Scores of musicians flock to Austin to premiere new material and (hopefully) reach a wealth of new fans at South by Southwest, but few bands make a SXSW show their literal debut. Field Report, the folk-rock brainchild of Christopher Porterfield, achieved both of these things in a matter of three days back in March: They played for the first time as a full band in an alley behind 6th Street and shared their forthcoming album in its entirety with curious festival-goers over the course of nine shows—that was a full two seasons before its official release.
Of these initial performances, Porterfield recalls an intimate set at an Austin church as the pivotal, self-defining moment for Field Report. “That was a show where we made a conscious choice to play really quietly,” he says, stepping outside before taking the stage in Boston a few weeks ago. “We’ve come to call it ‘small ball’—it’s a baseball term—where you don’t try to hit home runs, you try to hit singles. The idea is to get on base and score a run that way, rather than swinging through half the time. We came to the realization that we’re not really a rock band. We’re a little bit more nuanced than that, and so that church show was the first one in which we consciously tried to embrace being quiet. It was a game-changer for us as far as solidifying what we’re all about and how we operate live.”
Pieces of paper at their feet with “QUIET QUIET QUIET” scrawled all over them served as reminders for Field Report’s first few rounds in front of an audience, though the earnest, husky belt of Porterfield at times is anything but. Back before Bon Iver took to the woods to record For Emma, Forever Ago and Megafaun made a name for themselves on the experimental Americana front, Porterfield, Justin Vernon and the Megafaun guys played together as DeYarmond Edison, an unclassifiable project that beautifully blended elements of electronic and folk. Though Porterfield contributed to the songwriting process behind DeYarmond Edison, Field Report is the product of a musical reeducation of sorts.
“I think what’s new about [Field Report] for me is that I’m responsible for the songs now,” he says. “I had never written before that band broke up. This whole process over these past few years was just about me figuring out what it meant to be a songwriter, and to get my songwriting legs beneath me. It was about being comfortable with how I write and what I want to say and finally being able to bring that into focus in a way that I can stand behind.”
Ironically, it’s the addition of the pedal steel to Field Report’s soundscape that drove this point home for him. “My favorite sound in the world is the pedal steel guitar—that was the instrument I played in DeYarmond Edison. When Ben came on with the project and we started recording him playing steel over some of these songs, it was like, ‘Okay! Here’s the shift! Here’s the thing I’ve been wanting this whole time!’ That used to be me, and then I could completely trust him and relinquish that role, and those sounds and those voices of that instrument. That was when I realized how excited I was about this new thing, and that I was confident in it enough to want to share it and let people hear it. When Ben came into the studio, it was a changing of the guard of sorts in my mind.”
The record that came from these sessions—which were recorded at April Base, Vernon’s studio in Fall Creek, Wis.—is the crystallization of Porterfield’s dedication and perpetual challenges, a body of work showcasing his lyrical aptitude while highlighting the gorgeous voices, haunting refrains and complex arrangements that make a modest rock set-up sound as lush and full as an orchestra. And as their meteoric rise propels them through the end of summer and into September, it’s clear that everyone will know who Field Report is the next time festival season rolls around—especially if they keep it “small ball” and quiet.
“I recently just quit my job in order to do this stuff, and that’s kind of scary!” laughs Porterfield. “My biggest goal and dream for this project is to be able to look back on a good body of work. I want to put out records regularly, and I want them to just get better. I would love to be able to pay my mortgage. Those two things, that’s all I wanted. I really don’t want this to be a one-record band. I want this to be the opening statement.”