John Von Feldt
John played bass in a damn good band called Thin White Rope for many years, but gave it up for a loving wife and a nice gurgly baby named Lilly Bell. He's making an appearance along with Marc Olsen and the Believers Tues Feb 5 at the Sunset Tavern.

What can people expect at this show? "I'm pulling out some old material that I never recorded. I've taught myself to play guitar over the last few years--but fleetingly. You could probably throw a rock at a St. Patrick's Day parade and hit somebody that's a better guitar player than I am."

Do you still keep in touch with the Thin White Rope guys? "Yeah, I run into them in the Bay Area sometimes. Guy [Kyser] lives down there. He's a very talented writer and a very nice guy. We all just got fried on it, to be honest--we spent so much time touring and we didn't really make any money."

Endless touring and no money can be kind of exhausting, especially when there's a girl you'd rather be with.... "I was reading this interview with [Camper Van Beethoven frontman] Dave Lowry the other day, and they asked him, 'Why don't you put Camper Van Beethoven back together?' And he said, 'Look, if that band actually made money, we probably would still be together!' I kind of feel the same way. People are always asking me why we don't play together, and you know, we all grew up and have mortgages. That's just the way it is."

I'm sorry, but I have to ask you about the band name--is it one of those rock myths, or is it actually true? "Yes." [Laughs.]

It's taken from William Burroughs' description of ejaculation? "Yes. We had to explain that a lot in Europe. Especially in Italy--people were very, very scared of the concept of someone who would name their band after a term for ejaculation."

Interview by Hannah Levin

Got a great poster we should consider for Poster of the Week?
Send a high-resolution, color .jpg (no more than 1MB) to potw@thestranger.com.
The event your poster advertises must be at least 10 days in the future in order for us to consider it.