Lucky Accidents and Drugs

John Dwyer is a madly prolific guitarist/vocalist from San
Francisco. Sure, those types proliferate like cancer cells in that
metropolis, but Dwyer has risen above the morass by showing
extraordinary range and quality control over the last 11 years. His
voluminous résumé includes Pink and Brown
(confrontational noise rock), Yikes! (post–Pussy Galore
thrashabilly), Coachwhips (raucous garage rock), Zeigenbock Kopf
(filthy, faux-homoerotic electro), and Thee Oh Sees (aka OCS, the
Ohsees, etc.; sweet-and-sour lo-fi pop subversion).

With vocalist Brigid Dawson, guitarist Petey Dammit, and drummer
Mike Shoun in tow, Thee Oh Sees are on the road supporting their most
accessible album to date, Help, and the demos/singles collection Zork’s
Tape Bruise. Dwyer fielded some questions with smart-alecky alacrity
from his SF home base.

San Francisco seems from this outsider’s perspective like a haven
for great, strange music of many stripes. Does this observation have
any relation to the truth, as you see it?

The Bay Area even surprises me. This year in particular has shown a
fucking slayer crop of bands out of the woodwork, reworkings of old
vets and new faces alike… uh, bands that rule: Buzzer, Fresh and
Onlys, Bare Wires, the Mystery Lights (Santa Cruz), the Sandwitches,
Lazarus. I could wax forever.

Does songwriting get harder or easier as you go along? Is there a
conscious decision to try to avoid repeating yourself?

It comes in spurts. Sometimes I try and the wind just blows through
my hair. Lately, I been writin’ like a motherfucker. Got the whole new
LP worked out already. What the hell? I thought I was repeating
myself.

Do you ever feel like it’s impossible to do anything genuinely new
within rock’s parameters? Or are you unconcerned with innovation and
strictly interested in writing what you think are good songs?

I don’t feel I have so much the “innovator” talent. It would be
nice, but then you hear the Idle Race [Jeff Lynne’s pre-ELO band] and
never want to pick up a guitar again… So, yeah, I just do what comes
naturally, I guess. It’s either that or get a job, and I have no
skills.

Your musical approach has ranged from barbed noise rock to very
gentle bedroom-recording balladry to pseudo-homoerotic electro to lo-fi
weirdness. Out of all these styles, is there one that you think
represents the true John Dwyer, or do they all somehow equally reflect
the essence of your being? (Yes, I would ask Neil Young the same
question.)

I am not a complex man. But everything I’ve done I can say seemed
right at the time. I still look back on Zeigenbock Kopf and think it
was someone else. Ah, drugs.

Help sounds like Thee Oh Sees’ most easily digestible record to
date. What prompted this approach?

I’m old and all I listen to now is pop. It’s much shittier-sounding
live, I promise.

Your productivity is amazing. Do you have a songwriting/recording
routine or does your creativity arise in unpredictable spurts? This
might be an opportune time for you to describe your creative process
(because tips from the masters are always appreciated).

Spurts, ropey knots, arcs. Usually, I smoke weed and play guitar,
then I stumble on a song by accident. It’s really luck. Ah, drugs.

What qualities are essential in a musician for you to want to play
with him/her?

That they put up with my bullshit and can think for themselves. I
love the people I play with now. I’m sure I’ll regret saying that.

Is that a flute in “Meat Step Lively” [off Help]? I think this is
one of Thee Oh Sees’ best songs and would like to hear more flute in
your—and everybody else’s—music. In case you care…

My stepdad and mom bought me that flute, and I play it constantly. I
love flute. To all those who don’t like flute—fuck you.

Can you discuss the new music you’re working on, which you likened
in another interview to Pärson Sound [Swedish psych rockers from
the late ’60s]? This would definitely be an unexpected shift for Thee
Oh Sees, as it runs counter to your songs’ usual brevity.

I try to emulate them but fail repeatedly. But because of those
attempts, I think our next record will have a glazed summer feel to
it.

What do you think of the most recent wave of lo-fi artists (Kurt
Vile, Jay Reatard [since you’re touring together, I assume you like
him], Ducktails, Sic Alps, Wavves, Night Control, etc.)? Do you feel a
kinship with them—or any other bands?

Jay Reatard kinda blew my mind; his songs are insane. I actually
listen to his records often, and I’ve gotten to know him a little. He
is a serious man, as far as making his music his living. Of course I
love the Sic Alps; they are like my family. It’s kinda rough right now
with the whole lo-fi thing, ’cause I think some unnamed people are
claiming they coined that shit. How retarded is that? I will fight any
of them, any time. Lo-fi don’t rule the night. No one does.

What groups/artists excite you these days and why?

Idle Race, Norma Tanega, Buddy Holly, Pretty Things, Purple
Rhinestone Eagle, Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells a
Story”—because they make me like music even more.

What’s the most important thing that you’ve learned in all your
years as a musician?

Don’t play with people that are anything like you, and don’t go
looking for gas off the highway unless you actually see a gas
station.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you while on the road?

Getting glass in my knee in England, taking ecstasy, and getting a
really bad bloodborne infection the next day. Have you ever been inside
an English hospital? Good god, it’s awful.

What’s the best thing that’s happened to you while on the road?

Meeting loves and making friends.

You’ve released on a lot of different record labels (Upset the
Rhythm, Narnack, Castle Face, In the Red, Tomlab, Tigerbeat6). Do you
find that most of them aren’t satisfactory in some way, or is it more a
matter of you feeling the need to upgrade every so often?

Both. Unless you do it yourself, all labels (usually) will
disappoint you if you are an overbearing asshole.

Does the current dismal state of the music industry have you feeling
uneasy or do you view the business-model paradigm shifts and
technological changes as a boon to smaller labels and bands?

It’s great. Everyone should release their own record and press them
through Pirates Press. Plug. But fuck it, they are the cheapest.

What can crowds expect from your live shows on this tour? Do you
want them to feel a sense of danger when you take the stage?

Nah, I want them to feel right at home. Are you scared at home?