Computer Perfection is a new project by most of the members of Pas/Cal, who last year released what was arguably one of the best pop records of the year.  In the new incarnation, Amy, Gene, Little Tommy Daniels, and Nathaniel Burgundy have blended their pop sensibilities with arrangements that run the gamut from spacey to distorted and everywhere in between.  The first record, We Wish You Well On Your Way To Hell, is due out later this year on Le Grande, and this fall will see them performing throughout Detroit and the Mid-West.

The What of Whom: It’s good to hear you’re in the studio. How is the recording process going?

LTD: Album 1 done. We’re recording more material for something, maybe a CP sitcom. Things are busy all around but whenever we get the chance we record and write.

Burgundy: I’m listening to a test master of two songs right now; so excited for this stuff to be out! Also, we’re working a new EP, right?

Bem: It goes really well when Gene is not rearranging/cleaning the studio.

Gene: Whatever, I have to start with some order and then remake the mess. Later this year, our debut album will be released on Le Grand Magistery. But we’re already dipping our toes back in the pool, with what is shaping up to be an EP that is something of a side 3 to the album.

TWOW: Can you talk about the dissolution of Pas/Cal?

LTD : NaCl(s) → Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

Burgundy: “We must move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.”

Gene: What is that, the formula for turning gold into lead? I guess that says it all.

Bem: Did I ever tell you about the squirrel in my backyard?

TWOW: Other than Pas/Cal, did you play in any other bands? What were they?

LTD: Yep…
Blue Racers
Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church House Band
Childhood Fears
All Static Band
Jura (live performance in Ypsi.)
Mahogany
The Sights (live performance at a BBQ )
Charon
Mlle.
St. Januarius’s Blood
Asha Vida
Sa Sevol (live performance in Detroit )
Dearborn High Jazz, Concert, Symphonic and Marching Band
Laughing Gas
Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship

Burgundy: I had a band once called It’s A Wise Child. We played a handful of original tunes, a cover of the Jesus & Mary Chain song ‘Head On’ & a ten-minute long version of ‘Sweet Jane’ that involved a lot of noise & me playing my guitar with a toothbrush. It was kind of the template for ‘Sweetie Pie’.

Bem: My friend Melanie + I used to record ridiculous sketches on a crappy tape recorder and play them back for my sister. Does that count?

Gene: My Dad still wears thread-bare t-shirts from my first band, The Blue Stone Band. I played bass; we did one show and called it a day.

TWOW: I’ve read that in the past it was difficult to record or do shows because the band members lived so far from each other. Does Computer Perfection face the same difficulties?

LTD: Hmmmmm, I hope not. I will be moving about 284 miles from the rest of CP in about a month. That’s like a 2 hour drive in my blue Corvette, I like to speed and I smoke with cigarettes too!!!

Burgundy: Well, I’d say that, yes, reality does tend to intrude on our fun a little more than we’d like. But it feels a helluva lot easier in CP, doesn’t it guys? Of course, we all live within five minutes of one another at the moment so that has helped us thus far.

Gene: Distance was the least of our problems. NYC is only an hour from Detroit if you don’t count the 6 hours of sitting in a shitty Northwest terminal at LaGuardia getting loaded on $13 margaritas. I mean, this band doesn’t even go to Chili’s unless we have some kind of Entertainment Book type of coupon.

Bem: I think in any situation, if you are committed, you will do what it takes. That’s what Gene and I did when we lived in NYC. We made it work. We probably played more shows while we lived out of state.

TWOW: What is the songwriting process like for Computer Perfection?

LTD: Mostly Gene and Burgs start something and then I make it sweet and then Bem comes and makes it great.

Bem: Oh stop LTD, you make it great!

Gene: It seems to be different with each new song. There is no identifiable formula, but everyone contributes at some point. Domestic Amusements was first a drum track, followed by bass and then guitar. For me, vocals can be an ingredient added somewhere in the middle of songwriting. I like something to play against. Sound and beats inform the mood and lyrical content, and I get inspired by what is already laid to disc. I like to record my final guitar stuff after drums and synths/keys have been established, but not always. I’ll often record a demo acoustic guitar track to help with structure, then bury it in the mix as a percussive element.

