David J and Zia McCabe interview [Listen 21:15] – Getting the Magic with David J S03 Ep03 (Part 2 of 2)

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S03 Ep03 (Part2 of 2)- Getting the Magic with David J

Interview Date: September 12, 2012 @5pm EDT

Halloween Special Guests: (Audio)  David J (of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets): is an indie legend and a Goth Rock icon. David John Haskins (aka David J) was a key member in the band Bauhaus, as well as the band Love and Rockets, and now is forging a solid solo career.  He is someone I can easily say is a person who formed the soundtrack of my high school years with classic songs like: "No New Tale to Tell," "Ball of Confusion," "Ziggy Stardust," "So Alive," and "Bela Lugosi's Dead.” At that time I knew him as the sunglass and suit wearing bass player who had a fantastic Dub quality; as the years have gone on, my respect for him and his musical legacy has only grown. In this podcast we go into David J’s past and talk about 4AD, Bauhaus, the song Bela Lagosi’s Dead, Double Dare, the Goth Movement, Love and Rockets and much more.  http://www.davidjonline.com

Halloween Special Guest: (Written) Zia McCabe of the Dandy Warhols: is the keyboard player, percussionist, song writer and bass guitarist, for the Dandy Warhols. In this half of the written interview I ask her what (if any) feminist issues she feels strongly about, major labels, her thought on the vinyl music industry and the latest Dandy Warhols album This Machine.

Zia McCabe of the Dandy Warhols Interview  -  'This Interview Kills' (Part 2 of 2)

GTV - Would you care to discuss some feminist issues that you feel strongly about?

Zia McCabe - Uh, like what? I’m not sure exactly what feminist issue is. The right to decide what happened to our body ie abortion. Of course I’m pro choice, just like I would never tell a guy he couldn’t get a vasectomy. What else? If you want to do what “men” do, do it. If you want to be stay at home mom, do that! The problem is, both those things should be valued and respected equally and there lies our problem. Now who suffers from this the most? The children; because no one (male or female) is home to raise the children. Everyone is out being a man.

GTV - With the industry changing as much as it has and with it the whole paradigm shift, who gains from a band making it big these days?

Zia McCabe - I don’t really understand. If the music is good, everyone gains. If it sucks then just the band and label and industry in general gains. The radio stations have something to play between their commercials.

GTV - Where is the money in the music industry today?

Zia McCabe - Licensing.

GTV - What’s you take on Vinyl records and the independent Record Store?

Zia McCabe - I love vinyl, I DJ vinyl whenever I can. I love touching it and looking for odd out of print records and playing them in my living room and out at gigs. The rise in popularity in vinyl is saving the indie record store. They should prolly jump on this whole cassette mini movement too, or is that just in Portland?

GTV -  “This Machine” came out earlier this year and is, in my opinion, one of your strongest albums yet. Are you, yourself, as a musician searching for more? What would you say accounts for the band's growth?

Zia - Thank you and yes, I am always looking to learn and well, most searching is from within but I’m always looking to learn about new ways to express myself. I believe everyone in my band works this way and if one or more of us grows stagnant for a period there seems to always be one of us that has gained new insight and enthusiasm that can keep the ball rolling.

GTV - Where did the title “This Machine” come from?

Zia - Arlo Guthrie had a sticker on his guitar that said, “This Machine Kills Fascists” then later Donovan had a sticker on his guitar that said “This Machine Kills” . Courtney was telling me about this when we were shooting the video for Smoke It and my replay was that he should have a sticker on his guitar that said “This Machine”. The guitar has been laying around the studio ever since and at some point Courtney realized it was a fitting name for this album.

GTV - Is this a political record?

Zia - No I wouldn’t say that. Alternative Power To The People is the closest thing to political on there and it’s (well the video more than the song) just about power and alternatives and how we don’t have much say most the time.

GTV - Nice artwork on the cover; how does it relate to the album?

Zia - Uh, cool local artist painting something very North West USA which is where we’re all from.

GTV - “Sad Vacation” is a great song, do you have a penchant for heavy pop?

Zia - Oh jeeze, I don’t know what I have a “penchant” for but no, I don’t think heavy pop would be it. More likely, vintage country and anything old like old Hawaiian with all that pretty pedal steel and stuff like that.

GTV - I think Courtney was just experimenting with different singing styles in the his lower register, not sure if he was actually going for Iggy Pop, that’s where he ended up though huh? I dig it!

Zia - “Don’t shoot she cried” is a great atmospheric song with ethereal choral undertones to it; it was written by yourself and Brent Deboer.

GTV - What is that song about and how did it come together?

Zia - I came into the studio and Brent already had this pretty music and I knew right away that I had words for it so I ran out to my truck with a copy of the demo and practiced for a minute and came back in a few minutes later to track it. It’s about my sister getting held up at gun point in her home when she was a young mother. Two masked men came to rob her and took the little cash she had that was meant for rent. It’s not in the song but in real life one of the guys felt bad that she was just a poor young mom and gave a little of the money back to her on the way out the door when his partner wasn’t looking. She must have been terrified.

GTV - This is a song that you contributed to the album; is this an indication of a shift in song-writing responsibilities?

Zia - Like I said, we are all experimenting with new ways to express ourselves. ; )

GTV - What song off the new album gets the biggest response live?

Zia - I’m not sure, maybe Sad Vacation.

GTV - A lot of the “classic” bands like the Rolling Stones, the Searchers and the Kinks are hitting their 50th Anniversary. What milestones would you like to achieve?

Zia - Well our 20th Anniversary is just around the corner, that seems like a pretty big deal to me.

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