MJ Lenderman
WITH A BLAZING (NOT TO MENTION “FLUID LIKE THE WIND”) BAND BEHIND HIM, INDIE ROCK’S LEADING OVERDRIVE PURVEYOR TAKES HIS BEST ONE-MAN-BAND MATERIAL TO WILD NEW PLACES
By Richard Bienstock
MJ LENDERMAN IS a big fan of live albums, from the Band’s Rock of Ages and the Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 to Drive-By Truckers’ Alabama Ass Whuppin’ and “a million Neil Young records.” But his decision to add his own offering to the live album canon was for a more specific reason. “My live show sounds different from the records, because when I’m in the studio I’m playing most of the instruments,” the Asheville, North Carolinabased songwriter and multi-instrumentalist says. “Onstage, it’s a different thing.”