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[winterviewz]

Frankie Ennui Suburban Lawns

  When I first discovered your band I heard Talking Heads and Devo in your sound instantly. Is that the sort of thing you were listening to at the time?

Absolutely. I think several band members went and saw one of Devo’s earliest, if not their earliest, L.A. performance and came back raving about it. I am still the proud possessor of Devo’s first single, in the very cool cover it came in, Mongoloid backed with Jocko Homo. All of us were fans of the Talking Heads too, of course. Eno, Iggy Pop, Television, Richard Hell, and lots of other new wavers or punk rockers were also on my personal play list at the time

Which clubs did you play, and with which bands?

Well, we played all over the place here in the L.A. area. The Masque, The Whiskey a Go Go, The Hong Kong Cafe, Madame Wong’s (both of them), The Roxy, The Country Club, Club 88, the Cuckoo’s Nest, etc. A lot of our early shows were thrown at our own studio in Long Beach. We’d charge $1 for each band that was playing and usually had two guests bands. The ones I remember off hand were The Plugz, The Minutemen, The Brainiacs, The Alley Cats and The Suburbs (friends of Su’s from Minneapolis)

I think we played the Masque couple of times, with groups like The Bags. The first such gig might have been under the band name Art Attack or Fabulons (which we later changed to Suburban Lawns). On one of those occasions, The Ramones were in attendance and later that night we went and saw The Ramones at the Whiskey

We played with nearly all of the local groups in those early days. Beyond the groups already mentioned, we played with The Dickies, X, The Germs, Black Flag, Geza X, Human Hands, The Reactionaries, Fear, The Vandals and a ton of other local great bands

We played quite a few opening gigs for Oingo Boingo (including a show at the Whiskey when they were still the Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo). Danny Elfman was a big fan of Su Tissue. We also opened for Oingo Boingo at the John Anson Ford Theater and the Universal Studios Amphitheater and did at least a couple Halloween gigs with them at Cal Arts

Later, when we were with IRS Records, we opened for U2 at the Santa Monica Civic, opened for the Clash at the Sacramento Auditorium and played with other fairly big names like Siouxsie and the Banshees, 999 and Bow Wow Wow

What a unique vibe. All the bands were great. I think Vex (Billy) had some connection with Tex and her Horseheads for a while there. The OC scene was happening too, but the details, these many years later, escape me

And you played Magic Mountain..

Magic Mountain was probably our biggest (and best paying) headline gig. Great facility, loads of enthusiastic fans and we got to go to the front of any ride line that we liked

KROQ was a supporter of the band, and Rodney particularly, and you were on SNL. Did you think at that point you were going to have a career with SL?

Rodney and all the folks there at KROQ were great. Rodney loved Su too

Doing a video with director Jonathan Demme for Saturday Night Live was a real highlight. What a down to earth and nice guy Jonathan is. He later put one of my songs (with a band called Electric Sheep) in one of his movies, Something Wild (in which Su appeared)

Yeah, we had a recording contract on a label that had lots of top flight bands (the Go Gos, REM, etc.) and we were on T.V., we were making a little money and we were optimistic about the future but…

How did the band write?

Initially, I weaseled my way into the group that eventually (after Su came on board) became the Suburban Lawns by jamming with the other guys and offering up some lyrics for some of their music. At first, most of the music was written by Billy (Vex Billingsgate) Ranson, our bass player (and also a singer) and John McBurney, our lead guitar player, and I would contribute lyrics. So, at least initially, John and or Billy would come up with a riff or two and I would then try to write lyrics to match. That was how Gidget Goes To Hell was written: Billy wrote those great riffs and I added the words. Su added her unique vocal styling. Other songs, like Janitor, were created when John and Billy came up with the music, I wrote most of the lyrics and then Su added the infamous “Oh my genitals, I’m a janitor” tagline. Eventually, even Chuck “Roast” Rodriguez, our drummer, started contributing music, as in Mom and Dad and God, where he wrote the music and I added the words. By the time we did the Baby EP, however, we were collaborating less. The best stuff, in my opinion, was created by way of our collaboration

Do you have any favourites? I really like Protection. And Not Allowed and Mom and Dad and God..

My favorites are probably Green Eyes and My Boyfriend, but I love them all. Protection is a favorite of mine too

You wrote the lyrics to Janitor after some conversation you overheard between Su and a friend, is that right?

No. Although on Wikipedia (and elsewhere) it has been written that I overheard a conversation between Su Tissue and Brian Smith where the “Oh my genitals! I’m a janitor!” originated and that such conversation inspired me to write the lyrics, that story is somewhat backwards. The music and all of the lyrics except “Oh, my genitals! I’m a janitor!” were already written when Su Tissue added those lyrics (which lyrics really made the song, in my opinion). For good or bad, I’m generally pretty literal in my lyric writing (as opposed to poetical) and I’m not shy about using bad puns

Su was definitely more of a poet than I have ever dreamed of being. The lyrics, except for Su’s contribution, are pretty straightforward science-nerd stuff about all things explosive. Su’s addition, whatever the source (and I have no reason to doubt what Brian Smith has apparently written about how Su came up with that addition), gave the song a poetical spin that added the dimension it needed to make it interesting. That’s exactly why, in my opinion, our best songs were those that were written collaboratively

Was the Baby EP the last thing you recorded together?

Sadly, yes

After SL split, you formed the Lawns. Was that going to be a direct continuation of SL, with new band members, or was there a change in musical direction?

Actually, I think (despite what you may have read on the Internet) that Vex (Billy) was not part of that effort. I think it was Chuck, John, a great (now deceased) friend named Tom Corey (of The Fibonaccis) and yours truly that tried to keep things going. Su and Vex went their own way. But it wasn’t anywhere close to the same thing without them. That band, The Lawns, eventually fell apart and/or morphed into the Electric Sheep, where we had David Kendrick (from Sparks and later, Devo) drumming and a friend of mine named Gloria Dawson, singing. We were trying to get into more of a hybrid thing, mixing R&B with punk, but it didn’t catch on for us

Do you think perhaps you were a couple years too early, and with MTV a household name you might have been bigger?

Probably. MTV was around (barely) and we made at least one video (Janitor) other than the video that was on SNL (Gidget), but it was tough to get airplay in those days. We began a video for Mom and Dad and God but it was never completed.

  The Tea Party. A fascinatingly ill-informed, emotionally-stunted and easily-led group of middle American folk. All supporting the very people who are destroying them. Talk about “asleep at the wheel.” Is America more divided now than you can ever remember?

