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EGOSLAVIA, MY ASS: PSYCODRAMA IS ZZ TOP!!! (part II).

From: hofmann@nrl-css.arpa (Jim Hofmann)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 87 12:58:33 EST
Subject: EGOSLAVIA, MY ASS: PSYCODRAMA IS ZZ TOP!!! (part II).



Well.  Here is part two of the PSYCODRAMA interview.  Part III resides
on a Macintosh disc due to problems with our machine being down on
the weekend when I was set to type it in.  (Note:  all the typing
and transcribing is done on my own time, in case any snoops out 
there disagree they can come in and talk to me about it).  So, I
may try and figure out a way to bring it in though I really think this
part II is the more interesting of all parts.  Bob Krajewski asked
about whether PSYCODRAMA had been banned and this is indeed true.  In
the DC area, they are in a class of their own now that the BAD 
BRAINS have become "accessible" and less "dangerous" (and insipid at
the same time?).  I listened to their latest tape recently with a 
friend who has peavy speakers and a mixer/equalizer in order to
cut down on hiss and high end noise and though there are some areas
on the tape that drag (such as a Art Song lifted DIRECTLY with one
of them moaning over it and a lift of ZZ Top's La Grange with new
words shouted over it), for the  most part this is some BRILLANT
stuff.  Mostly the tape revolves around what sounds like simulated
killings of various people that offend the P-DRAMAs such as "Jews"
and "Niggers" or sounds of cats dying or pedophiles being satiated.
It sounds much more intense (even with the high end noise crud) than
DIAMANDA GALAS and much more like PSYCIC TV than ZZ TOP (though
you'll never get them to admit it).  What's amazing it that is is
done with non conventional multi-tracking.  It almost runs like a 
movie. Listen to it with a friend.  Very loud.  And be sure not to
stand too close to the speakers.  Something just may grab you in the
solar plexus.  You have the address from the last posting, so go
to it (send a blank tape if you have nothing to trade and postage
and ask for the Raleigh March tape).

Part 2
------

J: Can't afford whores cuz I spend 
 it on pot and go to GMU to get laid.

[talk turns back to when they tried to
 meet the BUTTHOLES at the Danceteria]

J: If he (Gibby) ever comes up here, tell 
 him to expect us.  We been trying to meet 
 him.  We tried to meet him in New York.  
 He was in this club (Danceteria) - Mykel
 went in there, first.  And we come.  I had
 blood and cowshit all over me.  And vomit...

SS:  That's normal in New York, ain't?
J: Not in this ritzy place - we were stinkin'
 drunk and strung out on cocaine & killer
 weed n' stuff and we were just going into
 this real ritzy punk-rock club saying "we
 know Mykel Board, we're cool!" And this 
 bouncer came out, didn't like what we were
 saying.  And Ronnie (Fi Fi Poo Butt), he's
 braver than any of us - went up to the 
 bouncer who told us to "get the fuck out
 of here".  I said, "We were invited in by 
 a high-up" And he goes ..."neeeeeeh, get
 out of here." Ronnie pulled out his big
 knife and says, "motherfucker, you ain't
 shit" and I'm there throwing bugs in his
 face.  Hadn't bathed in ssoooo long.
B: And he comes back with a 2X4, hits me over
 the head.  I cracked my skull.
J:  I jumped in a sewer and Fi Fi got arrested
 and consequently we all got arrested.
B: I had to go to the hospital.

SS: Did you go to the Tombs?
J:  That was no tomb - that was a social club.
 Shit, I had a worse time in Loudon County.
B: We were in a holding cell - the Tombs were
 down below. Ronnie was at the Tombs.
J: Yeah, you're right.

[ talk turns to 9:30 club, DC trend hangout]

J: Tell him about the most recent 930 incident.
B: We're not allowed in there.
SS: You're lucky.
B: I haven't gone there for awhile but he 
 (Jim) tried recently and they told him we 
 couldn't go in cuz we said rascist things the
 last time we were there -
J: Nah, he said, I spit blood all over that
 place and cussed alot ...
B: You said he said we said rascist things.
J: I said he was a motherfucking nigger.
B: Just caused we called SABOTAGE (Jared of
 PEACH) fucking jews.
J: No, what I said to him was, you ain't nothing
 but a black ass worthless nigger - you don't 
 know nothing about music - you ain't got no 
 cause to tell me to do nothing.
B: That's rascist.
J: FUCK him - he's a fucking nigger...they dragged
 him off the street one day.
B: That's what they do in DC - the white women
 who run the place hire these -

[tape ends here]

[We turn on the video]

