Beck - Flipside Interview
John Parres
(March/April 1993):
_BECK_
This unassuming troubadour, the Preacher of the uncommitted, sings songs
that reflect on our every day lives, loves and humorous existence.
Playing just about anywhere in town, I met up with Beck at the Onnix in
Los Feliz on Vermont Ave. - GUS
BECK: I think I'll sing the whole interview.
GUS: (Laughing) Ok, when did it all start?
(slowly plucking away at his guitar)
BECK: Oh god, ah
GUS: Let me see, the 1st time that I ran into you was with Blaze (singer
of TVT$).
BECK: Yeah.
GUS: You use to be neighbors off Sunset blvd. in Silverlake.
BECK: Yeah, I was running round doing all kinds of shit. Living in New
York and I'd just come back to LA. That was about 3 years back. I was
crashing at this house next door to Blaze and his TVT$ band. I went over
there one day cause, there was always these smashed TVs down in front of
his place, it interested me. I went up there and gave him a tape. Then
they let me come down and bust out some tunes at Raji's (opening for them).
GUS: Was that the first time?
BECK: No, I'd been play around for a couple of years.
GUS: No, I mean Locally at shows (in LA rock clubs) opening for bands.
BECK: Yeah, they got me going.
GUS: Then it was Bulimia Banquet, Paper Tulips like at Gaslight gigs.
BECK: Yeah, everyone sort of, let me rush the stage so to speak.
GUS: That was lots of fun.
BECK: Yeah, that was like Gorilla bookings.
GUS: Have you gotten a show at Jabberjaw yet?
BECK: Yeah, last month with Dos and Possum Dixon. It was great. (still
plucking away at his guitar)
GUS: So what style of music do you consider you perform?
BECK: Uh, its folk music but, what I think of is folk music is pretty
broad. It's whatever people listen to.
GUS: What I'm trying to say is your style has sort of changed. On your
tapes I hear influences from Like Johnny Cash (Banjo Story tape) to Bob
Dylan on later stuff.
BECK: Well, I go from Woody Guthrie to Slayer kind a thing.
GUS: (laughing)
BECK: Things are always changing
GUS: The last time I saw you perform in San Louis Obispo opening for
Bean, Possum Dison and your band Loser, it was different again. I
couldn't hear the influences as much, you seem to be doing more of your
own thing.
BECK: I was speaking from my mind, I guess. (still lightly plucking up and
down on stings)
GUS: Did you just naturally pick up the guitar and play?
BECK: Yeah, I was in high school, not having to good of a time there. So
one day in english class, I was about fifteen then, I just got up and
left and never went back. It didn't seem to bother my mom to much. I
just started hanging around and I found these Woody Guthrie records.
that's what got me sort of started. So I spent a year learning To play
just about every Woody Guthrie song I could find a piece on. I kind of
got bored after while, so I got this job in a factory town in Watts
unloading trucks. So I saved up some money and took a trip through the
South on a Greyhound bus one summer and ended up in New York and stayed
there for a while. I really didn't think of playing music or writing
songs seriously until I went there (New York). I was just hanging out in
the east village with my guitar and all of sudden there were all these
people hanging around, King Bissel and all these bands. Roger Manning
and all those anti folk guys. So there was this club (Chameleon in NY)
and I went in there, everyone was real friendly, the waitress would give
me beer. I was only about seventeen at the time, so it was really
great. I'd get up there and play some songs. I would get up on stage
with four or five guys and we would bang away on our guitars. At least
that's how it started. That's when I got the idea to start writing
songs, because everyone else was doing it.
GUS: You were just cover tunes before that?
BECK: Year, I'd play old Carter family songs, Old Mississippi John Hurt,
Old Blind Willy Johnson, Skip James. Just hanging out there too (at the
club) there was all kinds, from crazy poets to rappers.
GUS: Why did you leave?
BECK: Because of this girl (smiles).
GUS: That makes some sense, I guess.
BECK: (gently strumming away on stings) I met this girl and she was
moving out to LA and I followed her along. We Spent only a week in LA. I
later followed her to Washington (state). We got this drive away
pickup. I remember it took us a week to get to Washigton. We ended up
on this little island. We would sleep in this truck for awhile. It was
summer so it was warm at night. Then we got this little house across the
street from this Xmas tree farm. It had this shack with this santa
inside it. I got this job washing dishes. It was this dinner place, it
was a shitty job. It was a bakery too. So I had to clean out these big
old 5 foot high tubes of dried flour. My girl friend go this job working
at a convalescent home. Then one day she just ran away back to New
York. After that I ended up just kind of going back to LA.
