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Fakejazz: Now that you've toured most of the country in support of the new album, did you see any big changes in the reception, promotion, crowd size, sales, etc due to Sub Pop?
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Chris: People seemed to know the material from the new album more than on past tours. And audiences seemed more excited about the shows than before. The crowds get a little bigger with each tour but it is a pretty slow progression. Having the record available in most places has been great.
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Fakejazz: How do your tours generally go? Any plans to make it to Europe (or have you gone already, and I just forgot...)?
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Chris: We're working on Europe right now. Scheduling is always a problem for us because we're not making much money and we all need to keep some kind of day job. I really like touring though and wish we could do it more often. The tours are always fun but a lot of work. We don't normally schedule any days off and we try to fit as many radio shows, etc in as we can.
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Fakejazz: Lucy, do you still teach school? Did the booking agent turn out to be better than when you would book your own tours?
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Lucy: Yeah, I still teach school. First grade right now and then next year
Kindergarten. I feel really lucky because everyone at school, the principal, other teachers, and the families have been really supportive of the fact that playing in this band is so important to me. I've had to take a couple of weeks off a couple of times this year for touring, had a half-time job share last year, and occasionally come in with only 4 hours of sleep.
Having a booking agent has been great; we were paid at every show! We still had dud shows in towns we knew we'd have dud shows in but we also had great shows in towns we hadn't been to before. As you know, booking your own tour is a lot of work and you always hope the club is expecting you as you drive 400 miles into town. It was nice not to worry about that, but of course, we found other things to worry about.
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Fakejazz: I know you had offers to release the new album on other labels, but what was appealing about Sub Pop?
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Chris: Our last record, Be Gentle with the Warm Turtle, was a one-man label operation and there is only so much one person can do. Sub Pop was appealing because they have a whole group of people that work their records. We also knew some of the people at Sub Pop and got along with them well.
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Fakejazz: What has the reception been like for the new album?
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Chris: It got mentioned in Playboy.
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Fakejazz: We know you have the Mainliner / Acid Mothers friendship already, but now you're going back to Japan, this time with Mono. Any connection between the two, or is Kinski just huge in the Japanese psychedelic scene?
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Chris: No connection between the two. It's basically a different generation. They're all aware of each other but they move in different circles. We played a show with Mono in Seattle and they liked our stuff (and we like what they do too) and they offered to set up a tour in Japan. Taka in Mono is releasing Airs Above Your Station on his own label, Human Highway, in Japan.
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Fakejazz: What effect have Acid Mothers had on Kinski?
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Matthew: They brought us to Japan which was extraordinary, shared their homes, their time, their Shochu. Their performances have truly inspired me. I find myself singing La Novia and wishing I was a troubador.
Chris: I think they've had a big effect on us. Seeing how they go for it night after night is inspiring. Also, Kawabata's work ethic is unbelievable. It's amazing to see how much music he puts out, how good it is, and how much work it must be to release so many records and tour the world consistently.
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Fakejazz: Why did Dave leave the band? It was between recordings, right?
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Chris: We had toured for a couple months and in between the US and Japan tours we started work on our next record. Dave layed down his drums tracks and then quit the band right after we got back from Japan. There had been some personal problems for the last year and the fact that we were all together constantly for two months didn't help matters. We were about to have a meeting to reach some kind of decision on what we were going to do about everything and, right before we met, Dave quit. I think it's all for the best for everybody because if we would have continued on with the original line up I think the whole thing would have imploded. We're happy now and Dave is involved in a couple new projects that sound pretty promising.
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Fakejazz: How has it been incorporating a new member after you've already established a "sound" and fan base?
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Chris: It was hard as fuck to lose a member. After Dave quit, we were in the studio finishing the record as a three piece. We didn't have a label and we didn't have any outside money to pay for the recording. While we were in the studio, Sub Pop called to see if we were interested in working with them. At that point, we weren't even a band that could play a live show. And we didn't know how they would react to that. I was really stressed out. Sub Pop didn't seem to care at all though that we didn't have a drummer.
Matthew: It's hard replacing a band member, but the transition with Barrett went smoothly. We were able to devote time to his "breaking in" period although he was thrown very quickly into some big shows. I think what's always challenging is dealing with band dynamics (interpersonal as well as musical) and losing someone and bringing in someone new throws everything into chaos. But what’s rock and roll without a little chaos?
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Fakejazz: Barrett, was it awkward joining? Did you have to make any changes in the way you play/hear music?
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Barrett: Sure, at first it was a little awkward as far as older material goes. Fortunately Dave played some cool drum parts that I still follow more or less on most of those songs. I've also needed to overhaul my equipment, tuned my drums a little different, gotten bigger cymbals, and bashing the #@$&% out of them more than I used to. That's always nice.
However, I've found that our methods for writing new songs has been much easier than figuring out older songs... it's all really loose when working on new stuff... no ideas too crazy. Well, I've gotten some dirty looks when I've gone Keith Moon style.
More than anything I could tell right away when I came in, that there is this interweaving of parts, and the bass and drum lines are so dependent on each other, rhythm-wise. So, mostly I still listen for the same things in music.
For every song there's always the perfect drum part...I just need to find it somewhere in the music.
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Fakejazz: Are you happy with Barrett (kind of a shitty question, I know…)?