SS: How did you dub it?
B: We rented a camera, which is real hard to do.
 You have to get someone with a credit card.  We 
 had the music playing as we filmed it and then
 used the recorder to take dub in some tapes we
 had prepared.  This is what I was gonna show on
 the big, huge screen at the Danceteria but they
 kicked us out.
J: They started by not letting us in the PSYCHIC
 TV show.  Would have been wonderful to see all
 those fucking New York wavo faggots looking at
 your house.
B: Well, you read how Ronnie went up and dig
 dingleberries.
J: Shit, that was better than watching those 
 fuckers watch this!
B: That's what happened instead of us 
 performing in front of this big drive-in movie 
 theatre video screen.
J: Well, they shouldn't have made me and Karen 
 catch cold that night. 
B: I went to shit this - but they'd rather throw
 dingleberries.
J: I spit blood all over and threw at the guy -
 I hate their fucking guts and hope it 
 burns down.
SS: Danceteria closed - it's an office building 
 now.
J: We kind of are hoping that we started the 
 snowball causing that.  There were about 10 
 pigs there that night, cuz of shit we were 
 doing plus a bunch of NY skinheads - so 
 between us and the skinheads, it was fun.

SS:(referring to video) Do you want people 
 to laugh at this?
J:  I don't care.
B: They can do whatever they want. I don't 
 even think about it.
J: I'd rather go to the horseraces than listen 
 to what they think about it.  Besides, this 
 is from like five years ago.
SS:  You ever get anyone to throw up?
J: We got Mykel Board to throw up.
SS: How did you meet him anyway?
B: When he did that record (most hated 
 bands comp)... he asked Barbera Rice (Truly 
 Needy) what the most hated band was - and 
 she said us, so he put us on.
J: (Points to symbol): See that symbol up 
 there  (A swastika and a cross) - that's 
 ours
B: Aryan Nations (shows arm tatoo of symbol)
J: (points to TV): Get on your feet motherfucker 
 (they both rise and give Aryan straightarm 
 salute) Hell yeah!
B:(points to TV) He's a God
J: Bill Gayle (sp?)
J:  Look - that's Rob Lipshitz - and his 
 record synagogue.
B: He's got mounds of music equipment, that's 
 why he doesn't do anything with us anymore.
J: We like to use shit and he uses 1000$ of equipment.
 This tape is from our pre-ZZ period.....

[talk about ZZ Top while pictures of Fi Fi "relieving"
 himself come on - I was glad this Fi Fi didn't
  show up at the interview, let me tell ya]

J: I'm the closet heterosexual -
B: That's (the video) back when I was a queer.
J: We don't have anything recent on VHS - if it was
 recent, it'd all be military.
B: We can't rent a camera.
SS: Why did you change?
B: Someone called us ZZ Top and -
J: We just instantly went hetero, hetero, hetero
 - biker bars and titty bars.  Titties, bikers, 
 Hank Williams and ZZ. Just because some 16 year 
 old faggot punk rocker
 yelled "ZZ" out of a window and 
 then "SKYNRD."  We go out of our way to go 
 to these art places to be Skynard as possible.

SS: What do you think of PEACH OF IMMORTALITY?
J: I think Jared's an asshole.  I don't like 
 him.  He's got a funny dick. 
B:  I want to trade tapes with Tom but I 
 won't give him my address cuz of SABOTAGE 
 cuz SABOTAGE  would send the police after us...
J: I don't trust the motherfucker.
SS: Tom Smith's got his own label with a big backer -
 but no one knows who it is.
J: We saw them over at the Complex and we 
 liked them.  Tom came over and talked to us 
 for a few seconds.
B: I like their music when they sing but 
 not when they don't sing.
J: Jared's gonna get his wig thrown up on 
 the roof the next time he's in a place with me.  
 I dare him to do anything about it cuz we'll have 
 Todd...Bear, Mule and throw him off the fucking 
 roof.  He deserves it, too.  He started up this 
 shit and got the 930 club after us,
 too.  I know he's making the flyers now.

SS: They guy in BIG BLACK said he wouldn't 
 play at 930 unless they booked PUSSY (GALORE) 
 and Jared's friends with them...
J: Paul Albini?  Why didn't they not play 
 there unless they booked US?  Fuck PUSSY 
 GALORE.
SS: They're trendy now.
B: They're guitar, bass and drums -
J: Albini's never heard of us.  If he did -
SS: You ever send him a tape?
J: We would never send a tape to Homostead.
B: I did!
J: Huh?
SS: BIB BLACK is on T&G now.
J: Well, then I would send them a tape.  Tesco 
 was gonna write a thing about us fore the 
 zine caved in.
B: I sent a tape to Homostead.
J: Well, we'll go in an alley now to 
 settle this -
SS: What you think about Gerrard Coozely?
J: That's the guy the guy in Georgia wanted 
 us to send all the Aryan nations stuff to.
B: Yeah, MEDICINE SUITE didn't like them, so 
 I sent him a tape saying "Back off Motherfucker 
 from my Buttbuddy in jail down in Georgia."  
 Homostead never did anything
 to me, though, so I don't have anything 
 against them.

