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Flagpole Magazine
Jesus Lizard...
Interview With A Basilisk
December 4, 1 991
It's 5:13 am. and I am really past my deadline. Of
course it's due to procrastination. Anyway, I'm listening to
my new Possessed CD trying to conjure some demonic
writing muse to promote Jesus Lizard. Promotion however,
is hardly needed. Music speaks louder than words and if
anyone speaks loudly through their music, it is Jesus Lizard
— a rabid, gutter sludge that crashes and thrashes, over
whelming every sense, paralyzing and crushing them with
a sound that is hypnotic and soothing like two out-of-
control freight trains speeding on crooked tracks. This is,
quite honestly the closest to harmonious that their cacoph
ony gets. And this, boys and girls, is an interview with David
Yow, the lead singer and engineer behind the controls of
this unstoppable rock juggernaut that is Jesus Lizard. You
have been forewarned...
Flagpole: Everything I've read, and speaking from per
sonal experience,! ve seen you two or three times here in
Athens and once in Atlanta, you guys are... I don't know how
to say it — are awesome.
David Yow: Which Atlanta show?
FP: Masquerade.
DY: That sure was... that freaked me out!
FP: Do you prefer the old 40 Watt or the new 40 Watt?
DY: Mixed. Because I liked the PA at the new 40 Watt but
I like the atmosphere of the old 40 Watt better. But the new
40 Watt has pool tables doesn’t it?
FP: Yes
DY: OK. I like the new one hands down.
FP: Do you like to play?
DY: Oh yes. Very much.
FP: Well, can I challenge you to a game of 8-ball?
DY: Sure. Are you pretty good?
FP: Hell yes I'm good. I wouldn 't ask you if I wasn ‘t.
DY: OK — cool.
FP: Are you going to jump oif-stage and play a game while
you play your show?
DY: Yeah. I get on one of those Madonna — Peter Gabriel-
style strap-on microphones so I can just sing while I’m
shooting. And if I make a really good shot I can go "fuck, did
you see that?!"
FP: So, you're only other involvement before Jesus Lizard
was Scratch Acid 9
DY: Yes, of any significance.
FP: Your presskit says Scratch Acid were “one of the first
grunge bands " How do you feel about the movement in
Seattle 9 I mean being the first... Everyone now typifies
“grunge" as being from Seattle and you guys were from
Austin. Texas which used to have one of the best hardcore
scenes around How do you feel about being in the fore
front of that movement 9
DY: Well, I don’t... grunge is what I think it is Mudhoney,
early Soundgarden, early Nirvana, Tad ana all that stuff —
if that is what grunge is then I don’t think Scratch Acid was
grunge at all.
FP: What would you have defined them as 9
DY: Sort of a dumb Birthday Party rip-off Kind of, but not
really if you throw in Led Zeppelin, The Birthday Party and
some punk rock into a blender you come up with...
FP: So you like Led Zeppelin 9 Do you like “Achilles Last
Stand" off Presence?
DY: That’s funny you asked that. That's our traditional
going on tour song. We always listen to that song before
going on tour.
FP: How would you define a Jesus Lizard song?
DY: I think there is a variancy there and not one clear-cut
definition. Let’s make it into two... you’ve got your ones that
are just plain loud and then you’ve got your ones that have
more dynamics. We had one song that sounded like Led
Zeppelin. I think “Mouthbreather" sounds like Led Zeppe
lin.
FP: Jello Biafra was here a few weeks ago. He spoke about
FP: I'll tell you a story... I went to take one of my friends to
a counselor and I was wearing my Jesus Lizard t-shirt with
Mickey Mouse and the bomb. This lady behind the desk
looked at me and said, “What does your shirt say?" I said,
“The Jesus Lizard " She said “What's that 9 " I said, “It's two
words thrown together to make a band name “ And she
said, “I don't know about you but one of those words means
something to me "And then she started talking about Jesus
and being saved and why I was a sinner because I wore
your shirt.
DY: You should have punched her in the neck, [laughter]
What a dumb twat. See that’s so much bullshit. Like I have
the album by a band, (I don’t know if they’re still around),
The Math Bats, and they had this real cool t-shirt that said
"Satan's Donuts." It had a picture of a devil with a chef’s hat
sitting behind a Dunken Donuts style counter. I recently
wore (the shirt] in a 7-11 [where] there's these really cool
black ladies that work there and are always very cool and
say, “What can I get you honey/darling?" and stuff like that.
Well, there was a new one in there that day and she saw my
shirt. She said, "What does your shirt say? Does that say
’Satan?’ You best pray for the Lord to save your soul.’ I
thought, goddamn, it’s ridiculous when people take these
things so [literally].
FP: My editor wrote down “art" with a question mark.
DY: He wants to know about the tits.
FP: Tits? What about tits?
DY: (Our album cover], Goat, is a woman with slides
projected on her. David Sims took that picture. I think Dave
has quite the tit fetish. I hope that if our next album cover has
tits on it, it’s not a pretty woman.
FP: Why is that?
DY: Personally, I really don’t see the point of having these
nice [chicks] with nice tits on the covers all the time. It's
repetitive, sort of redundant, isn’t it?
FP: Yeah, OK Do you have a fetish for shoving shoes down
your pants? [laughter] Both shows in Athens and Atlanta,
when shoes were thrown on stage, you shoved them down
your pants.
DY: Really?
FP: Yes. Were you in an altered state of mind?
DY: No. I think a lot of times when things are thrown on
stage and are small enough to fit down my pants, I usually
put them there, [laughter]
FP: I read in the press kit you have a video out for “Nub "
DY: Yeah. That goes along with the censorship thing. This
guy Brad Sellers made the video and he did a kick ass,
knock down, drag out job.
FP: Didn't it win an award?
DY: Yeah. It won first place in the Chicago International
Film Festival. It’s the only video that won anything in that
festival. This video has been shown on European MTV and
Canadian MTV, but American MTV refuses to show it
because, they say, it is "too much."
FP: What is too much?
DY: I don’t know. There’s no blood or anything.
FP: Tits?
DY: No. Absolutely no sexual stuff at all. But there’s very
little of us playing. Most of it is black and white footaqe of
guys working in a machine shop with dangerous machinery
and blades, saws. etc... The rest is color footage shot of an
autopsy — preparing the corpse for an autopsy and it’s
really well-done. But that’s the money of major labels versus
the lack of money of independent labels — it’s kind of a
drag You can do a video for your own entertainment but the
purpose of a video is to promote record sales. So, we spent
the money to make this video and since MTV has its head
up its ass [we] spend the money for [a bad reason]
Especially considering it's so good. If you get to see it you'll
agree.
FP: Are you going to put out a new record?
DY: We don’t have a record of our own coming out for a
while. We recorded one song for Amphetamine Reptile
Records ’’Dope, Guns, and Fucking in the Streets" and m
the springtime an all-format split 7* single with Nirvana
FP: Anything else 9 What do you like about Athens 9
DY: Laura Carter and the Jack-o-Nuts. We love each
other's guts.
John Mmcemoyer
I'm going
over to see Crazy Af
and buy a BIKEj
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