I ascended the tour bus as Stephen Fretwell was changing his trousers. Having just played the eleventh gig of his tour at The Classic Grand on Jamaica Street, he was probably looking forward to relaxing.
After a few minutes waiting for him with current band mates Pete and Richard of Elbow, Stephen emerged, even friendlier and likable than his onstage persona.
While the audience at the Classic Grand ate up Fretwell’s every note, he found it paled in comparison to most of the previous tour stops. “That wasn’t the best show we’ve done – in fact it was my least favourite. The sound was a bit strange and that guy was shouting in the front.”
Few others aside from the distracting gents stood at the very front, which is quite a different scenario from what one would find at any gig in NYC, where Fretwell spent time last year. After finishing a tour with Feist, he opted to shoot down to Manhattan from Canada. Fretwell hadn’t intended on writing or recording in New York, but found himself eager to creative when he met Eli Janney, of Girls Against Boys and producer of Ryan Adams. After hearing Fretwell’s work, Janney encouraged him to record Man on the Roof.
“If anything, being there made the album more British, Fretwell notes, “I tried my hardest not to let it influence anything too much. I didn’t want to make some record like (singing) I’m riding down the East River…”
An easy impression of Fretwell is that he has long thought about New York and America. “I always had these ideas about New York in my head when I was young. I suppose I’ve always been quite secretly obsessive about American culture.”
Why Man on the Roof? The title came from a friend staying in Toronto who suggested the title because the man on the roof in a cowboy film is always the last guy to get shot. “You never notice the man on the roof,” Fretwell imitated his friend, “and that’s like you, nobody ever notices what you’re up to.”
Magpie, the album that preceded Man on the Roof, made people sit up and notice Fretwell. He describes the sudden acclamation as strange, and he is relieved to be back in the underground again. “That was, I think, the most character building thing that’s ever happened to me, having to deal with that, with grace.”
One of the artists who inspires Fretwell the most is Elliot Smith. With his experience in the spotlight, he believes he can understand what happened to Smith. “All of that adoration for Miss Misery, and then moving back down…I wonder if that’s what really depressed him. As much as he didn’t want to be a big act, maybe something inside him did and he felt guilty about it.”
Within most artists there lies a root of dissatisfaction. For Fretwell, an early dissatisfaction brewed over his hometown of Scunthorpe, England, which he has described as lacking soul. He often wonders what would have happened to him if he hadn’t fled. If he stayed, he probably never would have recorded at Abbey Road Studios. “The heritage of the place was amazing. Studio 2 is massive, and it’s a really nice place to set up 4 or 5 musicians.” Fretwell chose to record Magpie there for several reasons, one being that he is a massive Beatles fan.
The average person might find it hard to have any aspirations left after such an experience, but Fretwell maintains some goals. “I just want to keep writing and making myself happy with songs. I have never experienced a natural high as much as when I’ve just completed a song that I’m happy with.”
Fretwell claims to be the type of artist that feels compelled to follow a career in music. He quoted Tony Wilson: “97% of musicians are trying to make millions of pounds, and the other 3% feel they for some reason have to do it, and can’t stop themselves from doing it.” Fretwell’s status in that smaller percentile is palpable. While quite talented, he’ll be the first to remind you, whether intentionally or not, that he too puts his trousers on one leg at a time.
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