M. Ward: Team effort

Touring singer/songwriter M. Ward is in a collaborative mood

By Mike Prevatt

Matt Ward found himself in an interesting dilemma on Sept. 30. Preparing for the next night's opening of the Vote for Change tour, the Portland-based singer/songwriter was considering watching John Kerry and George W. Bush debate each other on TV when he heard something familiar come from the stage.

"Bruce [Springsteen] was doing his soundcheck, playing his version of the national anthem, and it goes into `Born in the USA,'" says Ward. "I had this feeling like I didn't know what to do--watch the debates or the soundcheck."

Thanks to his old friend Conor Oberst--the mastermind of indie act Bright Eyes--Ward has the good fortune of participating in two of the most unusual rock tours of the fall season. Ward is playing alongside Bright Eyes for Vote for Change, which kicked off Oct. 1 in Philadelphia and also features Springsteen, John Fogerty and R.E.M. Before that week-plus jaunt is even over, though, he and Oberst join Jim James--also playing Vote for Change dates in other cities with his group, My Morning Jacket--in a "songwriters" trek that will highlight both solo and collaborative performances.

The idea for the latter tour came from Oberst earlier this year, when he invited Ward and James to tour the Midwest and East Coast with him. The goal was to eliminate the drums and the instrumental bombast, focusing instead on acoustic sets led by each artist but fleshed out by the other two. Ward estimates that about half the songs played during the show tend to be improvised, and the other half have already been arranged--though, for this West Coast jaunt, he says "all the songs we'll be playing are well-oiled."

Fans attending the songwriters' show can expect a fair number of covers mixed in with the artists' own material. What they shouldn't expect is similar results among those covers, as they have ranged over the course of touring and rehearsals. One specific foray includes a Bob Dylan song--Ward won't reveal the title--that, when played toward the end of the night, embodies the spirit of what the three young men are trying to accomplish. "It's something exciting that happens that I can't put my finger on," says Ward. "I guess the best way to explain it is you find a common ground and everyone is completely working with the same mind. It's what you're looking for in a collaboration, and I believe we've found a common ground on a lot of these songs and all of these concerts."

And then there's the occasional experiment that doesn't go as planned--one of which never get past rehearsal. "We tried this Townes Van Zandt song called `No Deal,' which is sort of a funny song," says Ward. "We did it in a funny way, and it was too funny."

Ward is getting all the onstage partnering out of his system before the winter release of his fourth solo album, Transistor Radio, which will carry a theme that's both personal and somewhat political. "It comes out of a concern that we are on the brink of losing something I grew up really cherishing--that is, radio stations that play music out of a DJ's love for a song [rather] than a DJ's involuntary playlist," says Ward. "So this new record is sort of a love letter to the spirit of radio at the possible brink of its destruction."

Ward divulges that some of Transistor Radio will be played on the songwriters' tour--but that's all he's saying. "I just finished the record, so trying out the new songs will be a brand new thing," he says. "I haven't toured for a couple of months. For [my set lists], it'll be something old new, something borrowed, something blue."