| >>>>>>>>>> Interview: Fugazi's Joe Lally Claire: You didn't really lose anything...it's all so tight and neat... Alex: From the CD to live... Claire: Yeah. I think that, even if you do experiment, you do just as much on stage as well as off... Joe: Well, thanks...we try and leave a little something, you know, to be uh, experimental on stage, you know live..it can be a little improvisational. Claire: Like not heaps of people play around [with the songs] like you guys do...And I don't know how it is in America because I've never been there... Joe: I think it's because there's all different kinds of bands I guess, so it depends on, you know... Claire: What sort of local bands are you into? Joe: Lungfish is a band from Baltimore, that's also on Dischord, that I'm a big fan of. Uh, they kinda lost their bassplayer, so I don't know how they're gonna perform next. But they've actually been playing with two of them playing guitar with no vocals, and they seem to have enough material to record again, so that might be interesting. I don't know if you've heard of them, but they're really great. There's a band called Shine that I'm gonna put out on a very small label that I do. the guys used to be, the singer/guitarist used to sing in this band The Obsessed that were from the DC area, um, like 79 to 85. And then he went to sing for St. Vitus in Los Angeles. and then he started The Obsessed again,they kinda got back together then broke up again, or he started the band or whatever. But they've been a big influence for me and Ian, we're both big fans of theirs since they're from DC. |
| Claire: And I notice like, you sort of balanced out the songs. With the more energetic with the slower... Joe: Oh that's nice... Claire: I thought it was a good break, coz I was standing getting mushed at the front, so I thought like it was good to have a quiet one, then mush, then... Joe: (laughing) Oh good, we try and keep it varied to stay interesting (laughs). Claire: Yeah iy was very interesting...Have you noticed any changes since your previous Australian tour, last year... Joe: That was yeah, the one we didn't finish... Claire: Yeah, have you noticed any changes since you've come back? Joe: Any difference in Australia? Claire: Yeah...has it changed at all? Joe: (laughs) The weather, that's about it...You know, but we spent a long time in Sydney because that's where our tour sort of stopped, and uh Ian's in the hopsital...But uh, we went to all sort of the outer, you know we went to Adelaide and Perth and Hobart before that. So we were kinda just getting into this area and it stopped. So we were gonna go to Darwin, and luckily we're going to Darwin this time, so we still have a show in Brisbane, and something near there...and then we do New Zealand, 'coz we didn't get to go to New Zealand at all last time, so...we get to make up those shows. But I don't know, nothing has struck me as being incredibly changed. |
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| Alex: What about the crowds since the previous tours, one's a couple of years ago and the first one in...89? Joe: You know it's, it's hard to compare cities in the past. It's been you know, twice that we've been in places but we haven't necessarily even played the same rooms each time. I personally can't even remember the show here that well last time. So it's hard to...it's hard to guage the differeances like that. But cities, you know, shows change. You can do two nights in a row in one room and they're completely different. Tomorrow night will be different than tonight. And so it's really hard to, you know, mark those changes, 'cause it's always changing. Claire: what about over the years, has it built up? Joe: You know, differenty style that people seem to move around change somewhat. Even though the people were jumping on each other's heads tonight somewhat. You know, there use to be a lot of that to sort of deal with, and people in the front row just being, you know... Claire: Crushed... Joe: Yeah, destroyed all the time. And there's you know, it's really like...it's changing a lot. It's definitely not going on quite as much. And I hope that means that people are actually paying attention and reacting to the music more. |
| Claire: Like I reckon that it's really healthy that, all those people tonight hopefully sort of agree with a more positive message than watching a band like NOFX or something Alex: Going [to a show] just to stage dive... Claire: ...stage diving, to be cool, all that sort of stuff...be a bit more down to earth... Joe: Well, you know, we like to think that it's more than just a rock thing. But uh, I don't know...some people may still see it as just a rock thing. Who knows, but uh... Alex: And, how have you, say, grown within the band? Like uh, everyone together as in say five years ago...? Joe: It's um, you know we hope that we're, that it's a changing thing and that we're reacting... Alex: Or is it like a routine? Joe: No it's still very intersting to write, and we're finally moving into a practice space wher we can use our recording equipment. And I think that's gonna open up like a whole different aspect