Unraveling the Knots of Wedlock

Unraveling the Knots of Wedlock by Tessa Ashley

“Jeff is shy.” Paul Allgood says, ” I am too, but by default we’d decided that one of us had to sing, and one of us had to arrange if we were going to make a go of being a pop electronic duo. That’s how Wedlock is a creative partnership.”

One does not hear shy when you hear the cascading harmony of sound that is the instrumentation accomplishment of Jeff Hathaway. Tangle in the sultry vocals tones of Paul Allgood with his passion and intensity and you have an electronic pop synth duo that is truly amazing and altogether delightfully provocative to listen and dance to.

Wedlock’s first release, a 7- song EP entitled “Matrimony,” was released in August of this year. So far their debut has managed to reach the top ten in sales on NetSpin.com, and as of this writing, have three singles from Matrimony in the top 50 of Net Spin’s rotation. The pansexual, hi-energy, disco stomper “Cuts Both Ways,” “Killing is Easy,” an obvious anti-war number aimed directly at the Bush administration, and “Unsatisfied,”Allgood’s tribute to a “friend’s self destructive drugging habit.” The duo records material at fairly regular intervals, never minding the bit of distance between them, and plans to release their follow-up as a full length effort entitled “Audio Septic.” Audio Septic is a job inspired title that also describes their newest musical direction. Parts of Allgood’s job in Biotech “had to do with clean room facilities,” he says, “That’s why we’re going around in Biohazard gear this next time out. Jeff seemed to like the idea so I ran with it.”

After hearing the Matrimony music CD and listening to its unbelievable sound I am very excited about doing an interview with Jeff Hathaway and Paul Allgood. I wanted to know more about these two dynamic, creative and passionate musicians.

I quickly found out that the two live in Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, both are single, devoted to music, and other creative mediums as well. Jeff is a commissioned paint artist with his works almost routinely hanging in Richmond galleries and Paul is the published author of the novel “An Inextricable Tale.” Due to their hectic schedules, a telephone interview had to be arranged instead of my usual face-to -face.

I do have to say that Jeff Hathaway is one very punctual man. The phone rang just as the clock struck the mid-day hour. We quickly introduced ourselves and got to it.

The Q&A Interview:
1. TA: Confirm some basic facts for me. (Name, marital status and location)

Jeff: “Jeff Hathaway, single, Virginia”

Paul: “Paul Allgood, single, North Carolina”

2. TA: What excites you about Wedlock and the Matrimony music CD?

Jeff: “That’s the infusion of my music with Paul’s lyrics. I am comfortable natural writing in his key, always creating in his range so it’s natural. Paul always surprises me with his lyrical content. Paul writes whatever he feels. It’s good.”

Paul: “The idea of an electronic pop synth duo making music together in general excites me. The whole Wedlock/Matrimony concept flowed because I loved the idea of the “perfect couple” making music and being creative together, plus it was a pastiche and commentary on the current leadership in this country attempting and failing miserably to pass anti-gay measures.”

3.TA: How has working with each other made an impact on you?

Jeff: “Paul is like another stepping stone. It is the most productive of ventures and most creative. We do spend a lot of time so there are lots of good memories. We rarely disagree. We bring it together in that we sound good; my music complements Paul’s vocals. I feel real good about that. Paul is real driven. Watching his motivation, I feel safe and secure, and I take my time at bat.”

Paul: “As I stated before, Wedlock is a creative partnership. Over time Jeff has allowed me to express myself more fully. In working with Jeff, I find an attitude that allows me loads of creative space.”

4.TA: Are you dominant in your personal/professional life?

Jeff: “Yes, dominance to such a degree that I started working for myself in 2002 doing IT management and website design. I do oil based painting as well as create music. Safe to say I am a proactively motivated person in my own right or I could not do that many things.”

Paul: “Professionally I should think so, yes. Not to the degree of being a control freak or necessarily being a front man, otherwise Wedlock wouldn’t work. But I have ideas as to how things work, how they should go. Personally I am more of a symbiotic influence when the chemistry is right. I work harmoniously as opposed to being dominant or passive. Life is chemistry.”

5.TA: Is there anything you’re thankful for this time of year?

Jeff: “Always thankful for my daughter who was a pivotal point in my life. Always everything I do from leaving a nice comfy desk job to it all comes back to her; to make time for her and so I can see her every morning before she goes to school. Extremely thankful for her in my life. Generally, family and a comfortable base of friends.”

Paul: “My collaboration with Jeff. Health, music, loved ones and creativity in general.”

6.TA: What has been your musical or artistic influence?

Jeff:(Note to the readers): Due to the depth and detail of Jeff’s response I have paraphrased the main points of his response to this question. Contrary to what Paul said to me, I didn’t find Jeff to be shy at all once he opened up and felt comfortable. “Let’s see. I was encouraged and supported by my family and educational system in art and music. Earliest memories are of my parents encouraging me to draw and pushing keys on my grandmother’s organ. I was influenced by a local Chicago based artist Ed Paschke who had an amazing piece of art in the museum during high school. My parents embraced the idea of my artistic talents in art and music. The community supported my creativity and industry by allowing me to play organs on the weekend in the mall. I could create my own pieces for people to enjoy. I escalated my music by recording and arranging other music from fellow students and citizens. I have worked with other musicians in studios and some of my stuff is on The Learning Channel where one day you may see snails mating to it. The curse of it all has been that I cannot paint when I do music; when I paint I cannot do music. But I am painting and playing music doing all these tracks with Paul. Bands that have been significant to my music have been Wall of Voodoo and Yello from Austria, they are simply amazing. Devo and the German electronic sound of Kraftwerk. Always seems to make sense, painting and music for ya.”
Paul: “Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and just about anyone who is electro-pop/dance or disco, with a bit of Goth- synth material like Anode Glow’s keyboardist, Jj Kidder thrown in for good measure.”

7.TA: Anything else you really want people to know?

Jeff: “That we have this new CD coming out that is fresh and new. I’m putting everything I have into a new dance beat for Audio Septic. It’s really exciting. John Morand out of Richmond is doing some mixing. Big difference. I tell Paul all the time how it is a creation of sound. Nice consistency. It’s totally harmonious. You’ve got to check it out after it’s released.”

Paul: “I want to people to know that I’ll always be writing in some form or another. I love music, and I’m extremely keen on this latest project of ours! I love creativity.”

Wow. All during my telephone time with Jeff and even after hanging up, I was still scribbling in my notes and I decided that Paul definitely missed the mark in describing Jeff as “shy.” I decided that what we really have here are two very passionate, intense, loyal men who are in “Wedlock” with creativity. Each one stands alone as a dynamic personality, but together the electronic pop synth duo of Wedlock is one of blissful Matrimony.
TA

Publication:

A Second Wind Zine

Related posts:

1. WEDLOCK Q&A