Me meto un tiro,
¡Pum!
El eco suena,
¡Pum!
O quizás es el corazón,
¡Pum!
Que todavía sueña.

Etiqueta: Entrevista

Extracto de entrevista con Jason Everman

Extracto de entrevista con Jason Everman

I didn’t know Kurt after Nevermind caught fire. Sometimes I think that with Kurt, if they still make black-light posters, they’d make a black-light poster for him. He’s at that level, like Hendrix, Morrison, Bruce Lee. And when I think about that, that representation of Kurt, it really doesn’t correlate to the guy I knew from Olympia, Washington. It’s a separate thing that I don’t really have access to.

Yo no sabía que después de Nevermind Kurt fuese una leyenda. A veces pienso que si la gente hace posters, los harán por Kurt. El está en lo más, junto a Hendrix, Morrison, Bruce Lee. Y cuando pienso sobre eso, esa representación de Kurt, no se corresponde con el tío que yo conocí en Olimpia, Washington: . Es una cosa separada a la que no tienen acceso

Extracto de una entrevista con Dan Peters (Batería de Mudhoney)

Extracto de una entrevista con Dan Peters (Batería de Mudhoney)

When your name is Mudhoney, you tend to get things like mud thrown at you when it’s raining out. Onstage [at the ‘92 Reading Festival], Mark [Arm] was pelted in the face with a big mud ball by somebody who he had taunted and teased: ‘You guys don’t play baseball—you throw like a bunch of pussies.’ Got hit squarely in the face. Good times.

Cuando tu nombre es Mudhoney, tiendes a hacer las cosas como el barro cuando está lloviendo (No creo que sea así) . En el escenadio, en el Reading Festival del 92, Mark fue disparado por una bola de barro por alguien que se estaba burlando de él, y Mark dijo: Tíos… no juguéis a beisbol, lanzaís como un montón de coños (Lanzáis como maricones vamos xD) . Fue golpeado de lleno en la cara… buenos tiempos

Layne Staley rey del humor negro

Layne Staley rey del humor negro

Layne [Staley] was the king of really dark humor. And Jerry will tell you this, too—Layne was the only guy that would take it a step further. Like, you’d come up with a crazy dead baby joke or something and he would always take it to someplace totally darker…. We used to laugh our way around the world.

Layne era el rey del humor negro. y Jerry también te lo puede decir. Layne era el único tio que lo podía llevar un paso más allá (No sé si es así). Como, tú has venido con un chiste de un bebe muerto loco (Tampoco sé sí es así del todo) o algo así y el podría siempre hacerlo más oscuro. Lo usabamos para reirnos a nuestro modo por todo el mundo (No se si es así)

Entrevista a Jack Endino

Entrevista a Jack Endino

Hace un par de dias nuestro amigo William de Lamestain Northwest zine nos comunicó la lamentable noticia de que Ben McMillan (mejor conocido como cantante de Skin Yard entre 1985 y 1992 y de Gruntruck entre 1992 y 2002) falleciò de diabetes el pasado 26 de enero en Seattle, Washington a los 47 años. Para nosotros, Better Than Your Zine, Skin Yard fue unas de las mejores bandas que salieron de lo que fue denominado la “escena de Seattle” de fines de los 80s y principios de 90s, teniendo un estilo mas cercano al psych y rock de 60 mezclado con prog rock

Skin Yard se formó en 1985 por Jack Endino (luego convertido en ingeniero de grabación, entre su clientela se encuentran Mudhoney, Tad, Nirvana, Blood Circus, Winnebago Deal y un largo etc) en guitarra y Daniel House (Futuro dueño de C/Z Records; eventualmente editando a Skin Yard, Built To Spill, Treepeople, Silkworm, Love Battery, etc) en bajo. Luego reclutaron a Ben McMillan en voces y Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Hater, PJ) en bateria, originando la 1era formación de esta gran banda. Su primer release fueron dos temas en el seminal compilado llamado Deep Six (1986, C/Z Records) junto a Green River, Malkfunkshun, Melvins, U-Men, etc.