TWOW: Do you write most songs together or do you develop them individually and then bring them to the band?

LTD: Yeah, not too much all together at the same time. We build off each other and work different shifts.

Burgundy: I really consider all the songs collaborative efforts. Each started as a demo of some sort with various degrees of flesh to each of them, usually very little. We all then slowly, one at a time, applied our magical juice to the mess. I think we’ve been very good about letting the other members develop his or her own part as he or she likes without a lot of meddling or redirection, regardless of who started the song out.

Bem: Hands across America.

Gene: Whatever the opposite of jamming is, that’s what we do. But we do it together.

TWOW: From the songs I’ve heard thus far, Computer Perfection has a similar pop sound to Pas/Cal but with more distorted guitars and…well…computers or keyboards. Can you talk about the influences for this new project?

LTD: Hold on, I just got a page here at the Nuclear plant…….

Burgundy: I hope that when all is said & done the differences will be more than that. Musically, the likes of Neu, La Dusseldorf, Brian Eno, Cluster & Pink Floyd for me. Non-musical influences include Phillip K. Dick, Federico Fellini, Henry Darger & medieval alchemical texts.

Bem: Well first of all I don’t think it sounds like Pas/Cal. Everything influences us… for me, there is no specific thing. Like maybe I’m influenced by a radio show I’ve heard. Like on WFMU, things I’ve never heard before. Or something I’ve seen at the museum. I don’t know, just day to day things. I don’t do much of the musical stuff so I guess it’s not for me to say, except that it doesn’t sound like Pas/Cal.

Gene: Yes, we are making pop music – but this is the soundtrack to a different and stranger journey. These are the sounds of adventure and discovery, sometimes intentional but mostly accidental. It’s our arms and legs and mouths doing the making, so there are familiar rhythms and voices. But it’s all jumbled… I’m singing harmonies with Bem. She’s getting weird noise out of the guitar. Burgundy is playing keys, writing the most haunted melodies. And LTD is forever the granite on which we build our ramshackle constructions. Outside of my bandmates, I don’t have any specific musical influences to point to. Maybe this though: where I used to be more Abbey Road, I’m now more Ram, All Things Must Pass and Plastic Ono Band. I like listening to AM-580 Memories and Tigers games. Lyrically… I like to read about things, watch movies, read critiques of films I’ve never seen… and internalize them. Then I forget they were never my idea to begin with and there’s a song.

TWOW: Do you have any plans to tour after the record is completed?

LTD: Nothing solid that I know off, but it would be nice to head south for the winter. And maybe a little time out west would be nice.

Burgundy: No specific plan, but I really want to. Let’s do it!

Bem: I’m not driving.

Gene: Yeah, I just have to clean and rearrange the van… get some dragon decals and Yosemite Sam mud flaps.

The Fool Is Hurt

How I Won The War

The Gories - by Steve Shaw

Recently, The Gories, one of the earliest blues/punk bands in Detroit and an influence on nearly every Detroit rock band of the past decade, decided to reunite for a summer tour with The Oblivions.  Danny Kroha (guitar/vocals), Mick Collins (guitar/vocals), and Peggy O’Neill (drums) will return as The Gories for three U.S. shows, and a month long tour of Europe.

I had the opportunity to talk to Danny Kroha about The Gories, the blues, and his future plans, among other things.

Check out Motor City Rocks where I posted as a guest contributor.

The Dirtbombs

The What of Whom: You seem to have a lot going on all the time – music writer, musician, and business owner.  If I were to demand pigeon holing you as one thing, what do you see yourself as?

Ben Blackwell: I don't know if any one of those can completely trump any of the others. I very rarely think of myself as a business owner and seeing as I really take most pride in my writing, I would defer to the title of writer.

WOW: If wikipedia is telling the truth, you are a couple of years younger than I am.  I know records weren’t around much when we were growing up, at least not around my house.  When did you get into collecting records and what inspired it?

