The Alternate Routes ~ A Suckers Dream

Words and Photo by Joe Koch

The Alternate Routes have released A Suckers Dream, their second effort on Vanguard records. That means it's time to gas up the van and hit the road, where they are definitely no strangers. What better way to celebrate the release than to team up with their good friend Matt Wertz and tour as his supporting act?

Both artists have similar audiences, so this was a perfect plan to introduce people to A Suckers Dream. During their recent stop in Rochester, N.Y., they had an interview on the Brother Wease Morning show, a local icon on talk radio. Then it was down to Water Street Music Hall, where I was able to sit down with lead vocalist Tim Warren during sound-check and talk about the making of the new record and their experience on Brother Wease.

First, I want to say congratulations on the new record, A Suckers Dream. It sounds incredible! So how was your interview with Brother Wease this morning?

It went great. It was different from what we’re use to. It was definitely a more relaxed atmosphere than we’re used to. He was a really cool guy. He let us stay in the studio for over two hours, promoting our new album. He came across as a real genuine guy.

The new songs “A Suckers Dream,” “Ain’t No Secret,” “On and On We Whisper” and “Desdemona” all came across great on the radio.

Thanks. We appreciate the time Brother Wease gave us. We did an acoustic performance of our first single, “The Future’s Nothing New," but it’s hard to re-create the vibe of the full electric version at 9 a.m. I hope it came across equally as well.

The songs on A Suckers Dream are quite an eclectic collection, ranging from your typical love song to a song about a fortune teller. What was the process like for writing this record?

We had four years of experiences to write about so we had a large pool of songs to choose from. We spent some time working on new material right before we went into the studio, and a lot of which ended up on the album.

“Ain’t No Secret,” “Just a Dream” and “All that I See” came out of a song-writing period that we did at the house where we rehearse. We’ve never done anything like that, not with that kind of dedication. Ideas for songs popped up quickly. I can’t wait to do it again.

I wish that we had enough success under our belts so that we could take six months off to just write songs. I would be so excited to see what we would accomplish.

The first single “The Future’s Nothing New” definitely has a different sound to it. How did you come up with that?

“The Future’s Nothing New” came out of a random day last summer, where we were just messing around with Chip on the drums and it just happened. That’s the great thing about this band. I wish we did stuff like that more often. We weren’t sure whether to pick this as the first single, but when we see and hear the crowd’s reaction when we play it live, that’s confirmation that we made the right choice. Besides that, the tool box has its own fan club.

Tool box?

Yeah, I use a loaded tool box for the performance of that song. Its mic’d and everything. It’s used as a percussion instrument. It just gives the song that extra kick.

Now this is your second release on Vanguard records. How much pressure is there with this one?

There’s a ton of pressure. Just like any record that’s released. The record company needs it to sell or you lose their support. There was no guarantee that we’d get a second chance. So I’m psyched that we get another shot and yes I would say our backs are against the wall with this one.

I see that you turned to Jay Joyce again to produce the new record. Why?

We looked around, but we really believed in our first album, Good Reckless and True, which Jay produced. We all wished it had done better. I don’t know why it didn’t, but it doesn’t matter anymore. So there’s definitely a chip on our shoulder. So we went back to the same producer with older/wiser material.

So you’re happy with the final product?

Jay had a vision and he followed through on it. I wouldn’t have made the album the same way. But, I’m proud of the material that ended up on the new record and there was a little bit of heartache in Nashville over what songs to include. We would’ve loved to put 15 songs on the record. But, we ran out of time and money. I think there’s a little more aggression on this one too.

What are some highlights that we can expect from this album?

I love that the song “Desdemona,” which features Patty Griffin on vocals, is followed by “Toe the Line.” So you literally go from a whisper to a scream in a six-minute period. I think that’s pretty cool. I hope that this is the kind of album that you put in your car player and just cruise around all summer listening to.

I think that you have some really memorable lyrics on this album. Do you have any favorite lyrics on this one?

I would say the bridge from “On and On we Whisper” — “Everybody looks real fine. Everybody’s on my chain. Why do you want to dress me up? Everybody aches the same.”

If you weren’t doing music what would you be doing?

My passion was baseball. I was a really good ball player, but I decided to pursue music and that’s that. I go on the advice that Rodney Crowell gave me. "Never have a back-up plan,” he told me. Because if you have a back-up plan then that’s your plan and you will not succeed at your dream. So with that said, we continue to conquer the country one person at a time.