Matt and Bubba Kadane formed Bedhead in the early 1990s. The group's somber tone and subtly intricate songwriting drew universal praise, but Bedhead remained relatively obscure. A hiatus followed Bedhead's dissolution in 1998, but the brothers eventually reformed as The New Year (with Come/Consonant guitarist Chris Brokaw on drums) and released Newness Ends through Touch and Go in 2001.

The siblings were raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, but have lived apart for many years, helping to explain the relatively infrequent performance and recording history of both Bedhead and The New Year. Junkmedia caught up with Matt and Bubba as they returned from a short European tour. The brothers will play two rare shows as a duo in New York and Boston this March.

How does the European reaction to The New Year compare to America?

Matt Kadane: It seems remarkably similar, although I think in Italy, for example, more people know The New Year than Bedhead. At least I think. When we were playing, there would be more applause at the beginning of a New Year song than at the beginning of the two or three Bedhead songs we were doing. In whatever case, the reaction has been great and we're too happy about it to ask too many questions.

You don't tour very frequently. Is that a function of conflicting schedules or a lack of interest in live shows or something else?

Matt: It's a function of conflicting interests. We love playing live.

The New Year is a bit more poppy than Bedhead. Was this a conscious decision -- new name, new sound - or a more natural progression?

Bubba Kadane: It was more of a natural progression. Newness Ends [The New Year's first and only album, released in 2001] would have been the fourth Bedhead record if Bedhead had stayed together.

Where did the term "slo-core" (a phrase that has been used to describe Bedhead's music for years) come from?

Matt: "Slo-core" probably came from some lazy journalist, who was so lazy he didn't even want to spell out the word "slow." I guess I'm not sure what it means. But if I think about what I think it means, I don't know how it applies to Newness Ends.

Was The New Year record recorded completely live like Bedhead was? Recording vocals live is so rare these days, I'm curious if you would comment on that decision.

Matt: Bedhead only recorded one record, our four-Song EP, completely live. We always did most of the tracks live -- the drums, guitars, and bass -- but we also always did some overdubs, for the vocals and guitar parts that could be played better if done later. The New Year followed the Bedhead formula -- most of the music live and then vocals later.

It's hard to record vocals live and to get through a song without singing some bad notes.

What lead to the move from Texas to Boston?

Bubba: The band hasn't actually moved to Boston. Two of us live in Dallas, two in Boston, one in New York, and our sixth member, for live shows, lives in Athens, GA.

How long have you lived apart like this? What effect does it have on the creative process of the band?

Matt: We've lived apart for nearly nine years. We can't practice the way other bands do, so Bubba and I try to finalize things on tape so we can teach the songs to the band in the short amount of time we have to practice before playing a show or recording.

How do you find that this scenario affects your songwriting? It seems that a much greater precedence would fall on the pre-rehearsal writing process as opposed to "working it out with the band".

Matt: I think you've got it exactly right.

Are you writing consistently? Is it a daily thing or do you go through longer cycles with it?

Matt: I'm always playing music in some form and that's how songs are generated. But songs worth remembering seem to come pretty infrequently.

Have you started work on a second New Year record yet?

Matt: We have. We'll start recording it in June and try to release it a few months after that.

Ben Sterling
February 12, 2003