Wilco Alt-Rockers Headed to Irving Will Not 'Succumb to the Misery'

When Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen was a kid growing up in New Jersey, his dad built him a workstation for his musical equipment. He had a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, and he experimented with it while peering at the lights of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge through his window.

His room had other charms, too: a Miami Vice poster, pages from Cracked plastered on the walls, and, on a shelf under the light switch, a bottle of Calvin cologne he was saving for “someone special.” This is where the young Jorgensen honed the synth skills he’d eventually use for one of the most well-known indie rock bands in the world — a band that took him a while to feel comfortable in.

After all, before forming Wilco 30 years ago, guys like lead singer Jeff Tweedy were touring the country as part of other projects.

“They were definitely living a lot more of a rock 'n' roll existence than I ever was,” Jorgensen tells us. “I find that contrast sort of uniquely satisfying, in a weird way. It's like ‘computer geek joins rock band. What the hell?’”

Now, that bespectacled “computer geek” is meticulously recounting stories and details of his youth — all the way down to the cologne on his shelf and his 1989 talent show performance — for a series on his Patreon and his Instagram.

“Given the incredibly complicated moment we found ourselves in, I've made a big personal commitment to open up my archives and share the maybe slightly embarrassing early recordings and some musical moments that exist outside of the framework of Wilco,” he says.

It’s his way to tap into “the power of expression,” he adds, and “not succumb to the misery and the frustrating times that we live in.”

Wilco will play at the Toyota Music Factory on Wednesday, May 7, and, true to form, the set list is bound to include fan favorites and deep cuts from the group’s three decades of existence. Wilco holds an enviable place in American music. They’re widely adored by their industry peers, and their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. What’s more, while the lineup has shifted, the group is still churning out acclaimed records. Cousin, their 2023 release, earned raves, including from fans who’d strayed away over the years. The group still delivers top-tier work.

Considering their longevity and the common themes that run through their work, a Wilco show can be an exercise in nostalgia, a time for reflection and a cause for hope, however tepid.
Our conversation with Jorgensen touched on those exact themes.

“Sometimes it doesn't feel that long ago,” the keyboardist says of the band’s long run. “I can still recall so many moments of my first few years with the band. But then I see photos and videos and I'm like, ‘Oh my God. We were little babies way back then.’”

He joined the band in 2002, and during that “babies” stage, he admits he was “very self-conscious.”

“I was becoming part of this beloved institution even back then,” he says. “I think it's safe to say that Wilco was a cherished band prior to my arrival, and I felt the responsibility of trying to honor that, but also still do what I was there to do.”

“I don't know that we're ever fully-formed human beings,” he continues, “but back then, I was exceptionally not fully formed. And also not super confident in my own abilities.”

His role, as he describes it, was to be “the laptop guy,” at least for the first several years of his Wilco tenure. At that time, laptop guys weren’t exactly common at indie rock shows.

“I'm sure it was difficult for the audience to really understand what it was that I was contributing. Was I up there checking my email or surfing the internet?” he says.

Jorgensen’s confidence grew the more he collaborated with Tweedy. Together, the pair wrote the songs “Hell is Chrome” and “Theologians,” both of which appear on the band’s 2004 album A Ghost Is Born. Those tracks are Jorgensen’s first Wilco writing credits, and despite the sky-high expectations that came with following Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born earned great reviews.

Jorgensen’s contributions were standouts. “Hell is Chrome,” in particular, showcases how his piano compositions can pair well with Tweedy’s lyrics. Jorgensen humbly chalks up his success and newfound success to Tweedy’s “superpower”: specifically, his ability to combine seemingly disparate musical elements into something cohesive.

“At the time, I really struggled with what to do with this cool thing,” Jorgensen says. “And then [Tweedy is] like, ‘Oh, take that, put this in this and put that in here and put that over there, and we move this over here.’ And then sure enough, it now sounds like one thing, and not my thing with Jeff's music and lyrics. Which is a revelation, in a way.”

This process can be a science, but when they’re live, Wilco is raw, personable, and human — much like their lyrics.

Jorgensen refers to their shows as “a phalanx of colors”: everything comes together — including their equipment, the music, and the audience — to form something that, while layered, is never perfect. And that’s okay.

“I don't think people demand the rigorous, exacting precision of what Wilco is, and I say that with pride, in a way. We are fallible humans, and we make mistakes.”

Speaking of which, he’s made a point to avoid reading commentary on his or his band’s music and performances. He doesn’t read reviews. He doesn’t go on the message boards. All of that stuff is part of what he calls “the mythmaking machine,” and Jorgensen has no interest in mythmaking.

That’s why, for instance, he’s avoided the feedback on the 2022 song “The Empty Condor” and Cruel Country, the album on which it appears. Jorgensen says that the album is the best representation of the “synthesis” his band creates, and “The Empty Condor” is his personal favorite. Even better, that was the first record they released after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was meaningful on a bunch of levels,” he says. And making something meaningful is always the goal, whether he’s playing with Wilco or sharing deep-cut memories from his childhood.

“Human expression is incredibly important, and there's no wrong way to do it,” he says. “Whether you read or listen to music, if somebody is articulating something that makes you feel less alone, I feel like it's worth it.”

Wilco will perform on Wednesday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W Las Colinas Blvd. Tickets start at $53.00 here.