From PackageThf@aol.comTue Dec 12 18:16:49 1995 Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 16:44:14 -0500 From: PackageThf@aol.com To: mransfrd@umich.edu Subject: cool (group 3a) Heee-wack! HEllo all - as it's finals week for me, here's two CHUNK interview transcripts: the SonicNet interview that many of you missed and the SPIN-AOL interview that many of you don't have access to. The last of the concert reviews will be up shortly, as i will soon have more time to cut and paste all of the mail together. still, there's enough here to hold you over for now. One news bit: CHUNK was on the first 60 of MTV's 120 Minutes not last sunday, but the sunday before. Sorry not to tell you about it, but I didn't know myself. In any case, here's a description of it from wowezowee@aol.com: i was watching 120 mintues with mac and jon just a few mintues ago and it was so nice. in detail: mac was wearing brown jeans, a black shirt, and a reddish brickish cordouroy jacket. jon was wearing a button down bluish shrit with black pants and they started talking about how they got together. they were being interviewed by that stupid matt pinnfield guy that makes me cry. jon was talking about how he use to stalk mac, and i think that matt guy took them seriously. then they showed driveway to driveway then they were asked more ridiculous questions about crazy "punk wanna-be's at the shows who fight and mosh". and all mac said was that the boy who wrote the question, murray, should be careful because mac had to escort the young man out personally for throwing bottles. and then they showed some more videos and then they asked a question from some idiot in california who claimed that superchunk didn't have a very big national following. all mac said was that they did have a national following and jon said, "thats why we're on tv!" with a corny-ass smile. then matt asked why they stayed indie and what bands do they recommend. and mac told the story about merge, and that he liked having control over what he did and he talked about polvo and archers of loaf and a countryish band thats really good but i forgot their names but they really rock. then they showed hyper enough, and that was it. matt pinnfield said no POCKY for kitty wrong ( he said no POCKET) and HERE'S where the strings come in( he said HEAR where the strings come in). they also talked about someother videos - precision auto and first part. it was great. anyone interested in a copy of the show e-mail me at wowezowee @ aol.com ~~~~~~~~ thanks to sas@austin.unimelb.edu.au for the following: (note - the names in parenthesis are the screen names of the people involved in the chat...and i edited out some needless comments from the peanut gallery to make this whole thing a little shorter, but all CHUNK comments are intact) SonicNet Online Happening - Superchunk - 11.20.95 -------------------------------- (SUPRCHUNK) Hi. We're here, we're wet, and we're grumpy! (vill) Hey Mac, Laura, James and Jon: This is Greg from WXVU. I interviewed you at the Trocadero. The tape didn't come out, so I guess we'll have to do it again sometime . . . haw? (_state_) Don't be grumpy. (Martin) Welcome to New York . . . he heh. (Arch0Loaf) Screw NY, come back to Philly! (SUPRCHUNK) We're never coming back to Philly -- EVER! (Chadwick) What about coming to Rochester, NY? (SUPRCHUNK) If Rochester's anything like Albany, I'm sure we'll love it. (Arch0Loaf) Mac: You gotta get rid of that 'geetar' you played Silver Leaf and Snowy Tears with!!! (SUPRCHUNK) Arch0Loaf: That's a fine guitar, lay off. (RandyJ) Your videos are always the coolest. Will you ever put out a tape? (SUPRCHUNK) We do plan on putting out a videotape next year sometime, with all the videos you'll never see on MTV, plus some x-rated footage of Wurster only his parents have seen. (base) Aww yeah. (DKush) Bondage or bestiality? (SUPRCHUNK) We enjoy both bondage and bestiality but never at the same time. (_state_) When you get requests at a show do you take it as a complement or does it annoy you? (SUPRCHUNK) Requests are OK, occasionally we'll play them if it's something we wish we'd thought to put on the list in the first place. (DKush) Super, do you ever beat each other up during your recording sessions? (SUPRCHUNK) No, but we'll beat you up for a fee. (DKush) How much? (Martin) Can we watch? (base) What's punker, mustard or ketchup? (SUPRCHUNK) base: Mustard is punker, but liquor is quicker. (RandyJ) OK, old question, but one always interesting to me: who would you describe as influences? (SUPRCHUNK) Influences: Lumpy, base, RandyJ, and of course Arch0Loaf. (dinojr) When will you play Indiana? (SUPRCHUNK) We'll play Indiana when that creep Mellencamp apologizes to Buffalo Tom for saying they ripped him off! (dinojr) Wow. I will force ol' John to apologize. (spenceck) Is it true that 