BB: If there was a specific moment, it was a trip to Desirable Discs in Dearborn around 1995. I'd gone to scope the racks for bootleg Nirvana cd's when I recognized a copy of the "Sliver" single on the wall for $10. I'd read enough of the band's history to know what it was but had never seen one in person. I didn't have a turntable at the time but that hardly seemed to matter. I'd completely bought into the mythology of the band and identified myself as a die-hard fan and each title purchased from their back catalog only further cemented that feeling. Further trips to D3 found me buying the MFSL original master recording LP of "Nevermind" and a bootleg LP of one of their Blind Pig shows in Ann Arbor. A visit to Off the Record in Royal afforded me copies of "In Utero" and "Incesticide" on vinyl. I started going to Car City Records not long after and expanded my palette at just the right time…all the Melvins vinyl was still available and at that point, it seemed like no one really wanted it. I was able to get original copies of all the solo LP's (with posters), "Bullhead", "Lysol" and right about then I finally bought a turntable. At that point there was no turning back.

WOW: Since you get to travel so much, I’m sure you get to visit tons of record shops.  Where

Ben Blackwell

is your favorite record store?

BB: I really like De Capo in Utrecht for their unparalleled selection of mid-90's 7"s as well as the Jukebox Shoppe in Brussels for the same stuff + sweet 60's Benelux picture sleeves. I like Rockit Scientist in NYC for always turning me onto severely obscure things I wouldn't find anywhere else, Amoeba in SF for their personal shopper service and Car City in Detroit for it's at-home atmosphere.

WOW: What is your best, unexpected, record find?

BB: I occasionally worked at Car City and walked in one day to pick up payment for my past few shifts. Matt Smith of Outrageous Cherry said I should check out this weird Motown single that'd come in and hands me a copy of Nick and the Jaguars "Ich-I-Bon #1" with a $200 price tag. I was owed $70 for working and I think the boss rang me up for $120. I knew it was rare and had never even seen a copy before…neither had the Gories (who'd taught themselves how to play it from a cassette recording of a radio broadcast) and it sparked a personal quest to get original 7" copies of all the songs the Gories have covered. I'm faring pretty well in that challenge.

WOW: There hasn’t been a new release from Cass in quite some time. Do you have anything in the works for upcoming releases?

BB: There's a Whirlwind Heat LP that's been on the backburner forever, other than that, I've got my eye on some people I'd like to get on wax, but nothing solid just yet.

WOW: What is the hardest part about owning the label?

BB: Having to explain to people that I don't "sign" bands.

WOW: When you approach bands outside of Detroit, are they aware of Cass Records?  What are the normal reactions from bands in other cities?

BB: Most, if not all, of the bands that I've worked with outside of Detroit are friends of mine. They are aware of Cass Records inasmuch as it is something that I do.

WOW: I’ve noticed a lot of musicians and some owners of small labels seem to be sort of anti-marketing.  Is it possible for someone to successfully market a band or label without “selling out”?

BB: I don’t even know what selling out means and I'm kinda past caring about it. I took money from Wal-Mart and have no qualms. That being said, the most effective marketing for bands is a great live show and memorable records. Anything past that and I begin to lose interest.

WOW: Can you address the rumor that you are now living in Nashville and working at the new Third Man Records location there?

BB: I live in Nashville now and work at Third Man Records.

WOW: The Dirtbombs have been touring for over a year on the new record, We Have You Surrounded.  What are the future plans for the band?

BB: Hibernation is nice. There's been mumblings about doing some recording, but nothing terribly firm. We're just enjoying our space. Mick's got the Gories to worry about this summer, Pat's got an art show going up in a few weeks and Ko's single-handedly keeping satellite radio afloat.

WOW: Is Zack going to be staying on as a full-time member now or was that just a temporary stint for touring?

BB: Zack never actually signed his Dirtbombs membership card, so his status is up in the air. He's busy not eating meat, not writing book proposals, not touring with Lee Marvin Computer Arm and not being awesome.

