Interview with PJ Loughran

by Sara McDowell

Dreams Awake: What was the first song you wrote and what was it about?

PJ Loughran: "The Knowledge Tree." I wrote it at art school when I was 20. I knew two chords on the guitar and I had just ended a long relationship with my first real love -- a perfect recipe for good sap. The song mixes Greyhound bus imagery with Sir Isaac Newton and the apple. It's a little heavy handed, but I still kinda like the earnestness of it.

DA: You started drawing and taking up music at a young age. What types of drawings did you make when you were younger and what kind of music did you do?

PL: How young are we talking? Scribbles (age 2) to stick figure war battles (age 7) to Spiderman (age 14) to nude models (age 19) to really anything and everything these days. As far as music, I played a lot of Jazz in high school and early college and moved to songwriting in my early 20's.

DA: What kinds of illustrations do you mostly do now?

PL: Most of my jobs are editorial assignments, magazines and newspapers ... I've been on a monthly run with Esquire this past year, with additional work for clients ranging from Time to Fortune to Burton Snowboards to airline magazines to weirdo corporate rags you've probably never heard of. I do about 150 drawings a year.

DA: How did you become so successful with getting your drawings out to so many publications? PL: I used to go to Barnes and Noble and copy down the masthead information from magazines -- the Art Directors' names and addresses. Then I'd send out postcards of my artwork to my list of names until I got work. Eventually, it became steady work. Just like music, it takes time. DA: What made you decide to venture into the music business? PL: It was an itch that had needed a scratch for a long time. DA: You've been very successful with your illustrations and now you are reaching into the music business. Do you think the two have any aspects in common? PL: VERY similar. In both disciplines, you're kind of selling your point of view. That's the commodity, if you look at it that way.

DA: When did you begin playing the guitar?

PL: When I was 20 I bought a crappy Squire guitar from an old roommate of mine, and just started figuring stuff out. I didn't really start shedding and writing until I was about 24, 25. I played my first open mike when I was 27. I've been playing sax since I was 8.

DA: Which do you prefer -- the guitar or saxophone?

PL: Both are really satisfying in different ways. The guitar lets me write, the sax lets me show off.

DA: Some of your songs sound like diary entries. Do you find yourself writing much about personal issues and pleas?

PL: Every song is pretty personal. I tend to write when I'm trying to sort stuff out. I'm a bit "heart-on-my-sleeve," probably to a fault at times. But, either way, it's all very honest -- no bullshit anywhere on the record.

DA: What musicians do you admire and for what reasons?

PL: As a writer, Paul Simon. No one mixes melody and poetry better. He's written a lot about places I know (he grew up in Queens not far from me), so I've always had a strong connection to his stories. I love the way he weaves through genres, all the while keeping his own voice. When I write, I'm trying to be him. As a performer, Martin Sexton. I've really never seen anyone move an audience like this guy. Such an under-appreciated talent... When I'm on stage, I'm trying to be him. Him or Elvis Costello. As a sax player everyone from Cannonball Adderly, to Bernie Maupin, to Sonny Rollins, to the usuals -- Coltrane, Bird, etc.

DA: Is there any music out there that you truly despise? PL: Not really, but I guess it bugs me when I see a lack of sincerity. Art, music, books, etc, is where we go for truth. The truth of what it is we all go through in just being a person, and a chance to celebrate all the unspoken stuff that makes life what it is. We deal with so much day-to-day bullshit in our jobs, on TV, in advertising, in politics, so it just seems like a waste when I see the same bullshit in art. DA: How long have you been playing shows? PL: As a guitarist/singer I've been playing just under 2 years. I've been playing shows on horn since I was 17 though. DA: Which do you prefer -- performing live or recording? PL: They're both great and challenging and require completely different skill sets. For me, working in the studio is a very similar experience to drawing. You have time to mull things over, to woodshed and refine. Performing is very immediate, and much more about the moment, time of day, place, etc. They each satisfy different things for me.

DA: What do you think about when performing in front of an audience?

PL: The crowd. It's like having a conversation with someone. I'm sort of listening and vibing off them in the same way you do when you meet someone for the first time.

DA: Where is your favorite place to play?

PL: I'm loving the Bitter End right now. We play there regularly once a month.

DA: Where would you most like to play?

PL: Irving Plaza would be a thrill. I've seen so many shows there, and it's a little more in my reach than Madison Square Garden right now!

DA: Where did you grow up? What do your parents do?

PL: I grew up in Albertson, NY on the north shore of Long Island (but I've lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan the last 10 years). My father passed away when I was 15 (he was a real estate developer) and my mom has done everything from the stay-at-home mom, to summer camp administrator, to an executive at an eye wear manufacturer, to president of the school board in our town. She's pretty incredible. I get my intense work ethic from her.

DA: What things are you obsessed with? PL: Testing my limits. DA: Where would you like to see yourself in three years? PL: Drawing pictures, making music ... pretty much where I am now. Maybe having the music sustain itself. DA: Would you give up your career as an illustrator for music? PL: I'd do my best to keep them both a float in some form or another. DA: What's the most valuable lesson you've ever learned? PL: Arrogance is a dangerous thing.

DA: What are your strengths and weaknesses as a musician?

PL: I think I'm a very intuitive player but I sometimes rely too much on my instincts. I could always use some more technical study. I actually know very little of what I'm playing on guitar most of the time, as far as chord names and such. Our bass player transcribes everything for me.

DA: What do you think is the secret of success?

PL: Endless perseverance, with a dash of crazy.

DA: Describe yourself in three words.

PL: A perverse optimist.

For more information on PJ Loughran, visit his website at www.pjloughran.com.