En 1986 Skin Yard lanzò su 1er LP simplemente titulado “Skin Yard” por Cruz Records, sello paralelo a SST Records (Black Flag, Husker Dü, Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, etc) tambien perteneciente a Greg Ginn de Black Flag. Luego de embarcarse en varias giras DIY por USA y Europa, editaron en 1988 su 2do LP “Hallowed Ground”.

Skin Yard también es conocido por el gran rejunte de bateristas a lo largo de sus añis, una especie de Spinal Tap de Seattle, ademas de Matt Cameron, otros bateros que desfilaron fueron Greg Gilmore (Mother Love Bone, The Press Corps), Steve Weid (Tad), Jason Finn (Love Battery, PUSA) y Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees)

A principios de 1990 sacaron su 3er LP titulado “Fist Sized Chunks“. En ese año, luego de la partida el baterista Norman Scott, la banda so tomó un hiatus hasta que en 1991, con su nuevo batero Barrett Martin editaron “1000 Smiling Knuckles“. Este disco fue el ultimo con Daniel House, cuyo abandono se debió a que quería dedicarle más tiempo a su sello C/Z Records y su familia.

En 1992 Ben McMillan formó Gruntruck, mas en la vena hard rock/metal editando su discos por RoadRunner records.

En el 2001, Better Than Your Zine colaboró con Snowball, un zine que se repartió por Capital y diversos shows en el otoño de ese año, y le cedió una entrevista a Jack Endino. Buscando entre los archivos lo encontramos y lo posteamos aca. Vale recordar que esta entrevista fue hecha, si mal no recuerdo, por mayo/junio del 2001.

BTYZ: Comentame tus comienzos como musico e ingeniero de sonido en Seattle …

JE: Comencé como baterista, luego me convertí en bajista, luego en guitarrista, mientras haciendo todas esas cosas, conseguí una grabadora de 4 canales y me enseñé como grabar. Empecé grabando a mis bandas y luego a las bandas de mis amigos …

BTYZ: Como es tu relacion con Jonathan Poneman y Bruce Pavitt (dueños de Sub Pop)?

JE: Bruce nunca me dijo más de 20 palabras en, me parece, 15 años. La verdad no lo conozco demasiado. Con Jon hablo todo el tiempo, somos amigos aunque nunca hemos sido amigos personales, pero todavía hago 2 o 3 discos para Sub Pop por año.

TYZ: Como ves la escena de Seattle en estos dias?

JE: Es fabulosa, hay muy buenas bandas en este momento aca. (NdeR:nombres Jack!)

BTYZ: Estas escribiendo o tocando con alguna banda en este momento?

JE= No he escrito una nueva canción en un par de años. Estoy tocando en una banda llamada Wellwater Conspiracy (NdeR: esta banda incluia a Matt Cameron y John Mc Bain) pero es sólo para sus shows en vivo, y la banda sólo toca un par de veces al año, asi que no es un gran compromiso para mi (NdeR: Jack ha sacado 3 disos solistas desde que se realizó esta entrevista)

BTYZ: Hay alguna posibilidad de una reunion de Skin Yard? Como te llevas con Daniel House?

JE: Con Daniel House nos llevamos bastante bien pero no hay ninguna posibilidad de que eso suceda. Pero de todos modos estamos trabajando en un compilado con singles, bsides y out-takes. (NdeR: El disco finalmente titulado “Start at the Top” fue lanzado a finales del 2001 por C/Z Records)

BTYZ: Nombrame 5 discos que cambiaron tu vida…

JE: Budgie “Bandolier”
Groundhogs “Hogwash”

Hawkwind “Saga of Doremi Fasol Latido”
Zeppelin “Fourth Album”
Who “Who`s Next”

BTYZ: 5 discos que recomendarias a nuestros lectores?

JE: La gente siempre odia los discos que recomiendo …

BTYZ: 5 discos que estas orgulloso de haber producido?