WOW: Over the past couple of years, an old Detroit/new Detroit divide seems to have developed.  What is your take on where music is heading in the city?

BB: I don't really see a divide. When bands like Terrible Twos and Gardens are putting out singles on Italy (a label that's TWICE as old as Cass) I think the idea of a divide is just a lazy perpetuation for people to have something to write about.

WOW: Can you give me your five favorite albums of the moment?

BB: 1.    The Horrors "Primary Colours"

2.    The Dead Weather "Horehound"

3.    The Obits "I Blame You"

4.    The Black Lips "200 Million Thousand"

5.    Tyvek "Fast Metabolism"

Cut in the Hill Gang - Hung Up

The What of Whom: You’re just returning from a tour of Europe, how was your first International outing with the band?

Johnny Walker: The response was great.  The kids were really going for it.  The music improved as the tour progressed.  We were not deported.  Our van was towed, not stolen, in Paris.  I only had minor mental breakdowns, no mechanical ones.  I took care of those repairs on the roadside.

TWOW: You had a chance to play with Ben Swank again while you were in London, how was that?

JW: That guy is a train wreck waiting to happen!  Always 2 wheels on the tracks, about to go off.  Actually, he is living in the

Johnny Walker and Ben Swank - Credit to Carl Hoff

states now and I get to play with him more often.  We played yesterday for about 2 hours.  Maximum wankerage.

TWOW: Do you have any plans to tour the U.S. more extensively?

JW: No plans for the US.  We are spoiled in Europe.  Promoters get us hotel rooms, feed us, hang out and listen to music with us.   Here it is a pitcher of beer and good luck.  The drives are insane, and I am too busy with other things to deal with all that.  Sorry if i sound old and bitter.  Dems da facts.  Maybe when the “garage” resurgence happens in 2035.

TWOW: How is the band getting along after spending some time on the road?

JW: Have you read about the double, double cross on our website, www.cutinthehillgang.com?

TWOW: How did the idea for the story of The Cut In The Hill Gang come about (insert included with the LP)?

JW: I am fascinated with bad guys.  I am trying to get as many people to write stories about us getting gunned down in the streets as possible.  Maybe an obituary or two.  I like the idea of people killing us off.  We can beat the record labels to the punch.  The record is being released as an LP and CD split release.  The CD is the untimely demise of the Cut In The Hill Gang.  The LP is our glorious rise.   If anyone wants to join in on killing us off, feel free.  Send me a story.  Drop our names into a Billy the Kid or Bonny and Clyde legend.

TWOW: Did you have any reservations about working with a label called The Little Room Record Co.?

JW: No, I like the idea of a communal record label.

TWOW: Well one concern I had with the name of it was the impression that we were trying to make money off of The White Stripes. Did you ever have that concern?

JW: Are you making money?  Bully for you!  I doubt the accuracy of that though.  Didn’t the Rolling Stones name themselves after a Muddy Waters song?   Or the Soledad Brothers after revolutionaries?  No shame in that game.  You name yourself after objects, people, etc. that you admire.  By the way, have you made any money?  Because i sure haven’t.  Guess that Soledad Brothers ploy never worked out.

TWOW: Jack said in Under Blackpool Lights, that you never had one guitar lesson, is that true?  How did you learn to play?

JW: No guitar lessons.  Lessons are a trap to suck people into more lessons, a money pit.  I learned with patience and open tunings.  Sitting on my bed or the front porch, and yelling my head off.

TWOW: People often talk about how great you sound live.  Can you talk a little bit about the equipment that you use?

JW: I like to run my amp with out any effects.   Usually straight into a tube bass rig, preferably with a 15 inch speaker in the cab, you have to push the amp hard.   It’s more about dynamics of playing and style than stepping on pedals.  What happens when pedals don’t work?  Disaster!

TWOW: I love ‘Hammer Me Down’ from Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move.  Can you talk about the process for

Johnny Walker - Credit to Carl Hoff

recording that song?