Yes, unfortunately I think it is, although ironically it seems nearly certain that we are going to end up with two relatively moderate politicians running for the presidency in November, Obama and Romney. No thanks to the Tea Party, however. The “I’m willing to drive the country off a cliff unless I get my way on spending cuts, but don’t tax the rich” attitude of the Tea Party People is disturbing and especially so where the economy is already a mess. Not that the U.S. Government doesn’t waste a lot of money, however, because it does. Not sure how the U.S. became the world’s policeman and why war seems to be the answer to every international dispute, but I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do with money. We need, at least to some extent, to get the money out of our politics, but our Supreme Court apparently differs with me on that one

What you said about supporting the people who are destroying them is, in my opinion, accurate. Why so many in the middle class support low taxes on the wealthy is difficult to understand. Maybe its an aspirational thing. Its puzzling and frustrating

What did you do after music?

I worked in computers for a while and then went to grad school to become a teacher. I taught history and social studies at a high school in Santa Ana for about a week and half before quitting and going to work for an attorney friend as a receptionist. Eventually, I went to law school and have been an attorney here in Newport Beach for about the past 20 years

But I have never stopped playing music and writing songs. After Electric Sheep broke up, I started playing with some old friends from junior high school and am still playing with those guys (John Bitterly, Mark Handley and, later, Rick McDermott) to this day. Our band is called Johnny Mark and the Ricks (for obvious reasons). We play all originals. Our theory is that if we keep writing songs, eventually we’ll come up with something good. One of our most recent songs is called “”T Party People” in which I attempt to channel James Brown and Sarah Palin at the same time. It’s not easy. We can be checked out atjohnnymarkandthericks.com or on facebook, etc. Our next gig is on Cinco de Mayo, Saturday, May 5, 2012, at DiPiazza’s in Long Beach at 8:00 p.m. Any encouragement received will be appreciated, but not necessarily good for us

My good friend, Billy (Vex), has, in recent years, been playing with former Suburban Lawns, John and Chuck. More about Billy and the others can be learned at www.myspace.com/pulsatormusic. Enjoy!

  You channel James Brown and Sarah Palin at the same time? Maybe something like: “You can see Russia, hit me nah!… From my hou..hou…house-ah! Good god, ain’t it funky nah! YAAAAAAY!!”   I can’t recommend the Suburban Lawns album highly enough; if you’re into art rock, and 80s New Wave, or if you like the B52s, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich and/or the Flying Lizards, you’ll probably love Suburban Lawns too

Thanks Frankie  

[winterviewz]

Bob Bert Pussy Galore

Was there one band that changed everything for you?

When I was 12 or 13, I visited my older brothers hippie pad and came across the Velvet Underground and Nico album and when I listened to it, it opened up a whole new world for me Shortly after that I won a copy of the album for 25 cents on a Jersey Shore boardwalk (Seaside Heights - pre Snooki) which I still have. So I would say the Velvet Underground was the one band that changed things for me

You were raised in a big Catholic family. Was rock'n'roll as much about rebellion as the music for you?

It wasn’t that large of a family, I was the youngest out of 4 kids I grew up through the 60’s so rebellion was in the air with Nixon as president and the senseless Viet Nam war going on forever. I hated Catholic school and mainstream conservative culture so I was immediately drawn to all things subversive. I couldn’t wait to start experimenting with psychedelic drugs and smoke pot which I did at the age of 14 in 1969

I know you’ve told this story before, but can you briefly re-tell us about the Patti Smith Group performance you saw in someone’s living room?

I first discovered CBGB in 1975, the first night I went there it was Patti Smith and Television and there were maybe 20 people there. I use to go see Patti all the time. One day I noticed a small add in the Village Voice that said Rock & Rimbaud with a picture of the French Poet and an address on 14th St. So I went with a friend. It was someones home and you were asked to remove your shoes. I was sitting on a rug right in front of the band with a small group of people looking up at them, very intimate and cool

You were a Dead Boys fan

Great band from Cleveland. Stiv was a very entertaining front man and the band kicked ass. When the Damned first came over to play CBGB, the Dead Boys opened up and blew them off the stage. While The Damned were playing, all of the Dead Boys were front and center throwing ice cubes and cigarette butts and laughing at them. I had the pleasure of meeting and playing some songs last year with Cheetah Chrome as part of the Tabby Chinos along with Bob Pffeifer (Human Switchboard), Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras) Sal Maida (Milk & Cookies, Roxy Music) and Don Fleming at a Cleveland book reading event in NYC. I highly advise reading Cheetah’s book A Dead Boys Tale from the front lines of punk rock

How was working with Steve Albini while with Pussy Galore? He has become a bit of a legend

It was great! Pussy Galore did a bunch of shows with Big Black. He was just getting started being a recording engineer and we recorded half of Right Now! in his house in Chicago and half in NYC with Kramer who was also just getting started. Albini also did work on Sugarshit Sharp and Dial M for Motherfucker. He is a brilliant very funny guy He came out here and stayed at my place during the Dial M sessions. He also came out here and recorded the second Bewitched album entitled Harshing My Mellow. Considering I’ve slept at peoples houses while touring the world for years, I only ever had one band stay at my place and that was Steve’s post Big Black band Rapeman

Warton Tiers’ and - is it Funhouse or Fun City? - in NYC. Is there a “special relationship” there?

I do have a special relationship with Wharton and still run into him on occasion. Wharton Tier’s studio was called Fun City and was on E. 22nd St. This is where I did my first recording which was Making The Nature Scene on The Confusion Is Sex album by Sonic Youth, also the Kill Yr Idols ep, Death Valley 69/Brave Men Run single, Pussy Galore’s Pussy Gold 5000, Bewitched, Brain Eraser lp, & 409/Junket’s theme single

The Funhouse was Jerry Teel’s studio which he shared recording duties with William Weber on E.4th St. This is where 98% of Chrome Cranks was recorded and also the first Knoxville Girls album

The Funhouse was a very special place and sort of our clubhouse. A lot of people recorded there including Patti Smith with Lizzy Mercier Descloux, James Chance, Jayne County, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Sadies, Oblivians etc. I really miss the Funhouse!!

Was their a downside to being a decade older than the other guys in Pussy Galore?

