Thursday, July 10, 2008

10 Questions



Hail & greetings once again readers! Ha! Despite a troublesome bout with my interweb connectivity this morning I made full use of the time to conjure up a word which best describes our Guest today: Holyfrigginell! (Yes, Virginia, that IS a word. At my house.)

Today's survey-taker formed one of the all-time great bands way back in 1979, The Clean. Yes.., that Clean, the New Zealand band.
After, by my count, four starts-and-stops with 'em, he said "Tally Ho!" and struck off on his own. Each subsequent release more brilliant than the previous one! 1991 brought us Here Come The Cars, Sugar Mouth in 1994, ...& the Heavy Eights in 1997, A Feather In The Engine in 2001, (!!!), Frozen Orange in 2004, and-finally, 2006's The Far Now. Dear readers, the Pride of Dunedin: DAVID KILGOUR!



Hoo! Yes, I'm rather excitated! I'm feelin' those good vibrations, mmm-bop-bop!

Of Feather In The Engine, I'd say if you don't enjoy & appreciate this you've no use for those holed appendages on each side of your head! They're wasted on you. Damn shame, too. Here's what the reviwer, Jon Pruett, at AMG said: (I was gonna' clip bits, but he's nailed it rather perfectly so apologies for using the whole thing Jon.)

"David Kilgour's fourth solo record is a wondrous listen that tosses jangling pop and psychedelia with such ease that you'd be forgiven for thinking he could do this in his sleep. Opening with an expansive instrumental that sifts through several layers of guitar overdubs, you are introduced to Kilgour's homemade guitar psychedelia, and it's an instantly familiar and especially welcome sound. The majority of the rest of the record is made up of twisted, perfectly imperfect pop songs and the more driving, droning Velvet Underground-style songs that he's been perfecting ever since the Clean delivered the goods with "Point That Thing Somewhere Else" back in 1981. The record may have its uneven moments, but there are moments of transcendence found in tracks like the pop forms of "Slippery Slide" where the shuffling, breaking vocals and shambling folk rhythms find their niche. "Today Is Gonna Be Mine" is another highlight wherein singalong optimism and a looped drum track manage to coexist triumphantly. The attention to detail in presenting these fractured acoustic guitars and melodies is what sets this apart from most releases by the Clean, who seem to get by on gravity's own pull. Kilgour's solo album shows that he's able to make specific segments of songs run from being interesting to just plain amazing, but the specifics are also what keep the album from being spectacular. That said, there is a ragged, clunky beauty that runs throughout the record (and runs throughout most releases that Kilgour has been involved with), adding further proof to the notion that David Kilgour is one of the finer guitarists to come out of the post-punk school of pop music."

I'd add the shambling brilliance of "I Lost My Train", and the dirge-like "I Caught You". The whole ALBUM is a highlight. At any rate, let's get on with the gettin' on and see his take on the survey:

1. In ten words-or less, define "psychedelic music."


it helps if you take pure laboratory lsd.




2. What is the most psychedelic instrument, why?
The nose flute, cause the wind comes straight outta your mind.




3. Favorite psychedelic album of all time?
Today, possibly Quicksliver Messenger’s Happy Trails. But I’m really unsure, there’s many



4. Name the most psychedelic band to come out of New Zealand.
Could be the Human Instinct





5. If you could be a member of any band in history, what band would it be and what would you play?
I would be Brian Jones in some band called the Rolling Stones


6. What psychedelic album do you wish more people knew about?


My next one, then I’d know how to finish it




7. Via Time Travel you can go back and witness any recording session you like; what band creating what album are you going back to see?


It would be a Phil Spector session from the early 60s. Let’s say the song Be My Baby.





8. What album would you most like to cover in its entirety, why?


My next LP, then I’d know how to play it.




9. Your Top Ten Psychedelic Songs?

off the top of thy head-


arnold lane
see emily play
tomorrow never knows (the beatles anthology version/mix)
scream thy last scream
7&7 is
youre gonna miss me
how is the air up there (nzs la de da's)
porpoise song (the monkees)
the smell of incense (west coast pop art experimental band)


all pretty trad’.....one day I’ll do an "obscure" one for ya.




10. Turn the tables, if you'd like, and ask me a question.


David:Who’s yre fav pyche act?

valis:We'd be here for days. And then some more days. More days still would pass and I'd be rattling 'em off and we'd invent a new calendrics system just for the counting... I've far too many to name and I could never name just one. Some days it's this one:



Thank you David! For those of you who'd like more, there's an interview from last November with him here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

David seems to be as witty as he is musically inventive - bravo again! (plus I too would like to have been Brian Jones.....)

Anonymous said...

Cool....one of my favorite set of answers so far!

Jim K.

Anonymous said...

Mmm not sure I'd be going near any swimming pools were I to trip back and be Monsieur Jones! That said, enjoyed reading this interview and yeh, David seems a bon homme.

Anonymous said...

Hey Valis,
Cool interview.
Thought I'd say hi as well.

Anonymous said...

David Kilgour! Fucking-A right! Great get and splendid interview Valis. Musta been good 'cause it brought Casetta out of the woodwork :-)