'Detroit' is your next single? (SUPRCHUNK) The next single will more likely be "yeah, it's beautiful here, too." (RandyJ) How's that Jerky Boys movie? (SUPRCHUNK) Randy: Jon says the Jerky Boys movie is "kind of like Out of Africa meets Sister Act 2." (_state_) Please play Certain Stars and/or Baxter in Atlanta -- please -- I've seen you 5 times and haven't heard Baxter yet. (SUPRCHUNK) state: You have to pick the shows where we play Baxter in order to hear us play it at a show. (petter) Super, anyway, are the record sales too low in Sweden for dates here when you do European touring? (SUPRCHUNK) We do plan on coming to Sweden on our next tour (probably in January) in Europe. (petter) HOOOORAYYYY! (Martin) Cool, where in Sweden and when? (petter) ACTION smiles and dances around the channel (SUPRCHUNK) martin: In the fjords. Petter: watch the coffee table! (spenceck) Do you guys still communicate with speedo? (SUPRCHUNK) spenk: We still communicate with speedo, only now we do it telepathically. (PreTeen) What do you like to do with your favorite animal? (swirly) Yeah, favorite animal?! (SUPRCHUNK) Elizabeth Berkeley is our favorite animal. (base) Isn't it kind of scary that she went from Saved by the Bell to a cheezy soft porn flick? (SUPRCHUNK) What's even scarier is that she's going back. (Moot) Super, What'd you think of Beavis and Butthead watching the video for "Package Thief?" (SUPRCHUNK) moot: it's certainly something to show the grandkids. (Not that any of us are pregnant, well, some of us are.) (RandyJ) Was that Jon I saw with Magnapop? (SUPRCHUNK) Randy: No, that was his twin brother Samson. (RandyJ) Samson rocks! (Arch0Loaf) Superchunk: Are you going to be doing this when you're, like, 50 years old? Like the Stones? (SUPRCHUNK) A0Loaf: Are we going to still be doing this interview? It feels like it. (petter) Would you name any song "Petter is a great guy" just so that I know you're really Superchunk? (SUPRCHUNK) No. (vill) How was China Town and all that Ginseng and deer-tail extract stuff? (SUPRCHUNK) vill: We're all still high on mysterious roots. (jessamine) Do you guys ever tour Africa? (SUPRCHUNK) jessamine: Yeah, we tour Africa all the time, you just never hear about it in Random Notes. Actually, we played Sun City when Run DMC wouldn't. (RandyJ) Do you still have the puppets from the "Package Thief" video? (SUPRCHUNK) Those puppets were burned in effigy at a Dillon Fence show. (swirly) What's your favorite versus song? (SUPRCHUNK) swirly: That good one on the record. (swirly) Oh yeah! :) (petter) My favorite chunker, is the chubby guy down the street. (SUPRCHUNK) petter: We kicked Willard Scott out of the band weeks ago! (swirly) Super, Do you bring crayons with you when you tour? (SUPRCHUNK) swirly: Crayons are for dumb little kids. (swirly) :( (_state_) mac : What did you think about the Versus show at the Point in Atlanta, I bumped into you there. (SUPRCHUNK) state: Versus was great as usual, what about Built to Spill, though? (Arch0Loaf) Would you guys ever do an acoustic set? (SUPRCHUNK) aoloaf: We have done acoustic sets in record stores and things, but Laura's not too keen on it. (Lumpy) Give me your comments on the world. (SUPRCHUNK) Lumpy: I'm not at liberty to divulge our views on the world just now. (swirly) Well, thanks for coming out Superchunk, at least you don't have to do this again. (SUPRCHUNK) OK, bye guys and gals. (TheEnd) Thanks SUPERCHUNK! ~~~~~~~ Thanks to me, myself, and I for this one: (this is the AOL one with Jon Wurster and Jim Wilbur; Jon has since announced he hated this interview, but it's amusing...and keep in mind, this is from a year ago or so, so this is a little out of date...and keep in mind that few of these questions are answered seriously...) OnlineHost: Jim joined Superchunk in 1991 replacing guitarist Jack McCook after the band's first self-titled album. Jim has also played with the bands Alligator and Humidifier and now has another project called Smooth Hedges. He reads when it's early, drinks when it's late, eats an apple in the morning and goes jogging in the afternoon. He'll fill you in on the rest. OnlineHost: Jon (JonChunk is his new nom-de-cyber) joined Superchunk after their second album, "No Pocky for Kitty." He's from Pennsylvania and was born on Halloween. Jon enjoys Mr. Pibb and three-hole punchers, but does not like raisins in or on his food. For example, Jon would not want to eat ham with pineapples and raisin sauce. If you get stuck for questions you may want to ask Jon whether or not he would eat the ham if it only had pineapples on it. Your host for tonight's event is CSEmcee2 BillAG). CSEmcee2: Welcome Superchunk! SupChunk: Hello! Let's take some questions. Question: Hey Mac! What is more important to you, the band or the label and how much is my Superchunk signed baseball worth? SupChunk: John and I don't run the label, we're just members of the band. What did you say about the baseball? Question: Are you guys planning on playing any more free shows like the one you did at the Union in Madison, WI? SupChunk: Not in the near future but you never know. SupChunk: Probably yes, at some point. That was the best crowd we ever got! Question: I was wondering if Superchunk had any advice for up-and-coming independent labels? Yours seems to be doing very well. What's the single most important thing to keep in mind? SupChunk: (Jim) As far as advice goes, don't do it for money, do it for enjoyment or because you feel like you have to do it. And if you're good you'll become successful! Question: Do you still record in Chapel Hill? Live there? SupChunk: When we record locally we usually record in Raleigh. However, we did record a couple of songs this past summer in Chapel Hill. That was for a couple of sound track albums. We have yet to decide where we're going to record our next album. Question: Where did you get the name for your band? SupChunk: That's a very long story. We'll have to pass on that right now. Question: What was the break-up rumor all about? Portastatic? SupChunk: Jim and I have been going out for a couple of years and that ran its course. SupChunk: John and I are still friends but we just don't sleep together anymore. Question: Jim, I recently found out that I work with your sister. Do you still live in Connecticut? SupChunk: I don't but my sister does. Question: What was it like working with the great Peyton Reed? SupChunk: That guy is a jerk! He still owes me $2! Question: Do you guys really know Phil Morrison??? SupChunk: Yes we do. Phil and I also used to go out. He owes me $3! Question: Foolish was great. Do you have plans for another album soon? SupChunk: We have about 10 songs and we need to write about 10 more before we even think about recording it. (dave's note: they mean "strings") Question: Where do you think the music scene is going? SupChunk: I think it's going to hell in a hand basket, although I do like this band called Green Day. Question: What do you think is your best work? SupChunk: It's not musical! We're each going to release 4 separate volumes of poetry this summer. I think that will be the crowning achievement so far! Question: Jon & Jim, what do you guys think of the passing of Bob Stinson? You guys definitely sound influenced by the Mats SupChunk: People do dumb things all the time and not all of them are famous. You can't get sentimental because he played guitar on some record that you liked. NapSPIN: Cold. Question: "On the Mouth" is out of print, right? Will it be re-issued? SupChunk: It's not out of print. Question: When did you guys get together? SupChunk: We had dinner around 7 PM tonight. Question: Tell us about the "Black Label" project. SupChunk: This has to do with the Canadian government shutting down the Carling Brewery plant in, I think, Ottowa. A couple of the members really love this beer, and when we're in Canada we try to create a fervor of public spirit that will be in protest of it. We enjoy their product. Question: What do you listen to besides your own music? SupChunk: Mahler, Bartok, and this new band that I like a lot called The Offspring. Question: Is the music written collectively? SupChunk: Sometimes. Question: Will you ever play the Spam Jam? SupChunk: Yes definitely. Question: Are there some new bands in the Chapel Hill area we should know about? SupChunk: That's 7 and another called the Smooth Hedges. Question: Are you guys planning to do a completely acoustic album? I really dig your older material! SupChunk: No. NapSPIN: What about MTV Unplugged SupChunk: We haven't been asked yet. Question: What's it like working with Brian Paulson? I hear he's a slave driver. SupChunk: Brian thinks he's really cool. He wouldn't let me use drumsticks. NapSPIN: Where's Mac tonight? SupChunk: Mac is at a basketball game tonight. He's the mascot for the Duke Blue Devils. NapSPIN: What outfit does he wear? SupChunk: He's the back of the owl. Question: Will you be teaming up with Ken Mills again sometime soon? SupChunk: We certainly hope so. He had a profound influence on our sound. Especially when it came to Olive. NapSPIN: So, we're sitting in the SPIN office right now, and Superchunk are at their keyboards in Chapel Hill and we think they're getting really annoyed at this online conference process. You can hear it in Jim's voice. It gets kind of squeaky when the dumb questions come through. (Just trying to provide some atmosphere.) Question: Do you like doing videos? SupChunk: The act of making a video is fun. However, the directors are sometimes difficult to work with. Question: Are you guys Married SupChunk: Not yet. Question: What's the deal between you guys and Sonic Youth? SupChunk: I think you'd