GUS: And you have been here since.
BECK: Yeah, since about 89 or 90 I can't remember which.
GUS: How many demos do you have out?
BECK: Well let me see, ahh, 3 or 4. A friend of mine had a tape
recorder. I went over to his house one night we drank a few bottles of
wine and I recorded about ten songs or so on a cassette. Then I just
started passing them around. Made them myself.
GUS: I recorded some stuff of yours at Wireworks, and then you did some
stuff with Greg from Paper Tulips.
BECK: Yeah, I was working at a video store at the time and had to by
noon. I was a bit hung over from the night before. We stuffed ourself
in to this little padded closet, which was this rehearsal space. I had
to sing out all these tunes. I never heard the tapes. All I remember is
this big box of Budwisers. They thought it ould be good idea if I stomp
on this box as I played. It didn't really help, it made it awkward, but
I guess it added to the spirit.
GUS: So now besides your solo stuff, you're in two other bands?
BECK: Three or four. I'm in this screamer cult band called Loser. I got
this country band called Brother Mule, that plays old time country. We
played one time in this lodge up in the hills, above Sagust. Then I have
this other band called Liquor Cabinet.
GUS: What style of music is that?
BECK: Soul music
GUS: Rhythm and blues?
BECK: No. Kind a like physically handicapped blues (laughs) I don't know,
I guess it has it's own kind of music. Then I have this rap thing going.
GUS: Yeah, It was that guy that recorded with Wool. (Tom Rothrock)
BECK: That was about a year ago, I did this folk rap. This was before
the Loser band, the songs are about feelings.
GUS: So Beck this split single that your coming out with Bean. What's
the idea behind the some "MTV makes me want to smoke crack".
BECK: It's just a stream of conscience with a dulled mind. I wrote it
while I was working at a video store. It's that mini mall, video store
spirit to it.
GUS: What about that other song about New Mexico.
BECK: Its about me and my friends. I'm working at McDonlads and I get
robbed so I lose my job. So I go over to my friends and we decide to get
a shot gun and go rob a liquor store. We ended up at 7/11 and the store
clerk pulls out a gun so we take off. We then go to the McDnalds were I
use to work, we rob it and get a few burgers to go before heading off to
New Mexico. Then we totally abused ourselfs on substances and end up
stranded in New Mexico broke. My Friends call there parents to wire them
some money to get back home. I end up having to go work at McDonalds,
stuck in New Mexico. It turns (the story of the song) into a vicious
circle.
GUS: Are you doing something with the K label.
BECK: I've got some home tapes I've collected over the years that there
gong to put out.
GUS: What about the loser thing.
BECK: It's always falling apart.
GUS: Its sort of a open ended thing.
BECK: It's kind of a body with detachable limbs.
Yak,Yak,yak...........(Well the interview continued, then)
Having to get back within 48 hours to LA from the east coast, we had this
white rental car. It was brand new, fresh and vacuumed, driving down the
highway at about 95mph. We got to Colorado in about 20 hours. I think.
Stopping in Colorado to take a short nap. Everyone was sleeping in the
car, so I took a walk down the street. It was a town in some valley. I
don't exactly remember where we were, along a strip of motels and chain
restaurants. I hadn't slept in two or three days, I was a bit
disoriented. Walking under this freeway over pass, I noticed all these
people running around on the street dressed up as big chickens. I didn't
know what was going on, I maybe thought everyone had turned into chickens
while I had been sleeping or it was a mirage. They wouldn't talk to me.
They kept pointing, motioning me toward this fried chicken place.
Iwasn't even hungry, but I went in there and got some chicken. Sitting
there eating my chicken, I was watching these big semitrucks drive on the
highway. These guys acting like chicken matadors or something dodging
trucks and trying to attract customers. I was surprised they didn't get
hit. There were 3 or 4 guys dressed as chickens and one person in a big
monkey suit too. Definately matadors of the animal kingdom.
Copyright 1993 Flipside
posted without their permission