Nardwuar the Human Serviette (his legal name since 1986) is a Canadian treasure. Aside from being an exemplary celebrity interviewer who has talked to everyone from Nirvana to Tame Impala—often catching his subjects off guard with his thorough knowledge of the interviewee’s personal history and his attempts to steer the interview toward all things Canadian—he also contributes to the world’s culture trove as a member of bands the Evaporators and Thee Goblins, each holding true to the ethos of the classic punk sound. I recently turned the tables on Nardwuar via e-mail, and we breezed through the topics of the music of the Pacific Northwest, George C. Scott, and why he now wears a tartan tam.
We have a few things in common: Macklemore gave you a jacket of your face that I painted. Where is that jacket now? Have you ever worn it in public?
Thank you (and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) for that incredible creation! I’ve worn it quite a bit, and I am thinking if I ever interview Neil Young or Kanye West, that is the jacket I will be sporting!
Do you think the prevalence of the internet has been a good thing for music?
I am not the best person to ask about these music-industry things. I once heard a prerelease tape of Green Day’s Dookie and thought it would be a failure. I could not hear one hit on it!
The Evaporators play the Comet tonight with Thee Goblins, Acapulco Lips, and Bottlenose Koffins.