Laugh, Clown, Laugh: A Chat With Ed Kuepper

Earlier this year, I interviewed Ed Kuepper (the Saints, the Laughing Clowns) by email for a piece, "Written in Exile," which appears in the current issue of Resonance. Since I was only able to use a few quotes, here's the complete transcript for those who may be interested.

*****

Did the Saints form in 1973 or 1974?

Late 1973 in high school.

Did you and Chris Bailey [lead singer]
work on the Saints box set?

Kind of, I did the mastering and some remixing etc. with Don Bartley (which was a stipulation of my involvement), and kind of instigated the project after renegotiating the crummy deal that we'd signed all those years ago. Chris had a lot of input regarding his notes and the order of the photos and so on. I know he was sent the stuff after it was mastered and I'm assuming he approved because I didn't hear to the contrary.

Together, separately?

The latter--there wasn't a lot of direct contact--most communication was via the very nice new staff at EMI.
 

Did the Laughing Clowns leave for England
before or after the Go-Betweens?

Honestly can't remember, possibly a bit later because the Clowns were doing quite well on the touring circuit here.

[The Go-Betweens also formed in Brisbane.]

Was there any correlation between the two?

Not really. The Clowns went over because I had been there earlier with the original Saints [Kuepper left after 1978's Prehistoric Sounds] and thought it would make a nice change of pace and an opportunity to build our character--I think all the bands would have gone over regardless of who else was there. The thing to be aware of is that, in those days anyway, England was relatively easy to get into for Australian bands, unlike the USA.

Were you in touch with the Go-Betweens and/or the Birthday Party while they were based in England?

Yes, we did some shows with both and would see them socially at bar-b-ques and so on from time to time.

[video to come]
The Laughing Clowns - "Holy Joe" (1980)

Had you been in touch with Grant McLennan
[the Go-Betweens] in recent years?

Several times, most recently a couple of days before he died. In fact, he wanted to come over to my studio to do some recording

Were there any bands in England
with whom you felt an affinity?

Not personally.

Any British bands you simply liked, whether
as performers or people (or both)?

I thought the Fall were good, but mostly wasn't incredibly impressed overall--I actually felt the UK was a bit [of] a musical wasteland , but I don't presume to know about everything that
was going on. The best thing I saw when I was over at that time was the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Any new artists you're excited about?

I've been working on my own stuff a lot recently and usually
only listen to old favourites--new stuff kind of gets in the way
and makes me either feel overly cocky or inadequate--so best
to leave it alone.

How do you feel when people trot out the word "legend"?
Umm...depends on the context.

How about the word "God"? Which Everett True and the gang at Melody Maker have
been known to use in
regards to your work.

I'm not that religious,
but to each his own.

When did you and Jeffrey [Wegener, Clowns
drummer] start playing together again?

About a year or so ago, when I did some shows involving film in Europe for the MFLL project (a long, involved story).

Do you listen to as much jazz now as
you did when you were in the Clowns?

Probably, though I can't say I've kept up to date

An off-the-topic question, but have you seen The Proposition? I loved it, but have no idea what the reception has been like in Australia. I'm asking
partly since you and Jeffrey have been playing with
Nick Cave and the Dirty Three as of late...

I haven't seen the film, but have heard and liked the soundtrack--the film got pretty good reviews, I think.

That's it, unless there's anything you would like to add. Thanks for your time--and the music, of course!

No trouble--thanks very much for your interest.

Endnote: For more information about Ed Kuepper, please see his excellent website, The Kuepper Files, from which I swiped these 1983 images by Judi Dransfield (Kuepper's wife). Clinton Walker's Inner City Sound: Punk and Post-Punk in Australia, 1976-85 is also worth a look for more info about Australia's punk/post-punk scene. Give these links a try for my review of Scarce Saints: Hymns of Oblivion and an Aints bio. Video from YouTube.

Who's Zoomin' Who

Every few months, I search Google to see where my reviews are ending up. Here are some of the more interesting results.

