AllMusic: Congratulations on the release. How did your expectations for the sound compare to the final outcome?
David Duchovny: With the first album, it felt like stumbling through a dark room, searching for the exit. This time, having already navigated that experience, I could be far more collaborative. On the debut, the songs were fully formed before I brought them in. Now I can bring a track that's three-quarters done and let my bandmates add textures I'd never dream up. I trust them completely. I carry an older sonic sensibility from the late '60s and early '70s, while the others bring more contemporary ideas. I'll even argue with my guitarist—I just bought a talk box like Frampton used, and everyone calls it cheesy, but I love that sound. There's nothing wrong with it. We'll hopefully break it out. I like resurrecting those '70s sounds, even if they're considered cheesy, and lay them on the guys. They're like, "Uh, let's see what we can do with that."
AllMusic: Which causes more anxiety: recording vocals or acting on set?
Duchovny: On the first album, vocal takes stressed me out, but not this time. You know you'll stay until you get something you like. I don't expect my voice to be note-perfect every time, so I'm not embarrassed when I flub a passage. Live performances initially triggered that fear of missing notes, but that's inevitable—you'll hit some clunkers, that's live performance. I'm normally not nervous about that. But we had a few early morning TV appearances where you get up at five to sing at seven—that was a bit nerve-racking.
AllMusic: When writing lyrics, do you lean toward storytelling or expressing emotions and ideas?
Duchovny: I wrote about whatever was on my mind that day—there was no overarching theme or concept. Looking back, I see each song as a character. The lyrics are sung by a different persona: the person I was when I wrote that song on that day, who I no longer am.
AllMusic: In “Last First Time,” is the narrator cynical about relationships or hopeful about the one he's starting?
Duchovny: I think it's both. That song was as romantic as a 50-year-old guy can get. I recently attended a wedding for people my age, and they were talking like it was Disney stuff—that felt weird to me. At a certain age, you need a different version of romance.
AllMusic: Marilyn Manson was a huge Californication fan, even using your character's name, Hank Moody, as an alias. What was it like when he guested on the show?
Duchovny: I knew he was a fan because he'd contacted showrunner Tom Kapanos, who is a big music fan and always thrilled when musicians reached out. Hank Moody was Tom's fantasy of a world where writers are treated like rock stars. Tom once said, "Wouldn't it be great if women found writers as attractive as they find rock stars?" That was the idea behind Californication. Manson used "Hank Moody" as his hotel alias. Working with him was a kick—he's obviously unique and very smart. I enjoyed being around him.
AllMusic: When you've directed movies and TV, do you especially enjoy putting together the soundtrack?
Duchovny: I loved curating the soundtrack for House of D. I got to use Elton John's “Harmony,” Stevie Wonder's “As,” the James Gang's “Funk #49,” and an early Van Morrison tune. Tom and I often talked about finding the right Elton John song for Californication, or the Zevon songs we used. We used “High Flying Bird,” one of my favorite deeper Elton John cuts. I love bringing my mental collection of old 45s to bear.
AllMusic: When you don't get to make those choices, are you ever pleasantly surprised?
Duchovny: The last thing I directed was an episode of Aquarius, and they used Norman Greenbaum's “Spirit in the Sky” at the end. I know it's on many soundtracks, but it's a great song and was a great choice for that scene. I didn't pick any songs for that show, but the soundtrack was excellent—they found deep cuts from the late '60s I'd never heard. Just last week on The X-Files, they used John Cale's “Fear is a Man's Best Friend”—a really freaky, perfect song for the show.
