first interview with i am spoonbender (05/98)

- what’s the history of i am spoonbender?

dustin: i moved to san francisco from michigan in ‘94 to start it. the basic idea was a pissed-off eno meets gary numan kinda thing (dustin beat last year’s numan revival to the punch years ahead of time when his first band thought industry, a freaked-out prog band again anticipating the trends, covered “metal” - ed.). sort of a solo record, focusing on rhythms with thick melodic textures on top. a chance for me to get away from just playing drums, get more into songwriting and composition, using the studio as an instrument. brian and i are old friends and had talked about playing together so he moved out from michigan. i got a chance to join pansy division when that was taking off and was away on tour. brian took that opportunity to go back to school, and started building a studio. two and a half years later (january ‘97) we picked up where we left off. cup joined in the middle of recording the first album (sender / receiver) in june. we’ve been close since cub and pansy d toured together in ‘95. cub broke up, she came down to sf, and i am spoonbender’s in da house.

- so, what’s with the name?

(laughter) d: the name is a reference to uri geller, the supposed telekinetic. the band’s not about him though. we’re very interested in psychic phenomena, the paranormal, and their scientific correlations. these things are real in our lives. the the ideas and meanings of chance, coincidence, telepathy, trance, altered states, externalizing and discussing them is important to us. it’s fun to discuss possibilities. the name gives us a built-in opportunity, and i don’t think that has to have an overt seriousness to it. playfulness is very important to us. sonically and visually.

brian geller is a cultural figure and everyone has an opinion on his so-called powers. it doesn’t even matter, it’s a doorway to conversation.

cup: it’s also about appreciating the beauty of everyday objects. things we take for granted.

- there are loads of musical ideas successfully integrated in spoonbender from quirky prog to space-pop to the electronic avant garde. how would you define yourselves?

d: exploratory pop music. i mean, we could reference things all fucking day like dj spooky name-checking xennakis for his “academic genius” credibility, but everything’s up for grabs now. all of the musical experiments of the last forty years have moved into the mainstream. it’s all just pop music now.

b: it’s completely about synthesis and integration. more of sound definition

- so you have your own studio? (seismic seance, where sender / receiver was recorded. - ed.) you’re fully d.i.y.?

d: for the creative aspects, yes. we put out records on other people’s labels, of course. - why?

c: it’s just too time consuming to do it yourself. with our situation, we can give recordings to anybody cool to put out.

b: having your own studio’s definitely the answer. complete freedom. we’re also able to record other people’s projects, which is cool.

d: we have friends play on our recordings too. will from olivia tremor control - who i think are brilliant - contributed to a song on the record (“mr. knife, miss fork” - ed.). that was fun. because of our studio, we can experiment and not have to watch the money-clock.

- all of you have broad musical, artistic and academic histories. could you talk about that?

b: i attend the california institute of integral studies. i’m working on a ph.d in east/west psychology. it’s a multidisciplinary approach to complexity. psychology, philosophy, eastern religion, new paradigm science, astrology and other esoteric sciences. a critical approach to all those things.

c: well, y’know i’ve only been playing music for six years, but i’ve always drawn and made things. sort of traditional artist stuff. a lot of my random drawings and letterings have ended up as designs for cover art, t-shirts, stickers, and posters not only for bands i’m in but for other’s as well. i still do plenty of graphics for mint records (vancouver-based label that cub was on - ed.). i graduated from ubc with an english lit degree, but my whole academic experience was spent working at the college radio station (citr). i guess my most recent projects outside of music have been my sog mongeys (weird sock monkey-type dolls, recently featured in giant robot mag - ed.). it’s great, i get to mash music, art, toys and socks together. (laughter)

d: i graduated second to last in my class in high school. i wasn’t into it. i’ve always known what i’ve wanted to do. i’m entirely self-taught.