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Award Annals: Amazon review of Underground 

Bluebeat.com AMG bio of Keren Ann 

Calls to Nothing: Amazon review of Aimee Mann - One More Drifter in the Snow 

The Conscious Movie Network: Amazon review of Who Killed the Electric Car?

Greencine: Seattle Film Blog reviews of Tales of the Rat Fink, the Northwest Film Forum's Peter Whitehead retrospective, The Bridesmaid, Mutual Appreciation, and a profile of Robinson Devor. 

*****

"Mutual Appreciation is the indie rock version of the feature film," writes Kathy Fennessy, who even reaches for the perfect analogy at Seattle Film Blog. 

"Forget Mr Ed, forget Equus. Seattle director Robinson Devor's upcoming documentary concerns what has become known locally as the Enumclaw Horse Case. Scheduled for release by THINKfilm sometime in 2007, Zoo (formerly In the Forest There is Every Kind of Bird) draws inspiration from the poor unfortunate - part of a tight-knit ring - who died in 2005 from injuries sustained after engaging in carnal relations with said creature." And now, it'll be screening at Sundance. Kathy Fennessy: "The Cinema of Robinson Devor: From Girl Watchers to Horse Fanciers."

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Le Bonheur: Amazon review of The Magic Sun 

The Oscar Site: Amazon review of Dirty Dancing 

The Things I Want: Amazon review of Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer 

Tom Waits for No Man: Amazon review of The Outsiders - The Complete Novel 

Veterans Today: Amazon review of Baghdad ER  

  

Images of David Hockney and Peter Whitehead from Northwest Film Forum. Funny Ha Ha is Andrew Bujalski's first feature. Completed in 2001, it wasn't released until 2005. Follow-up Mutual Apprecia-

tion opens at NWFF 12/8. Bujalski will be at the Fri and Sat screenings.

December 2006 Reviews

These are the reviews and
other assignments I'm work-
ing on for this month.

Amazon: Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo
del Toro strikes again!), The History Boys
(Nicholas Hytner takes on Alan Bennett),
The Painted Veil (John Curran reunites
with Naomi Watts), The Thief and the Cobbler (Richard Williams, of Who Framed Roger Rabbit fame, directs), ...And So Goes the Nation (doc on the 2004 election), Full House - The Complete Fifth Season [four-disc set], That's My Bush! - The Definitive Collection [two-disc set] [short-lived cable-com from Trey Parker and Matt Stone], Trust the Man (Bart Freundlich directs Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Billy Crudup), Roxette - A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs, Idiocracy (Mike Judge's live-action follow-up to Office Space), 7th Heaven - The Complete Third Season [six-disc set], Joan of Arcadia - The Second Season [six-disc set], and Slipknot - Voliminal: Inside the Nine.

[I love that I received Slipknot in the same package as 7th Heaven! Incidentally, I also reviewed the first seasons of 7th Heaven and Joan of Arcadia--and every season of Full House. While I'm at it, as silly as Full House may be, John Stamos consistently gives a good performance. Nice to see him finding "legit" success via E.R.]

Resonance: Alex Kapranos - Sound Bites: A World
Tour of Eating With Franz Ferdinand and an interview
with the surprisingly funny and charming Brothers Quay.

Seattle Sound: Tom Brosseau - Grand
Forks and a nightlife review of the Blue Star.

Seattle Film Blog: Danielson: A Family Movie.

Endnote: The Devil's Backbone is a prequel of sorts to Pan's Labyrinth (one film is set during the Spanish Civil War, the other afterwards). For more information about the movie, which opens on 1/12, please see the official website. Image from Wikipedia.

The Cinema of Robinson Devor: From Girl Watchers to Horse Fanciers

To commemorate the acceptance of Devor's third feature into the Sundance Film Festival, here's a profile I wrote in September. 

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"The only animal worth making a documentary about is the human."
 --Charles Mudede on March of the Penguins (2005) 

Forget Mr. Ed, forget Equus. Seattle director Robinson Devor's upcoming documentary concerns what has become known locally as the Enumclaw Horse Case. Scheduled for release by THINKfilm in 2007, Zoo (formerly In the Forest There is Every Kind of Bird) draws inspiration from the poor unfortunate--part of a tight-knit ring--who died in 2005 from injuries sustained after engaging in carnal relations with said creature.

