The Empty Pockets (Credit: Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography)
The Empty Pockets arrive at Dear Billionaires after years of split duty, making their own records as a Chicago four piece while working as Al Stewart‘s backing band on the road. Their new album was recorded in two days at Abbey Road’s Studio 2 with the title comes from three songs that turned up on the record without anyone planning it that way. “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” “Eat the Rich” and “Dearest Billionaires,” and the anger at the very top of the wealth ladder that runs through the record. Josh Solomon (guitar), Erika Brett (keys), Nate Bellon (bass) and Adam Balasco (drums) talk through the record, and their relationship with Al Stewart, who has said farewell to touring the UK not to playing with them altogether.
“Dear Billionaires” is a pointed title for an album about ordinary people trying to find connection and freedom in a world they didn’t build and can’t control. Where did the title come from, and how early in writing the record did it land?
Josh: It’s difficult to comprehend just how rare, and frankly insane, it is to be a billionaire. A billion is a thousand millions. There are only around 3,300 billionaires in the entire world, not quite enough to fill the Chicago Theatre for one night. That’s it. That’s the whole billionaire class.
And yet, such a tiny group of people has an astonishing amount of power to shape the world the rest of us have to live in. This band believes the mega-rich are doing enormous damage to that world, and we’re talking about it constantly… in the van, at rehearsal, over lunch… usually ranting to anyone willing to listen.
The title wasn’t there before we began writing, but it also wasn’t something we imposed on the album after the fact. Once we realized we had songs called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” “Eat the Rich” and “Dearest Billionaires” living together on the same record, the larger current running through it became impossible to ignore.
We wanted a title that was bold, direct and perhaps just slightly threatening. Dear Billionaires certainly answered the call. It feels like a letter addressed to the people at the very top: we see what you’re doing, and we’re paying attention.
You’ve previously called yourselves genre rebels, saying you felt more connected to Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, The Beatles and Buddy Holly – all acts who can’t be pigeon holed. Does Dear Billionaires still sit in that same undefined space, or has this record pulled you closer to one side of your influences than the last one did?
Josh: Our genre rebellion continues, much to our marketing brains’ chagrin.
It would certainly be easier to pitch the band to Spotify editors, festivals and the music industry generally if we “stayed in our lane” a little more, if we committed more deliberately to blues, rock, folk, Americana or jazz. We could probably make more money that way, honestly.
If Dear Billionaires leans in any particular direction, it probably leans toward the live rock-and-roll side of who we are. We recorded the instrumental tracks together in the room at Abbey Road Studio 2, with no instrumental overdubs, so the record has a very immediate, physical feeling. But the songs still wander wherever they need to go, through blues, folk, pop, Americana and jazz, without stopping to ask which playlist they’re supposed to belong on.
The thing is, you don’t become a full-time musician for the money. We’re doing this because we love playing music, writing songs and performing for great audiences. We follow the inspiration and the joy wherever they take us, even when that makes the record harder to categorize.
The album was cut in two days at Abbey Road Studio 2, everything but vocals and harmonies tracked live with no instrumental overdubs, meaning there’s no fixing a part afterwards. What does that kind of pressure do to a band that’s used to having more control in the studio?
Nate: The recording process at Abbey Road Studio 2 is certainly intimidating in a very real way, with such a prestigious pedigree, but the challenge and pressure didn’t come from performing the tracks live. We are, at our very core, a live band and it’s the act of playing together live that feels very natural . All the band members have extensive experience cutting tracks isolated in the studio, as well as playing on records for other artists, so playing the tunes live together in the top-notch work environment that is Abbey Road felt very comfortable and right. Really, in reflection, performing was the lowest pressure part of the whole experience, and I feel like you can taste that in the tracks.
Erika: With that being said, I felt pressure to choose the right instrument and to nail it in each take. The studio had piano world dialed in so beautiful I could easily transition between organ, rhodes and piano, but that meant that I was improvising a lot of the time, and feeling out the instrument during the recording process. The freedom and fluidity surprised me, but that’s the magic of Studio 2.
Your first Abbey Road session, for Gotta Find the Moon, was in Studio 3. What took you to Studio 2 this time, and did being in the room most associated with The Beatles change how you approached things, or how hard you had to work not to sound like them?
Adam: Well in a way, it being the Beatles associated room is what took us to Studio 2. It’s just so iconic and alluring. And in another way, we’ll take whatever room is available. We worked so hard over those couple days just to sound like ourselves and lay down some raw but tight tracks. I don’t think we run the risk of sounding like the Beatles, but it’d be a good problem to have.
Erika: The Beatles are untouchable. We didn’t know it until afterwards, but we recorded in that room exactly 60 years after The Beatles recorded “I’m Looking Through You” in the Rubber Soul sessions.
Erika, you played Abbey Road’s vintage Challen upright, the piano tied to “The Fool on the Hill,” “Paperback Writer” and “A Day in the Life.” What was it like sitting down at that specific instrument, and did knowing its history change how you played it?
Erika: On the second day of our Abbey Road sessions, I noticed the Challen was in the corner of Studio 2. I had used the one in Studio 3 on “Gotta Find The Moon” and was curious why it was turned around against the wall. When I asked if I could use it, they said it had a small buzz on one key but it sounded good to me, so the amazing Abbey Road engineers jumped into action, promptly setting it up.
The burns on the wood at the end of the keyboard are from Paul and John’s cigarettes. That piano has magic in it. It’s now my favorite instrument in the world, no question – knowing the icons who’ve touched those keys definitely makes for an extra special experience in the studio. I adore the way the keys bounce off the strings. You can hear those famous songs the second you plunk out the notes. So unique – it dramatically changed the way I played.
