Interview
I had the amazing opportunity to interview the Pie-guy himself, Steve Jackson, the singer for the Pietasters, one of my all-time favorite bands in the world. Unfortunately, I had some trouble with my tape recorder during the recording (it doesn’t work too well on a long distance phone call from DC), so a few things in the beginning got cut off a bit. Oh well, at least you’re not missing out on too much. Interview (and interview editing) by Alissa.
Bass Ackwards: So, I guess I have to do the boring, background stuff first, just to get that out of the way…so, how long have you been together?
Steve Jackson: It’ll be technically like seven years I believe on Halloween night this year, but that’s from the very first time we ever played. You know, there was a lot of growing pains in between those seven years, so…. We’ve been on the road since ’92 I think pretty steadily. Um, you know we’ve been around for a while though, had a chance to make lots of friends.
BA: Next one: where’d you pick up the name, The Pietasters?
SJ: Um, there were these English fellas that we used to hang out with and where they were from in England, a Pietaster meant a big fat guy, and we were kind of big fat men at the time…and that’s where we got the name!
BA: All the touring really burns off the fat though.
SJ: Yeah, exactly. We managed to lose quite a bit of weight.
BA: So who are your influenzas? Um, no, influences.
SJ: Our influenzas? I just got over the flu. You know, there are like twelve people in the band so…there are seven people technically that are playing, but there are so many people just hanging around that it’s hard to nail down any one of them but (tape cuts off, but I can remember that there’s a lot of Motown like Marvin Gaye and the Temptations, and a lot of punk), and of course the Clash is the best band in the world…
BA: Oh yeah.
SJ: Oh you know, Operation Ivy, the Bosstones, the Toasters…just pretty much anybody that anybody listens to we….
(tape stops, but I actually realize it…fuddling around, lots of swearin, the long distance minutes rack up (sorry Steve)…)
BA: Okay. Now I’ve got fun questions….okay, since I have "Strapped Live" and I’ve been listening to that…
SJ: You’re not offended, being a woman?
BA: Mmm, not too much, I’ve heard people, you know, kinda cutting down on it, but hey, it’s not easy to offend me.
SJ: Yeah, we’re just a bunch of stupid guys, what are you gonna do? And a lot of that actually is just because the talking in the beginning of the songs and stuff, we just had to use some of the stuff. Personally, I don’t know if I even would’ve put it all on there, but seeing all the people that got all up in arms, I’m glad that we put it on. I’m amazed that so many people can get so worked up over a fuckin record.
BA: Oh, so my question based on that was, are blowjobs on 13th really eight dollars, or has the price increased due to inflation?
SJ: Um, well, the police have really cut down on the prostitution of DC. In fact, if you get picked up trying to pick up a girl, they’ll impound your car. So what the girls do now is they drive their own cars and then stand on the sidewalk. So when you see somebody you like, you pull up, park your car, and get in their car and go off with them. Not that I know this from personal experience, being a married man and all, but I don’t know. I think you can still get a cheap blowjob if you look really hard. Quality over quantity I guess, or something like that. When you’re paying for sex, you take what you can get.
BA: Does that include sales tax then?
SJ:> Right, I don’t think they charge sales tax on that. They probably take credit cards though.
BA: What do you think about ska becoming part of the mainstream, or in other words, would you ever play the MTV Beach House?
SJ: The Beach House? Man, I don’t know, I don’t think I’d want to play the Beach House. But who knows what’ll happen? It’s kind of a no-win situation, because if ska hadn’t become more popular, then there are a lot of bands out there that wouldn’t be able to play, and there wouldn’t be bands putting out new records as much. And at the same time, a lot of people complain because they go to shows and there’s two thousand people there, when there used to be 150 really good friends. Now there are a bunch of guys punching people, and not dancing correctly and stuff like that, so…
BA: So do you actually have groupies?
SJ: Groupies? Naaah. I don’t know. I think Toby, our trumpet player, does.
BA: Oh, so he’s kinda the band’s sex factor.
SJ: I don’t think he even uses it to his full advantage, cause he’s just a nice, quiet, shy little guy. But all the girls seem to dig him, so…I think we’re usually too busy being drunk and stupid to get groupies. We have lots of friends in every city, but that’s kind of a unisex thing. I think groupies, you tend to think you’re gonna end up sleeping with ‘em, or they’re tearing clothes off of you and stuff like that. We just kind of have friends. Although we’d like to have groupies.
BA: Ooo, can I be a groupie?
SJ: Awlright!!
BA: So what’s the biggest perk in being a super rock star?
SJ: Getting to date Gwen Stephani, I guess. Well, I got to quit my day job, which was kinda cool, but the down side of that is now I don’t have any money to pay rent. But at least you get to kinda pretend like you’re important and get free beer and stuff. I think the free beer has pretty much not has lost its luster after six years. That was one of the main reasons we started playing in the first place. We still get a warm feeling in our heart whenever the guy brings in a case of whatever’s cheap that night. That’s probably the only perk. Because maybe if we make a billion dollars and buy an island, then there would be a different perk. But right now that’s the biggest perk. And not having to go to work every morning.
A: Boxers or briefs?
SJ: Boxers or briefs? I think boxers all around in the van. Except Toby wears a thong.
BA: I’ve heard they’re really comfortable.
SJ: I can imagine. Yeah, the Pietasters need a lot of room to breathe, so we all wear boxers.
BA: If my head were made of veal, how much do you think it would cost?
SJ: Daaaaamn. Is it milk fed? That shit would be expensive man! I’m assuming that you’re kind of normal sized…How much do you think a head weighs? How much does a head weigh? Like ten pounds?
BA: Eight pounds, I’d say.
SJ: (aside) Fifteen pounds? How much would that cost if it was veal? Like three bucks a pound? Man you’re talking like fifty bucks worth of meat there.
BA: Sorry, I won’t sell.
SJ: Come ooon! I make a wonderful veal. In fact I’m cooking dinner right now. I could just toss your head in a pan and fry it up.
There's actually a whole lot more of the interview, but to see the whole thing, you'll have to get your own copy of Bass Ackwards #3. Bwahaha!!
Go back to Bass Ackwards #3
