We lucked out big time and were able to talk to Stephen Malkmus on the phone for a few minutes about touring, traffic jams, car accidents and Speedy Ortiz. Malkmus is well knowns as the front man of the legendary Indie rock band Pavement and is currently touring with his band The Jicks. – Sami Martasian
AP: For starters how’s the tour going so far? How do you feel the band’s energy has been in these shows?
SM: Great. It’s been great. Its being tested right now in the van…we’re in a traffic jam and our bladders are…you know…
AP: Today is Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’s anniversary, how does your relationship with older songs from your days playing with previous projects (Pavement and the Silver Jews) change? The songs are still relevant to your listeners but are they relevant to you?
SM: Well when I’m not doing promotions or stuff it’s pretty much in the background. I did do some interviews about it. I mean it’s cool, right? That you have something that’s…20 years old and we’re still talking about it. That’s pretty cool. I mean how old are you?
AP: I’m actually 20.
SM: Well, so you were 0 when it came out so I can’t say anything, but you were conceived on a day in that year so I guess you did something that year too that people are still remembering. I was trying to put in perspective like if you were at least 31 you might be able to say something but you know. No one does anything special until they’re 11.
AP: True, 10 was a rough year, I didn’t get a lot done, I was just dickin’ around, really.
SM:(laughs) yeah well you were just surviving. The fact that you survived is a good thing, you know especially if you were back in the 19th century. I’ve been reading some of Edgar Allen Poe’s letters and all the letters are like “I hope to stay healthy” because life was so perilous then.
AP: If it was back then, Crooked Rain could have outlived most people.
SM: Yeah you’d be in the heart of your middle age.
AP: It would probably time for me to retire from this pudding gig, huh?
SM: (laughs) you probably should retire, I bet you don’t get paid enough.
AP: Do you feel pressure from Pavement fans to be making Pavement music? Or do you separate yourself from that mentality and try to move forward.
SM: Yeah I like that better. In my day to day, I don’t really identify with that, I identify with what I’m doing now. Then again it’s not an issue, I see it as all continuous, it’s just a name. Of course the people in the old band were important but when you’re writing tunes and stuff, it’s all sort of the same to me. I didn’t try to re-invent myself you know what I mean?
AP: Yeah it just happened, an organic thing.
SM: Yeah it’s just a continuation, I didn’t quit Pavement so I could do a Scott Walker thing, like because I wanted to be the chemical brothers. I wasn’t changing for an artistic reason. Bands just break up, you know back in the punk days it was considered uncool for bands to stick around for more than record, you’d be sorta a sell you. That was what was kinda fresh about it. I was just being kinda punk by ending Pavement.
AP: (laughing) that’s fair.
SM: you know me, the original punk rocker.
AP: Of course we’re excited to see Speedy Ortiz playing a handful of shows with you, what influenced the decision to work with them?
SM: I just decided to check them out and talk to them and see what’s going on. I haven’t had a chance to see them live. They’re from like Western Mass or something, right? The land of fury? I’m looking forward to going there and playing with Speedy. I hope they don’t blow us off stage! (laughs)
AP: I mean they’re pretty great live, We’ll see…
SM: (laughs) you know it’s happened before, when I was in pavement we played with the White Stripes and they were really on it. They didn’t have much of a problem blowing us away. They were like one of those animated things with full cheeks where the wind just blows out of them. I’m not really that competitive I’m just joking, but I mean that did happen with pavement.
AP: You’ve spoken a little bit in previous interviews about how the Jicks have written songs while on tour while you were living in berlin- do you think that process has effected the way the songs came together?
SM: I dunno I mean I always kind of did it that way. Like when we were talking about Crooked Rain, even then I was kind of just living out of a suitcase, introducing stuff to the players up until the last moment when we were gonna do it. Being in the same place wasn’t necessary I guess. If you have a vision in your head and you can hear what stuff is supposed to sound like, and you have good backup from a band and stuff. I guess it didn’t really influence it in a unique way is what I’m trying to say.
AP: What were you listening to around the time that you were writing Wig Out at Jagbags, do you feel that the sound was influenced by any records or artists in particular?
SM: Yeah I mean that’s so…I think a wide spectrum of things. The drummer, he DJs and he plays soft rock like steely dan kind of stuff, his tastes are wide, I think it’s not so much what you listen to, it’s what you’re open to and what you see as being worth being influenced by in your mind. That’s something I’ve recently opened up to.
AP: So you mean influence can come from things outside of music too?
SM: Yeah! And like at some points in my life I’ve been only into specific obscure things, like if it’s popular there’s something wrong with it almost, and that’s where I had tried to draw influence from. Forgotten and things that weren’t very well liked. I liked to take things like that and re-use and re-purpose it for our times. But now there’s a lot of even 70s pop radio stuff mixed into it. Hipster blog stuff.
AP: Thanks so much for talking to us, I know you have a lot going on, I hope you get out of this traffic jam soon.
SM: Yeah…I was supposed to be there already…talking in a warm room. But we hit traffic. Maybe there’s a car wreck. Have you ever been in one of those?
AP: Yeah dude, I totaled my car once.
SM: Oh man, sorry about that…
AP: It’s okay, I’m fine!
SM: I’m really glad you’re alright! Did you…make a mistake driving or was it the other guy?
AP: I dunno its my instinct to blame it on the other guy but no one really likes to take the blame for that stuff.
SM: There’s no blame in something like that. Again, we’re just glad you’re alright! Did you get knocked out? Do you remember it?
AP: I don’t really remember. It was kind of funny because I was on my way to a tattoo appointment and I was babysitting after, and I showed up late and was like “hey whats up sorry I’m late I got in a car accident on my way to get this sick tattoo I’m here to watch your kid now”
Then Stephen started laughing a lot and then Ian from Matador records Chimed in to tell us the time was up and we ended there which in retrospect was a pretty weird place to leave off.
You can see Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks rockin’ the hell out of The Paradise Rock Club on Febuary 25th, and their new album Wig Out At Jagbags is available now.