Features
THE JESUS LIZARD
RETURN OF THE LIZARD KINGS
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The natural progression of rock n' roll is its lifeblood from the sexually charged white trash of ELV1S to the psychedelicised working class heroics of THE BEATLES and the sneering speed- freak glare of JOHNNY ROTTEN. It should always be the music of the outsider, the nonconformist, the freak. |
"Well were having a real good time, we always enjoy Europe, I'm not so sure about the rain though it always seems to be raining everywhere we go. All these road crew guys keep playing techno tapes on the tour bus, I'm just not into it you know, maybe I've not figured it out yet. I think if people are gonna' make you listen to that stuff they should at least be polite enough to provide the drugs that are supposed to make me enjoy it". So where do your listening pleasures lie right now then? "There's a band in the States I really like called SIX FINGERED SATELLITE. For so much of my life the bands I listened to were British but nowadays there's not much I like. I can't account for it maybe I'm not hearing the right stuff". What about the renaissance of mighty Brit guitar music, OASIS for instance? "Yeah, I've heard OASIS, there's a song of theirs that's a big hit in the States that I liked, but I heard an album and it all sounded the same" How do you find the audiences here in Europe compared to back home in the States? "The responses here aren't as physical as they are in the States. They tend to be more demonstrative in the States they do more thrashing around and screaming, although they do more of that here now than they used to. Maybe they just like us more now". ”Shot” is your fist record on a major label it doesn't seem to have affected the aggression within the music. Would you agree with that? "Yeah, if anything we wanted to make a record that was bigger and louder and meaner sounding than anything we've recorded before and I think we did that. As far as being involved with a major label I have to say they did what they said they were gonna' do which was stay out of our way. I think there can be problems whether or not you're on a major label, It comes down to how much you're willing to stand up and how much bullshit you're willing to put up with". Much has been said about the manic nature of the live shows, is it as crazed as it sometimes seems or is it a case of being a controlled loss of control? "It has to be controlled to a certain extent so we can all start and end the songs at the same time. But we are also trying to give off certain energy. We do a rock show; the way we think it should be done. I see a lot of bands who have great musicianship but they just don't seem to get the fact that they are playing a show, and it's not supposed to be just like the record. Also I see some bands who don't really understand how important it is to play well and put the songs together so you end up getting a lot of energy but it sounds like shit". What if anything would you say has been an influence on the band? "The thing about this band is we all come from startlingly different directions. David and myself, although we were interested in rock as music buyers, we weren't interested enough to get involved until punk rock came along. Mac and Duane did more of a high school cover band type of thing. I think they got into things much younger, pre punk rock. Then Duane went onto a more formal study of the guitar and played classical, then realized he liked playing rock music a lot better". Talking of punk rock, Britain is gripped by nostalgia fever at the moment what with the SEX PISTOLS reforming, what do you think of all that, could you ever see yourselves coming back in 10 or 20 years for some nostalgia trip?
"It's hard to imagine, those people are entitled to do whatever they wanna do, far be it for me to pass judgement on how
People pay their rent. On one hand I look at it with a somewhat jaundiced eye. It does seem to go against what those bands
allegedly stood for, but maybe the message there is that they never really stood for anything. I've never been of the opinion myself that music has a sell by date. "Exactly it doesn't, when bands are accused of that it comes from journalists, which makes it a fairly easy target from a fairly safe position. Nobody ever holds it against journalists for writing too long". How important is playing live as opposed to spending time in the studio making records? "For one thing it's a direct connection to an audience, if you get too dependent on recording and record labels and publicists, It just gets complicated. The band has its reputation for the live show and no matter what happens no one can fuck that Up Deciding on a complete change of tactics mid Interview for no obvious reason apart from I'm the guy asking the questions so I'm making the decisions here. Much head scratching and brow beating ensues as I throw out a question on the worst TV series made. This change of direction seems to immediately appeal. "There's a show my room mate insists on watching. It's on the public education channel in Chicago because it's English. This is so people can be convinced that anything on TV that's English is good, It's called ARE YOU BEING SERVED?. At that point the irony is just too much and I've suddenly made falling off my chair in fits of laughter a national sport. "That show is never never funny man! God I hate it so much when it's on I just have to leave the room it's such a horrible Show". I point out here that the careers of said cast of this British Televisual institution have since focused their creative energies on miserable depressing soaps and appalling celluloid sex farces, the type where BRIAN RIX drops his trousers at any given Opportunity. "I m not surprised", says David obviously quite pleased at the thought. We continue along these lines as brain cells are melted before we come up with the ultimate worse rock n' roll record of all time. "There's a record by WILLIAM SHATNER where he does a bunch of cover songs. The one that sticks in my mind is 'Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds' It's really really bad. The thing is, things like that cross that line back into being worthwhile because somebody listened to that and still thought it was a good idea". While in the subject of all things tacky and embarrassing what was the first gig you ever went too? "That's embarrassing, it was 1979 I saw BOSTON on their first ever tour. SAMMY HAGAR opened and you know what I went out the next day and bought a SAMMY HAGAR album". And burnt it I hope! "I was impressed at the time. I don't know what I was thinking of'. Now obviously fully recovered from such bouts of madness, further discussion then follows on the merits of veteran Brit Punks THE MEKONS. The general hassle of doing Interviews " Some people just don't know how to go about it. I don't know why they bother. This is not one of those though".
Compliment accepted. David's dinner finally arrives and it's interview termination time.
GRAHAM TILER |