Q: You were the singer/guitarist for the loudest fucking band in
Seattle in the 1980s and ’90s. How’s your hearing? Did you wear
earplugs? Did
anybody?
A: I did toward the end, but there’s definitely some
hearing loss. I’ve got tinnitus, the ringing in the ears.
That’s no fun.
No, it’s not. Especially if you’re out camping, and it’s really
quiet. It’s like somebody should answer the phone or something.
This year, Sub Pop celebrates its 20th anniversary. You released
your first 7-inch, which is heavy as fuck, on the label. What do you
think of the folk-inspired, easy-listening stuff they’re working with
now? It’s a far cry from TAD’s
ear-busting sound…
You know, I’m not really that familiar with what they’re putting out
these days. I know that the Shins are doing really well. They’re on
that iTunes commercial, which is really cool. [It’s actually a Zune
ad. —Eds]
But I haven’t listened to enough of them to
draw a conclusion.
It’s not what you would’ve expected from Sub Pop 20 years ago.
That’s the truth. I think that’s something that Sub Pop has always
done well, though—throwing curve balls.
Before watching your new documentary, Busted Circuits and Ringing
Ears, I had no idea that TAD’s story was so bittersweet. Almost
every release was plagued with one issue or another—from legal
troubles with cover art to getting dropped by your label (twice). Do
you ever feel like TAD wasn’t given a fair shot?
Yeah, that’s true. All that stuff happened, but I think we made the
best out of what we were dealt. We weren’t alone; that stuff happened
to a lot of bands. There was a period where Warner Brothers was under a
lot of pressure from the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center], and they
dropped a lot of bands and started doing that “clean your act up” thing
and putting the warning labels on records.
So the TAD poster with Bill Clinton smoking a joint didn’t go over
well?
You know, it’s still a mystery to me why that was such a big issue.
There was a lack of communication between artist and supplier, shall we
say. That’s one of the things I always cherished about the Sub Pop
relationship—there was a great rapport there. We knew what was
happening, and they knew what to do with us. A lot of labels didn’t
know what to do with us.
What was the thinking in signing to a major label, then?
Well, bigger budget was one of them. We were artists who were
looking to get to a wider audience, and we also wanted to share in a
larger profit margin, you know? The thing is, every label signed us as
the band TAD and then was always mystified that we weren’t churning out
songs that were like Pearl Jam or Nirvana. We were like, “Well, that’s
because we’re not Pearl Jam or Nirvana.” They’re always looking for the
next big thing. But we do what we do and some people got it and some
people didn’t. A lot of the major labels didn’t.
How did it feel to relive that part of your life while putting
together footage for the DVD?
It was a roller coaster, that’s for sure. It definitely evoked a lot
of emotions toward what happened in the past and uncovered a lot of
things I had forgotten about. I spent almost the whole band’s career
carrying around a VHS camcorder, archiving what we did, and there’s a
lot more. There could be volumes. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Who
documentary, but it’s like six hours long. We could’ve done something
like that ourselves. I have 45 to 50 VHS tapes. A lot of it is just
goofy stuff on the road, shenanigans.
Did you really once tear a urinal off the wall?
To my best recollection, that did happen. I was quite libated that
night. It was kind of flimsy anyway, so I decided to finish it.
What are the chances of a TAD reunion?
Pretty slim. My heart’s just not into that anymore. I’ve put that
period of my life behind me. I’m working on a new project.
So you still play music?
Yeah, I play with drummer Eric Akre and bassist Peggy Tully. We’re
called Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and we’re getting ready to play our
first show in March. It’s dark and heavy, with lush, quiet parts and
then some raging parts, too. I’m doing a lot of electronic sampling and
triggering, so it’s a new direction. I’m really excited about it.
So it’s not grunge?
I don’t even know what grunge means.
Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears shows Wed Feb 13, Varsity
Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 632-3131, 7 pm.