Not really, it was a bit weird at first, there’s a big difference between being 20 or 30 in every way, but I think my previous experience with Sonic Youth made for some good advice on occasion. Plus not only were they younger but new arrivals in NYC. It all worked out and we’re still close to this day and I’m still 10 years older than them. The reunion we did for one show last year was a blast

One of my favourite records of yours is the comp ‘Worst Poetry Of 1986-1993’, with Bewitched. Was the downtown No Wave scene just as exciting/inspiring for you as the punk scene that immediately preceded it?

I played the drums as a kid growing up but didn’t play them again until about 7 month’s before joining Sonic Youth. It was the No Wave scene that really inspired me to play, realizing that concept is much more interesting than technical abilities. So yes, if it wasn’t for discovering the No New York album and the people on it, I don’t know if I would of ever picked up sticks and be doing this interview right now

What’s going on musically with you right now?

Lots! Chrome Cranks reunited in 2009 and had our first and best new studio lp Ain’t No Lies In Blood in 15 years come out this year. We are playing in NYC next month, also playing a week of shows with Lydia Lunch in the US in Nov. A few month’s ago I was in a recording studio with Kid Congo Powers and Mick Collins. We recorded 2 awesome tunes that will come out on In The Red Records as a single at some point and may turn into a bonafide supergroup in the future

Are you writing your autobiography now?

Yes, although it is going to be more of a photo book with lots of photos from the bands I’ve played in and BB Gun magazine that Linda Wolfe (RIP) and I put out 7 issues of

Bewitched seems to me like you were headed in a far more experimental direction than you had previously

Sort of, Bewitched got started after I left SY, Thurston made up a story to some British rag, NME or Melody Maker that I had a new project called Bewitched with Susanne Sasic who worked for them at the time selling merch and then moved on to lighting director which she is still doing today. Paul Smith of Blast First Records offered to put out a record. So I went into Wharton’s Fun City studio and being influenced at the time by the Butthole Surfers, Big Stick etc. (whose excellent single Drag Racing was hot at the time) and with the help of Dave Rick (King Missile, Phantom Tollbooth, Bongwater) and Mark Cunningham (Mars, Don King, Convolution) and Susanne screaming recorded the first 12 inch 45 Chocolate Frenzy backed with Swamp Shoot. When I turned it in to Paul Smith he didn’t dig it so I had J.G Thirlwell (Clint Ruin) and Roli Mosimann (Swans) come in and remix it. Paul still didn’t like it so I put it out myself using Pussy Galore’s (who I just met) label Shove Bewitched was my vehicle to make out-there experimental music. After Pussy Galore, Bewitched turned into a real band with bass, guitar, a DJ, and me singing with a drum machine and banging a gong or playing drums. We made those 2 albums that I mentioned earlier Brain Eraser with Wharton and Harshing My Mellow with Albini and did a bunch of touring

Did you see any of those early No Wave bands - the Contortions, Theoretical Girls, DNA - perform?

By the time I caught on to no wave, Mars and Teenage Jesus had already disbanded, I saw the Contortions and DNA many many times, Theoretical Girls, I didn’t even know about until after I joined Sonic Youth but I did see a bunch of Glenn Branca’s early shows

Did you keep in touch with Neil after he took off west, and what did you think of Twin Infinitives?

No, Neil kind of fucked me and Jon over after we recorded La Historia De La Musica. We had some shows booked in London and Neil just split to SF without telling us. I did see him a few times after that when he came back through town. It was nice to see him clean and sober. Neil has a brilliant mind and is an amazing guitar player. Pussy Galore would of never been able to record Exile on Main Street without him. Twin Infinities was a cool statement of a junkie couple making a double album full of chaotic noise I sold my copy a long time ago so I don’t really remember what it sounded like. I did like it a lot more than their big major label album Thank You which sounded like the Doobie Bros or some shit. I remember when they came to NYC on that tour in a big bus and Neil was wearing leather pants and acting like a big rock star. I was watching it by the side of the stage and I remember Evan Dando turning to me and saying this is so bad that it’s good but I just thought it sucked big time

Thanks Bob

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Andrew Czezowski The Roxy

First published 2012

Of all The Roxy shows you were at, are there any you feel you were privileged to witness?

Probably the most intense were the Buzzcocks, the Heartbreakers, Wayne County. The Damned when Led Zeppeiln came down to check out the scene

You’ve said (the Damned’s) Dave Vanian struck you immediately as unlike most of the other Acme customers. What was it about Dave, aside from the way he looked?

The main thing was his smell, he smelt of embalming fluid, probably from his day work as a grave digger

It didn’t pan out for the Damned and you as their manager. Mont de Marsan was the last straw?

Yes the whole trip, they were out of their boxes mainly on speed, couldn’t get any sense out of them, they didn’t sleep for the whole trip virtually, and getting us kicked out of the hotel in Mont de Marsan, that was the last straw

You saw the Ramones gigs at Dingwalls in ’76. Had you been following the NY punk scene, and was their influence maybe overstated?

No I don’t think it was overstated, they were probably the first New York act to come over so in that regard had a lot riding on them, yes I was there, it was really packed, sold out, with all the London scene, journalist and record companies, I think the Damned were supporting

They were the full package LOUD and FAST and very NEW YORK as we imagined, everyone on the close knit scene we had was very aware of the other bands, this scene was the core crowd ahead of the rest of the country, most cities had this core crowd, the leaders of the pack, but they were very few, just a handfull of crazy kids that changed the music scene

As the book keeper for both McLaren’s SEX and Krevine’s Acme Attractions – you were in the midst of all that energy – were you then planning a move of your own into the music world?

I always thought SEX was more Vivienne’s shop rather then Malcolm’s, John Krevine had a partner Steph Rainer. No I didn’t have any plans, I pretty much went along for the fun and followed up on the accidents that happened

Why more Vivienne’s than Malcolm’s?

Because I dealt with her all the time, she was hands on designing, manufacturing, organising, and Malcolm was in the States about that time with the Dolls

How did Chelsea compare to the Damned for you as a manager?

Less crazy but just as demanding, but that didn’t last long, only a few weeks before they changed to ‘Generation X’ with Billy Idol now on vocals

Do you feel Gene October got a raw deal, getting forced out of his own band? I think he had a great voice… but Billy had the ‘look’ I suppose

When Gene was forced out it was by the other band members, I cant remember if I told him he was out or they did, but either way they came to me and said Gene is out, Billy is in and the new name is Generation X. Yes I think Gene had the better voice but besides looks Billy was closer in the bands ideals than Gene

Did you, Ralf Jedraszczyk and Barry Jones have different roles? And did you go thirds on the money?