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Matthew: I'm happy with Barrett. I just hope he's happy with me. If he's not, I might have to change my answer.
Chris: Barrett has worked out really well. He was really thrown into it from the beginning. One of his first shows was playing in Boston at Terrastock to 700 people, playing after Sonic Youth, Bardo Pond, Bevis Frond, etc. But he's pulled it off and the four of us have been beginning to coalesce musically. We've already written about 30 minutes of material for the next record and a track for an upcoming split EP with Acid Mothers.
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Fakejazz: How do you think the new album compares to your previous releases?
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Chris: I think it's been a natural progression towards Airs Above Your
Station but it seems like our style is changing. I think the next record is going to be a lot more direct, less ethereal.
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Fakejazz: How did the Kinski / Paik / Surface of Eceyon split come about? Where did that song come from?!?
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Chris: The split was great because it was so fun and so easy. Daron from
Landing and Surface of Eceyon co-runs the Music Fellowship label and contacted us about contributing to one of the splits. We asked Adam Forkner from Yume
Bitsu/Surface if he was into recording it for us and we ended up doing it at
Dub Narcotic. It was an unbelievably hot day in Olympia and Dub Narcotic is basically set up like a greenhouse: windows everywhere, hardly any of them open, and no air conditioning. It was so hot that we were kind of hallucinating. At least I was. We just started playing and had everything down in a couple of hours, mixed the whole thing in a couple hours and went home. We didn't have anything planned at all. We could have ended up with nothing.
Lucy: It was so HOT! Adam set up the vibe circle and the song came as a result. It wouldn't have been the same without him.
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Fakejazz: Tell me about Herzog...
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Chris: We've been playing in town under the name Herzog occasionally. We started doing it when we didn't have a drummer. It's the three guitar players in Kinski doing improv. It's been a really rewarding experience for us because we didn't know if we could do it or not. I find it way more nerve wracking than our regular Kinski shows because we have no plan and never know what is going to happen.
We did one show where Jeffrey Taylor, from the Climax Golden Twins, was in the audience. As we were walking to go on stage, Jeffrey said something to the affect of "I wish I was playing tonight." So I said go ahead and take my place for awhile. He looked kind of startled but he walked up and started playing with Matthew and Lucy. Now that's improv! To not even know that you would be playing that night and not know anything about the instrument or pedals you'd be using.
We've recorded some of the sessions and it looks like they'll be coming out in the fall. I think it will be under the Kinski name. We'll probably still do the live shows under the name Herzog so that people don't expect a regular rock show.
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Fakejazz: Chris, how did the Ampbuzz record come about? Any new recordings? How do you discern between what could become an Ampbuzz song vs. a Kinski song?
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Chris: Ampbuzz was stuff that I recorded at our rehearsal space when I was writing for Kinski. I was just layering sounds and ideas to an 8-track tape machine. I think if you've heard the Ampbuzz record you can tell why most of it wouldn't work with Kinski. I can't really play that stuff live either because I don't know what tunings I'm in or what effects I've used. Which is really nice for me because I have to keep track of all that stuff with Kinski. With Ampbuzz, I just record and layer. I'm just starting to work and think about the next Ampbuzz record.
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Fakejazz: Do you listen to your own records?
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Chris: No.
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Fakejazz: What do you think of the current state of popular culture & music? What about underground music? Do you love tight jeans? Is post-post-punk awesome?
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Matthew: I think underground music is cool and tight jeans are cool too.
Personally, I'd like to see more tight fitting clothing in the underground scene. As for the post-post punk movement, I wasn't aware that we'd moved beyond post punk, or punk for that matter. How are these post post punkers wearing their jeans?
Chris: I think there is a lot garbage on the popular end of the spectrum and a lot of great stuff in the underground. Pretty much the way it always has been but the pop culture stuff seems especially awful right now. And I mean popular college radio stuff too.
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Fakejazz: Matthew, how does being a father of two (especially with one being a newborn) affect your playing in a band? Does your background as a trained musician affect how you hear and play music?
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Matthew: Challenging and chaotic at times. It's especially fun playing a show, getting home at 3 am only to be awakened 3 hours later by your 3 year old wanting to play "chase and eat". But I consider myself quite lucky, because I'm able to devote myself to my family and to music. I'm very fortunate to be married to someone so supportive of what I do. Her name is Sara.
Yes, certainly my background informs my listening and playing. I've had great luck working with teachers and musicians who have encouraged me to explore and experiment musically. I've also had the opportunity to play many different types of music—classical flute, South Indian flute, Javanese gamelan. That said, I'm not necessarily drawing heavily from these experiences playing guitar in Kinski. They won't let me.
Lucy: South Indian flute?
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Fakejazz: Is anyone else in the band besides Matthew a trained musician?
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Chris: What are you trying to say?
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Fakejazz: Your spot at Terrastock was among the "heavy" block of bands at the end. Was it a challenge to try to stick out among those other bands?
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Matthew: I didn’t consider it a challenge. Honestly, I was just too excited both by hearing so much good music and then getting to play. What could be better?
Chris: It was beyond a challenge. It's not everyday, or any other day ever again, that you play after Sonic Youth! The audience was exhausted and so were we, so we just went berserk with adrenaline. It was a strange, great night.
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