of writing, where we're able to write and listen to what we're doing and writing. Alex: How does a song get structured? I mean, you can't actually say that fugazi songs have like a set formula, like they'll throw in a chorus here, they're always different...like how does that work? Joe: Well, it really, it'll start out with one riff of some sort, but um, things do get worked. It's like putting different pieces of different ideas. You know, one jam that you just had one riff that you jam and you can't do anything with...and you try them together. with old ones. You know, and you mix and match them and try different ideas, but...Basically I think it's that we spend a lot of time trying...trying to make them more than the usual thing, so it's not all very reptitive sounding...But uh, you know...you never know. To me, it sounds like us. Something is always sounding like Fugazi, and I don't know what that is, and what that answer is, but...Over the years I'd say, just writing together has definitely...I mean it's always changing in a way because I think our taste, trying to do something different, and trying to do something better, and trying not to sound like what other people are doing. Which is really hard, because there's just a billion bands now, and there's so much stuff that's already been done, it's very hard to do anything different. But we keep trying. |
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| Alex: So do you think that Red Medicine is a big improvement on the first one, which would be Repeater...is it Repeater? Joe: the first record was called Fugazi...and it was six songs, and then there was another EP after that called Margin Walker and that was seven songs. Either that or the other way around. Seven and Six, and then they were put together on another CD, it's called 13 songs...that's the first thing...I think things sound different, you know, 'better' is not a word I would use for just describing music. I mean uh, because it's all in taste. To me it's not necessarily better, and I don't...i'ts too weird being on the inside of the band, because the way songs are written, the way they play them live, and then the way they end up on record, are many different things (laughs)...Uh, how you hear them when you practice them and so on. So I think songs are well written, maybe one song, here or there, could have been done better or blah blah blah, but I never think of things as 'oh this is the better album and these are the albums that stink' or whatever, it's just...things are, I like to think that they're different, I like to think that they actually sound different. And to me, with us producing them, like now - Red Medicine and the next record... |
| Alex: Which is when...? Joe: Whenever, whenever (laughter). It's almost entirely done, there's some mixing and some vocals to put down, but...it's almsot finished, but I just don't know how it's going to go, because Brendand and his wife are going to have a baby in October, and uh, after that we won't do much touring. So it's really weird, we'll put out a record and then nothing will happen, you know, we won't go playing the songs. So there's no rush to get it out, and there's no uh...You know, at the same time I don't mind. If it feels finished, I think we should put it out. And it's almost, it's almost done. We just have this situation where we can record on our own, 8 track stuff. Like, the stuff off Red Medicine, in between songs, there was some incidental sort of music, like knocking around or whatever, and uh...that was on our 8 track reel to rell, our own recording equipment...So I hope that uh, we'll actually...I mean that's what I think it still exciting about the band, that we can hopefully end up recording music ourselves. Almost entirely ourselves, then take it into a bigger studio to actually mix or put vocals down or something. But I really like the idea of being able to work on our own songs, recording them and working on them. It's such a difference... Claire: Yeah, you get more input from yourself? Joe: Exactly. Claire: One day you might say this and the next day you might say "Oh I might like a bit of this..." Joe: Yeah, and we can you know, do rough mixes of it, and yeah...it's just so much more to play around with, so much more to grow with ideas. And mistakes, when you just mess around, a lot of things just get lefy by. But if we get in this mode of recording as we play, then I think you get so much more stuff to work with, more spontaneous stuff. And a lot of that stuff when we record like that sounds just fine the way it was and when you try to re-write it and rework it and remember how you played it, you actually forget everything, you forget the essence of whatever made it sound good. Claire: And I was gonna say, I don't know how rude this sounds or whatever, I don't know if it was the lighting, concentration, or heat, but I noticed a lot of eye closing (laughs) Joe: I don't know...for me, tonight, I must say there's a lot of concentration going on but, I, sometimes I do a lot of that anyway. Tonight though, there was some really weird...it's a very strange stage. The drums were