In principle it was a three-way split but in practice there was nothing to split financially, I did the promotion and booking and setting up the club, Barry mainly did the artwork and we bounced booking ideas around, Ralph was brought in later to be the business manager but in truth there wasn’t much business to run as it only lasted a 100 nights

There wasn’t any money to share mainly because the owners racked up the rent to such a high figure none was left, and we eventually couldn’t pay, so the owners who were lawyers brought some people down on a busy night and rented to them, they of course thought all our success would stay behind, but it didn’t

Did you think McLaren was irritated by the fact you were doing your own thing, which might impinge on his role as ‘Lord Mayor of Punk?’

Yes I am sure he would have wanted to have a club of his own thats probably why he never came down, maybe once

After The Roxy and The Vortex, The Fridge..

After the eviction at The Roxy, and being pushed out of the Vortex, I said if I do this again then it will be done properly, i.e with funding, lawyers and leases, so when I was approached by Steve Strange (who I managed for a while in a band I put together called the Photon’s. They wrote Fade to Grey which was a huge world wide hit). Steve then took the songs to his new act Visage. Anyway Steve came to me in the summer of ’78 and asked why I didn’t do another club, so I explained next time I will make sure I will own it all. So I introduced him and Rusty Egan to Billy’s, a small club in Soho. They went off with some advice I gave about how to do it and they set up a Bowie night, which went well. Then as expected they came back to me and said they had been turfed out of the Billy’s club and the owner had taken it back, as it had become a success, but just as with The Roxy without the core crew it failed. So I then introduced him to a club/bar called The Blitz where the whole New Romantic movement started

And Susan Carrington was involved too?

Susan Carrington, my partner, had more input into running the Roxy than Ralf did, as he came later. Susan often financed nights as she was the only one with an income from a regular job. She also used her company car to buy alcohol from the warehouses. She also supplied free make up for the customers to put on in the toilets at the Roxy, with help and advice from Susan how to make up, and of course as we lived together we constantly discussed ideas and designed some of the flyers, getting the Xeroxing done (we were the first to do colour Xerox flyers) and then arranging distribution of flyers as Susan was the only one with a car

The Roxy live album – Wire, the Adverts, X-Ray Spex, the Buzzcocks – did you oversee those recordings like you did with the Damned demo?

No, this was done by the producer Mike Thorn, I organised the signing of contracts from the bands to release the album and organising the bands to play over a three day period for recording live, as Harvest records in the UK had hired a very expensive mobile recording studio. In it’s way it was a very influential album in fact listed in Rolling Stone as one of it’s top influential albums

Thanks Andrew 

Barry Jones Sid Vicious & the Idols

I knew Andy from the store Acme Attractions, and also through Chris Miller (Rat Scabies) who was an old schoolmate of my girlfriend. Most of the would be bands met every Sat at Hennecky’s pub down Portobello Rd… so we all new of each other as the scene was pretty small at the time

My basement flat, 47a Warrington Crescent in Maida Vale, had become a hangout because my flatmate Matt Dangerfield (later of the Boys) and I had built a 4-track studio in the cellar. Andy was managing the Damned and paid me to record the first Damned demos. We would talk about how hard it was to find gigs. The Damned moved on and Andy began managing Chelsea which would transition into Gen X. We were always talking about a club that would book punk bands and it eventually led to Andy finding the Roxy through Gene October. Andy and I decided we’d try a punk night, met with the owner and booked a couple nights. Andy was an accountant/manager and I was a wanna be musician (I thought I was getting a place for my band to practice free)

We put the word out and made a few flyers… and yes I had a friend who loaned me 400 pounds while she held on to my ’76 Les Paul custom; and off we went to the cash and carry for booze ,nuts, and cigs. The ‘security’ and bar staff were Andy’s mates from South London, also he hired Don Letts as DJ. I still remember standing outside the club with Andy and Susan thinking how dumb I’d been, no one would show up and I’d lost my guitar

Of course I couldn’t have been more wrong, from that night on the thing just went huge and crazy!

Thanks Barry 

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Mike Corso God Bullies

First published 2012

Your hair is amazing. You look like you might have Native American in you

I hear that quite often but no Indian. I’m part Italian on my fathers side and part Irish mutt on my mothers side. I loved em both!

What kind of place is Kalamazoo?

Kazoo is not just your typical Midwestern college town. We had the failed auto industry, one of the worlds largest pharmaceutics giants Pfizer and after the 80′s Reagan cuts a sprinkling of folks released from one of the biggest mental hospitals left to wonder the streets. It was big enough that you could keep yourself entertained or get yourself into trouble but small and quaint enough that you could get to know most everyone in your “little click”

I read that the band had picketers at some of your early shows

There were some born again Christian oddballs that thought it best to tell folks they were all going to Go To Hell and with a name like the God Bullies we had a bulls-eye on our cross. We were often in their sights. I remember one article read “Mere words can not describe how incredibly horrid this band is”. Of course we took it as a compliment, we enlarged the article and used their words to make our next poster. Oh yea, we would always let them know they were on the guest list of our next show!

Mike Hard’s demented southern preacher shtick: was that theme in the band from the beginning, or did it evolve as you progressed?

Mike Hard has evolved over the different bands he was in. Early GB’s we would wear all kinds of outrageous outfits with garb covering the stage. GB’s had more smoke and mirrors than a carnival side show but you just couldn’t look away. I’ve known Hard since Jr high school, I even wrestled him in gym class (he cheated). I hadn’t seen him in years and when we reconnected Hard was in the band Debauched. I was totally inspired and was just learning to play. Not long after that the God Bullies were formed in my basement

It was listening to the Stranglers in the late 70s that made me pick up the bass guitar. Why did you choose the bass instead of the guitar?

I love the driving bass lines of the Stranglers. I’ve never been much of a skilled musician. I’m sort of a poster boy for punk rock in that I’m not a great musician yet I wanted to create music. Virtuosity is over-rated. If you want something bad enough you make it happen, no matter what

You played on four of five God Bullies albums – Mama Womb Womb, Dog Show, Plastic Eye Miracle and Kill the King – but only contributed keyboards to one track on ’92s War On Everybody. Why did you skip that album?

