Category Archives: Issue 6

Drunk / Spring 1999

drunk

In the late 90s, I started getting promo CDs from the Indiana-based labels Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar. This ended up pointing me in the direction of a lot of the music that I’m still fond of. Somewhere along the way, I saw the band Drunk play a set full of heart-rending, musically rich songs; I was intrigued, and ended up talking with the group for the zine. I’m pretty sure that this was after a show at either Mercury Lounge or Bowery Ballroom; I’m also pretty sure that I also did a feature on them for NYU’s newspaper.

Also? Really good use of an accordion, if I remember correctly.

This was one of the last interviews I did when I was still in college; it was a weird time, and I think some of the questions I asked the group ended up mirroring that. (Looking back on this now, it’s a lot more bittersweet, given the repeated mentions of Songs:Ohia.) Amusingly, note the question to Rick Alverson about his experience studying film–he’s gone on to direct several acclaimed films, most recently The Comedy.

This interview appeared in Eventide‘s sixth issue.

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J. Robbins / Summer 1999

burning-airlines

Getting to talk with J. Robbins was a huge thrill for me: I’d been a big fan of his work as the singer and guitarist in Jawbox, who emerged from the Washington, DC punk scene and combined a solid knowledge of the loud/quiet/loud dynamic with a stealth talent for beautiful musical moments. Around the time of this interview, Robbins’s post-Jawbox band Burning Airlines had just released their first album, Mission: Control!

I was excited to talk with Robbins both in terms of his work as a musician and because of his work as a recording engineer and producer; the interview focused on each. These days, he’s making music solo and with Office of Future Plans, who are making some of my favorite music from any of Robbins’s projects. (I interviewed Robbins about OFP in 2012.) And he’s still recording tremendous albums.

This interview was done over the phone in the summer of 1999, and appeared in Eventide‘s sixth issue.

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