JW: In a nutshell, an old Silvertone record cutter, one condenser mic, putting louder instruments farther away and vocalists in the front.

TWOW: How do you hope to split your time between the new band and your work?

JW: Recipe for success, work and then play.  We never rehearse, never have, even in the Soledads.   Mostly, I play with country and bluegrass guys from Covington.  All I have to do is show up at the bar with my harmonicas.  There are about 6 guitars, an upright bass, a banjo in my bedroom and I play there a lot.  I work about 60-80 hours a week, and the rest of the time I study and play music.  No TV, no video games, no foolishness.

TWOW: A lot of the musicians that I talk to enjoy collecting vinyl, do you share that interest?

JW: Yeah, I am not as voracious as most about collecting.  I listen to vinyl, more than collect.   There is something funny about the collector’s mentality.  In my sphere of reality, the value of an object is secondary to the aesthetic of an object.   Collecting can sometimes be kind of selfish.  I am more of a listener of vinyl.  I neither categorize records nor care if I lose a record.  Sacrilegious!

TWOW: You have never been shy of talking about politics.  How do you feel about what is happening in Detroit with the auto companies?

JW: Well, my pops is a tool and die maker.  Toledo is a ghost town because the jobs are drying up, Detroit is a third world country, and we keep shoveling money at banks.  Without a manufacturing base the country will collapse.  Manufacturing is the surest way to create wealth.  Banks create a “false wealth”, it only exists on paper.   Unfortunately, the auto industry haven’t utilized or needed a powerful lobby in Washington that can rival the financial institutions.  So what side of the bread is buttered for Capital Hill?   The bail out for GM and Chrysler is about 1/20th of the bank bailout and those 2 companies employ, indirectly, about 20 million.  Want to see new millennium trickle down economics?  Watch those 2 companies fold.
The thing that makes me worried is the way they calculate unemployment.  It is “new unemployment claims in the past 6 months.”  If you declared unemployment a year ago you aren’t counted.  The jobless rate is way above 8 percent and I see the despair everyday in psychiatry.  Things are more desperate than they appear.

PS: Did you know that I have a bachelor’s degree in finance?  With honors!  More appropriately, dishonors.

TWOW: Rock and Roll and Business?  What is the world coming to?  How did you go from Finance to Psychiatry?

JW: Jaggar had a degree in Finance!  Are those degrees a deep dark secret that should be kept locked away?  In chronological order, it goes like this:

finance degree
Payne Webber
hospital cafeteria
biology
hospital orderly
ER clerk
med school
Soledad Brothers
residency

Whew!  i get tired just looking at that.  Guess I’ll have to start a new band… or write a book.

TWOW: Your views on politics were integrated into Soledad Brothers, do you plan to do the same with Cut in the Hill Gang?

JW: “I’m payin’ taxes but what am I buyin’? You can have yours and I’ll take mine”

TWOW: What are your five favorite records of the moment?

JW: Oh, I have a hard time with that question.  The last 5 records in my pile;

1) Lounge Lizards “live at the drunken boat” fantastic complex arrangements and composition.
2) Roxy Music  “country life”, great band of miscreants, weirdwind instruments!
3) James Brown “say it loud”, no better energy, duh.
4) Jr Walker “live”, amazing drum sounds, listen to that kick!
5) Merle Haggard “mama tried”, what a great lyricist.

Here is a video of Johnny Walker’s previous band The Soledad Brothers.

The Sisters Lucas

The What of Whom: Loretta, you and your sister Julie have been around for a while in different bands.  Can you talk a little bit about how Sisters Lucas is different from the previous projects?

Loretta Lucas: Sisters Lucas is truly a joint effort.  I began writing and performing music a few years before Julie, so I sort of headed the other projects.  In the Sisters Lucas, we write together and help each other cultivate our own songs.  We’ve also tried to go down a different road musically, focusing on experimentation and different genres.

TWOW: Can you tell us about when you started singing and when you and Julie started working together?

