We were prepared to release the record, the same way Nation of Heat was done.  But then Logan from Lightning Rod approached us in the fall and everything happened quickly and I think both sides felt very comfortable about everything.  We both wanted something similar and yeah I’m very excited and I think they are going to do a great job distributing the record and getting the word out.
What was the biggest difference between the recording of Nation of Heat and Messenger?
The biggest difference was this time I knew I was recording a record, whereas the first it time, it almost got made by accident.  I was just recording songs. This one was made after a year or two touring.  So this one was intended to be a record. It’s a little bit different being aware of that while you’re doing it. I’m not saying it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s very different.
How important to you was it to have the full band in the studio for songs like “Messenger†and the re-working of “Speak Plainly, Diana�
For me it was very important. Because that’s how I have sort of been….I’ve been very interested in working with a band. It was very important that we get them in there. It was a little more difficult, because I’d never recorded with a band before.  It took a little time and it took some pulling your hair out a little bit, but I’m glad we did it.
The Nation of Heat EP was the 7 songs, and now Messenger has just the 10 songs on it, was that a purposeful decision to keep it short and digestible?
There were a bunch of other songs on the cutting room floor, but I just felt like these ten made the whole….They held together and ordered themselves. There are a few that didn’t make the cut that might find their way onto something, but I just felt really comfortable with these 10.
This is a question I wonder about a lot for all artists, so here goes. You’ve been playing most of the songs on Messenger live for a long while now, I think I have bootleg versions of 8 of the 10 songs, does make any difference to you as a performer now that they’re out or is it just more of a pride at making and releasing the record?
As a performer, it is great when the songs are already on a record. I think its much easier for the audience to understand and hear songs they’ve already heard. It’s cool to hear the audience like a new song, but it can be sort of difficult to hear two new songs in a row. I mean your brain is doing a lot of processing, there is a lot going on. So, I really like when we’ve released a song and people know it coming into a show. It makes a big difference.
I was wondering if I could get you to respond to this quote from Steve Earle—he was quoted by The New York Times said that when he was a teenager, that he thought it was “possible to create songs that might be ‘literature that you consume while driving in your car.’† When asked recently if he thought that was still possible and if  there was anybody right now that he thought was putting out music that qualifies as literature, he said “Absolutely. I think Joe Pug does. I think my son [Justin Townes Earle] does when he’s in his best form.”
Wow. I mean….. my only comment is wow. There is nothing else to say about that. That’s awesome. That’s just really [expletive] cool.
[later]
Steve has really helped me so much more. He’s kind of taken me under his wing and I could go on for an hour talking your ear off about Steve Earle and how much he’s meant to me. But, yeah that’s really cool.
Messenger was released February 16th on Lightning Rod Records. Â Check out the Twangville review here. Â Also check out Joe Pug tour dates (including shows with Justin Townes Earle and Josh Ritter) here.
Here is Joe covering a Hank William’s classic.
About the author: Specializes in Dead, Drunk, and Nakedness..... Former College Radio DJ and Current Craft Beer Nerd