BW: Speaking of influences, I wanted to ask about how you chose the old Napoleon XIV song “They’re Coming to Take Me Away Ha Ha” to cover. It’s a great pick, but an odd one.

HD: Kim Fowley did version of that song, and he was a mentor of mine for a short period when I was around 16 years old. He had recently passed away when we recorded that EP, so I wanted to dedicate that to him. It was silly enough and simple enough that I thought we could do a good job on it with the time we had to record it.

BW: I’m glad you brought up recording. I wanted to ask about the process. Does the band record live, all at once, or do you record track-by-track?

HD: Sure-Tuff was recorded live, and we did vocals separately. The record we’re recording now is more complex. We usually record drums and guitar together, and then stack everything else on top. It’s crazy to think that the Sure-Tuff EP took a day and a half to record, and on the new one we’re taking a day-and-a-half minimum per song.

BW: Are you revealing what the new recording is going to be called and whom you’re recording with, or is it a secret?

HD: We’re working with [engineer] Joel Jerome again, because he’s our guy.

BW: How did that working partnership come about?

HD: I had heard about him through a lot of people and really wanted to work with him. Nima Kazerouni from So Many Wizards introduced us.

BW: What's Joel's approach to producing Sloppy Jane? Does he get down to really technical specifics, or is it more of a conceptual thing?

HD: I know it’s different for each artist he works with, but Joel really lets us drive. He’s got really good instincts for what the artist wants. The album we’re working on right now, Willow, is weird and genre-less. He’s good at not imposing, and just making it sound the way it’s supposed to sound.

The way I talk is really fucked up. Recently someone asked me what my first language is, even though I only speak English. I’m always thinking myself in circles until I get dizzy. I say a lot of shit out of context, and it’s hard for people to catch the beginning of the thread. On top of that, I have no knowledge of technical jargon, so it’s sometimes difficult for me to communicate with people that I’m trying to work with. But Joel speaks my language, can translate it into ProTools, and help make the record sound like it is supposed to.