endino0141kmb.jpgThree years ago this week, Jack Endino’s third solo album, Permanent Fatal Error, was released. Coming 20 years after his start as Skin Yard’s guitarist, the thunderous, 15-track Error is a sort of summary of the man’s storied musical career. There are sonic nods to some of the grunge-era bands he famously produced (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, etc.), tastes of punk rhythm and massive, heavy metal guitar solos, but the album’s loud, crunchy rock is never derivative or sappily nostalgic. Error sounds like a melding of Endino’s early catalog and more recent work—which makes sense, since the record was 12 years in the making.

Curious about how Permanent Fatal Error evolved and what Jack Endino’s up to today, Sound shot Seattle’s legendary musical hyphenate an email. He responded, not surprisingly, from the studio.

JACK ENDINO: Funny, I just got done cutting some of the guitar tracks for Kandi Coded’s next album. I’m sitting here in the control room surrounded by guitars and amps.

SOUND: How many guitar strings were harmed in the making of Permanent Fatal Error?
JE: God only knows. I started it in 1993, you know. It was a long and painful process, interrupted by multiple funerals, suicides and divorces among other things. Several times I thought it was finished and realized it wasn’t. Back to the drawing board. A producer producing himself is total hell.

SOUND: What finally signaled that the album was truly complete?
JE: I don’t know, I just knew. Like a “eureka” moment.

SOUND: It seems like producing yourself could help make the process smoother.
JE: It’s left brain vs right brain. Having to wear a creative hat and an analytical hat at the same time. It’s hardest when you’re good at both. It’s like a war.

SOUND: Was finding other musicians for the album an easier task?
JE: I sought them out, I knew who to call. There were some songs that were perfect for [Screaming Trees drummer] Barrett [Martin] and [Coffin Break bassist] Rob [Skinner] and [Skin Yard bassist] Pat [Pedersen]… those were the more Skin Yard-ish tunes. There were some thrashier ones that I knew [drummer] Josh [Sinder] and [bassist] Alex [Sibbald] would be perfect for, as [the] former rhythm section for the Accused. And there were a couple I had to play myself that no one else could get.

SOUND: Was it easy to gel with everyone?
JE: All these lineups did [do] a few live shows with me as a frontman, singing and playing guitar on various of these future PFE songs, just to try ‘em out before recording ‘em.

SOUND: Are you comfortable as a band frontman?
JE: As a guitarist, bassist or a drummer… anything but a frontman.

SOUND: Do you mind the comparisons between the album’s sound and those you produced in Seattle’s rock heyday?
JE: No… my aesthetic has not changed that much; I know what I like in a guitar tone. But technically, I think the album has a lot more in common with the sound of the records I’ve been producing in THIS century.

SOUND: So how does Kandi Coded sound?
JE: It’s heavy rock, almost punkish but not really. Like Skin Yard with punk vocals and not as proggy.

SOUND: Do your bandmates look up to you as a rock idol?
JE: Well, that’s a funny question, because we have two “legends” in the band. Jamie Lynn is a snowboard legend who happens to play guitar and sing. Different world, but he actually has stalkers. And I don’t for the most part.

SOUND: What else are you up to?
JE: I play bass (and formerly was drummer) for a band called Slippage. We just finished an album and need to get some more gigs.

Keep an eye on the Kandi Coded and Slippage pages at Myspace for show updates. For more on Jack Endino, check out his site, endino.com.

Photo by Karen Mason-Blair, courtesy of Jack Endino.