the no-fi "interview"
with
Okay, so I'm still not the greatest interviewer of all time, but I think I'm getting a little bit better. I'm certainly learning more about what to do and what not to do. The main thing that I have learned after three interviews is to always do an interview in a controlled environment, which I still have not been able to do yet. This interview was conducted outside of a place called the Billiard Inn in Mar Vista, CA. The show was reeeaaaally long but a lot of great bands played, like Artichoke and Dios and of course New Bethel. These are some really nice people and they make such pretty music. I didn't know very much about them before the interview, so the questions here tend to be more standard and less silly, but you be the judge. Of course the silliness still abounds. Go to their website to hear some of their music or just wait for me to play them on no-fi "radio", because you will certainly hear a lot of them.
Q: Me. The interviewer
A: Aaron. singer, guitar
C: Charles. drums
M: Molly. keyboard, vocals
S: Molly's sister. not in the band
K: Kathy. a dj on KXLU in the middle of the night
Q: I was curious about the name New Bethel...when I first heard about you guys, I did an internet search to research your band a little and what came up was Bethel, New York, New Bethel University, and a ton of stuff about the New Bethel Church, and I was just wondering where you guys got the name.
M: I wish I was black.
A: Yeah, that's actually what it is.
S: Molly wishes she was black.
A: Honestly, I was sitting and I was thinking about band names and I thought about Belt Buckle and then the name New Bethel came up and uh, Belt Buckle was already taken so we took New Bethel.
C: (laughs)
Q: I also read that you originally intended to only record and not play live. And then KXLU wanted you to play in their studio. Was there any sort of anxiety of having to come up with a live act when you didn't originally plan on doing that?
A: No. Not really. I know a bunch of musicians so it was alright.
Q: (To Charles) You too?
C: Yeah.
M: I found that, I found that if...you know what? Sssshhhhhhh!!! I've seen the LA County Fair with spam. Have you been to the LA County Fair? They got a spam fuckin' boot where it's all like...
(silence)
A: I think what she was trying to say was...
S: That's where her roots are, man. Spam carvation.
A: Charles wasn't in the band when we were first asked to play on KXLU.
Q: Oh really?
A: Ya know what's funny? That guy right there was in the band. (Aaron points to a guy standing next to me, his name is Jerry.) And this young lady right here was in the band. We were 5 people. And Jerry and I had written some songs and played the bass and played the drums and played the guitar and overdubbed, and made this little CD and gave it to a d.j. up there. He liked it and invited us up to play and we had to like throw this thing together. We found a drummer and Lisa jumped on the keyboard. Then it grew and developed and went from there. And they've gone on to do their own thing, they're in another band called Hung Joy. Which is a really good band.
M: I have the hiccups.
Q: So, the fact that there are only three people in the band now, does that ever create tension...like does one person ever get ganged up on by the other two?
A: Nah.
C: No way. Hell no. It's one big happy family.
Q: That's great.
M: Wait a minute...I got something very important to say...buuurrrrrpp!!!
(some laughter, some eye rolling)
M: I'm an intellect.
Q: A lot of reviews I've read of your music...Jesus Christ!! (as Molly hurls a burning cigarette past my head) What the Hell!! ...she almost set me on fire!
A: She's dangerous.
Q: (Slightly annoyed now) Okay, a lot of reviewers like to compare you guys to bands like Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Rainer Maria...
M: Well, I personally am striving for Bon Jovi.
Q: How do you respond to this?
A: Yeah, we're trying to sound like Bon Jovi, why isn't it happening? (laughter) I think what it might be is that the female voice is starting to stand out in music and for example the girl in Rainer Maria, she's got a really strong voice that says a lot more than what her lyrics might actually say. And maybe Molly's voice plays a dominant role. Maybe that's where it is. I know the girl from Mates has a dominant voice. She kinda throws it out there and Molly throws it out there too. So maybe that's what it is. We get hit with the X comparison too.
Q: (surprised) Really??
A: Which we don't really sound like at all but it's the guy/girl thing.
Q: What's your favorite movie?
C: Four Rooms.
M: Charles likes Deep Throat. (laughter) I like the home video of when I had Mushroom diarrhea and I puked on top of it...at Buuurrrrrrnnniiinnng Maaaaaannnnnnnn.
Q: Oh, I'm glad that you brought up Burning Man. I heard that you guys "did" Burning Man. What exactly did that entail?
S: Oh we fuckin' fucked the duck. We butt fucked the duck and that's a quote baby.
(uproarious laughter)
A: That's Molly's sister. Yeah, we've been going to Burning Man for the past 5 years, Molly and I have. Charles hasn't gone yet, he's gonna go next year.
M: Excuse me, here's me and my sister NOOOOOOO!!!
(She screams into the tape recorder and has appeared to lose all touch with reality)
Q: No-Fi "Magazine" is never really topical or political but do you believe that Michael Landon went to heaven when he died?
A: I think he did, man. He was a good guy.
Q: Oh really? Even though he allegedly beat his kids?
