Singer/songwriter Matt Sharp wanted to make an intimate album while he was living in Leiper's Fork, Tenn.
"I moved to this little place about an hour outside Nashville, and there was nothing but one restaurant and one gas station," Sharp said during a telephone interview from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "I had been bouncing around ideas and wanted to do something with them. I was tired of doing the layering and big productions, so I decided to make this little album that was very immediate."
The album will be released in February but Sharp has been on the road for the past couple of weeks, playing for college audiences to introduce them to the new material.
"The places we play have been allowing us to approach the show in a different way," said Sharp, the former bassist for Weezer and the Rentals. "If it's a bigger venue, we play on the floor in the midst of the audience. If there's a stage, we have the audience on stage with us. It keeps the atmosphere in your face, and you get a sense of connection.
"I wrote the songs hoping that they would be better in a live setting than on the album. But I wasn't worried about how intimate it could get. I just wanted to make music that I was inspired to make."
The stripped-down approach was different than his other musical projects. Sharp was the original bassist for Weezer and was a founding member of the Rentals. And a few months ago, he filed a lawsuit against Weezer regarding songwriting credits and band membership. "I wish I could tell you more, but there's not much going on with it right now," Sharp said. "I do want to say this: While I was in Weezer, it was a wonderful time of my life. I met and played with some great, beautiful people, and filing the lawsuit was the absolutely last thing I ever wanted to do. I don't want to do any mudslinging, because my experience in Weezer was pure. And I don't want to ruin it."
As for the Rentals, Sharp has taken a hiatus from that band to focus on his solo tours, which also feature former Cake guitarist Greg Brown. "I've known Greg for a couple of years," Sharp said. "When he left Cake, I tried to get him to join the Rentals. But it didn't work out.
"But we kept in touch, and after I moved back to L.A. after being in Tennessee, Greg was the first person I called to help me with the songs. And he's a talented person and really helped with the album. I'm very happy he's on tour with me."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com