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Mark Lanegan had just returned from the movies with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme when I reached him via telephone at his Los Angeles home for a rare interview. "We went to see Tree of Life, but we got the times mixed up and ended up seeing three-quarters of Bridesmaids instead. It had its moments. I laughed out loud."
Given his brooding persona, the image of Lanegan being reduced to giggles by an ensemble cast of female comics is difficult to conjure. For the better part of three decades, his calling card has been his earthy, gravel-gargling baritone and the gruffly intimidating image that accompanies it. Between being the voice of the Screaming Trees during the grunge era and his more extensive history as a solo artist with a gift for morose, introspective storytelling, the 46-year-old has a career arc that should find him a place in history alongside marquee, memorable (and dark-hearted) vocalists like Tom Waits, Lou Reed and even Johnny Cash—a legend he once had the honor of opening for.
But Lanegan also has an appetite for the fruits of collaboration. In addition to his stint with Homme as a sometime member of Queens of the Stone Age, he's worked with everyone from former Afghan Whig Greg Dulli—on their Gutter Twins project—to two female artists from across the pond with equally distinct and powerful voices: the enigmatic PJ Harvey and Isobel Campbell, the Scottish singer with whom he's now recorded three albums, including last year's critically lauded Hawk.
It was during the recording sessions for the latter that Lanegan made the acquaintance of his latest co-conspirator, guitarist Jeff Fielder. The 36-year-old Seattleite was awed by the opportunity.
"I was nervous, but it was killer," recalls Fielder of their first session. "I hadn't even talked to him [before going into the studio]. I had my headphones on and, after a few bars, in he came with that voice. It was mind-blowing. It's one thing to hear it on a record, but it's another to have it come right at you like that—pretty intense."
Fielder wound up touring extensively with Campbell and Lanegan throughout 2010, and when they came to the end of a string of dates in Scandinavia, Lanegan asked him to be his sole accompaniment for a handful of intimate shows, including tonight's engagement at Doug Fir. "He's the kind of guitar player I personally value above all others," says Lanegan. "He's flexible and incredibly competent, and he's also really creative."
The duo's set list is a broad and deep survey of Lanegan's career catalog, stretching all the way back to 1994's Whiskey for the Holy Ghost and even a classic Screaming Trees number or two. "I try and play a little something from almost everything I've done," he explains. "When I started doing these kind of shows, I went back and found some songs I had never played live and found them to be enjoyable. It's fun, but it is a little more challenging than playing with a band."
Fielder appreciates what the minimalist instrumentation does to the songs, rendering them raw and leaving more space to appreciate their structural integrity. He also is hoping for quiet, captive audiences. "This isn't the sort of thing people can talk through," he says.
Lanegan is currently finishing a new solo album, which he's tracking with accomplished producer Alain Johannes, whom he met while working on Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf. Lanegan lavishes Johannes with respect, particularly for his work ethic.
"It's not something I always personally adhere to, but it's always something I admire," he says. "I look up to [artists] who are really good at what they do, and I feel lucky to get to work with them. PJ Harvey was one of those people, and Jeff Fielder is one. If you surround yourself with those kind of people, you yourself can be a little more ramshackle."
SEE IT: Mark Lanegan plays the Doug Fir Lounge on Thursday, June 16, with Sean Wheeler ands Zander Schloss. 9 pm. $20 advance, $23 day of show. 21+.
WWeek 2015