1) Nirvana “Bleach”
2) Accused “Grinning Like an Undertaker”
3) Mudhoney – “Superfuzz Bigmuff”4) Mark Lanegan “The Winding Sheet”
5) Titas “Domingo”

Ciao!
JE

Entrevista a Andy Wood

Entrevista a Andy Wood

La dejo en inglés… porque como comprenderéis, es mucho para traducir, y prefiero dejarla así que ponerla de traductor, que eso lo podéis hacer todos

RIP: Mother Love Bone recorded Shine in five days, as compared to over three months for Apple. Is there a very noticeable difference?
ANDREW WOOD: Yes, definitely. There were some mixes that were sent to us, and we sent them back to be remixed; and there was still, like, four or five songs that still had to be remixed again. Now it’s all settled and ready to be pressed. Apple is nearly an hour long. (t may not even fit on one side of a cassette, so beware, kids, when taping at home [laughs].
RIP: Did MLB lose any of its grunge?
A.W.: I don’t know. Did we have any grunge in the first place? I guess there’s still a little grunge in the guitars from the Green River days. We didn’t lose any of the grunge we needed, but we may be right in throwing some of the ugly grunge away. It’s called stale grunge. RIP: Do you wish there was more funk in MLB?
A.W.: I’m pretty content with the sound right now. I think I’m a bit more mellow than anybody else in the band. The whole set is pretty mid-tempo. We’re not like a real «head swinging» type of band. When time off from MLB allows, I might make a record, and my
brother Kevin [who played with Andy in Malfunkshun] will be my guitar player.
RIP: Andy Wood goes solo?
A.W.: No, it won’t be called «Andy Wood» or anything. It’ll have some weird name, so it’ll be kinda disguised. RIP: Let’s talk about some of the songs on Apple. A.W.: «Stardog Champion» is a kinda…fake, kinda patriotic rock anthem of sorts. That’s gonna be the first single and video. When I wrote «Holy Roller,» I didn’t even know what a holy roller was. I just thought it was a cool term. Actually, I was thinking of a Paul McCartney and Wings song «Let Me Roll It.» I don’t know why it made me think of holy rollers. «Captain High-Top» is just a total rock propaganda kinda thing. I kinda see «Heartshine» as our «Achilles’ Last Stand» of the album. It’s long and real powerful. I was kinda depressed about leaving Malfunkshun for a long time. Still am, kinda. I feel like, you know, I left them stranded. I’ve got a brother besides Kevin who, ah, is kinda insane in a way, and he makes the whole family worry about him, so «Heartshine» is a little about both of my brothers.
RIP: «Mr. Danny Boy° is obviously a slam on Danny Thomas.
A.W.: Yeah, I don’t know why we decided to do such a mean thing to Danny.
RIP: But you did.
A.W.: That’s right. No offense to Marlo. I still like her from ThatGirl[laughs].
RIP: «Come Bite the Apple,» is there any significance to that?
A.W.: That’s a meaningful song. It’s a «Crown of Thorns» type of song. The lyrics are personal, whereas some of the songs have absolutely nothing to do with me. «Apple» and «Crown of Thorns» are probably mostly about me. It’s kind of a synopsis of the whole past year. I’m lucky to be sitting here.
RIP: Do you write all the lyrics?
A.W.: Yeah. Nobody else has really brought any in. I think I’d find it hard to sing someone else’s lyrics. I’ve got a guitar but I’ve written most of my songs with keyboards as of late. I wrote «Stargazer» on guitar. I don’t really consider myself a songwriter but, rather, a guy who makes up music. I don’t know chords. I don’t know notes. I can’t even tell the guys in my band what I’m playing. I can’t say, «Well, it’s G-A-C-D,» or whatever. They have to come and watch me and figure it out.
