Mudhoney Articles
Moshable
Fall '95
Backwards... With Mudhoney
Everybody knows how much Mudhoney's last album "My Brother
The Cow" rules, so here's an interview done by our French
correspondent Philippe he did with Mark Arm and Steve Turner.
There has been rumors saying that they've split up because
Mark Arm has been busy touring with his side band Bloodloss,
but they're not true... (- Ed. East).
M: We bought a 12 inch by a band called H2F, playing a
"You make me dance" version similar to the "You make me
die" you recorded with Billy Childish. We were told it was
a remixed dance version made by Mudhoney... Is it true?
Steve Turner: It was actually remixed by Billy Childish who
thought he would make a big hit, but it never worked. On it
Kyra from thee Headcoatees recites the lyrics and there's a
little bit of the Mudhoney version on it. We talked about
doing it together but we never had a chance to, so he did it
on his own.
M: So you were not involved, but do you like techno music?
Mark Arm: I had never heard of that "You make me dance" remix,
and I'm not really familiar with techno music.
M: Do you like to dance?
Mark: If I dance it's usually to something with a little bit
more of a groove than techno. Techno is too mechanical, not
human enough. I do prefer hip hop. I would dance to Cypress
Hill or probably Ice Cube more than I would dance to Nine
Inch Nails... I don't know if Nine Inch Nails is techno
though... (laughter)
M: To me N.I.N. seems to be the kind of band and people that
grab every opportunity they can to become famous. You've probably
met many bands of that kind, so what do you think of that
attitude?
Steve: It seems to work for them.
Mark: Well sometimes it works for people and sometimes it makes
people look like fools. But only when it doesn't work do other
people laugh, because when it works - like for Madonna for
instance - everybody's like: "Oh, Madonna is so great, so
manipulative".
M: Couldn't it have worked for Mudhoney?
Mark: I don't think so because we don't know how to act that way,
so we did not try. But people laugh at us anyway... (laughter).
M: Why did you name your latest album "My Brother The Cow"?
Steve: Have you ever seen my brother? ... (laughter)
M: You've signed to a major company but still give songs to
independent labels. You've appeared on compilations made by Estrus,
Nardwuar, Amphetamine Reptile. So did you sign to a major because
you needed money and a bigger distribution but still have your
heart in the indie scene?
Mark: Fuck! I've no idea where my heart is. I lost it a long time
ago...
M: Was it stolen by a girl?
Mark: I killed it by myself! We went to Warner because Sub Pop was
going under, financially speaking. We wanted to be on Touch & Go but
they had less distribution than Sub Pop had at the time. Then Caroline
old us that they'd sign us if we stopped our side bands, sweetened our
guitar sound and toured nine months out of the year... and they're
supposed to be a fucking independent label. Later a couple of majors
approached us and none of them, no matter how stupid were the people,
none of them tried to oblige us to do anything. We're still friends
with Sub Pop, we thought the label would fall so we left. At that time
they owed money to everyone, even us, so we decided to end up that
business relationship before we hated them as people. Now they are
richer than anybody else in Seattle!
Steve: There's a handful of grunge millionaires wandering around
Seattle who think we too are rich, but we're not!
M: So how are the sales of the new album going?
Steve: They are going round and round: clockwise.
M: So what time is it?
Steve: (laughs) I don't know, I guess it's time for a beer,
want one?
(Some drinks and blah blah later...)
M: Why is it only the two of you appearing on the sleeves and pics with
Gilmore, and only you answering questions... What about the other two
Mudhoney?
Steve: They do not have any opinion.
Mark: We pay them well not to talk anymore... (laughs)
M: You know it's been election time in France and more and more people vote
for the National Front... Which is very frightening, how are politics going
in America these days?
Steve: The last election in the States had a big move to the right, so now
a lot of people start running the other way. But it's never extreme in America,
politicians are pretty similar, no matter which direction they go they're
alwayts extremely stupid. I've the impression that fascists are more and more
devious, they're hiding themselves but one can feel them around. You probably
have heard of the bombing of Oklahoma City?
M: It doesn't seem to have surprised you at all?
Mark: You know in America if one has a problem with something or someone,
one kills it! Assassination is very American!
M: Would you assassinate the people who label you "Grunge"?
Steve: The grunge mania was really hilarious. Every other band what has ever
been called grunge quickly said: "We're not grunge". We don't mind that term.
Mark: As long as people are talking about us we don't mind what they say.
Steve: We were in Europe one month ago, doing interviews, and almost everybody
was asking us: "So what is Seattle like now that grunge is dead?". I don't know
if it's dead, or if it ever was alive.
M: Talking about that kind of recurrent questions, what are the ones you really
hate and which comes back really often?
Steve: "Now that the scene in Seattle is dead, how are you doing?" is the one
we're asked the most. It's strange because the Seattle bands are more popular
than ever: Pearl Jam, Nirvana or Soundgarden are finally number one in the
charts.
M: What about Mr Epp & the Calculations?
Steve: It was a band we started in high school and I'm going to reissue on
Super Electro.
M: It has spawned several other bands.
Yeah! All the musicians are still involved in music. Mark and I in Mudhoney,
the drummer, Dan, is in Steel Pole Bath Tub, the bass player sings with Atomic
61. And Smelly, the singer of Mr Epp, puts out a fanzine, videos and records
of Atomic 61. So, basically everybody who ever was in Epp is still in music.
M: Steve, you'll reissue Mr Epp... so how is your label going?
Steve: Super Electro is going pretty well. I just put out singles by Mudhoney
and Flop. Right before came a CD by the Fall Outs, my first CD.
M: Why did you start the label?
Mark: He had been in Mudhoney for so long that he knew where the money went:
to the label! (laughs)
Steve: Actually the main reason I started it was that Bruce Pavitt, of Sub Pop,
dared me to start it. I was bitching him to issue the albums of the Fall Outs
and Nightkings so Bruce said: "why don't you guys put them out?!". He added he'd
pay for their manufacturing and would let me do the job, so I did it. Sub Pop
paid for and distributed the first three albums (Sad & Lonelys, Nightkings, Fall
Outs) and then I took the business over by myself.
M: So what's funnier - issuing records or making some?
Steve: I like putting out records, it's a hobby. Playing in a band and making
records used to be my hobby...
Mark: Now it's a job.
M: Would you consider issuing Mudhoney's albums on Super Electro?
Mark: No way man, his distribution sucks! (laughs)
Steve: It's true.
M: A free single is given away with the vinyl version of "My Brother the Cow"?
Steve: Yes, it contains six demo tunes.
Mark: At the end of the CD version the whole album is recorded backwards so
we had to find a bonus to the vinyl too...
Steve: We love vinyl so hopefully people will buy that format if it offers a
free single. Besides if I had bought an album containing a free single, I'd
listen to the 7" first. And man you'd be disappointed because those six songs
are shit! We thought this would be funny.
M: Your last album finished backwards, so will you move backwards on stage?
Mark: (laughs) Yeah! At the end of the show.