have to ask them. They started it but we are all good friends. NapSPIN: Have you had Lilly's Pizza? SupChunk: Yes. It was very tasty. Question: Why has your drummer been playing with Magnapop lately? SupChunk: Superchunk was taking a little vacation and they had just lost their drummer. So, I filled in for a short tour. It's not permanent. Question: Is Superchunk ever going to release a live album in the US? SupChunk: Perhaps but there isn't any plan for one in the near future. NapSPIN: Unplugged! Question: Are you going to wear tights tomorrow night? SupChunk: Yes. Lavender. SupChunk: REM is out of town tomorrow. We won't be wearing them. NapSPIN: Are you guys aware that an actor wore a Superchunk T-shirt in the film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes? (dave's note: the t.v. remake, not the disney film) SupChunk: The guy that directed that directed a couple of our videos. He forced the actors to wear those shirts. NapSPIN: The art department at SPIN has been wondering about that for a month now. Question: Who were your "heroes" or role models if you could name just a couple? SupChunk: Walter Petry. Jackie-Earle Haley. That's about it. Question: Where was the "Driveway to Driveway" video filmed? SupChunk: A local frat house in Chapel Hill. NapSPIN: (Walter Petry is a history professor at Fairfield U. in Connecticut.) Question: Jim, I just found out that I work with the leader of an evil alien race poised to take over the known universe. Do you ever get that not so fresh feeling? SupChunk: Yes. But about this leader. Does he breathe our atmosphere? Question: How did you like recording here in Hollywood with Donnel Cameron and Jim Reis? SupChunk: Those were good days. We saw films of things unspeakable. NapSPIN: Jim also says that the alien leader doesn't really exist. He's a figment of this person's imagination. Question: Does Superchunk ever plan to work with the great Lou Barlow? SupChunk: Is he a magician or something? Is he like Houdini? Question: What do you consider to be your "best" album? or favorite? SupChunk: Beggars Banquet. Question: Are you really going to name your new album "Wowee Zowee?" (dave's note: for those of you who don't listen to pavement, that was the name of Pavement's last album...) SupChunk: Yes, that's true. Question: Who does most of the song writing? SupChunk: John does. SupChunk: The drummer. Question: Hi Superchunk! Do you think you'll ever sign to a major label? SupChunk: Yes. As a matter of fact we're not technically supposed to talk about it, but, we are going to sign Arista Records. We're signing this week and it's a 5 album deal. NapSPIN: This is HOT NEWS. You heard it here first. SPINonline serving it up fresh. Question: If Mac got in a fight with Steve Malkmus, who do you think would win? SupChunk: I think John or Jim or Laura would step in and save Mac before it became ugly. Question: Do you think tonight's Grammy Awards are at all relevant to the contemporary music scene, and what is your policy regarding groupies? SupChunk: No, because we are not included in the ceremony. SupChunk: I have never seen a groupie. I don't know what they are. Question: What's the weirdest rumor that you have heard about your band? SupChunk: That since Atlantic Records now distributes Matador, they get first choice on what Superchunk songs they want to release. NapSPIN: We wrote that in SPIN. Joke. Question: Will you play with Clawhammer again when you visit the West Coast? SupChunk: Yes. If someone made us. They are a good band. That's sort of a loaded question don't you think? Question: Do you guys surf the net besides this?! SupChunk: This is our first time. SupChunk: I don't like the net. Write us at POB 1235 Chapel Hill NC 27514. We answer all mail in detail. NapSPIN: Jim and Jon are somewhat irate now. See, they're reverting back to snail mail. Giving up on AOL immediately. Question: Jerky Boys soundtrack. Why? SupChunk: Money and Atlantic Records got first choice. Question: How do you like your coffee? SupChunk: Like I like my men; black and strong. And I don't like hot drinks. Question: Why do so many Superchunk songs involve drinking? SupChunk: Because lyrics are written on the road and we drink on the road. OnlineHost: All good things must come to an end! CSEmcee2: We have time for one more question. Question: Is merge your own label (run by you guys)? SupChunk: No, it's not. NapSPIN: SPINonline would like to thank Jon and Jim for tolerating us this evening. If you want, there are some pictures and sound clips in the Multimedia Gallery. Peace out. OnlineHost: Copyright 1995 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved. off to finish with finals - more from me later...and remember the address for the chunk website has been changed to http://www-personal.umich/edu/~mransfrd/superchunk make a note of it!