In the beginning the Bullies band members had a love-hate relationship to me being in the band. We were all misfits of a different kind. I was kicked out after the first three LP’s and then asked to come back but I had already joined Kombo Krap. Although I only recorded the keyboards on the one song on War On Everybody although I should have had a lot more credit as I helped write many of the songs. Oh well…

They went to tour War On Everybody in Europe. I was going to be the merch guy but Eric Polcyn quit to purchase Spacetime Tanks a successful flotation tank business in Chicago and I stepped back in. We pretty much disbanded shortly after that and reconnected with the original lineup with Mr Livingstone as the record producer for Kill the King. There is still an album in the can waiting to be finished. I recorded my tracks with drums back in ’04

Did somebody say one more God Bullies album…. Please?

How was your experience of working with AmRep over the years?

I don’t think there could have been a better label for GB’s than AmRep. No, I know there wasn’t a better label. I’m proud to have been a part of a record label that already history has reflected upon as being very influential during an interesting time in music. NOISE! AmRep always gave us total control and supported the band. Everyone surrounding AmRep was fantastic and Tom Hazelmyer is far more than just a right-wing gun-toting ex-marine… he’s ridiculously funny too! Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a tea-bagger often accused of being a right-wing nut-job myself

You were in the movie Stop-Loss, as ‘Cowboy Patriot’. Is acting something you’d always been interested in?

I don’t have the acting bug. I’m mostly work as an extra on movies, TV or commercials. I enjoy working as an extra as it is extremely easy work and you meet the most diverse array of interesting individuals. I’ve have done a couple roles on some indie films that will most likely never see the light of day

What are the chances of this ‘GB-in-the-can’ album getting released?

At present with the other band members having new projects or jet setting around the world for work and with the God Bullies pretty much on permanent hiatus I think there’s little chance of the ‘GB-in-the-can’ album ever coming to fruition. During our last couple reunion tours, rumors of a Box-O-Bullies with videos and the like were whispered about but not much was really happened. Adam and myself layed all our tracks down before I moved to Sunny Austin Texas. Maybe its time someone lites a fire under a couple of asses!

You have a studio in your house. Are you in there most days? And Psycho 66, is that your main music project now?

Psycho 66 has come to pass. I’ve been toying with some new stuff here in sunny Austin Texas. My favorite local band is the Bipolar Gentleman, you should check them out. Psycho 66 was a once a week jam session that turned into a band. This time I was the most well rehearsed musicians. It was a group of people who just wanted to blow some noise in the basement. It was a far cry from the GB’s, mostly Lo Fi minimalist simpleton type stuff. It did have all of the joy of doing music without the pretension that often seems to infect a successful band. We never went into the studio to do a proper job of recoding but there are some basement recordings on Reverbnation just for for prosperity’s sake

You describe yourself as an Old Punk and a Political Propagandist. What do you feel about where America is today, with the Tea Party/Christian Right refusing to give an inch to Obama, and his center-right stance within the Democrat Party? And the Occupy Movement? It’s a turbulent time in America right now

Don’t get me started…. I’m an ex Punk Rocker/Self Proclaimed Slacker/Political Propagandist.Translated: Long Haired/Lazy/Big Mouth! (Okay I’m not really lazy) I’m a live and let live Libertarian. That government is best which governs least. I’m more about personal responsibility rather than the “nanny state”. America is out of control and is pretty much fucked if it continues its empire building. I can certainly relate to the Tea Party wanting a more fiscally responsible Government. I can understand the Occupy Movements frustration over the economy. Unfortunately the Tea Party were co-oped by the far right and the Occupy Movement was all over the board about its demands. The thing that also gets me about the Occupy Movement is that most of these folks are probably still banking with the major banks that got bailed out and they also have a great deal of their investments in wall street! Its the same ol song and dance. Through divide and conquer they keep control and unfortunately most Americans are to involved with American Idol to see it. It takes peoples eyes off the real issues that are staring them in the face. Unconstitutional wars, attacking Libya under the guise of the UN, NDAA, rendition, FEMA camps, drones and the list goes on and on and on… He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither. Our news media is bought and paid for. Every time the news reports about some movie star not wearing panties or any other salacious story you damn well need to see whats really going on. Okay… Let me catch my breath. I told you not to get me started

Thanks Mike

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Texacala Jones

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Alexei Glukhov Ensemble of Christ the Saviour..

First published 2012

You describe your music as “radikal politikal hardcore” – are the politics more important than the music?

We believe that for any musical group should be some clear idea on which everything rests. Of course, for pure musicians, is the music which is more important than content, but to us it is not true

A couple of your youtube clips have been removed.. some show child endangerment: a young girl having a plastic bag placed over her head, mimicking suffocation; an infant having its mouth probed with a handgun

Art must strike at the nerve

Where do you record your albums?

We write at home, at your home studio “Dikatatura Zakona”

Sometimes, of course, we can use the services of Drung studio, but eventually all do at home… this principle. We specifically do primitive, straightforward sound. I do not think anyone does not play well today. Even the punk and hardcore bands try to lick their sound, which in itself is absurd

Buchenwald Will Rise Again, We Collect the Suitcases, Crematoria Puff Again, Love for Dr Goebbels … these are strongly anti-semitic and offensive song titles..

It is part of our musical and ideological image – show the feelings of a certain layer of real people from life, of information that are trying to give people too many lies, including about the Jews

So, how much of what you do should be taken seriously? You are tolerant of your transvestite singer..

Truth is always somewhere in between. In our work there are very serious things, they just passed a very paradoxical form that is difficult for the perception of many people. People need to have some abstract thinking, sense of humor and general intelligence. Moreover, we are not going up in the interview to talk about things that we kindle hatred for directly and so on. It would be very foolish

What about that old woman – a transvestite, not a conventional drag queen – this is a very educated and interesting man. Regard to his personal life, is not pereskekayus* and I do not care. When I first met him, he lived with a girl, I saw them at the wedding. Now we deal only in the project. Nothing more

Isn’t this hate speech?

The speech of the hate I do not know, all the band members live radically for many years without a TV and see life and change what they are, in reality, not as a lie on television

  And the world becoming multicultural. How do you feel about this?

Well, of course, we are against globalization, Zionism, democracy, equality and other trendy shit

Is very bad, because the loss of face of the nation, people, culture and identity is completely lost. Get a great social tension and generally featureless cultural cesspool..

What of Putin’s 3rd Presidency?