Devor confirmed his risk-taking rep with Police Beat (2005). Co-written by Charles Mudede, and based on his long-running crime column in The Stranger, the "blue and green" noir takes an impressionistic look at a week in the life of Senegalese bike cop "Z" (former Junior Olympic footballer Pape S. Niang). The dialogue is in English, Z's inner monologue is in Wolof. 

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times proclaimed the Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee "dreamily poetic." A DVD release is in the works. 

So when did Devor, who grew up in New York, know he wanted to be a filmmaker? "I directed some theater when I was a junior in high school," he replies. He went to film school in Texas and spent 10 years in Los Angeles, also dabbling in music and poetry. While there, he befriended non-fiction auteur Michael Guccione (no relation to the plastic surgery-obsessed porn magnate). "We did a documentary on Angelyne, the billboard queen." Anointed "a knockout" by The Village Voice, the 1999 short received wide exposure on PBS--plus brisk video sales--and Devor was off. 

He followed with The Woman Chaser (1999), which became a cult item the minute it hit the screen. In this devilishly funny Charles Willeford adaptation, Richard Hudson (Patrick "Puddy" Warburton), used car huckster and wannabe director, oozes his way through post-war Los Angeles--all in glorious black and white. Really, what's not to love? As The New Yorker enthused, it's "wicked and brilliant." Sadly, despite some theatrical and cable action, the stylish noir has not yet made its way to DVD. 

While in Seattle to promote his first feature, Devor "totally fell in love" with the city and relocated from California. Ensconced in the Northwest for five years now, he seeks to excavate, as with Police Beat, more of the region's deepest, darkest secrets--which brings us to Zoo. Why this particular secret, I wondered. Well, the filmmaker sees his role like this: "Somebody shows you a new world, and what you're trying to do is find entrance to that world." 

In his second collaboration with Mudede, Devor delves into an obscure subculture--openly, but with respect. He doesn't disclose the name of the deceased, a 45-year-old aerospace engineer, but the words of his compatriots (identified by email handles) contribute to the narration. Mostly, he raises questions--about bestiality, sodomy, animal cruelty, desire and humiliation. As in the "ecstatic truth" documentaries of Werner Herzog, fact and fiction co-mingle. "It's a big challenge," he readily acknowledges, but the goal is the same: To explore what it means to be human. 

Endnote: This profile was originally written for a publication that pulled the plug due to discomfort with the subject matter. Consequently, it doesn't currently have a home, so thank goodness for blogs. I'm sorry if the topic of Devor's new film makes some people uncomfortable, but I think his track record confirms that exploitation is not his aim. When I have time, I'll transcribe the entire interview and post it to Seattle Film Blog. Images from The Stranger's Slog.

On the Mean Streets of Saul Dibb's Bullet Boy

BULLET BOY
(Saul Dibb, UK, 2004, 89 minutes)

Most major cities contain one neighborhood that's worse than all the rest. In Detroit, it's Eminem’s Eight Mile. In London, it's Lower Clapton Road, AKA Murder Mile, where Saul Dibb's gritty feature debut takes place.

The same day 19-year-old Ricky (Ashley "Asher D" Walters, Britain's notorious So Solid Crew) exits juvie, he scuffles with some Hackney rude boys over a broken rearview mirror. As the situation escalates, a gun enters the scene and the foreshadowing kicks into overdrive. 

Will Ricky whack someone...or will he get whacked? Or will impressionable 12-year-old brother Curtis (charismatic newcomer Luke Fraser) end up paying for his crimes? One thing is for certain: a rival's pit bull won't make it out of this feud alive. 

Marketed as a British Boyz N the Hood, the friendship between trying-to-go-straight Ricky and volatile "bruv" Wisdom (Leon Black) makes it more like an Anglo-Carribean cousin to Mean Streets. The performances, mostly non-pro, feel just as authentic and the East London slang lends verisimilitude--and, yes, a little inscrutability. 