very loud, and very clear. But everything else was kinda, I couldn't hear guitars sometimes. I heard the very last line the crowd was sining, part of 'suggestion', and I realise they must have been sinign the whole lot [but], I couldn't hear it all...which is really weird... Alex: Do you always stand back, near the drums? Joe: Yeah, I mean it's weird tonight because the drums were so loud. But normally, my bass cabinet and the drums, that's my monitor. Theses guys have monitors in front of them to hear their vocals, Brendan has this monitor over here, this huge vcabinet over here...But I just use, I stand close to my bass cabinet and close to the drums and I can hear, you know, because the guitars are usually loud enough and the vocals coming off their monitors back at us. That way I can hear everything. |
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| Alex: And you can keep out of the way of the uh.. Joe: And I stay out of Guy's way, I don't wanna get my eyes taken out or my nose knocked off or something (laughter). So yeah, I'm always back there... Alex: So when recording, who actually takes control? Like after you do a take and... Joe: Everybody critiques their performance... Alex: So everyone sits around the mixing desk and twiddles the knobs, do they? Or.. Joe: They can, yeah...I don't do a whole lot of it, it's a little intimidating to me, I don't uh, Guy has worked a lot with our own recording equipment, recording other |
| bands at his house, on our 8 track reel to reel. So he's had some experience with the board, we have a mixer [mixing desk], so he's really, he does a really great job in the studio. And uh, but everybody does sit down. Brendan will sit down and mess with his drums. And Ian will sit down and mess with his guitar and then those guys with their vocals, and... Claire: I was gonna say, like...I know it's like a lot of learning and you have to know the songs and everything, but do you reckon you have like sort of these subliminal messages...like I reckon... Joe: For playing you mean? For playing the songs? Claire: Yeah, during playing... Joe: Well there is, there is...there are things that happen that we have never spoken about.. Claire: Yeah, I mean you don't really speak or signal to each other, you all just know... Joe: That's the exciting thing with playing, and you know, it's also the...where you can make a lot of mistakes too. Coz if you can't hear, if just the acoustics of the room don't allow you to hear the nuance of everything that's happening, the you know, I'll miss...I'll miss where everything is leading. But if you can hear everyone. Then you all play off each other and listen to each other. Claire: I didn't notice any mistakes...was there any tonight? Joe: (laughs), Umm, not too bad. I think there was a few but...people don't usually notice them but I mean as far as that goes, when there's improvisation, if you can't hear very well, sometimes you're just out, floating in space and you're just kind of like '"where are you guys?" So... |
| Claire: Cool, well thanks for your time... Joe: Sure, my pleasure. - there's some stuff here about sending them a copy of the zine and interview, and the archive of Fugazi interviews filed away at Dischord house - Joe: (laughing)...if the band will ever end, then I can actually look back on it some day...(laughter) Alex: Can you see an ending point, or is it just going further and further every time? Joe: Well, like I said I think it's really, there's still a lot to do. There's still I think a lot of |
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| writing to do in this style of being able to record ourselves while we wrtei. And I'm really looking forward to that. and you know, and I think a whole sort of different phase of the band is like kind of opening up to us. So I really dig that, you know, for a while it was kind of like, "what are we doing?", you know, where we're kind of like going around in circles. You know you go out, and you play, and you come back and you try to write stuff so you can go out and play again. But I felt like with the last albums, and now like producing ourselves in the studio - with Don Zientara I must state. He is our engineer in the studio, at inner ear studios. And uh, you know, Don really encourages the band to just sit down at the board, and to, you know "Go ahead and turn the knobs and you can do this stuff". He's really, incredibly encouraging for that stuff, so...with that kind of thing, feeling like you know, like you're in power, in the studio, it really does open up a whole different thing up for the band, so...I think there's more left to do... Alex: There's more coming...beware... Joe: (laughs) Yeah... Claire: There's nothing more you wanna add, any closing comments? Joe: No, I wish I could tell you, you know, the new thing is, is finished and under way, to come out, but it's not yet. Claire: It probably will by the time I put the zine out (laughter) Um, you've done really well for someone who doesn't talk much... Joe: Thanks, thankyou very much for uh, checking us out, for listening... |
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