We will always be against it. but about Putin we have neutral position, because is no other candidates in our country, government structures is fully occupied. And it is good for us – the more we suppressed, the more opportunities for rebellion

Thanks Alexei

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Cheetah Chrome Dead Boys

First published 2012

You and Peter wrote Ain’t It Fun. I think it’s one of the great rock songs of all time

Wow, thanks! I’m too close to it to agree – it’s just another song that I wrote. There are others that I think are better

Why do you think so many “avant-garde” bands came out of dreary old Cleveland? Is it perhaps the same phenomenon as grim old Manchester in the UK producing so many important bands?

It may have been something like that, but my theory has always been really polluted water coupled with great radio and boredom. The funniest thing to me is that nobody there at the time thought we were doing anything particularly special; we saw it as just what we did. Judging by the audience response we got, it seemed that we were failing miserably!

David Thomas said a guy named Ghoulardi was influential for him

Ghoulardi was a TV movie host who did skits; he was definitely a major influence on that generation, so maybe in some subliminal way… but I think drinking filtered water from a lake whose main tributary was a river known for catching fire due to it’s chemical content and listening to WNCR had more to do with it…

“The CBGB punk scene is now talked about in reverential tones; as if it were Paris in the 20s; and you were right there. Do you feel you’ve made your mark?

Yea, I can die happy, secure in the knowledge that because of me and my ilk you can get skinny black jeans at Macy’s 30 years later! But I do feel a bit guilty for supporting the “anybody can do it” ethic; Hardcore made it painfully obvious that everyone couldn’t”

Next was Frankenstein/Dead Boys, a New York sensation. How would you compare RFTT and the Dead Boys in terms of how much you got want you wanted from each of them?

Well, I was lucky because I got exactly what I wanted from both. In Rocket I was able to learn to write, to rehearse with really good players, and to give and take artistically and be happy even if the song didn’t turn out like I heard it in my head. It was a real band in every sense of the word. In Dead Boys, I took charge a lot more, especially at first; the songs sounded like they did in my head. But we were also as much of a gang as we were a band… I’m still a member of RFTT, just a non-touring one; and whatever else comes up. I have no intention of stopping before I absolutely have to

I also really like your solo album Alive in Detroit. You play rock ‘n roll the way I like it: you can almost smell it. Do you think today’s production values have robbed much music of its humanity? It all sounds so plasticized to these old ears

Not only the production values. The audience’s inexplicable need for instant gratification and willingness to accept less has undermined the whole fucking society. MP3′s only give you 5% of the sound that vinyl or CD does, and they don’t even give a shit that they’re getting robbed as long as they have it in 5 minutes. They don’t even take time to sit down to listen to music anymore, it’s always while doing something else. Why would you put a lot of time and expense into production when they’re only going to download the crap version anyway? I know some bands still do, RFTT and the Batusis both do, but more for ourselves

So many of NY punk’s brightest leading lights got sucked into heroin habits. Do you have any thoughts why it was that drug in particular that became so trendy. For instance, in London the punk drug of choice was speed, more of an energy blast than a warm blanket (til Johnny T came over at least)

Can’t really say, that was well underway before I ever got to NYC. New York was one of the cities targeted by the CIA and the “cheap heroin” introduced in ghettos as a means of controlling dissent. I was actually more into speed before I moved there

Would you say Peter Laughner was crucial to the Cleveland scene?

Yea, he was definitely unique! He even scared the New Yorkers when he got going. To me he was always a funny, sweet guy, sort of like an older brother, but we weren’t really that close. I was still a “kid” to him and Dave at that point, couldn’t get into bars. I was the real kid that the cop wouldn’t let into the Harbor Inn. That really happened. But Stiv actually hung out more with Pete than I did. Don’t get me wrong, we were good friends, but we didn’t hang out together really except for band matters

Why have you settled in Nashville. Is it to do with the history musical of the place?

Well originally it was just because I liked the place and my future wife was from here. But yea, the history of the place is amazing, and musicians do have control of the culture here – it really is Music City, and what kind of music doesn’t matter. My house used to be a demo studio, Garth Brooks did his in my basement. Tricia Yearwood too. My favorite bartender used to play bass for Roy Orbison. Right now I’m involved in a project that has me immersed in the history of the place more than ever, a real eye opener, and I love it. Right now I’m not at liberty to say what it is, but an announcement will be coming in the next month or so. Let’s just say I’m sort of subverting Country Music from within…

Rocket From the Tombs never recorded a studio album. All we have is the rehearsals. Didn’t you ever think about doing it later, recollecting and making that first RFTT album?

Well, that was sort of the point of Rocket Redux …we tried to capture the spirit and vibe of that time as best we could without Peter. Richard did a brilliant job with both his playing and the production, and Steve nailed it as well. Barfly was a great experience, especially sitting down and writing new songs for RFTT after 30 odd years… but it was too late for me to really think of it as the first RFTT album

I spoke with Gregg Turner last month – a lovely guy – didn’t you work with the Angry Samoans? You weren’t much of a lover of hardcore punk, were you?

Well, I never really worked with the Samoans, just jammed a few times maybe. I did work with Jeff Dahl lot after he left the band, which was great, some of my best stuff. I did like the Samoans, though, never really considered them a hardcore band

I did mention Hardcore in a previous answer, but I’ll elaborate a bit. I did for the most part HATE Hardcore, I thought it was crap. There were good bands like the Bad Brains, Cro Mags and Murphy’s Law, the Exploited, but by and large most of them couldn’t play and they all sounded the same. I’ll give them credit for taking a stand against Reagan and Thatcher, but the bands and their fans were more conformist than the Republican party could ever be. And the straight edge thing I never got at all, not taking drugs, drinking, eating meat or having sex, slam dancing all night, getting hurt and then sitting around abandoned buildings bitching about how life sucks …well, duh!

Thanks Cheetah

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Marty Thau Red Star

Marty Thau December 7 1938 -February 13 2014,

First published 2012

New York, 1977: the summer of Sam, and the Blackouts. What are your immediate recollections of that summer?

I spent the summer of ’77 reflecting on what Suicide’s debut LP should sound like and be about and then co-producing it with Craig Leon. Facing me with their music was the task of convincing America’s kids that their music rebellion could cross over the Hudson River and reach the popular youth cultures of the flyover states of America. Not an easy task. I wanted the answer to the question of whether Manhattan’s microcosmic punk sensitivity to its generation’s malcontents could translate and reach America’s arena band audience of largely unconscious numbskulls

In both managing and producing: were you always guided first and foremost by what you personally liked to listen to?

Why would anyone want to manage or produce an artist they didn’t like, or want to listen to?