Featuring an ominous score from Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, Bullet Boy plays like a horror film with the street--rather than any of the characters--as monster.

Endnote: As featured in the December issue of Resonance (R.I.P.).

Image (Ashley Walters and Luke Fraser) from the Bullet Boy website.

When the Shillelagh Meets the Hood: Part Six

That Petrol Emotion, Babble, Polydor/Universal

It seems barely credible that a group responsible for so much brilliant music remained the preserve of a committed few, but that's how it was. Following the Petrols became akin to membership of an evangelical cult. You would turn up at services, be inspired, go away and spread the word, then sit back, waiting for the inexorable conversion of millions to our way of thinking. If it was frustrating for us true believers, goodness knows how it made the band feel to see great work consigned to the margins of popular consciousness. I was saddened but not surprised when they called it a day in 1994.
-- Keith Cameron (2000)

***** ***** ***** *****
Rising from the ashes of John Peel favorites the Undertones (1975-1983), That Petrol Emotion consisted of four funny-haired lads from Derry, Northern Ireland and one funny-haired Yank. The latter, Steve Mack, hailed from Seattle, where he currently resides. The Petrols sounded nothing like the Undertones, of which Sean and Damian O'Neill were founding members--and not just because Feargal Sharkey was no longer frontman. With Mack's assistance, Seán (guitar), Damian (bass), Reámann O'Gormáin (guitar), and Ciaran McLaughlin (drums) completely reinvented themselves. (In the CD booklet, Mack is credited with "stuff.")

Released by UK independent Demon, Manic Pop Thrill (1986) was the quintet's first album. I ended up picking it up after Babble, however, as their sophomore effort was a lot easier to track down. I was living in Anchorage in 1987 and imports could be pretty tough to come by. (Once I moved to Seattle the following year, that would change.) Produced by Roli Mosimann, drummer for the Swans, Babble manages to be diverse and cohesive at the same time. It's a mélange of pop, punk, funk, and hip-hop. Only "Creeping to the Cross" approaches dirgey Swans territory.


That Petrol Emotion - "Big Decision"

This 2001 CD remaster includes the original 11 tracks, plus five bonus selections (three alternate takes and two B-sides), along with liner notes by Keith Cameron. The slinky, stuttering "Big Decision," which received much love from MTV, remains my favorite. They describe it as follows: "Oil, spreagadh, saorú." Alas, I don't speak Irish, so I have no idea what that means, but their other comments are pretty revealing. Here's a sampling.

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Swamp: "Never tell an Englishman what you think," a friend once told me, "there are more and less subtle forms of venting your frustration."
In the Playpen: The rich behave like gangsters, the poor like prostitutes.
Inside: A plague upon Thatcherism.
Chester Burnett: I've got a black friend who used to live in Kilburn. She says that a lot of the Irish people there were just as racist as anywhere she's ever lived. It's pathetic, really. You live in a country where you've been oppressed all throughout history. Then, once you emigrate, you start treating other people sometimes less fortunate than you with the same inhumanity.
Creeping to the Cross: Putting a down payment on Heaven
and to Hell with everyone else.
***** ***** ***** *****

Cameron adds, "While Morrisey sang 'Hang the DJ,' That Petrol
Emotion had no such reservations, copping hip-hop beats and
incorporating Brother D & the Collective Effort's 'How We Gonna
Make the Black Nation Rise' into 'Big Decision.' Live, it became
'How We Gonna Make the Irish Nation Rise,' just in case anyone was still wondering what 'That Petrol Emotion' was all about."

Yes, that's right, the Petrols were a political band. They were also the product of a specific time and place. Sinead O'Connor dealt with some of the same issues on her 1980s recordings, like I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1989). "Black Boys on Mopeds," for instance, could be the companion piece to "Chester Burnett." Yet, despite similar concerns, I don't recall that the Petrols were often compared to other Irish acts, like U2 and the Pogues. Granted, there's a difference between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Plus, TPE, like the Pogues, were actually based in London. But they weren't often compared to politically-minded Brits, like Billy Bragg, either. Ultimately, they carved their own niche. It may have been a small one, but it was theirs alone.

