Look Who's Coming: David McConnell

AT A GLANCE

KNOWN FOR | Collaborating with singer-songwriter Elliott Smith on his final album, then being widely quoted by a pop music press searching for answers to Smith's puzzling death in 2003. (He died from apparently self-inflicted stab wounds.) He has also done production work on albums by Wilco and Folk Implosion.

BEFORE THAT | McConnell grew up in Southern California and was exposed at an early age to his composer father's religious choral music and crafts from his grandmother's kiln. He joined his first rock band when he was about 13; his last band was the California group Goldenboy.

AND NOW | McConnell moved to Asheville in 2005 .

Staff writer Craig Jarvis caught up with McConnell last week at Raleigh's Bickett Gallery, where he's installing a multimedia exhibition -- paintings, film, digitally manipulated photography and sound. The opening reception is Friday.

Q - How did you connect with Elliott Smith?

A - He had fired the producer he was working with on his album. He was looking for someone else to work with. He asked around and got my name.

One night about 4 a.m. he showed up at my house. We hung out, talked, played music. He decided he wanted to work with me after that. We started the very next day.

Q - Was that a good experience, or has it been an albatross that you are so closely identified with him?

A - Definitely that was a very rewarding experience. I learned a lot musically, but also learned a lot mentally from working with him.

Since then there's been a lot of controversy over the relationship he and I had. Most of it was blown out of proportion. Generally, he was just a wonderful human being that affected my life in many ways.

Now people tend to try to talk about a lot of the negative parts of our relationship, because there were some chemical issues involved before he cleaned up at the end. Generally, people want to know about that instead of the real positives of our relationship. We were kind of like brothers in our ways. We probably spent too much time together.

Q - Is Goldenboy still happening?

A - Goldenboy has a new album coming out, but I'm no longer in the band. I got out of it for a number of reasons. The music business became very depressing in a lot of ways for me. I felt like I was always finishing up everybody else's records for them, paying too much attention to everyone else's music and not enough to my own. ...

I'm working on my solo album. The music is a lot more complex than say like Goldenboy or bands I've played with in the past. It's going to take a while. I will have some great North Carolina musicians working with me.

Q - How did you end up in Asheville?

A - When I was touring with bands for the last few years, I made a top 10 list of my favorite towns. Two of them were in North Carolina: One is Asheville; the other is Raleigh. So I thought, two in one state -- guess I'll move there.

Q - Your exhibition sounds interesting and all over the place. Is there a unifying theme?

A - Yeah, there's repetition of design throughout every element. The film ["Poly Symphonic Sun"] is 20 minutes long. It incorporates images of some of the artworks that will also be on display. So there is somewhat of a thread through the film.

Also, the music in the film that is tied to the sound installations will be projected throughout the gallery. I composed the music in a way that I could use it not only for the installation but also in the film thematically. The music is -- the best way I can describe it is lounge pop satire with some post-psychedelic jazz treatment. Sometimes the paintings look how the music sounds.

In another part of the gallery, a digitally manipulated photograph will be mounted on a type of subsurface, so it's displayed in a nontraditional fashion.

I'm all over the place anyway. I'm always scattered. The trick is to make it seem like it's one piece, which has been extremely challenging but very rewarding. It's taken more than a year to assemble this show in such a way that it's fluid.

The film took three years to make. Twenty minutes and it took three years and three countries.

Q - How long will it take to set everything up?

A - Gosh, probably starting [Wednesday] and taking up until five minutes before opening the doors.

DETAILS

WHAT David McConnell art installation.

WHEN Friday-July 1. Opening reception, 7 p.m. Friday.

WHERE Bickett Gallery, 209 Bickett Blvd., Raleigh.

COST Free.

CONTACT 836-5358, www.bickett gallery.com.