This phone interview took place on the 18th July 2001, just when Quasi’s album, The Sword of God, came out.
It was first published in issue 3 of Firefly fanzine.
Interview by Vicki Butler, contact:draculamountain@yahoo.co.uk
Q:.How did Quasi form?
A:.
It was so long ago…Sam and I played together when we moved to Portland in 1989 and we started making these home tapes, home recordings, we didn’t intend to put them out, just fooled around with an 8-track in the basement, wrote some songs and recorded them…eventually we got a friend of ours to play bass and we decided we wanted to play some of the songs live, it was called Motorgoat, not Quasi then. After about a year the bass player left. We decided to play music as just the two of us, and that’s sort of when Quasi started. So it was kind of a nebulous beginning, there wasn’t an exact start date.
Q:.Describe your sound in 5 words
A:.
Sounds that are always changing
Q:.What was it like recording “The Sword of God” in your own home studios?
A:.
It was fustrating, really difficult
Q:.So would you say it’s better to record in a normal studio?
A:.
No, I think it was a challenging experience and that when it’s over you appreciate doing it, but at the time of working on it we were incredibly challenged, technically mostly because it was all new gear. When you’re in charge of every aspect of it all sorts of problems crop up and rear their ugly heads. Things got pretty difficult at times, but we sort of made our way through the dark period.
Q:.Did it take you a lot longer?
A:.
We had four months to record it, which we thought would be a lifetime but we ended up working right until the last possible minute. I think it’s a really great way to make a record though, you can spend the time you want agonising over little things. I think we’ll do more of it, I’m proud of it
Q:.Whats yr favourite track of the new album?
A:.
im so used to the live versions. I think I like the last one.
Q:.Do you find playing with Quasi a lot different from playing with Sleater-Kinney?
A:.
It’s different, not really different, they sort of express different sides of my personality. The people are not the same at all. But I think there are certain things in common, they’re both full of energy, I think both bands are interested in conveying a sense of vitality and vibrancy which I find really important in music
Q:.How did you get to join Sleater-Kinney?
A:.
A band I used to be in opened for them, so they had seen me play, and then I saw them play, then I heard they were looking for a drummer and I expressed interest to one of their friends and they called me the next day. From the first practice it was pretty electric, we kind of met our matches
Q:.What’s happening at the moment with Sleater- Kinney?
A:.
We took a year off, and Corin had a baby, and next year we will start working on the new record.
Q:.What made you take up the drums as an instrument and how old were you?
A:.
I was 22,I was old! I really don’t know why I did. A few weeks after I expressed interest in playing I got asked to join a band, so I got thrown into it very quickly. I think because of that situation I learned really fast, I had to. I was getting on stage in front of people. I knew enough to know that I wasn’t very good and I wanted to be better, so I worked hard to improve myself. It’s a lot better to learn when you’re playing with people than when you’re playing in the basement. Right away I knew it was the instrument for me, I played guitar before, but I picked up the drums a lot quicker.
Q:.Who are you’re drumming influences?
A:.John Bonham. Keith Moon. I like all the crazy sixties drummers! Of today’s drummers I like sarah from unwound, I think she’s great, and Jim White who plays with the Dirty Three, smog, Cat Power.
Q:.Why do you think there are so few girl drummers compared to guitarists and bassists?
A:.I don’t know! Maybe there’s not enough role models, maybe because you look funny when you’re doing it, or possibly because you sweat too much!
But I love it when I see girl drummers, it’s fantastic. I’m sure there will be more in the future
Q:.What are you listening to at the moment?
A:.Well I just got the new smog record in my bag, so im sure I’ll be listening to that, I’m listening to a lot of dub music actually. I like the white stripes, I liked them before all the English people discovered them!
Sleater Kinney and Quasi drummer