Fletcher Shears Talks Puzzle, Recording, Live Shows, The Garden, and 2020

Fletcher Shears – both as one half of The Garden (along with twin brother Wyatt) and at the helm of his solo project Puzzle – occupies a special place in the heart of Weirdo Music Forever. Manifesting The Garden’s self-styled Vada Vada ethos throughout his work, Fletcher deftly navigates and synthesizes diverse musical territory that he shapes into his own compelling and cohesive statement. Despite his work’s legit and deep-rooted connection to an eclectic, proverbial mood board that includes experimental music, hardcore punk, electronic music, and more, Fletcher’s ever-growing output defies genre and predictability, yet somehow retains a unique signature that pervades throughout. His versatility is showcased to outstanding effect on Puzzle’s 2019 album X Hail (via Burger Records), which ranks as one of our favorite releases this year, and “Loose Cannon” from that album deservedly appears on WMF’s Top 19 Tracks of 2019 list.

As the above preamble might indicate, we’ve been eager to document a one-on-one with Fletcher for some time now, and were thrilled when the opportunity presented itself to do just that in Los Angeles, mere hours before Puzzle’s final show of 2019. During the course of our conversation with Fletcher, we were delighted to cover topics including X Hail, 2016 Puzzle album Soaring, his evolving live shows, and what’s ahead in 2020 for both Puzzle and The Garden.

Bobby Weirdo: You’re going to be performing later tonight as Puzzle. Will that be Puzzle solo, or Puzzle with a band?

Fletcher Shears: Puzzle with a band.

BW: Have you always had that vision for Puzzle, and is this something that might be happening more in the future?

FS: It’s definitely going to happen more in the future. When I was doing Puzzle stuff before, it was always just to try it. I was never really dedicated to doing live shows with Puzzle. It was more like, “If I do it and it works, then that’s great. And if not, I’m just going to try something else or take a long break from it.” That’s why I don’t really play that much [as Puzzle] – it takes a lot of time to get it all together.

When I make the music, I don’t think about it live. So when I try to do it live, it doesn’t always work very well. It’s a huge challenge for me, and when I do live shows, I have to really dive into it and try to figure it out, as opposed to The Garden [where] we’re so infused playing with each other that we can just get right into it.

But with this, it’s a lot more work, because it’s almost starting from the ground up. I’m fortunate to have a band now, although I’m playing drums and singing. [That’s] not my most ideal thing, but it definitely makes things run a lot smoother. I think I’ll definitely keep doing [live band shows] in the future, but modifying it to make it easier and better.

*Fletcher Shears, 2019. Photo: Weirdo Music Forever*

BW: It’s interesting that you’re playing drums live, because although you’re the drummer in The Garden, a lot of the actual Puzzle tracks don’t have live drums.

FS: Yeah, which is weird. I think the way I play drums, I’m able to make it sound fuller [live]. I trust myself to be able to do that, or else I probably wouldn’t do it. If I was to get another drummer and be a frontman in Puzzle, I’d be kind of picky about it. I hope that I can find somebody, because I’m not super into playing drums and singing for Puzzle. I’d kind of rather have a stage presence in this instance, but for now, it definitely works. There are modifications that need to be made.

BW: I know you’re reluctant to overthink your drumming, but do you think you have the psyche of drummer? Even though you play keyboards, do you approach making your music from that drummer’s perspective?

FS: Probably – I mix drums a lot differently than most people would. I love melodies and keys, and even singing can sometimes be really fun. But at the end of the day, if the drums don’t go hard and do exactly what I want them to do, that’s the thing I’m just most picky about. So in some ways, that’s the most important thing, even though it’s all important. Drums is the instrument I’ve always played, and the one I’m best at.

*Fletcher Shears live at the December 13, 2019 Puzzle show. The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. Photo: Cameron Murray for Weirdo Music Forever*

BW: Is it conceptual or logistical that you’re not playing live drums on the tracks? Is it because you might be writing on the road, or is that how you hear the music?

FS: That’s a good question. A lot of people tell me that I should do live drums tracks on it, but there’s something about not doing it that feels more freeing in a way. I don’t have nice recording equipment, which means I’d have to go to a studio to get set up, and that would become a process, and something I would have to prepare for. I prefer when it’s spontaneous. If I’m going to write music, then I’m going do it now. It’s more like a stream of consciousness or a therapy of some sort. However it comes out is exactly how I’m feeling at that time. Going to a studio doesn’t feel as genuine in this particular project.

I’ve learned how to make it work in other projects to where it still feels good, like The Garden. But for this, I just like it this way, because I make Puzzle for myself. It makes me happy to do it this way, simply put.

BW: Within the context of The Garden, you’ve referenced bands like Minutemen and Christian Death as influences on your drumming, but on an album like Soaring, it sounds like you’re referencing 90s r ‘n’ b as well. Are you referencing that era and genre, or is this an example of something you’re just doing without overthinking or analyzing it too much?

FS: I think the drum beats and songs from Soaring were not really from anything specifically. I didn’t get inspired by something specifically and say, “I’m going to do this.” It was more [that] those beats sound good, can hit hard, and have a nice groove to them. I was attracted to that sort of style because there’s so much you can do with it. It leaves so much space, but then also has a really hard stomp on the ground, and I liked it like that.

A lot of time, I’m shooting for something that’s out of reach, and wherever I end up is where I end up. I never even get to the point I was trying to get to, and that’s the beauty of it all. I have a goal in mind, and I try my best to do my own version [of something that inspires me]. It’s like throwing a dart at a board – I do it to the best of my ability, in the most genuine way that I possibly can, and however it comes out, it come comes out. I’m cool with it, accepting of it, and I don’t overthink it. I don’t get too picky with it because then it becomes more contrived and less genuine.