Well, the Simon Cowells of this world might say “for money”

I’ve always believed that money shouldn’t be one’s motivator. If your creative instincts are superior to others then you’ll make all the money you’ll ever want. Some disagree with that premise. I can only be guided by what I like and not what any marketing strategist tells me what the market wants. Isn’t Simon Cowell guided by what he likes?

Like with Suicide – Red Star’s first signing, in the summer of ’77 – you must have known they were too extreme to be a commercial success. Why did you pick them first?

Although I was fairly certain that Suicide’s debut record wouldn’t sell very well, I did believe that they’d eventually become an important cult band. Part of me felt their songs were accessible and that Suicide might even surprise everyone with commercial hits but very few others heard what I heard and emphatically disagreed with my optimism. Those dissenters just don’t know what I know I concluded in my constant conversation with myself. As it turned out, the band’s great music turned out to be too advanced for America’s heartland in early ’78 who, for starters, just couldn’t cope with the sheer effrontery of a duo who were breaking a lot of the taboos and sacred cows, had no guitars, or bass, had a drum machine for rock ’n’ roll, and were called Suicide

During your Bazaar Seminar, you said “in many respects the Europeans are a lot hipper [than Americans]” Could you tell us why you said that, and make us all on this side of the pond feel even more superior than we already do?

America is still a weird, evangelical nation and big corporate money rules, resulting in censorship of music being the rule of the day. Most of the music one hears on America’s major market radio is bland and is quite often aimed at the lowest common denominator. I’m under the impression that European radio listeners can hear their younger generation’s expressions of music culture and creativity. If it’s true that Euro’s kids are more fortunate today than their American counterparts, the world is getting more and more global (and smaller) and soon enough there won’t be such distinctions

Alan Vega has said Max’s was a better gig for them than CBGBs. What was the difference between the crowds from both clubs?

Perhaps Alan preferred Max’s – maybe because that’s where he and Rev got their first opportunity – but in time CBGB embraced them, too. I always thought that the CBGB crowd was more artistic and sophisticated. All of the groups that were noteworthy eventually played both venues. One played Max’s for a paycheck and CBGB for impact and notoriety. I always believed that CBGB was much hipper place

What are your thoughts on Malcolm McLaren, who today is seen either as the architect of what became UK punk, or an opportunist who took credit for it when he was actually just a bit-player

I wanted to be objective and like Malcolm but I couldn’t help but resent his many false claims. Everyone exaggerates his or her resume to some exalted degree but Malcolm had no shame whatsoever. Yes, he could be charming and amusing, and there was a slightly appealing cutting-edge sophistication to his pseudo-aristocratic mien. But the main criticism of him was that he was the master of ‘appropriating’ other people’s creative ideas – like mine, for example

Malcolm would contend over the years that he had once been the manager of the New York Dolls but as David Johansen said when asked to comment on Malcolm’s untimely passing and the extent of his role in the Dolls career, “Malcolm McLaren was a marvelous mixture of exuberance, sensuality, culture and literacy but as far as him being our manager, you must be kidding. He was there for the last ten minutes of the Dolls. We once went to the beach together, the Rockaways, but if he felt he had to turn that into being our manager I guess that’s okay but the truth is that Malcolm is my King’s Road haberdasher whenever I’m in London”

About 5 years before Suicide, you were in London with the New York Dolls, trying to get them a deal – which you eventually did. Of course Billy tragically died while you were there. Did you already have concerns then that some of them were jeopardising everything by taking drugs?

The Dolls weren’t exactly teetotalers but who was back in the day? David and Sylvain survived and took care of business when required. Johnny and Jerry didn’t. Arthur was a brilliantly talented unfortunate soul who was eventually redeemed after 30 years of a tortuous life. Billy was a wild child and the victim of an incident that never should have happened

And then back in New York, Nolan replaces Murcia. What was your relationship like with Jerry, and by extension, Johnny?

I always wondered if Jerry was a user of people. Some say he was but others say he was truly a loyal friend. I’ll always have a warm spot in my heart for Johnny. His untimely passing touched me greatly. It still does to this day

Then you formed Instant Records, and in ’76 recorded and released Blondie’s classic first single, X Offender, and LP. Did you think about taking them all the way to the top, or was it always going to be a limited relationship?

When Richard Gottehrer and I formed Instant Records in ’76 our intent was to sign the best artists New York had to offer and Blondie was our first choice. Initially my intent was to develop Blondie’s career but when I was offered my own label – Red Star – I was ecstatic. That had always been my rock ‘n’ roll dream and preference

I don’t think anyone can predict with 100% accuracy which artists will rise to the top. It’s basically always an educated guess. In Blondie’s case they had loads of potential but, as much as I believed in their music, I concluded that developing a label was a greater project to undertake

Your business partner Leber made his fortune with Aerosmith. If you had the choice, would you rather be remembered for signing a massively successful band like that, or for supporting guys like Suicide and the Dolls, who are seen as pioneers?

At the risk of sounding pompous, that’s an obvious answer. I’ll take the Dolls and Suicide any day of the week. As much as I wanted to make as much money as possible, I was never motivated to simply make money. Frankly, I never cared for Aerosmith and resented the fact that they stole so many ideas from the Dolls

You passed on the Ramones. Was that because of them, or was it because you were looking for other things to do?

I wanted to produce their first album but I wasn’t known as a producer at that point, so I didn’t have much of a shot at getting that assignment. My good friend Craig Leon was chosen to produce their debut record and excelled as we all know. I did, however, produce two tracks with the band in ’75 that had a lot to do with them getting their contract with Sire Records

Red Star is still going. Are you still actively engaged in looking for new artists? Have you seen anything that really excites you lately?

I’m only releasing digital EPs with artists that I believe will have some impact on the current music scene.Lola Dutronic is an electronic duo that’s based in Toronto and Berlin that fits that bill. Another artist that I believe in is Rob Coyne from London. I can’t say that I’m ‘actively’ looking for artists. In some respects I’m semi-retired but I’m always watching the events of the day

The music industry will metamorphosize in ways we can hardly imagine right now. Are the majors in trouble, and do you think music lovers have reasons to be optimistic?

