When in doubt, reach back to something you did and see if it stands the test of time. Want to sweeten the deal for your fans? Add a slew of extras: live recordings, home demos and recordings from previously unreleased sessions. The Big Let Down (Deluxe Remaster) by Tim Schweiger & the Middle Men is a perfect example. Released as 2021 dawned, the collection suggests optimism, checks the rearview mirror and adds bonus tracks for total of 39 songs to update the 2010 release.
As a key component in the “Fox Valley Sound,” Schweiger has played with Yesterday’s Kids, The Obsoletes, Blueheels, The Midwest Beat as well as power pop godfathers Paul Collins and Peter Case.
With the Big Let Down Schweiger recalls the Beatles’ songcraft, Matthew Sweet’s pop sensibility and Bob Mould’s rage, especially on live cuts. The concert recordings offer a rough and tumble snapshot of Schweiger in full flight. The three versions of “D’Jango Fett” crosses the Dave Brubeck Quartet with the Beatles for a captivation result. A home-recorded version of Jackson Browne’s “These Days” proves just how a resilient a good song can be. Originally recorded by the Velvet Underground vocalist Nico on her solo debut, the song has made the rounds from Gregg Allman and Elliott Smith to Paul Westerberg and Drake.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
The lockdown has affected my creativity in many ways. I still face many of the same challenges of everyday life as I did pre-COVID-19 and that’s usually what I draw my inspiration from. It has also affected me in some roundabout ways. For instance, I’m a single dad and my daughter is doing virtual learning every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There’s only so much noise I can make during the day without interrupting her focus or not being able to help her when she needs me. Not to mention the lack of shows. Performance is where musicians make most of their money and I used to perform a lot. This is the longest I’ve gone without performing in 25 years. It’s a big adjustment for me and my whole family.
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Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
Music has always been something I use as an escape from realities that I don’t want to deal with. Some people jog, I play instruments for 45 minutes every day to clear my head. It’s been like that ever since I was a kid. There are a lot of instruments in my house so some days it’s piano, some days drums or any type of guitar. If I’m hired for a job, I’ll usually make that my daily “workout” but obviously that hasn’t been the case lately.
Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
I’m looking at the possibility of the end of August to be the earliest/best case scenario to return to some type of performing. I’m not sure how to have safe gatherings yet or what that even means. I’m not sure what band it would be, my solo stuff or The Corduroy Boys or any other past project that got impeded by the pandemic. That decision will come in the next few months and will have to play it by ear (pun intended).