A: Really, well I got beat up as a kid, I guess it happens. Now did he beat his kids or did the media tell you that he beat his kids? Did he sit down and start taggin' them in the face?
Q: Like on the set of Little House on the Prairie?
A: At Denny's...did he just start punching little Michael Jr.? I heard George Foreman beats the hell out of his kids.
C: Oh yeah.
A: He's got 8 boys named George, I'm sure he...
Q: He like puts their hand in the grill that looks like an iMac.
C: (laughs)
A: No, he just has a ring in his back yard, and he just tosses them in there when they do something wrong and says, "Let's go a couple rounds."
S: I think the light on your recorder's going out...you might need some batteries...
Q: Oh shiii.....(the sound of the tape slowing)
(At this point in the interview the tape recorder stops dead. I explain that I had just put new batteries in (don't buy energizer) and it's impossible that they would die already. Luckily Charles has two batteries in his backpack and gives them to me. Magically the tape recorder starts working again. By this point Molly and her girl friends and sister have started singing about how boring the interview is.)
Q: Okay, it's working again. Would you rather sweep or mop?
A: Mop.
Q: Really? More people say sweep.
C: Yeah. I'm more of a mopper.
A: You too?
C: Yeah. It depends too. Sometimes you have to sweep before you mop depending on how dirty it is. So I would sweep first around the corners, then start mopping.
K: (to me) What are you doing, Quin?
Q: An interview.
K: What are these? (she says while pointing at my paper)
Q: My QUESTIONS! (I snapped a little at her)
K: Why are you so offended?
A: He's not offended.
Q: I'm not offended, but I'm in the middle of an interview.
K: Can I interview you guys on my radio show? (she continues to interrupt)
A: Sure.
Q: Your radio show is on in the middle of the night.
K: It is on in the middle of the night.
Q: She has a show on KXLU at 3 in the morning.
A: Cool. When do you wanna do it?
Q: Yeah, you guys are probably up at 3 in the morning, huh?
A: Yeah, we are.
K: The popularity of the show is obscene for that time.
A: Let's do it. We've played on KXLU a couple times.
(We now return you to our New Bethel interview already in progress.)
Q: Here's a ridiculous question, if Tom Waits and Vic Chestnut played one on one in a game of basketball, who do you think would win?
A: Tom Waits. Vic doesn't stand much of a chance. Even though Tom Waits probably moves about as slow as the other guy.
(I do a very tasteless Vic Chestnut impression)
Q: I love Vic Chestnut though.
A: Yeah, he can still play guitar.
Q: Who is the most underrated band in the world?
A: The Movies.
Q: Cool. I saw them at the Silverlake Lounge. Okay, here is the part of the interview where I say the name of a band and you describe the feeling you get from the band....R.E.M.
A: I'm thinking about a tree.
C: Yellow.
Q: Dios.
A: I'm thinking about a moon. (the picture on the CD)
C: Long hair.
Q: Mates of State
A: I'm thinking about Jason and his eyes. Ya know, you can print this cause I want him to read it. His eyes are always dilated outward, like he doesn't have any color. They're just black marbles. It's really fascinating to me, but I've never asked him about it, but I want to. Maybe he'll read this and tell me.
Q: Belle and Sebastian
C: Oh yeah, I dig them a lot.
A: Nick Drake.
Q: Oh wow. That's kinda depressing.
A: I haven't been able to get past that so I haven't been able to give Belle and Sebastian much of a chance. First time I ever heard them, I heard a mellow tune and I thought of Nick Drake and that guy's so good, man. No one can take that.
Q: You'd think that that car commercial would have ruined 'Pink Moon' but it didn't.
A: It didn't last very long.
Q: It was a good commercial though.
A: Yeah. But it was gone really quick. I still wonder about car commercials cause they go so fast. They can use a great song and it won't burn it into the ground because the car will be old in a month and they'll have another one replacing it.
(I didn't think about this at the time, but what about '20th Century Boy' by T-Rex? That commercial is driving me insane and I love T-Rex, but the song is ruined for me.
Q: Crowded House (how did I think of this?)
C: How do I feel, my emotions about Crowded House? It just takes me back to the days when I was goin' to the beach...surfin' and stuff.
Q: Bob Dylan.
A: Boring and not relevant anymore.
Q: Really? I was named after a Bob Dylan song, Quinn the Eskimo. And now here is the last question...Is there any particular lesson in your life that you have learned from that you want to pass along to the no-fi "readers"?
A: Floss. At least a couple times a week.
C: Just be positive. Be confident and positive and cool with everyone.
A: Aww, isn't that uplifting. Hey, Molly, do you have any advice to give?
M: Yes, and it's called 'Tiny Bubbles.'
Q: Is she going to sing some Don Ho?
Molly and Aaron and all of the girls in the van start singing 'Tiny Bubbles' by Don Ho. Charles and I just watch in amazement. You'll hear this stirring rendition on No-Fi "Radio"...stay tuned.