You are correct in assuming that the major companies will metamorphosis in ways we can hardly imagine but let’s be real … whatever the market will be about is what the major companies will be about. Money talks

The grim truth is that lack of vision is what the music industry has suffered from since the birth of the technology age. For the industry to have claimed that technology {that enabled sharing music over the Internet} was to blame for its dwindling sales was simply a bogus claim. Rather it was the labels that dug themselves into a hole by not accepting the fact that the web was a new platform for music consumption that could not be ignored or litigated away. If the truth were known, there is more available music today {some good, some not so good} than ever

When, in your first answer, you mentioned “translat[ing] and reach[ing] America’s arena band audience of largely unconscious numbskulls; could I steer the subject towards the political situation in America at the moment, and ask your thoughts on the Tea Party, and the vast numbers of US citizens ready to vote against their own interests?

In my opinion Barack Obama will be re-elected. Unfortunately most of the citizens ready to vote against their own interests in America are simply too ignorant to realize what they are up against – big money corporations only interested in their bottom line. That’s the tragedy of America’s modern day politics. Fortunately reasonable minded citizens outnumber the illiterate, ignorant ones {read Tea Party}

We are now in the second decade of the 21st Century’s information age and it’ll only get more complex as time passes – but hopefully less greedy and more humane

Thanks Marty

Marty Thau, Eric Olsen and Mike Crooker publish the Web log Tres Producers – “thoughts on culture, politics, music and stuff” here: tres_producers.blogspot.co.uk

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Kira Roessler Black Flagw

First published 2012

You lost your wages as a roadie for the Screamers because you spray-painted the club they played. What did you spray?

Oh it was awful. But there we were in New York at this “punk club” we thought and it was all pristine. We came from the holes that allowed punk bands to play in LA. We were all arrogant about our punkhood… embarrassing now really. We wrote things like “Why no paint?” and painted a dead body outline on the ground. Probably “The Screamers” too

Were you ever intimidated, as a young female, going into those Black Flag gigs?

In the early days in LA, the scene was still pretty small. Lots of girls there, elaborately demonstrating what would be the definitive punk styles. I, however, was a tomboy who already played the bass. I wanted to play in bands, the only way to do that was to hang out with people who played. And I mean total tomboy

Your bass lines in Black Flag were aggressive. Was there a bass style you wanted to emulate?

I am a total believer in the right bass playing for the context you are in. Black Flag demanded that style of bass playing. Other bands do not. It is arrogant and foolhardy to impose one’s style on someone else’s band. If it is your own band, you can create a style. A band has a style, the players then contribute or work against it

You’re a blues fan

I fell in love with Billie Holiday in 7th grade. The unrequited love ballads were just what I needed. And although many other bands/artists have tickled my fancy over the years … she will always be my favorite. I do not have an extensive exposure to the blues. She spoke of her admiration for Bessie Smith… so I sought out her stuff and totally could see why Billie would love her

Do you think the punk scene in LA was just as significant as its counterpart in NYC?

Well of course. Do people say otherwise? A lot of it depends on what you call punk. NY had some pre-cursor bands (in my humble opinion) that were extremely influential. But once LA got going … I think London, NY, and LA were generating important stuff and maybe more importantly had scores of people coming out to shows and “buying in” to what was happening As I said in the earlier … when we went to NY for the Screamers gig, it seemed tame compared what we were used to. There was a HUGE contingent that went to SF to see the only California gig that the Sex Pistols played on their only real tour. When I say huge of course, that is within the context of how many punkers there were at that time. There were bands I loved from NY of course. I happen to believe their were more good bands in LA … but maybe I just didn’t hear all the good ones. Many of the LA bands didn’t get out on tour … I am sure that was happening elsewhere. This is part of why Black Flag was interesting. They were touring … incredible for the circumstances – but they were

I think the LA scene is still seen, maybe mistakenly, as secondary to NY’s Max’s/CBGB scene, perhaps because bands like the Ramones became internationally recognised, whereas none of the LA punk bands did. And also the NY one being seen as more ‘high-brow’ than LA’s more… ‘meatheaded’ approach

Again… disagreeing here. Ramones – high brow? I thought they were pretty much the definition of low brow and that is not meant to be offensive. In terms of “internationally recognised” that was almost the antithesis of what was happening with the bands I thought were the best. Record labels wouldn’t stand behind a band like The Germs. Black Flag was clawing their way into records and tours not being helped in the slightest So I guess it depends on what you like, and what punk is, and what “significant” is. The Sex Pistols were pretty darn influential. So were the Ramones. But nowadays if you talk about punk in general Black Flag is quite well known. And Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, TSOL, and a host of others who were certainly not internationally recognised at the time Meatheaded… ha

You married another bass player, Mike Watt from the Minutemen, and together formed Dos. That was around the time D Boon died. Was Dos perhaps a way of dealing with Mike’s (and your) grief?

It seemed to me that it was… of course Mike has his own perspective on it. I was worried he would stop playing… so I would just try to get him to play. Plus I wasn’t really playing with anyone… so it was good to just play. There was no real intention of making a band at first… just to jam. Then some songs were created form those jams. I had also made some bedtime story tapes for my nephews with two bass music under them, so we had material there

With Dos you so often capture such a haunting, lonesome sound. What can two basses do that a more traditional set up can’t?

It comes back to doing what is right for the band. In a “traditional set up” my role as bass player needs to support or accentuate what the drums and or guitar are doing. In a two bass band we are creating the “style” so the bass can be in your face, or create a mood, ebb and flow without taking away from what someone else does. With bass, the spaces are very important. The spaces I allow or fill are quite different in a two bass format. The bottom will drop out in a traditional format if I am not careful

You two are going to be friends for life

I cannot see anything hindering our ability to play music together. It gives us a context, which I feel we need, in order to maintain a connection which is as feisty as our relationship is

What is next for you musically?

Well I play most every day, always have. Sometimes only for fifteen minutes in my room before I go to work I have three current musical endeavors: Dos, SAUPG, and Awkward. SAUPG is a virtual band, we build songs over the internet and basically place no big emphasis on releasing the songs. Some have been posted on a facebook page. Awkward is another two bass band with a guy who plays standup bass named Devin Hoff. We are just getting started Otherwise I mostly work and hang with my dogs. I work in post production sound editing. Dialogue and ADR. Mostly movies, a little TV. It demands a lot of hours unless I am in the occasional lull between projects

Don’t you write bedtime stories for kids?

Oh no no no. I do not write bedtime stories. I merely took classics… starting with like Dr Suess when they were quite young and all the way up to Edgar Allen Poe which was the last one. Then I would read them and overdub two basses kind of noodling underneath because I thought it would be soothing to my nephews. Particularly the older one Alex would lie awake at night and I thought it might be nice to have something to listen to

Thanks Kira

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