O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Joe Pernice switches gears from songwriting to novel-writing and back again.

by Michael Pelusi

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Published: Aug 5, 2009

[ reading/signing/soundtrack ]

Yami Ellis-Yasko OFF THE RECORD: Joe Pernice wrote his favorite songs into the plot of his new novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop; the idea for the album came later.

Since the late '90s, the most prominent outlet for Joe Pernice's muse has been his band The Pernice Brothers, for whom he's crafted some five albums of perfectly bittersweet indie-pop. The Massachusetts native is also an author with an M.F.A. in creative writing from UMass-Amherst. His first novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop (Riverhead, Aug. 6), is a compelling coming-of-age story, following an unnamed narrator fleeing his day-old marriage, and revisiting moments of his recent past. Pernice has also released a soundtrack to the novel, composed mostly of his covers of songs featured in the book, such as Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me" and Sebadoh's "Soul and Fire." Fittingly, he's currently touring with a combination book-reading/solo-acoustic show.

City Paper: Can you talk about how the process of writing It Feels So Good When I Stop compares to songwriting?

Joe Pernice: Songwriting is a more abstract kind of creativity. You're not thinking about a story so much as a melody or a chord progression. If you have a guitar and you bang out a chord progression, you automatically have some payoff. It feels good. I might write a song in a couple of hours, and if I don't finish it in one sitting or one day, I might chew on it for a little bit, but not that long. And then I finish it off, and I'm on to the next thing.

But with a book, it's a slower process. It requires a much longer, more sustained focus. You have to keep your focus on your story. It doesn't get to fluctuate and move around all randomly. In a song you might have a character that you create that's kind of cryptic, or the images are little brushstrokes about what a life is. With a book, you're actually creating what you want to be perceived as a real person with a lot of detail.

CP: The structure of the book is very striking, the way it skips around in time.

JP: After I had the idea for the story of this person, I was wondering, how am I going to present this in a way that might be interesting to write? The last thing to come together, which made me feel like I was ready to go ahead, was that actual structure, the shape of the book. I wanted to have the guy's life as it takes off from the moment he leaves his wife. I wanted it to progress into the future and I wanted it to be staggered with chapters from the past that also lead up to the beginning of the book.

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CP: Where did the idea for the soundtrack come from?

JP: I wanted it to be seen as a real book, not just a musician taking a crack at writing a novel. I really meant this book, and I really want it to be a good piece of writing. I tried to stay away from music as far as I could, but I couldn't. Songs are very big to me, as you can imagine. They started to find their way into scenes as devices: building drama, accentuating drama, all types of things. And they're songs that mean a lot to me. I wouldn't put in a tune that I didn't love. So I started thinking, I've always wanted to record these songs, and that's partially why they're finding their way into this book.

And I hemmed and hawed about whether I should do it, and then I said, "You know what? I love these tunes." And I think the book stands alone, and I hope the album stands alone. And maybe together they're something else.

CP: Does Lou Barlow know he's a character in the book?

JP: Yes he does. I asked him permission first. I had a funny exchange with him. I wrote him, I said, "Hey Lou, I'm writing this novel, I'll send you the chapter if you want, I'd like to use you as a fictional character. Don't worry, you're a decent guy in the book." And he wrote back and said, "Oh, thanks for asking. You can use me in the book. Make me a dick if it's more appropriate."

(m_pelusi@citypaper.net)

Joe Pernice plays Sat., Aug. 8, 7:30 p.m., $15, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770, tinangel.com.

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