“Resilience is the most important part of your career,” Duchovny said. “You have to keep trying.”
At that point, Duchovny was actually speaking about his acting career, responding to a question from a Berklee student about how he juggles so many projects and paths. But now that Showtime series Californication is in the books and upcoming NBC drama Aquarius has finished filming, Duchovny has shifted his focus to music, and could very well have been talking about his newfound hobby.
So while at first glance it seemed a bit strange that the actor would be talking in front of a bunch of aspiring musicians, he fit right in as one himself. Duchovny recently teamed up with Boston-based record label ThinkSay Records to jumpstart his music career, and while in town recording at Q Division Studios in Somerville this week, he found himself under the fluorescent glowing lights and squished into those tiny table chairs synonymous with college, a room full of students waiting to hear what exactly Duchovny had to offer the music industry and its followers.
Before the Q&A kicked off, we spoke briefly with an intern, Alec, who was doing his CO-OP for Northeastern at ThinkSay. The music biz major was enthusiastic about Duchovny’s project, telling me that he was nervous to meet the star, since he was such a big fan of his acting and therefore had obvious preconceptions he feared would be let down. But apparently Duchovny is a pretty stand-up guy. According to Alec, Duchovny’s debut album — titled Hell or Highwater and due out in March — aint so bad itself: “the music is really good and backed by a lot of great musicians, [Duchovny’s] voice has come leaps and bounds, and the record has a good, gritty sound, Duchovny has a lot of good ideas.”
Speaking yesterday in a relaxed manner, Duchovny appeared modest about his new path, sharing with the class that although he’s always been immersed in music, he himself had never picked up an instrument until a few years ago. He revealed that by buying an expensive Martin guitar — and getting Californication’s studio to write in main character Hank Moody as a guitarist — was how he finally got his lessons, and subsequently his chance to follow his “dream” of becoming a musician.
Although there isn’t much to go off currently, Thinksay Records owner and former Sony executive Brad Davidson described Duchovney’s earlier demos as “Dylan-esque, with a Lou Reed, Wilco feel.” However, since the recording process has begun, the new record is likely to have an Athens, Georgia, R.E.M. sound, we were told.
Duchovny also mentioned how he had always written poetry, hence his natural ease into lyric writing. Davidson hinted at the star’s lyrics as “complicated,” and with this in mind, one song to look out for on Hell or Highwater is the track titled “Passenger.” Duchovny admitted that the song is about “talking to someone [in your car] thats not actually there, but in your heart.” We’ll go ahead and assume it’s about ex-wife Tea Leoni.
Besides his astute lyrics, and the rumor mill, the general writing process for Duchovny goes similarly with that of the music community: “I sit down put chords together, and when I like how it sounds, I think of melody that would work well over the top,” he said.
With his approach revealed and a band consisting of all Berklee alumni, Duchovny’s debut record has all the markings for success. With Davidson, producer Colin Lee (also on the panel yesterday) and ThinkSay Records ensuring a “niche” sound without big label pressures and influences, the celebrity’s own creativity and talent should ensure this is no novelty act.
And it should bide his time nicely until that inevitable X-Files reunion.
Additional photos by Kelly Davidson for Berklee.
Source: vanyaland
Source: vanyaland
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