Our tune “I Never Get Sick of You” wasn’t working the previous day on either rhodes or grand piano. With the Challen, I was inspired to take a more rhythmic, springy approach that affected the four of us in equal measure since we tracked all at once. We used the second take with no edits. The Challen’s timbre also really serves the songs, “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” and “Queen of LA” – it sounds instantly nostalgic.
You’ve spent years learning Al Stewart’s catalogue from the inside and adapting his arrangements for different stage and audiences. What has that taught you about storytelling that’s made its way into your own writing?
Josh: Oh my goodness, so much. Al Stewart is an extraordinary writer, best known for lyrics that are complex, literary and often historical. Watching him step onstage night after night and completely deliver at more than 80 years old is enormously inspiring in itself.
One of the biggest lessons we have absorbed from Al is to write about things that have not already appeared in a thousand other songs. He will point out that there have been something like 18 different charting singles called “Hold On.” Not 18 covers, but 18 completely different songs with the same title. His point is that there is an entire world of people, places and stories available to songwriters, so why keep returning to the same handful of subjects and phrases?
He also talks frequently about buying The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan as a teenager in 1963 and how completely it changed his life. One of that album’s masterpieces is “Masters of War,” and Al likes to say that it is a very good omen to have an “of” song. His own biggest hit, of course, is “Year of the Cat,” so maybe he has a point.
As a tribute to Alastair, and to everything we have learned from living inside his catalogue, we wrote a historical song, gave it an “of” title and put it on this album: “Queen of LA.”
More broadly, Al has taught us that a song can still connect emotionally without being autobiographical or spelling everything out. You can begin with a real person, a moment in history or an unusual setting and use the details to reveal something larger and more human. That sense of curiosity has absolutely made its way into our own writing.
You played the London Palladium last October as part of Al’s farewell tour, opening before he came on. He’s talked about winding down long touring since turning 80. Where does that leave things with him now, is there still a road ahead together, or has that chapter mostly closed?
Adam: We have one date announced, but we think it is likely that we will play at least a few more shows with Al! He has been very particular with some wording and would carefully note that he said ‘farewell’ to touring the UK, but we are still doing a cruise in 2027 and we think we will have some US dates as well. Playing the Palladium was a dream come true, and we are so grateful to be able to play with Al and open his shows.
Being both an original group and someone else’s backing band means constantly switching what you’re serving. How did you keep those two roles from bleeding into each other?
Nate: It’s nigh impossible to develop as a musician without continuing to learn, and we learned quite a bit at the proverbial knee of Uncle Al. We were able to hone skills and develop sensibilities that only come from years of performing together frequently, and we continue to use those abilities in our original group material and career. The sounds of Al Stewart and The Empty Pockets separately are disparate enough to create individual circles, but we’re definitely both part of the same Venn diagram in sound and feel, so it always felt rather symbiotic at it’s core rather than competitive, vis-a-vis the general vibe. We complement each other in a very satisfying and meaningful way.
Two Billboard number ones on the blues chart and close to 100,000 CDs mailed directly to fans is a serious body of work, yet you’re still a group people are discovering. Does that gap bother you, or has it become part of how you operate?
Adam: We are happy to have any fans at all, and we really do value each individual fan we make and maybe get to meet at a show. We believe in building our band and our fanbase one person at a time, and it has absolutely become part of how we operate. -Adam
Nate: Music is one of the things that offers people connection in their lives, and the stronger the connections, the more ardent the support. By trying to foster strong connections with our fan base, we’re not necessarily building numbers quickly, but we are building a robust base of people who really believe in us. That’s an important thing for us, both as artists and vendors of our art, and even as human beings.
“Serrated” plays with the idea of loving someone publicly and asking to have them forever. Is that as personal as it reads, and where did the title’s wordplay come from?
Erika: Right now the world feels especially hard, so “let go” and commit loudly to each other – to love. Let’s “cut” it all up, but our way. The juxtaposition of “serrated” – like a knife – and the tenderness of “would you be the one I could have forever” captures the dichotomy of finding and keeping love even in the darkest moments.
Daniel McCormick produced the Dear Billionaires LP. What did he push you toward that you wouldn’t have landed on yourselves, especially with everything being tracked live?
Adam: We’ve worked with jux (that’s what we call Dan) forever, both live and in the studio, and so he’s deeply ingrained in our process. It never felt like he had to push us, but he is very much an important set of ears as we approve our takes. He tells us when it’s ok to move on, and so he probably pushed us to get all ten tracks done. He’s invaluable.
Nate: Yeah, jux has been with us for so long that his input is very natural. He understands us, our process, and our sound in a very intimate way that makes his occasional hand on the helm very light and fluid while also being very effective. Nobody knows how to give a note in-studio like jux, and it’s a great thing for keeping an artist closer to the flow state that live tracking demands.
Your bio lists five ways the band responds to a world you can’t control, and only one of them, starting a revolution, is openly political. Is there a song on the album that’s about that, sitting next to songs about the smaller, quieter responses? Or was that list more of a tone-setting line than a map of the record?
Josh: “Dearest Billionaires” is the song where that idea becomes most openly political. There are lines like, “We’ll figure you out, you can’t fool us all,” and, “Oh, we’ll be watching you, and all the things you do.”
We really believe people are fed up with watching the rich get richer while everyone else fights over the scraps. But the album isn’t a political manifesto from beginning to end. That song sits beside much more personal responses to the same feeling of powerlessness: falling in love, leaning on the people around you, laughing at the absurdity of it all, or simply trying to survive.
So the list is both a tone-setting line and, in a loose way, a map of the record. The songs are about the different things ordinary people do when the world feels much bigger and less controllable than they are.