LL: We were always singing from what I can remember.  As children along with the radio and making up our own ditties.  We started performing in choirs together in school.  We attended a Catholic school, Our Lady of the Lakes, and spent many years singing there.  We also joined the Vocal Arts Academy, which gave us some neat opportunities like singing the national anthem at Old Tiger Stadium.  I didn’t start performing on my own locally until I was in my early 20′s.   I got a few lessons on guitar and piano, took music classes at Wayne State, and went solo.  The Larkspurs were almost an accident, and I forced Julie to join the band because I needed a bass player!  She picked up instruments very quickly, and now plays the keys and a little guitar as well.

TWOW: Was your intent always to be a performer while you were studying music?

LL: Yes, performing was always the intent.  I also studied dance and theater.  I’m just one for the stage I guess!

TWOW: The style of music that you play and the vocal harmonies are the best kind of unusual.  Who are some of your musical influences and how did you come up with your sound?

LL: Unusual is what we’re going for!  We always harmonized together in choir, and we love dissonance.  We’ve both been influenced by Buffy Sainte Marie, Love, the entire Brazilian Tropicalia movement, and DAVID BOWIE.  Julie is super hooked on Linda Perhacs right now.

TWOW: The single that came out last year with Bellyache Records was your first release correct?

Loretta Lucas

LL: It is our first release, Yes.

TWOW: Is there a reason there were no Larkspurs or Friends of The Diddlers records?

LL: The larkspurs did have a few releases.  I put out a self-titled EP on CD, as well as a limited edition 3 song DIY CD, and we were also included on The Bellyache Candy Shoppe’s Sweet Sounds of Detroit Compilation.  We had begun more recording, but then the band broke up!

Friends of The Diddlers did a DIY Christmas release, with only 25 copies handmade.  We attempted to record a record, but we had so many technical difficulties, it was never finished.  Then we sort of drifted apart and started other bands.

TWOW: Are you working on recording any other material?

LL: Yes, we are setting up a home studio to start demo-ing a full-length album.  We might release another single as well.

TWOW: Are you going to do all of the production yourselves or is someone working on it with you?

LL: The home recording will be a group effort.  We all (meaning our band members Alia Allen, Scott Mahalski, Jamiel Dado) have recording experience and plenty of engineers to call in for troubleshooting.  We do plan on having it professionally mixed though.

TWOW: I saw you have a video up on My Damn Channel; can you talk about how you came to work with Don Was?

LL: Our second show was opening up for Blanche’s record release party at The Crofoot.  Don Was had come into town to record bands for his Detroit Wasmapolitan Road Trip.  He caught our set and really enjoyed it.  We were introduced and he asked us to take part.  The next morning, we were in the studio!  It was a pleasure working with him.  He’s a very positive guy.  He came back into town for the Concert of Colors, and we performed with him at Orchestra Hall.  That was a rush!

TWOW: It seems that you perform at most of the larger events, the Blowout, Cityfest, Sounds and Spirits, etc.  Are there plans for more shows this year?

LL: Oh yes.  We already have several upcoming shows booked, and we plan on playing out of town as well.  Basically, as much as we can!

TWOW: Do you have any dates set so the readers can know when to expect you in their town?

LL: We always have our dates posted on myspace.  www.myspace.com/thesisterslucas.   Check it out, we have some coming up!

TWOW: What are your five favorite records of the moment?

LL: Lodger – David Bowie
Parachute – The Pretty Things
Nevermind – Damin E.I.H. Alk and Brother Clarke
Gris Gris – Doctor John
Many A Mile – Buffy Sainte Marie

John Krautner - Photo by Carl Hoff

The Go have been one of the most well known Detroit bands for the past 10 years.  Bobby Harlow (vocals/guitar/harmonica), John Krautner (bass/guitar/vocals), Marc Fellis (drums), and John McConnell (lead guitar), worked to produce one of the best records of 2007.  Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride was not only the best record to come out of Detroit that year, but one of the best in the country.  They have had music featured in major motion pictures and on television. In 2008 the band released the album Tracking the Trail of the Haunted Beat on Bellyache/Italy Records and the single Knock Knock Banana, also with Bellyache.  Now the band is back in the studio working on new material.

