blog post Meet Q&A: The Daredevil Christopher Wright

The Daredevil Christopher Wright has the distinction of being the second most popular musical act to emerge from the hamlet of Eau Claire, Wis. The trio – brothers Jon and Jason Sunde and percussionist Jesse Edgington – have emerged from the same bucolic setting as Bon Iver, and their musical expressions share similarities to those of Justin Vernon and his merry men.

Still, the Daredevils play to their own whims. Musically, they expand and contract in scope, never afraid to explore or experiment with the boundaries of folk.

Here, the band takes our ongoing Meet Q&A.

Q: Describe the music you make in five words or less.  
A: Attempting much at once. Folk.

Q: What is the last movie you saw – and if you wrote a song about it, what would it be called?
A: I saw that new Marvel movie, The Avengers. In 3D no less. If I were to write a song about it I imagine it could be called, "Always Be Suspicious of the Character of a Demi God From Some Distant Part of the Universe (They Might Have Father Issues)." To pull it off we would need the Kronos Quartet, some abstract painters suspended from the ceiling doing a Pollock-esque painting while swinging back and forth, and the Vienna Boys Choir. But instead of singing they'd all be playing Game Boy. And not the new versions, the chunky gray old ones. It would kind of be a performance art/concept piece. 

Q: Where are you most likely to be found on a Saturday night?
A: Well, of late we've been living in a little town that is some distance from our communities of friends and so often you'll find me reading on the couch or perhaps watching an episode of Downton Abbey. Or if we can coax friends out to our pastoral fortress of solitude you'll find me barbecuing and drinking beer. Or when I am coaxed to visit friends in Minneapolis, you'll find me at a concert or one of many great drinking establishments. I just saw St. Vincent when she came through. It was an amazing show.

Q: How about on a Sunday morning?  
A: If we are touring you'll probably find me having brunch with whatever friend or new friends we stayed with the night before. If we're not touring you'll find me at church.

Q: If you could record a duet with any Canadian artist, who would you pick? And who would produce it?
A: Leonard Cohen and it would be produced by Kevin Drew and company. 

Q: What is the strangest thing that ever happened to you during a live show?
A: I wish I had some kind of great story for you. Nothing very interesting comes to mind. One of the strangest circumstances we ever had the chance to perform in was on a rooftop balcony in Paris to about 50 people with the Sacré-Coeur in the background. We followed a two-person, one-act performance of a Bertolt Brecht play. They performed the whole thing in French of course, which I unfortunately do not speak, and so I couldn't understand a thing. Though from what little I know of Bertolt Brecht's work, I may not have understood it had it been in English. It was the coolest, most surreal night.  

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