B: You gotta turn that off now (the video).
SS: Why?
B: Cuz it doesn't have vocals and I'm not drunk enough 
 to do them.

[bathroom break]

SS: So, where did you pick up Louise? [Louise 
 is a headless pacifer foam rubber manniken they 
 brought in with them]
B: I got it at a boy scout sale.  Fi Fi got a 
 boy scout and I got Louise.
J: I was in the Chef trying to pick up a 40 
 year old  woman.  I want someone to let a 25 
 year old bum sit around her house all day 
 while she goes out and  brings me money.  
 That's my whole goal in life.  A
 50 year old woman who will let me live in 
 a trailer with her - bring me everything.   
 I don't even wanna work.  I haven't worked 
 in 10 years.  I never will work, just
 ain't gonna do it.
B: All I want is a rubber pussy...
 and I'll put hot rice down inside of it.

[ more talk about the best rubber pussies]
J: We work on  a garbage truck...
B: And that's where I get my equipment from.
  Cuz I found it on the garbage route.  I 
 found this old guitar. I found this flute 
 and -
J: Found a whole buncha dolls -
B:  - a tape deck to play South Bronx music 
 off of to get rhythms.
J: Speaking of the South Bronx, here's my hat
 that I tool off a nigger out in DC cuz he
 was sleeping too soundly.
SS: H.R.?
J: Nah...

[bathroom break]
SS: You see the latest DC Period? Someone 
  wrote a letter about you guys calling you 
 the "old guard" of DC noise
bands and hailing all these other groups as -
J: Was it Luis talking shit?
SS: Luis!
B: (from bathroom):  Lu-Wizzz...
SS: They were implying your time was over -
J: Aw, fuck them. What do they know? I sit in 
 the Chef all the time. They don't even know me. 
 Got another beer, by the any chance?
J: (reading from period): "What does matter 
 is that PEACH OF IMMORTALITY is an incredibly 
 good band and Tom has  almost single-handedly 
 erased the old guard of self-
 concious noise bands. (NO TREND, PSYCODRAMA)...

[lots of laughter and derision]

B: We're just as modern as BLACK OAK ARKANSAS.
J: Who is that pussy-ass college student bitch?  
 Fuckin' sociology student.  I dare 'im to 
 go in Bear's house. He can talk to Moses & 
 Bear about all his noise bands, I'll
 kick that pussy's ass. Let's see that, how 
 many mispellings did he - I wanna know how 
 this motherfucker ever heard of
 us cuz we never do anything down there.

B: (reading) Goddamn.  He says IGNUS INDUSTRIE 
 is good? We went down to see them - they 
 were heavy metal.
J: Goddamn! YEah.
B: He said (POI) made it possible for 
 "new" groups like NEW CARROLTON, PUSSY 
 GALORE, IGNUS INDUSTRIE -
J: (Bronx Cheer) The old guard of noise bands. 
 Now that's the stupidest thing I ever heard.
B: They (IGNUS) had stripes on everything with four
 guitars and bandanas around their heads and shit.
J: Fuck that place. I'm going to the Chef tomorrow
 morning and you ain't gonna get me out of there for 
 nothing ever again. 
B: They make it  possible for new groups like metal
bands, jazz bands, blues bands - 

(laughter)
J: What's this fucker's name here? Nicolas Warden? 
 That's the guy who put us in jail!
B: The "warden" in Loudon County.
J: Nicolas... we had to sneak past him for 
 chow everyday.
SS: How long were you in jail?
J: Too long.
B: He kept saying we're gonna go see the 
 Magistrate,  soon as we said "we liked heavy 
 metal." We kept saying,  "No, no, no, bullshit!"
J: He kept saying, "Boy, you're gonna like new 
 music in  DC like heavy metal" We kept saying, 
 "Now, we ain't  gonna do it!" He said, "I'll 
 break ya, boy..."
B: I remember that Warden.
J: He says, "looks like we gots a communications 
 problem here, Jim and Tina, we gotta big 
 problem here."
J: Am I like the most self concious person 
 you've ever beheld? (laughter).  I'm the most 
 self-concious person I  know but I bet I know 10 
 times more about music than that fucker will 
 ever know.
B: Yea-ah.  I know I do.
J: Shit, I bet Bear knows more music than 
 he does.  I bet Monteo knows more.  I bet 
 Hillbilly knows more. We're gonna
 get all these Pagans to come down and kill 
 this person.  We're gonna kill Nicolas Warden. 
 He fucked us in jail, too - put us in the hot-box.
B: Tried to make us fuck little boys... so he 
 could watch through the bars.
J: I know that guy.  He shoulda never printed 
 his fucking name. I know him - he ain't fooling 
 me, motherfucker.  The old guard.
B: That's what the Klan's called.
J: 'Member that old man we was drinking with? 
 In Sanford North Carolina?  We went to this bait 
 and tackle shop looking for a Klan meeting and 
 this old guy came out and said, "you guys must 
 be with the new Klan.  You ain't with
 the old guard"  I said, "yowse, yowse, we like 
 niggers now.  We just wanna go hunting."