I like genuine impact – when I know a person and listen to [their music], and I’m like, “That’s just you.” And if I listen to my own music and say, “Wow – that’s just straight up me.” I like when the music reflects who the person is – it makes it personal. And that’s how I prefer to do it in this project.

*Fletcher Shears, shortly before the December 13 Puzzle show at the Roxy, 2019. Photo: Weirdo Music Forever*

BW: You’re kind of so-so on the Soaring album, right?

FS: Yeah, for sure.

BW: There are some remarkable tracks on that album, though, and I wanted to ask you about some of them. I’m curious about how “There is a Reason” came together, because it’s pretty sophisticated, one of my favorites, and I think certainly one that stands out on the album.

FS: That’s actually a song I do like off [Soaring]. And it’s not that I don’t like [Soaring, but] sometimes on certain projects I look back and there are just things I’m just more happy with as a whole, and things that are more chopped up, where I like some of it, and some of it I can’t even really listen to for some reason. It’s more of a feeling that I don’t know how to explain.

BW: Do you remember “Scenes Like This”? Those sounds are kind of magical.

FS: Thanks!

BW: It’s totally yours, but it also goes to a nostalgic space that’s hard to place.

FS: Yeah – when I made that song, I wasn’t really thinking about anything. The production on that song is kind of trash, but I like the way it sounds and I actually do like that song. But I didn’t really try that much; I kind of just did it. I was like, “Oh shit – it actually turned out kind of cool.” So I put vocals that I like on it, because I wanted to make it an actual song.

BW: Does “Over1234think” have anything to do with that idea?

FS: Definitely. It’s kind of poking fun at a serious problem, in a way – talking about things I’m going through that are affecting me in a negative way, and singing about them in a relatively positive tone. And then just doing some random rambling. But I quite like that song actually. We’re playing it tonight, and I’ve never played it before [live]. It should be interesting.

BW: I like to think that Puzzle is just beginning, but if you were to point someone to something that really encapsulates what Puzzle is so far – something that you’re especially proud of, or really reflects what you’re going for – is there a particular album or track comes to mind?

FS: I think “*shrugs shoulders*” – my most recent single. That’s exactly what I was going through, and exactly who I am in that state…the lyrics, the music, everything. That’s exactly what’s going on inside me.

It trips me out sometimes. As I said, when I write the music, I’m not thinking. But when I look back at it, read the lyrics, and listen to the music, it has a weird effect on me. Something from within that I did not acknowledge came out, and then went into the music, and then I listen to it again, and it’s startling sometimes for me, because that’s who I am.

More than anything, I get satisfaction out of listening to things that come from a genuine place within me, and that [song] came from an extremely genuine place. So that’s probably the one. I’m also playing that one tonight for the first time, so we’ll see how that goes and if I can remember it.

BW: Do you still have the Vistalite drum kit, and if so, will you be playing it tonight?

FS: I still have it and rock it every night. Except for tonight I’m a lazy ass, so I’m using the house kit, and will not be playing [the Vistalite]. Any chance I can play a house kit, I’m down, so that’s what I’m doing tonight.

BW: I wanted to touch on your long-time connection to Burger Records, and how far back you might go with Sean [Bohrman] and Lee [Rickard] from Burger. X Hail hasn’t had a physical release, but is out on Burger Records, right?

FS: Yeah, I wish it had a physical form. I don’t know why it doesn’t – I can only blame myself for that. I think there are a lot of personal problems in my life that prevented me from doing more with that album, going on tour, anything. I kind of just made that album, put it online, and that was it, because I just had too much shit going on in my life.

But as far as Sean and Lee, I’ve known them since I was seventeen or something. I was a like a fucking rat with the cheese when it came to looking for places to play all the time. When I was younger, I was just like, “Where can I play? When can I play? How can I play?” all the time. So I found out about Burger, and in 2009 or ’10, I saw they did shows.

BW: This is pre-M.H.V., or during M.H.V.?

FS: That’s around M.H.V. time. They did [shows] in the daytime, so that was easy, and they did them for free. It was just so easy, ready, and available. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that it was so small and you couldn’t dance, but other than that, it was a huge blessing, because you could just play shows.

I went into the record shop once before I knew them or anything, and I just asked if we could do a show. Sean – just like the way he is now – was like, “Yep – totally.” I thought, “It’s that easy?”, because nobody liked M.H.V. really. We had some admirers, but nobody really gave a fuck, so somebody being so open and accepting of it was really special for me as a kid.

My peers – even the bands that I liked – didn’t like what we were doing, or think it was cool. So it was cool to have somebody actually be into it who was older than me and owned a fucking record store that we could play at. It was a big deal for me at the time because it was somebody who actually cared. The first time we played a show there with M.H.V., Sean literally just walked up and said, “You want to do a tape?” We were like, “Yes – very much.”

[Sean] was the first person who I truly thought actually cared enough to help us do some shit, because we were doing everything the hard way for a long time. And then, of course, I met Lee not long after that, but I met Sean first.

BW: For Fletcher Shears – whether with Puzzle, The Garden, or something else – do you have any idea of what 2020 is going to be about?

FS: 2020 is the year of The Garden for sure…already! But I’m going to do as much Puzzle as I can. I write music all the time for Puzzle. I used to release albums constantly…five albums a year, pretty much. But I’ve gotten to a point where I just want to take my time – there’s no reason to rush it. If people want to hear it, then they can wait a little bit. I’m always writing music – I can’t not do it. It’s hard for me to say [when new Puzzle music will be released]. I’ve got a couple good songs down, though.

But there’s not a lot of space next year – it’s going to be a lot of Garden. A lot of it. But that’s OK – I’m excited about it.