Now with More Heroes
Eggplant Heroes’ new album features bigger sounds, new members
It has been about five years since the Eggplant Heroes released their debut album After This Time, and now the local folk band has released a follow-up, Better Weather. A collection of songs that travels through a series of seasons and emotions, this album is a testimony to how the band has changed over the years. However, the elements of Eggplant Heroes that you loved are still present, making Better Weather a great listen whether you’ve always been a fan or are completely new to the band.
I asked songwriters Duffy Duyfhuizen and Max Garland, two of the original members Eggplant Heroes, what made them decide to record an album after five years.
“Mortality,” Garland said, getting a few chuckles around the table. “Some of us realized that life is short. Maybe it might be time, albeit shorter for some of us in the band than others.”
Another reason besides mortality was the introduction of a couple of new band members since their debut album.
There were four Eggplant Heroes when they recorded their first record: Duffy Duyfhuizen, Max Garland, Olaf Lind, and Joel Pace. Through the use of guitars, violin, harmonica, and vocals they created a great folk band, but now the band has almost doubled in size. With the addition of Dan Zerr on bass, Lucas Fischer on the electric guitar, and Caleb Horne playing the mandolin, these Eggplant Heroes have a much deeper sound they weren’t able to create before.
“We hear different layers, more voices, especially the mandolin, and Luke’s electric guitar and Dan’s bass is so solid underneath everything,” Duyfhuizen told me, explaining what it’s like to hear their old songs with the new members. “A lot of people have told me that was one of the biggest steps we made, adding that bottom line to the sound.”
Besides the instruments, all seven members of the band contribute vocally in the album. The group has had a lot of fun creating harmonies and each song on the album features one or two lead singers, often accompanied by backup singers. This helps keep each track distinct and livens up the album.
Better Weather features a mix of solemn and humorous songs for a particularly balanced brew. The album opens with a song called “Redwing,” which begins with the image of growing up on a farm with a mother who worked hard to take care of her children, to the town they lived in, and eventually to our society and ways it has digressed.
About halfway through the album, you’ll find “An Aging Hero’s Lament.” This amusing track follows a hero who is a bit past his prime, one who can’t go out without his glasses and how his costume would fit better if he didn’t snack at night. Better Weather finishes with the song “Headin’ Back to You,” ending the album in summer and on a hopeful note. Through this mix of emotions, the album creates a sense of traveling through a series of seasons.
Their music is very influenced by literature, something that hasn’t changed about the Eggplant Heroes and makes sense considering several of them are English professors at UW-Eau Claire.
“Summit Park” is a musical adaptation of the poem “To Any Reader” by R.L. Stevenson. Also included is “Ophelia,” possibly the most unique song on the album, which draws inspiration from the words of Shakespeare.
Duffy and Max also told me that there is still plenty of material that has yet to be recorded. They are always working on new stuff, which was part of the reason they recorded Better Weather. Ideally, they said, their next album will come a lot sooner than five years from now.
Eggplant Heroes have a few shows coming up: They’ll perform Aug. 28 as part of the Celebrate the Chippewa River Conference at the Heyde Center in Chippewa Falls and at Acoustic Café in Eau Claire the following night.