RIP: You taught yourself to play guitar and keyboards? A.W.: Yeah, just kinda making up my own method of playing. That’s been my whole thing. It seems as of late -I’m not going to name names or anything-but there seems to be some people who are real concerned about who their fans are, which doesn’t make any sense to me, because they’re all basically rock fans. We want them to be our fans. We don’t want to draw any kind of lines.
RIP: Are those the only two instruments you play, guitar and keyboards?
A.W.: I play wrinkle-neck trouser snake, guitar and keyboards…l also play Nintendo.
RIP: Do you ever worry about hitting writer’s block? A.W.: I’m not too worried about it, though it definitely
happens. Writer’s block…I’ve never had that problem. When I have my keyboards around, I could definitely write a song a day. I’ve got so many old songs, I could go find an old one that I like if I can’t write a new one. RIP: There are a lot of references to the group Queen in your lyrics.
A.W.: Queen’s probably my favorite band. Queen, Kiss and Elton John. I’m kind of a hybrid of all those things that influenced me the most when I was growing up. RIP: How old are you?
A.W.: Twenty-four.
RIP: You just got out of rehab.
A.W.: The old 28-day business. I have a weekly follow-up every Monday night.
RIP: Obviously you feel a lot better now that you’re clean.
A.W.: Yeah. Still though, it’s a total struggle. When you first get out, you’re on this pink cloud, and it’s pretty easy. After a while things start getting more real, and you have to just stay straight a second at a time. RIP: Do the other guys in MLB still get stoned?
A.W.: No! That’s one lucky thing about this band. I was the druggy until I went in for treatment. We’ve got some people in the band that I don’t doubt are alcoholics. The day Bruce quits drinking will be the day monkeys fly out of my butt, like on «Wayne’s World.» Luckily no one was into the drugs as much as I was, so I don’t have to worry about them staying stoned, even though I’m not doing it anymore. Ever since I’ve known Stoney and that’s been years, he’s never smoked pot. RIP: Stoney?
A.W.: I know, with a name like Stoney. It’s just his normal name: Stone. They all enjoy their beer. God, that’s the thing: Back when I was taking all those drugs and everything, I thought the other guys were so damn boring. I thought, What do these guys do for fun?
RIP: Will this upcoming tour present any problems for you, like temptation?
A.W.: We all decided that on the upcoming tour there will be no alcohol at all on the bus. If they want to drink, they’ll have to do it inside the clubs.
RIP: Is there any particular member of MLB that you seem to connect with the best?
A.W.: It’s weird, ‘cause it fluctuates. Sometimes I feel like me and Stoney are a team, partners in crime. And then me and Jeff have a lot of the same musical interests too. We’re both kinda jocks in a way. I’m a video jock, whereas he’s an actual jock. Then me and Greg are both Capricorns, so we get along well. Besides practicing five times a week, none of us spend that much time together.
RIP: Maybe it’s better that way.
A.W.: Yeah. I mean, we’ll be spending a lot of time together real soon.

