Starflyer 59’s Jason Martin was still in his 20s when he began writing about the passage of time. The Southern California guitarist may have named a recent record Young in My Head, but the opposite attitude has defined the tenor of much of his songwriting. "I've always been kind of an old soul," he told NPR’s Lars Gotrich in 2021. “Even when I was a kid, I would rather hang out with my dad and his cronies talking about the Navy in the '50s than hanging out with my current buddies. I always thought I was older than I was."
The specter of age floats over Starflyer’s seventh album, Old, which was originally released nearly two decades ago on May 20th, 2003. At the time of its release, he’d been at the wheel of the SF59 big rig for nearly a decade, navigating a path from the dense shoegaze of early albums to synth-dappled retro pop. Though Martin has been SF59’s sole permanent member, Old was something else: an honest to goodness “band” outing, with Martin joined by longtime collaborator Jeff Cloud (of indie label Velvet Blue Music), drummer Frank Lenz, and the late keyboardist Richard Swift, who would later join up with The Shins and The Black Keys. (He also released The Novelist, his debut under the Richard Swift name, in 2003.)
Embracing art rock pomp and big beat swagger, Old was a concept album about, well, aging. Whereas the band’s previous album, 2001’s mono-mixed Leave Here a Stranger, felt romantic and time faded, Old possessed a spookier tone, its AOR and proggy sleekness suggesting that maybe you should fear the reaper, at least a little. “The songs are mortally aware,” wrote Pitchfork’s William Morris.
Though Starflyer was and remains known as a “Christian” band, these songs eschew any manner of moralizing, sounding instead like confessions from a Don Draper-esque main character struggling through midlife crises, smoking too many cigarettes, and pondering the toll life demands. “I’m on my last beats,” Martin sings on the epic closer “First Heart Attack,” his deep voice clearer in the mix than it had been on earlier albums, the reverb dialed back enough for each fatalistic lyric to be heard clearly. There’s no easy redemption or heavenly glory extolled. The message here is bleak but resolute: When your number is called, there’s no uncalling it. No major awards, just wave goodbye.
Jeff Cloud on Starflyer 59’s Old at 20
Jeff Cloud is one of the hardest working fellas in independent rock, but he carved out some time to answer a few fanboy questions. If you enjoy this chat, I recommend checking out his appearance on Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions for a deeper dive.
Starflyer has always been, at the core, Jason Martin’s project. But when I listen to Old it seems born out of the band’s most democratic era. Writing in a recording journal you kept at the time, you said, “[W]e have a full four people making decisions. This sometimes makes things smoother and sometimes more difficult.” How did making Old differ from previous Starflyer albums?
Jeff Cloud: Jason is always of course the head of the dragon, but Old did feel more collaborative. I think it was a really nice creative period. It felt like we had time on our hands to get things done.
Old was co-produced by Aaron Sprinkle at The Compound in Seattle, but production got started at Oasis in Southern California with you four running the sessions. Coming off of working with the late Gene Eugene and Terry Scott Taylor on previous albums, what was most exciting about the idea of producing yourselves?
Aaron did play a large role in getting the sounds and all that sort of stuff but having people like Swift and Lenz in the room just really opened up the bag of ideas. Jason is pretty much always up to at least try new things out. I think it was just a really great batch of songs that he wrote during this period too.
Cut in mono and heavy on sunshine pop vibes, 2001’s Leave Here a Stranger is undoubtedly SF59’s most ‘60s sounding record, whereas Old is undoubtedly SF59’s most ‘70s sounding record. I know Pink Floyd and T. Rex served as reference points. What other ‘70s albums did you guys have in mind?
Not sure how much it influenced the record, but there was a lot of Black Sabbath being listened to, and Swift was very much into the Beach Boys.
Lenz’s drum parts throughout are ridiculous and Swift’s work on the album is also exceptional—the title track brings to mind The Novelist. What did they bring to the table for this record?
We had known Lenz from various other things. Swift and Lenz were working a lot together at that time, and we needed a drummer. Lenz was a perfect fit. Being in the studio with Swift was a joy. Swift is always encouraging, always full of ideas. I don't think people often realize that he was exceptionally funny.
Both Swift and Lenz had been dabbling a lot in that ‘70s realm—I’m thinking of Walking Without Effort and The Hot Stuff. Did they have much to do with the direction of SF59 circa Old?
I think Jason has the vision of what the record would be and others added to that vision. Having Martin, Lenz, and Swift all working on something…can it ever turn out bad? I don't think so.
Leave Here a Stranger and Old are both solidly concept records. You guys were close with David Bazan at the time, and he was also writing conceptual projects like Pedro the Lion’s Control. Do you remember any conversations about taking narrative approaches with your tunes?
No, I think Bazan writes more in a story format, where Jason writes more in a life experiences format. I mean, we did spend a lot of time in a van with Bazan, but we definitely talked more about cards than concept records.
It seems like Martin has been singing about being washed up ever since he was a 20-something. That theme runs throughout the music and the discography. Do you guys ever talk about the topic of aging?
I think it's the way a lot of people feel, but might be uncomfortable to just put it out there. I know we both feel like life is fleeting. We try to appreciate all the good things we have. Jason is pretty dry. When someone new meets him they’ll say, “Oh hey, you play in a band?” Jason will say something to the effect of, “Oh, yeah, we have this crummy thing, it's mostly just for fun.” It's like he's humble to an exaggerated degree. We have discussed the lyrics as being real to life. So all that to say, yeah, he's been washed up for years! [Laughs]
There’s a fatalistic quality to Old as well—was there any worry Tooth & Nail might find it too dark?
We had been on the label for a long time at that point, and they were always cool to just let us do our thing. I don't think they ever tried to guide the sound into any direction. I think most SF59 records have kind of a dark quality to them. I think Old maybe just took it a bit further.
I’m obsessed with how you guys used the radio in your friend Tom’s Ford Ranger to track “fuzzy, cheap but not too cheap” sounding guitars for “First Heart Attack.” What inspired that idea and how did it work? What other novel approaches has SF59 employed in the studio?
Some things have to remain under lock and key. As for novel ideas: In '“Underneath,” we wanted it to be in the vein of Pink Floyd’s “Money,” where the cash register sound hits, so we were dropping a box full of silverware on the floor to get that crashing and clanking sound, which I always thought turned out well.
Also for “First Heart Attack,” that whole end section was created in practice which we all liked, then there was the idea of having a heartbeat stop. Swift then took it to the next level by finding this surgery audio. You can actually hear bones cracking, which has always creeped me out. To me, Old exists as an excellent chapter of a large book.
When you look back, do you feel nostalgic about the record?
It’s funny, we were out to lunch and mentioned to Jason that the record is going to be 20 years old, to which he replied “We really are Old”.
Starflyer 59: Live at Indiana Wesleyan University
Though Old is the only Sf59 studio album to feature the Cloud/Lenz/Swift/Martin lineup, there are a few more artifacts of note out there, including this VHS rip posted by fellow super fan Mike Adams of Mike Adams at His Honest Weight, who create emotionally generous indie rock in the Starflyer tradition. Mike says:
“One of my favorite things as an SF59 fan is thinking about the through-line between albums—especially the first nine. Feels like one evolves right into the other, but each has a distinct personality.”