(TV) small TV Eye interview

[stephen wilson <schlepworld@yahoo.com>]

Another (sort-of-boring) Verlaine interview, this one from a Toronto alt-paper, the Eye (www.eye.net). More recording, hooray!     WHY SO LONG IN BETWEEN RELEASES?   Oh, I guess I fell into a dream of sorts.   WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR ALL OF THOSE YEARS? I'VE READ THAT YOU'VE BEEN WRITING MUSIC, WRITING FOR MAGAZINES UNDER A PSEUDONYM AND PLAYING SOME GUITAR FOR PATTI SMITH. BUT WHAT ELSE FILLED YOUR DAYS FOR THAT LONG, IF NOT MUSIC?   Yeah, well, sometimes you work privately and sometimes publicly.   THE VOCALS ON SONGS AND OTHER THINGS SOUND REALLY CLOSE, INTIMATE, WITH NO APPARENT REVERB OR EFFECTS. WAS THAT BECAUSE OF THE CASUAL NATURE OF THE RECORDING PROCESS THIS TIME? OR WERE YOU TRYING TO SET A CERTAIN MOOD?   I just sing 'em and then when they get mixed they like some reverb, just like Sammy Davis Jr. records. And... in fact... everybody else's records, almost!   THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF VARIED GUITAR TEXTURES ON BOTH ALBUMS, INCLUDING SOME PRETTY HEAVYWEIGHT
 EFFECTS. HOW BIG A PART OF YOUR GUITAR STYLE IS FINDING THE RIGHT TONE(S) FOR EACH SONG?   Yeah, you gotta get the tones right for each tune, and it isn't real time-consuming, usually. But it is sometimes tricky to find the proper distortion sound when distortion is what you need.   ON MOST OF THESE SONGS, THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE INTERLOCKING GUITARS. DO YOU USUALLY HEAR ALL OF THESE PARTS IN YOUR HEAD BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN, OR DO YOU PLAY ALONG WITH A FIRST PART TO DEVELOP THE OTHER ONES?   Usually, you record one guitar and bass and drums, but sometimes it's just me and the drummer. Then I try to fix the mistakes. Then add a guitar or two. Often you've got those parts in mind before recording, but sometimes it's fun to just improvise.   YOU'VE MENTIONED IN RECENT INTERVIEWS THAT YOU'RE ENJOYING THE SOUND OF OLD AMPS NOW, LIKE 1940S PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS. IS THERE A PARTICULAR QUALITY THAT YOU ENJOY BY USING THEM?   eBay is a real blessing for the old amp thing, although
 most of the amps used were got pre-eBay. There are many models... most of 'em with better parts than the new stuff, although you usually have to have an amp guy look 'em over a bit.   TELEVISION WERE NEVER REALLY A "PUNK" BAND, YET THEY WERE ALWAYS LUMPED IN AS SUCH WITH THE OTHER CBGB BANDS. HAS THAT LABEL DONE YOU MORE HARM OR GOOD OVER THE YEARS?   Very few people pay any attention to the generic labelling, really.   WORD IS, YOU WANT TO BE BACK IN THE STUDIO BY SUMMER. ANY IDEAS WHAT'LL TRANSPIRE? ANY WORKS-IN-PROGRESS?   Not sure. I will start in August, but there's a lot of new ideas and things, and Television has about six new songs. Not sure yet what will get recorded. HOWARD DRUCKMAN    TOM VERLAINE WILL BE INTERVIEWED BY ROB BOWMAN JUNE 9, 2PM, IN REGENCY ROOMS B & C AT THE HOLIDAY INN (370 KING W). TELEVISION PLAYS THE PHOENIX (410 SHERBOURNE) JUNE 9, 7PM. $39.50 FROM TICKETMASTER, ROTATE THIS, THE PHOENIX. BOTH PART OF NXNE.

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