RIP: Mother Love Bone recorded Shine in five days, as compared to over three months for Apple. Is there a very noticeable difference?ANDREW WOOD: Yes, definitely. There were some mixes that were sent to us, and we sent them back to be remixed; and there was still, like, four or five songs that still had to be remixed again. Now it’s all settled and ready to be pressed. Apple is nearly an hour long. (t may not even fit on one side of a cassette, so beware, kids, when taping at home [laughs].RIP: Did MLB lose any of its grunge?A.W.: I don’t know. Did we have any grunge in the first place? I guess there’s still a little grunge in the guitars from the Green River days. We didn’t lose any of the grunge we needed, but we may be right in throwing some of the ugly grunge away. It’s called stale grunge. RIP: Do you wish there was more funk in MLB?A.W.: I’m pretty content with the sound right now. I think I’m a bit more mellow than anybody else in the band. The whole set is pretty mid-tempo. We’re not like a real «head swinging» type of band. When time off from MLB allows, I might make a record, and my brother Kevin [who played with Andy in Malfunkshun] will be my guitar player.RIP: Andy Wood goes solo?A.W.: No, it won’t be called «Andy Wood» or anything. It’ll have some weird name, so it’ll be kinda disguised. RIP: Let’s talk about some of the songs on Apple. A.W.: «Stardog Champion» is a kinda…fake, kinda patriotic rock anthem of sorts. That’s gonna be the first single and video. When I wrote «Holy Roller,» I didn’t even know what a holy roller was. I just thought it was a cool term. Actually, I was thinking of a Paul McCartney and Wings song «Let Me Roll It.» I don’t know why it made me think of holy rollers. «Captain High-Top» is just a total rock propaganda kinda thing. I kinda see «Heartshine» as our «Achilles’ Last Stand» of the album. It’s long and real powerful. I was kinda depressed about leaving Malfunkshun for a long time. Still am, kinda. I feel like, you know, I left them stranded. I’ve got a brother besides Kevin who, ah, is kinda insane in a way, and he makes the whole family worry about him, so «Heartshine» is a little about both of my brothers.RIP: «Mr. Danny Boy° is obviously a slam on Danny Thomas.A.W.: Yeah, I don’t know why we decided to do such a mean thing to Danny.RIP: But you did.A.W.: That’s right. No offense to Marlo. I still like her from ThatGirl[laughs].RIP: «Come Bite the Apple,» is there any significance to that?A.W.: That’s a meaningful song. It’s a «Crown of Thorns» type of song. The lyrics are personal, whereas some of the songs have absolutely nothing to do with me. «Apple» and «Crown of Thorns» are probably mostly about me. It’s kind of a synopsis of the whole past year. I’m lucky to be sitting here.RIP: Do you write all the lyrics?A.W.: Yeah. Nobody else has really brought any in. I think I’d find it hard to sing someone else’s lyrics. I’ve got a guitar but I’ve written most of my songs with keyboards as of late. I wrote «Stargazer» on guitar. I don’t really consider myself a songwriter but, rather, a guy who makes up music. I don’t know chords. I don’t know notes. I can’t even tell the guys in my band what I’m playing. I can’t say, «Well, it’s G-A-C-D,» or whatever. They have to come and watch me and figure it out.RIP: You taught yourself to play guitar and keyboards? A.W.: Yeah, just kinda making up my own method of playing. That’s been my whole thing. It seems as of late -I’m not going to name names or anything-but there seems to be some people who are real concerned about who their fans are, which doesn’t make any sense to me, because they’re all basically rock fans. We want them to be our fans. We don’t want to draw any kind of lines.RIP: Are those the only two instruments you play, guitar and keyboards?A.W.: I play wrinkle-neck trouser snake, guitar and keyboards…l also play Nintendo.RIP: Do you ever worry about hitting writer’s block? A.W.: I’m not too worried about it, though it definitelyhappens. Writer’s block…I’ve never had that problem. When I have my keyboards around, I could definitely write a song a day. I’ve got so many old songs, I could go find an old one that I like if I can’t write a new one. RIP: There are a lot of references to the group Queen in your lyrics.A.W.: Queen’s probably my favorite band. Queen, Kiss and Elton John. I’m kind of a hybrid of all those things that influenced me the most when I was growing up. RIP: How old are you?A.W.: Twenty-four.RIP: You just got out of rehab.A.W.: The old 28-day business. I have a weekly follow-up every Monday night.RIP: Obviously you feel a lot better now that you’re clean.A.W.: Yeah. Still though, it’s a total struggle. When you first get out, you’re on this pink cloud, and it’s pretty easy. After a while things start getting more real, and you have to just stay straight a second at a time. RIP: Do the other guys in MLB still get stoned?A.W.: No! That’s one lucky thing about this band. I was the druggy until I went in for treatment. We’ve got some people in the band that I don’t doubt are alcoholics. The day Bruce quits drinking will be the day monkeys fly out of my butt, like on «Wayne’s World.» Luckily no one was into the drugs as much as I was, so I don’t have to worry about them staying stoned, even though I’m not doing it anymore. Ever since I’ve known Stoney and that’s been years, he’s never smoked pot. RIP: Stoney?A.W.: I know, with a name like Stoney. It’s just his normal name: Stone. They all enjoy their beer. God, that’s the thing: Back when I was taking all those drugs and everything, I thought the other guys were so damn boring. I thought, What do these guys do for fun?RIP: Will this upcoming tour present any problems for you, like temptation?A.W.: We all decided that on the upcoming tour there will be no alcohol at all on the bus. If they want to drink, they’ll have to do it inside the clubs.RIP: Is there any particular member of MLB that you seem to connect with the best?A.W.: It’s weird, ‘cause it fluctuates. Sometimes I feel like me and Stoney are a team, partners in crime. And then me and Jeff have a lot of the same musical interests too. We’re both kinda jocks in a way. I’m a video jock, whereas he’s an actual jock. Then me and Greg are both Capricorns, so we get along well. Besides practicing five times a week, none of us spend that much time together.RIP: Maybe it’s better that way.A.W.: Yeah. I mean, we’ll be spending a lot of time together real soon.