Lost Interviews: Alan Licht

The following is the first in a sort of “Lost Interviews” series of email Q & A sessions I did for another publication, which, due to time constraints and general procrastination on this writer’s part, hasn’t seen the light of day for quite a while. Rather than sit on the interviews, they’ll be published at fakejazz.com… Better late than never, right? Alan Licht first gained national recognition as a member of Lovechild. Later, he formed Run On, and began to perform both solo and in groups in more avant garde settings. Licht recently released A New York Minute, a two-disc collection on XI Records, and Drag City published An Emotional Memoir of Martha Quinn, Licht’s first book, last year. Interview, summer 2002

fakejazz: In An Emotional Memoir..., there's a passage in which you describe the experience of realizing that you liked a Peter Cetera song more than the latest Branca symphony, and this realization seems to be indicative of a shift in your way of thinking: coming to terms with the fact that Cetera and Branca are on the same level, regardless of label, genre, or underground cred. Since most of your recent releases have been of the minimalist and/or experimental variety, with little in the way of traditional songcraft since the days of Run On, how, if at all, do you feel that your thoughts in this vein have had an effect on the music that you write?

Alan Licht: Well, I've still been writing songs, even though I haven't really been recording them. And during Run On and Love Child I was also doing free improv projects and "minimalist/experimental" stuff, so that kind of duality has always been there. The Cetera thing is mainly noteworthy because it's the kind of MOR thing I used to hate, and the fact that I liked it that day was kind of a turning point--it wasn't the enemy anymore. I wouldn't say that it had an effect on the music I've worked on since then, but I think my relationship to styles of music as a way of defining myself, or as a social signifier may have changed, and the Cetera thing is emblematic of that. When I started playing in bands I definitely thought the world needed more noisy guitar bands that were also kind of pop, and now I'm not sure it still does. I wouldn't say that Cetera and Branca are on the same level in any way other than both are musicians...

You're commonly viewed as part of the force behind the revival of classic minimalism, and are an accomplished minimalist musician in your own right. What drew (and still draws) you to minimalism, both as a listener and a musician?

Originally it was an outgrowth of listening to both modal jazz (Coltrane, Miles) and the Velvets, Doors, Neil Young, Allman Brothers (who were influenced by Coltrane et. al., as it turns out). I listen to it as an extension of that stuff. Hearing Henry Kaiser's "It's A Wonderful Life" convinced me it was possible to do with solo guitar, but it took me a long time to develop my own "minimal" pieces. I really like the deceptive simplicity of it, especially in stuff by La Monte or Phill Niblock where it's just a couple of notes but all the overtone activity gives it this orchestral dimension; I like seeing things slowly unfold, and hearing things shift subtly just by introducing one or two notes. I like the idea of getting lost in the music, and minimalism really lends itself to that, whether it's "trancing out" or intense concentration in listening or playing it (both are possible approaches).

Does you find that minimalism informs much of your music in this way, even when the piece isn't conceived strictly as a minimalist piece? Does "getting lost in the music" play a big part in what you write, both minimalist and pop?

No, not in the same way anyhow. You could get lost in something like Neil Young's "Down by the River" in sort of the same way, but I wouldn't necessarily describe that as "pop." Pop is about making you want to hear the song again as soon as it's over, so it goes by quickly--you get into it but not lost in it. Minimalism is about extending the music to the point where that's not an issue. Does it sound like I use the same approach in writing "minimalist" pieces and songs?

Of course not. I was simply wondering if "getting lost in the music" in whatever fashion it functions, was something that you thought about during the composition of anything you write, since it's a big part of why you like minimalism... Much of your non-pop oeuvre, if not outright minimalist, is at least based on loops and permutations. How comfortable are you being classified as a minimalist (if as anything), at least in part?

Since there's so much use of repetition and of simple melodic or harmonic materials, I don't really have a problem with being classified as a minimalist, or having the pieces classified that way. Some of the pieces on my upcoming double CD on XI are even more hardcore in the repetitive use of loops to create a kind of trance state.

How do you tend to approach your more experimental works? "Rabbi Sky," for example, has a pretty strict plan, but something like "Remington Khan," though still based on a repeated center, appears to be of a more improvisatory nature. How much do you usually plan specifically, and how much is left to the chance of your improvisations?

In Rabbi Sky there was some improvisation in the mixing. I laid all the tones down, and experimented with different ways to present each section. That recording of Remington Khan is also its first performance. I had a basic structure; the loop was predetermined, and I knew I would do 25 or so minutes of clean-sounding guitar playing over it, starting with single notes and moving to chordal stuff, and then bring in the distortion. Most of what I actually played was made up on the spot. In subsequent performances I've used some of the motifs I came up with in that first performance and created new ones too. So generally, I have a basic plan of what I'm going to do, which includes leaving a lot of room for spontaneity.

What's the new album on XI going to be like? Is it all recently written material, or does it include older material as well? When will it be out?

I've just finished mastering it. It's mostly stuff from the last couple of years--one piece that loops Baba O'Riley in the tradition of the Donna Summer thing on Plays Well, and two other tape "collage" pieces incorporating crickets, Slayer, radio weather forecasts, Muhammad Ali, Don Henley and more (not necessarily in that order). Plus two solo guitar pieces recorded at a concert at Experimental Intermedia in 2000, including a12-string version of "Remington Khan", and a brief organ piece. It's over two hours of music. Hopefully out by the end of the year or early 2003.

How accepting have you found fans of your previous pop work to be of the more experimental work? I'd guess that there'd be a fair amount of people into both, especially with Run On, though something like "Rabbi Sky" might be a little much for them... Does there appear to be a lot of crossover?

There's probably some, but not a lot. Love Child fans weren't especially into the Blue Humans or "Sink the Aging Process", maybe the stuff with Loren Mazzacane found some appeal in both camps, but I rarely find someone who really into all of it, except Jon Borges, the 14-year-old kid who played at the No Music Festival in '99 (we play a duo on the box set of the festival).

You speculate a bit in An Emotional Memoir... on how the presidency and political climate of the country can play a big part in the general music tastes and scenes that arise. Now that we're well into George's term of office, and we've been through a few other events that have shifted the politics of this country, have you seen any signs in the music community that may be signify a revival of the reactions to Ron and George Sr. that fueled a lot of "alternative" music then?

With so many bands taking cues from early 80's post-punk, I'd say they're not reacting to the political climate but making a similar leap back in time that the current administration is trying to make. There was an article in the NY Times a few weeks ago that the new fall TV season is reminiscent of 80's TV--it seems to be an overriding cultural phenomenon. I also think 9/11 made it hard if not impossible for the music scene to react to the government, or the culture, really, the way it did in the early 80's. But who knows? Maybe the situation with Iraq will change that. By the time this interview comes out it could be a different story.