- it’s pretty amazing to consider the diversity of people you’ve been associated with over the years: sun ra arkestra, foo fighters, de la soul, hole, sebadoh, ween, elliott smith, type o negative, yo la tengo, coctails, young gods, they might be giants, helmet, rancid, g love and special sauce, william s. burroughs, sepultura, love and rockets, godflesh, skinny puppy, guided by voices...

d: none of us are interested in being pigeonholed and our work reflects that. some of those people are our friends and some are just people we’ve played shows with, y’know. the burroughs thing was really great, he was a very insightful man. plus, he made a great bowl of potato soup! c: michael mckean (david st. hubbins of spinal tap - ed.) came up to me after a show i played, and said “hi... i’m mike.” (laughter)

- dustin, you worked with david ogilvie who did the marilyn manson record...

d: well yeah, he did that, but he’s most famous for being a member/producer of skinny puppy...

- who you toured with...

d: in thought industry, yeah. what’s the point of all this?

- i’m getting to that.

everyone: ooohhhhh...

- it seems like the most interesting stuff happened with pansy d when you were in the band: green day shows, mtv video, the calvin klein parody trading cards, even the record you did together is considered by a lot i know to be the best one.

d: well, i think it’s the best one (laughs). i was very involved with the direction of the band then. i tried to encorporate more diversity and experimentation into a pretty straightforward sound. actually y’know, i really like the ‘metal’ ep (“for those about to suck cock we salute you” - ed.). i had my friend jim draw the beavis and butthead sticker in flagrante homo. mtv got all bent and threatened to sue, so they had to be pulled. that record is very much a result of my influence. it was a blast, using metal to fight homophobia in metal.

- kirk hammett (metallica - ed.) played on that record, right?

d: yeah, it wasn’t a big deal. totally impromptu. it wasn’t meant to be a thing, y’know? he’s an old friend.

- you also play with link wray...

d: yeah, when he comes to the states to play. mr. bungle is becoming active again, so danny couldn’t do it and i got the opportunity. i learned a lot from him and heard some seriously amazing stories. and i got to be on the conan o’brien show with the girl from baywatch! (laughter)

- are you still working on your novel?

d: i haven’t had much time for it lately. i’ve really been interested in music this year. eventually. - what is it?

d: a book of text, visual art, and a cd of atmospheric music. surrealism and philosophy. brian’s also writng a book...

- of...?

b: non-fiction. it’s a bit early to define, but it’s dealing with the evolution of consciousness in humans as it seems we individually go through the same stages that the species has collectively

- what are some of your miscellaneous interests?

all: toys, numerology, ‘70s atmospheric horror films and kung fu movies, chris ware’s acme novelty co., astrology, rubber stamps, new music, ‘60s film posters, bugs, indian food, good conversation, stan grof and lsd, situationism, bomberman, tricycles, unintentionally surealist television, occult systems, synchronicities. we could go on for days.

- here’s what i’ve been getting to. how does this previous and current work relate to i am spoonbender?

b: it informs the music. fodder for thought to express musically.

d: i want to keep moving artistically, but at the same time pull together all the things that i do. melt all opposites. pansy division for me was more about the politics of freedom than music. not that the music didn’t mean anything to me, it’s just... the concept is bigger than the sound. it was challenging and fun to be the ‘straight guy’ in the ‘gay band.’ shoving it in the face of the honkees. i am spoonbender’s more relative to my visual artwork. also film and video. approaching sound structures in a cinematic way, like applying film editing techniques. being sonically evocative within more traditional boundaries. another stage of evolution for me, i guess.

c: what’s important to me is the freedom to do what i want artistically. to not be restricted by rules on how to be a band or how to make music. i’m all about trying new things. spoonbender is a completely new rock adventure. i’m not playing guitar. there are no guitars. once you get over the intimidation of the unknown like an instrument, place, technology, whatever - then you’re free to do what you want. working with guys instead of women is also a different dynamic...

- how so?

c: well, cub’s feminist girl group tag became an unwanted distraction after a while for me. pigeonholes are always stifling. spoonbender is a challenge musically compared to what i was used to. that’s cool. a lot of spoonbender songs are born in the so-called ‘jam.’ i used to feel really uncomfortable in that situation. i’m much more at ease with it now, a lot more creative and productive. synths are so much more immediately expressive than guitars, for me.

- collectively, what’s next?

b: more spoonbender, some side project records.

d: blurring the lines between music and sodomy.

interview by gus monitor 5/12/98 (abridged)