KUCI interview with Tony Maxwell - September 1995
| Radio interview with Tony Maxwell | |
|---|---|
| Publication | KUCI |
| Published | September 1995 |
| Interviewer | Stevie Center |
| Interviewee | Tony Maxwell |
| Format | Radio |
| External link | Transcription archived via Internet Archive |
| References | See where this article is referenced on Weezerpedia |
|
that dog. Under the blazing September sun, That Dog played a short but sweet live set in front of a row of blooming sunflowers at The Lab. Rows of happy fans settled down on the asphalt to take in the show and await the arrival of the police, while assorted KUCI DJ's milled about, handing out program guides and trying to keep the KUCI banner on the wall. The banner eventually fell down, but the cops never arrived. The following is excerpted from Stevie Center's phone interview with Tony Maxwell, That Dog's drummer, which aired the day before. Stevie Center: I'm here with Tony from That Dog. Let's start off with the basic stuff. How's the tour? Tony: Wow, the tour ... well, we just did a month tour, and we've had a couple weeks off. Now we're about to go out for almost two months. We're leaving in a couple days. Stevie Center: Are you going to be headlining? Tony: Yeah, we re excited. It's sort of our first little headlining tour. We're going to be going up the West Coast and over through the Midwest and over East. Then we fly to Europe. Stevie Center: Now, do you know who you re going to have touring with you at all? Tony: For our headlining stuff, I think we re going to be playing with local bands. Then in Europe, we re actually opening for the Foo Fighters, which should be pretty interesting. And we re playing crazy places all over Sweden, and stuff, places that I've never been, none of us have ever been. So we're pretty excited about that. Stevie Center: We were talking before, before we actually started the interview, about Disneyland, and I'd like to bring that up. Tony: Yeah, Disneyland. Well, you know, I haven't had a lot of experience in Orange County, so we were kinda talking about that. Disneyland is definitely one of my links to Orange County. And uh ... I confessed that I had been thrown in SecurityLand a couple of times. Stevie Center: SecurityLand ... I'm jealous! Tony: You know what? I highly recommend it. But I think, maybe, it wouldn't be as impressive at this age. It would be kind of depressing. Stevie Center: Apparently, we now have proof that there are crying Mickeys on the wall ... Tony: I wouldn't say crying, I would say ... Stevie Center: Just depressed? Tony: Sort of disappointed. Stevie Center: Big-bottom-lip Mickey, basically? Tony: Yeah. Stevie Center: Wow, I need to get busted one of these days at Disneyland. Tony: Just go and get a hat made and then walk away without paying, and those security guys will be creeping out through manholes before you know it. Stevie Center: They'll take care of you really quick. Like those large animals that are walking around the park, the big Mickeys ... those are actually security guards. Tony: Yeah, they pull out Uzis ... they press you against the benches and get your arms behind your back and stuff ... Then they sit on you. But ask me deep, close, personal questions about the girls in my band, because they re not here to defend themselves, and I can say whatever I want. Stevie Center: I don't really have any deep, close, personal questions about them. You can make stuff up if you want ... Tony: Oh, that wouldn't be nice. Stevie Center: I suppose not ... we have one question that you could attempt to answer since Rachel and Petra aren't here. Uh, we were wondering if Rachel and Petra can read each others minds? Tony: Absolutely. Without question. It kind of upsets Anna and myself, because they can carry on whole conversations. We have no idea what's going on, and they're not even speaking. Stevie Center: Oh my ... Tony: I think if they were, like, locked in a room together for a year they could really hone it, but right now they have to rely on hand gestures and cryptic sign language to punctuate what s going on in their minds. But still, hey man, it's more than I can do. Stevie Center: I noticed that the new album is a lot heavier ... louder, rockier ... what would you say brought about the harder sound? Tony: Basically, touring. When we did our first record, we were quite a young, new band, and we played a lot, just around in Los Angeles. But we hadn't really hit the road, so to speak. And then, after we made that record, we went out on the road for awhile, and it just ... it just changed us a lot, as a band. After you play night after night you just start playing harder. It's more fun to play a little bit harder and really let it out. At least, it was for us. And we got a little more confident on our instruments. Y'know, Anna could barely play the guitar when we first started. And she started getting more comfortable. I think that definitely accounts for a lot of that sonic change. Stevie Center: Another question I had about music. There's that silly part at the end of the last song, Rockstar (on Totally Crushed Out!) ... the techno part. Where did that come from? Tony: You know, in a way it came from ... I've been listening to a lot of techno the last couple years, cause, being in a rock band, you can imagine I have my fill of rock. We all talk a lot about fantasy projects, and one of those fantasy projects is sort of a techno That Dog record where we could use the girls harmonies and voices and put them over these crazy soundscapes that we could create. And "Rockstar" was just kind of our experiment. Stevie Center: I have to admit, it just caught me off guard and put a big smile on my face the first time I heard it. Tony: I'm glad. That's the intent. Stevie Center: Well, it worked. One more question ... violin in a rock band. How on earth did you come up with this idea? Tony: Well, you know, we're at the stage now where we actually come up with ideas and try to play around with them. But when we first started it was so not-self-conscious, everything just kind of happened, and it was not premeditated. So the only reason there's violin in the band is because Petra happened to walk by the room where Anna and Rachel were trying to put some songs together. And she was kind of jealous, and said oh, let me play something. I use to play violin. How about I play the violin? And they said OK. And it just kinda fell into place that way. So it was a weird sort of organic thing that, to us, seems so natural just because it's always been there, but when I step back, I realize that it is a little bit odd. Stevie Center: Cool. I saw you guys play about a month and a half ago, when you opened for Teenage Fan Club, and thought it was a great show. Tony: Oh, thanks ... so you saw the big rock show ... Stevie Center: The big rock show ... I wanted to know if you left before Weezer played like we did? Tony: (laughs) Actually, it was sort of our homecoming, since we'd been out on the road for a month. So, while Weezer played, we were in the back, kind of talking to as many friends we could sneak back stage, just running around this huge backstage at Universal. Stevie Center: I was happy I made it there before you guys started. I'm going to ask one last question, before I let you go. What is the most embarrassing record you own? Tony: The most embarrassing record I own? That I personally own? Stevie Center: Yeah, scour your mind, here ... Tony: I don t know. What is embarrassing anymore? I could say, like, a Cat Stevens record or something, even though i think it's great ... Stevie Center: So you have a disco-free record collection? Tony: No, no ... I've got some good disco, actually. Brothers Johnson ... Stevie Center: See, now, Brothers Johnson are cool ... Tony: I've got a pretty big collection ... so, I must have a lot of embarrassing records. Stevie Center: Well, Tony, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to give us a call. Tony: Oh, your welcome! It's my pleasure ... Stevie Center: And I want to remind everyone that That Dog is playing tomorrow at The Lab in Costa Mesa at four o'clock, I believe? Tony: Four o'clock sharp. For about a half hour ... unless we can convince the authorities to let us play longer. Stevie Center: Well, I hope they do, because I really enjoy your live show . And I want to encourage everyone to come out and catch it. Thanks for calling and we'll see you tomorrow ... Tony: Take it easy ... Interview by Stevie Center of the KUCI Top 30 show, which airs Sundays from 700 PM - 900 PM. Introduction and photo by Jeanie-aka- Barb of The Barb n Melissa Show, which airs Wednesdays from 1000 PM - 1200 AM. |