That said, Babble can easily be enjoyed on strictly musical terms. There's no hectoring going on here. The more I listen, the more I hear. Only "For What It's Worth" flirts with psychedelia, but the abundance of minor chords brings to mind Love and mid-period Damned, while Television lives on in the discordant interplay between O'Neill and O'Gormáin. I also hear New Order and Love & Rockets in McLaughlin's rolling beats. There's nothing gothic about TPE, but there's a post-goth spirit haunting this enterprise. It's the brightness of Mack's voice combined with the darkness of the music. No doom and gloom, but plenty of yin and yang.

That Petrol Emotion released three more records before packing it in. There's some good stuff on End of the Millenium Psychosis Blues (1988), but I'm less familiar with Chemicrazy (1990) and Fireproof (1993). Manic Pop Thrill and Babble, however, are essential. In my collection, they fit between the Temptations' Psychedelic Shack/Puzzle People and the self-titled debut from Them, which couldn't be more perfect. For eight years, That Petrol Emotion inhabited a musical neighborhood all their own, located somewhere between Detroit and Derry. A troubled region, perhaps, but one permeated by passion and intelligence.


Endnote: Images from That Petrol Emotion, video from YouTube. Part six in a series about the influence of black culture on Irish music. For more, see Part One, "Green Eyed Soul" (Them), and Part Three, "Shamrocks and Shenanigans" (House of Pain).

Musique Non-Stop: New Music from Big Sur and Les Georges Leningrad

Big Sir, Und Die Scheise Andert Sich Immer, Gold Standard Laboratories

I knew I was going to like this record right from the start. The artwork is just too cool: lovingly detailed close-ups of plant matter decorated with rhinestones, pearls, tinsel, and glitter [see image above]. Of course, not all quality recordings are graced by appealing graphics--Joanna Newsom's Ys is a case in point--but it never fails to amaze me how often the two go hand in hand.

Big Sir's third consists of melodic pop with electronic, jazz, and hip-hop tinges. Lisa Papineau (Air, M83) reminds me of Sarah McLachlan, but there's nothing particularly folky going on here. It's just that she likes those soaring high notes, while the music often evokes David Sylvian. It's jauntier than that, for lack of a better word, but there's a similar sense of wooziness, probably due to the combination of Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Mellotron.

Bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña (the Mars Volta) is the other half of the Echo Park duo, although they've got a lot of guests filling out their sound, like Hammond player Money Mark (the Beastie Boys). The worst thing I can say about Und Die Scheise Andert Sich Immer is that it isn't terribly memorable. Nonetheless, there are certain artists I turn to when I want to relax, like Brightblack Morning Light or Air circa Moon Safari. Big Sir fits right in.

Les Georges Leningrad, Sangue Puro, Tomlab

Get Bobo on the beats
Get Poney P., Mingo aussi
Put money on the song in the juke-box beast
Get Lil Poney for mammal beats!
-- "Mammal Beats"

Les Georges Leningrad are a synth-punk three-piece from Montreal (they began life as a quartet). They split their lyrics between French, English, and nonsense. As far as I can tell, Mingo L'Indien (guitar, electronics), Bobo Boutin (drums), and Poney P. (vocals) have nothing to do with their city's best known collectives: Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Arcade Fire.

The trio has their own loud, clattery thing going on, like a cross between the Pop Group and Le Tigre (with whom they've toured). Except not. Which is to say, they don't remind me of any one outfit. Plus, opening and closing instrumental tracks, "Sangue Puro" and "The Future for Less," are actually kind of quiet.

Sangue Puro, Italian for "pure blood," isn't a bad album, but it isn't my cuppa. That said, on their follow-up to Deux Hot Dogs Moutarde Chou and Sur les Traces de Black Eskimo, Les Georges are definitely dancing to the (mammal) beat of their own unique drummer. For that, the "petrochemical rockers" have my respect.

Endnote: Images from Alien8 Recordings and the official Big Sir website. Betsy Kenyon is the artist credited for Und Die Scheise Andert Sich Immer's nifty "Nut World" photography.