my while to send out some tapes, so I did.

How did you get involved in Holiday Flyer? What’s your role within the band do you take part in songwriting?
I feel like my role in Holiday Flyer is “embellishment.” John and Katie write the songs, and I add whatever I think will complement what they’ve done. I write my own parts, and sometimes I help a little bit with songwriting, but I’d say about 98% of the songwriting is John and Katie.

What kind of recording equipment do you have? How does a typical song get developed?
Right now I’m in a sort of recording limbo. My trusty Fostex X-28H (I think that’s what it was!) recently died on me, so I’m in the process of replacing it. I first bought the new model Fostex replaced the X-28H with, but I hated it! So I sent it back, and now I’m awaiting a Tascam recorder. I really hope it works out okay. I miss my old four-track. The Beanpole recording process usually works in this way: I write the guitar part and vocal melody/lyrics before I start recording. I record the guitar first, and add a scratch vocal. Then I just play around with other instruments until I come up with something I like. I’ll record any other parts I come up with. I always do the vocals last, because that’s the part I tend to be the most picky with. I unfortunately have vocal skills similar to Ally McBeal.

Is Beanpole just you? Does anyone else help?
Beanpole has always been just me... but on the “In A Muddle” single, I enlisted the aid of two friends to play drums and bass. I recorded it at the studio that Holiday Flyer always uses.

Could you compare and contrast playing in a collaborative “band” context (e.g. Rocketship, Holiday Flyer) with a “solo” context (Beanpole)? Do you prefer one to the other?
Overall, I prefer playing with others to playing alone. I get lonely! And there’s nothing better than collaborating with other musicians who are on the same wavelength as you are. I don’t really ever get to play in a true “band” context anymore, due to my schedule, and I miss it so much...but solo is better than nothing. And the good thing about solo is that you always get your way!

How did you meet James Rao? How did your collaborative process work? Are you happy with the results; would you do it again (with Jim or someone else)?
Jim wrote to me after the Champagne Dancing Party 7” (which we both had songs on) came out. Jim lives on the East Coast, and I’m in California, so we created songs courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service. He’d record stuff on a couple of tracks and then send the cassette to me to finish. I’m so happy that Jim and I were able to do this. It is something I will always be proud of. I mean, how many people are in a band with someone they’ve never even met? Jim is a cool guy and a great songwriter, so I couldn’t have gotten luckier. I would love to do more stuff like this if I ever get the opportunity.

What inspires your songwriting?
I don’t know! I don’t want to sound like a dork, but I don’t think I get “inspired” by anything. I just make stuff up.

How do you like playing live? Why does Beanpole not play live?
Beanpole doesn’t play live because I’m too chicken to do shows all by myself, and I don’t have enough time to rehearse with a band. I used to love playing shows when I played in Rocketship, because I played bass. You don’t have to worry about a bass getting hurt at a show, because they’re durable. When I played with Holiday Flyer, I was constantly in fear about my cello. I don’t play live with them anymore, because the cello just didn’t work out well at shows – it was hard to mike, it would feed back constantly, and I could never hear myself playing. It wasn’t fun, so I stopped.

What do you do when not rocking? What are your other interests/what else takes up your time?
I have a semester left at CSU Sacramento. I’m a chemistry major, and this takes up absolutely all my time. I don’t really have time to do music at all when I’m in school. It really sucks. I love reading, but I don’t have time for this either. I like playing games... board games with friends. I like buying makeup (although I never wear it). I love eating at my parents’ house, because I get good food there! For free!

How’s your new apartment?
I love it – it’s only five minutes away from school (compared with about 30 minutes from my parents’ house) and it’s close to all my friends.

Please list some of your favorite things: records, books, whatever.
Books: Emma, Rebecca, any of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jane Eyre, Roots, Portrait of A Lady, all the Little House On The Prairie books, The Catcher In The Rye. I’m a sucker for classics about girls with happy endings. Records: the Pink Panther soundtrack (Henry Mancini), the first True Love Always LP, Tullycraft, anything by Lois or Heavenly, anything by Art Tatum or Scott Joplin. In general, I love indie pop with clean jangly guitar, and classic piano jazz (T. Monk, Art Tatum, Pete Johnson...).

What’s your opinion of music these days? Anything you particularly like or that irks you?
My nose is so deeply buried in textbooks these days that I’m pretty clueless about most of the stuff that’s going on in music. But here’s something I saw the other day that really bugged me... Dolly Parton was on Rosie O’Donnell the other day, and she fake played guitar. I mean, she was strumming the guitar when she sang, but I couldn’t hear it. She just used the guitar as a prop. I think she should have just ditched the thing if she wasn’t really going to be adding to the music. She has a beautiful voice, so she doesn’t need any props.

What are your plans for the future, both relating to music and real life?
I hope to get a job that I really enjoy and that generates enough income for me to enjoy my life. I’m tired of being poor. That way, I can have a home studio (a real one, not just a four-track hooked up to a stereo like now) and maybe even start a little record label. I hope I can put records out for a long time. About forty years from now, I’ll retire and play cello in some community orchestra. So far as other beanpole news goes, there isn't much to say. I think that there is a good chance that the Papercut 7" will be my last as beanpole. It's been fun, but I feel like I'm ready to do other projects. Darla once offered to put out a beanpole CD of all the stuff I've released, and I'd really like to do that...maybe early in 1999. I need to talk to James about that sometime soon.