I had the chance to talk to John Krautner about The Go and their new music.

The What of Whom: John, I’ve heard that The Go are working on some new music, how is that going?

John Krautner: Its going great!  The songwriting process fused with the recording process is always a pleasurable experience…even if its painful!

TWOW: All of your records seem to have a distinctly different sound to them. Does that have to do with the evolving line-up of The Go or was it a conscious change in the songwriting for you and Bobby?

John: Well…I do think evolution has something to do with it.  People’s lives change over a period of time which sets in motion a series of changes.  Whatever is distinctive about each record probably matches the distinct experiences of the individuals involved.  Tough times = Tough sounds!

TWOW: I personally think you and Bobby are one of the best songwriting duos in recent memory.  Can you explain what the songwriting process is for you two?

John: That is appreciated, Kim.  I’m not sure I can explain our songwriting process, because I’m not sure if I understand it.  It’s so random and usually depends on a lot of circumstances.  Sometimes one of us will bring a song to rehearsal and we’ll tweek it as we learn it.  Sometimes we’re just jamming and lyrics are written in 10 minutes (‘Meet Me At The Movies’ was done this way).

TWOW: Did you and Bobby grow up together?  How did you meet?

Bobby Harlow - Photo by Carl Hoff

John: Actually…Bobby and I went to High School together, but we didn’t know each other.  I met him when I was in college.  He heard a version of “Hey Bulldog” that Marc and I recorded and expressed an interest in making music together.  Marc and I drove up to Grand Rapids where Bobby lived, and recorded our first song together, “Send Me Down Love”

TWOW: I know you’ve played bass and guitar in The Go, which instrument do you consider your best?  When did you learn to play?

John: My younger brother played guitar.  I would pick it up once in a while and pluck it.  My brother at that time worked at plastic mold-injection plant with a guy who wanted to sell his nylon string acoustic.  I bought it for 60 bucks…took it up to my dorm room at college and taught myself basic chords.  The first song I ever learned  all the way through was, “Hot Love” by T-Rex.

TWOW: I was at your show at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor a couple of years ago, I remember you mentioning that you went to school there.  Did you go to University of Michigan or Eastern Michigan University?

John: I went to Eastern Michigan University for one year.

TWOW: Were you in a band all through High School and College?

John: Marc and I played together during that time but we went to different schools.  We had a band called, “The Rail-Faced Wonder Wheel”.

TWOW: So I’ve heard Free Electricity, it’s really an interesting album.  Is there ever the possibility of that being released?

John: There is a good possibility it will be released…but that is entirely up to Subpop records.

TWOW: Whose idea was it to release Tracking The Trail Of The Haunted Beat?

John: It was our idea!

TWOW: “Knock, Knock Banana” is a great, fun record.  Especially “Grow a Mustache”.  What gave you the idea to do a kids record?

John: It came from a love for bubblegum music.  Kids like rock and roll too.

John in the studio by Josh Band

TWOW: Do you have plans for any other unusual projects?

John: Unusual projects?  Do you mean a record of nothing but backwards guitars?

TWOW: What is the status of The Skies Above?

John: The Skies Above was a fun project during the holidays, but since we all have so much to do with our respective groups, The Skies Above is sleeping right now….shhhh

TWOW: How did the idea for that group come about?

John: It was just something fun to do at the time.  I was just happy to have an excuse to play with  (Danny) Kroha…he inspires me a great   deal.  Ben’s a handsome devil and a good drummer.

TWOW: Can you give me your five favorite albums of the moment?

John: 1) Frank Zappa – Lumpy Money
2) Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Criminally Ignored Album cuts and B sides
3) Giorgio Moroder – Early Singles Collection
4) Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods – Special Someone
5) Larry Santos – I’m  Just a Man…Born of a Woman Like You

TWOW: So when can we expect the new material to be released?

John: GO fans can expect a single release this summer and something like an
album soon after.  Touring is likely.

• The Go – Myspace
• The Go – Band Website