SXSW is coming...

...and I'm working on interviewing both Steve Wynn and Bob Mould as part of the Austin Chronicle's fest preview coverage.

Their respective focuses right now are the Dream Syndicate and the reissue of Workbook. Anything y'all think I should be asking?

No baseball questions for Wynn, please. I'm not a sports fan at all.

So, you don't want to ask him about Pollard's no hitter?

Ask Wynn if he keeps up with Dr. Karl Precoda.

I do want to talk to him about his taste in guitarists - Precoda, Paul B. Cutler and Jason Victor all seem cut from the same cloth. Though the most recent interview I read indicated that he and Precoda don't have any contact.

Wynn tells me that he and Precoda haven't spoken to each other in 20 years. Paraphrasing, they had an intense and productive relationship at a time when they were young and both, to quote Steve, "powder kegs," and they simply haven't had any kind of relationship since Precoda quit.

Wynn and Paul B. Cutler are still close, though. Cutler has no interest in doing a DS reunion and rarely even plays electric guitar anymore.

Tell Wynn to bring the DS to Sydney.

He's probably sick of Kendra Smith questions...but I'm not! haha

Does he have a new album in the works? With the Miracle 3? It's been awhile since Northern Aggression.

He's aware of that, and says he'll definitely do more Miracle 3 stuff "down the line," but right now he's concentrating on Dream Syndicate. Though the shows he'll be doing during SXSW with be Miracle 3 (and Baseball Project and Minus 5) shows.

Seeing that Wynn is invited to the TP anniversary party, you can ask him if he can bring Mould along.

Wouldn't there be a performers rights kinda payment for Norton?

Would like to know what Mould thought about The Replacements "reunion" - I think he was on at least one of those bills.

Did he listen to Grant Hart's rather good, very ambitious, The Argument?

Still no plans to re-master, re-release the Husker Du catalog?

These questions above are why if I ever interview Bob Mould he may strike me in the face and yet I cowardly am hiding behind you Michael for these burning questions!



Post Edited (02-10-14 17:16)

I suspect asking Mould about Hart's solo work ain't a good idea.

I'll probably keep the line of question to Workbook, since that's the reissue he's celebrating, but I too would like to know about Husker Du catalog plans. Last I heard the problem was getting the three ex-amigos to present a unified front to SST to get the rights back.

I didn't ask him about Grant's record.

I did ask him what he thought about the 'Mats reunion, which he saw at Riot Fest in Chicago. He thought they were great - he said he had good expectations and they exceeded them.

I also asked him about reissues of the Husker catalog. He said the bandmembers are in communication through intermediaries, and he feels they have a common goal overall and that things are starting to "edge forward." He says don't expect anything this year, but he's cautiously optimistic about it eventually happening.

Thanks Michael - How does Bob come across in person in such settings - when I see him in interviews he can sometimes come off as overbearingly self-serious but sometimes affable.

Glad to hear on the reissues - hopefully they will du (ahem) them with the the detail they deserve.

This was on the phone, rather than in person, so it may be different. But he was very friendly and cheerful - laughed easily, and heartily, was very forthcoming, took every question seriously and answered appropriately, but made jokes as well.

Of course, it may have helped that we'd talked before, when I interviewed him on camera for his ACL episode. I don't know for sure if he actually remembered me, but he certainly sounded relaxed in a familiar way.

> Last I heard the problem was getting the three ex-amigos to present a unified front to SST
> to get the rights back.

Judging from the perspectives presented in Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life and Mould's own memoir, that impasse doesn't look easy to resolve. They're probably too far apart on how they'd share the revenues. Norton wouldn't consider his share worth coming to the table for; he'd want an up-front promise of some big concessions from the band's two songwriters. And Hart probably wouldn't support any plan in which Mould's share of the revenues would be bigger than his.

An equal three-way split would be the simplest way going forward, but Mould probably would view that as a big share of the potential gain being taken out of his pocket to enrich the other two.

Yes, but he'd get a much smaller share of the songwriting royalties on the SST catalogue. And no producer's royalty on Hüsker Dü's biggest seller for that label, Flip Your Wig. So, without some concessions from his two former bandmates, Norton's slice of the pie would be pretty slim.

from acorns to oaks. SxSW has steadily grown to be the most reliable showcase for the fertlite breeding grounds of new music (next to brooklyn that is) in the country,

i'm streaming the 2013 show from last year right now. it is, from top to bottom excellent.

its not going to be easy for this years crop of bands to better. but i have faith.

thanks mt

SXSW has grown into such an overwhelming beast that it's difficult to get perspective. Last year was a massive pain in the ass logistically, putting a sour taste in the mouth of many of us, and I talked to veteran SXSW attendees - label owners, writers, publicists, etc. - who said it was their last because the hassles were outweighing the benefits. I knew where they were coming from, and I lived (at the time) about 10 minutes away from the action. When dealing with bad parking, worse public transportation, no record of one's credentials appearing in the SXSW computers, difficulty seeing shows even if you're a badge-holder, near-impossibility of seeing a lot of shows with a wristband, shitty sound in clubs that suddenly become music venues a month before SXSW and kick it to the curb the moment the festival is over, acts that decide to go home before their highly anticipated showcases etc., it can be hard to remember the music itself.

That said, I saw more great - and I mean great - shows last year, by both veterans and new bands, than I'd seen at the festival in years. So ultimately, for me, at least, it was worth it. The amount of killer artists seems to have increased, and they work hard and sometimes give the shows of their lives. So ultimately, for me, it was worth it.

But then, I don't live in New York, L.A. or Chicago and a lot of these bands don't come to Texas, let alone Austin, unless it's SXSW. For a lot of music industry veterans, they're not seeing anybody they can't see come through their big cities. And for fans who live in those cities, it's certainly not worth the trip, let alone the ever-growing list of hassles. But for those of us who are never going to get a chance to see the Saints or the Hoodoo Gurus or whoever any other way, it's worth it.

from the horses mouth!