SS: What's the New Klan?  Is there a difference?
B: The new Klan is more DC.
J: They're more Nationlist.
B: Yeah, political - the old Klan -
J:  - is like Dave Hall.
B: "Where's that nigger?" The old Klan is - you 
 just string up a nigger and that's it.  You 
 laugh, "Hah, HAh, HAH."  Then you drink 
 some moonshine.
J: And set his bloody carcass afire.
B: And the new Klan -
J: The 80's Klan, the "Fashion" Klan...
B: Yeah, the "Fashion" Klan tries to be mediocre 
 like PEACH OF IMMORTALITY. (laughter)
J: They wear Nike shorts like Tom.
SS: Under their robes and hoods, huh?
B: YEah, they go to Sears and work out afterwards.
J: And don't drink whiskey in front of their 
 wives.  They don't like Bubba.
B: They're into the politics of it all.
SS: So, that's your new way to be offensive?
J: No, that's our new way to entertain ourselves 
 cuz we're bored with everything else.
SS: So, when people say you're passe' - you're 
 "offensive" and that's "passe'" and ...
J: What's passe'? I don't know what that is?  
 Bear never says anything like that.
SS: Because they really just don't want to 
 put up with you.
J: I'd say that.
B: They're nigger lovers  You either like a 
 nigger or you don't. We hate niggers, they love 
 niggers.  Nothing passey about it. That's just 
 an excuse.
J: These motherfuckers saying all this passe' 
 yakyakyak - you wanna know what we're all about?  
 I sit in a fucking goof bar all day of my life - 
 I sit in back of a garbage
 truck smoking killer weed all day.  And I have 
 this big psychotic reaction from it.  All I 
 ever do is go out -  buy records and stay in 
 my damn house all week and smoke
 dope all week. He kin tell ya - we haven't 
 even tried to play anywhere.  Half the 
 motherfuckers never heard of us. We don't 
 even DO noise, there's rhythm. There's tonality.
 Everything - there's no noise.  Certainly 
 no old guard.
B: There's some nosie.
J:... it's not the old guard for Christ's sake.
SS: What's the old guard anyway?
J: That's WHITEHOUSE/BLACKHOUSE/23 SKIDOO -
B: I've traded all over Europe and stuff and 
 heard PEACH two years ago from other bands 
 and tapes from Europe.
J: I heard that shit when I saw five years old
 when I couldn't get my record player to play ...
B: 'Cept when they sing - then it's good.  That 
 rhythm noise shit is so old and NEW CAROLTON 
 bangs on drums and shit
J: Shit! It's stupid!
SS: Don't do shit for me.
J: These motherfuckers that write that shit 
haven't heard us in 10 years.  They'd be suprised 
at what they hear.  We don't sound industrial.
SS: Most of them have never been in a factory.
B: In DC? Exactly.
J: I'm not involved in any of this Dee Cee 
 music bullshit.   I don't care about it.  Doesn't 
 mean shit to me. If those guys that bitched about 
 we could go somewheres from there.  We been
 the rascism would get the rascism out of our system,
 We got some shit planned that you've never seen 
 before if they could go beyond the rascism and 
 see it for what it reall is, hell, they'd probably 
 even like it but - 

[ questions about PSYCODRAMA'S beginnings]

SS: So, you started off as "PEASOUP(green)" music?
J: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No.  It started 
 out as  something that had potential in everyone 
 else's world.  It had a bass - didn't someone 
 play a bass? Roger something?  They had instruments.

B: I was like PEACH now.
J: Exactly.  It just regressed & regressed 
 & regressed. All the people left and aren't 
 doing anything now.  Put it this way - there 
 was a group of people who didn't give a fuck about 
 anything in the world, 'cept going to the CHEF or 
 killin' niggers.  They're right here now.
 those other guys are out in their basement 
 bullshitting doing jack shit.  Doing nothing 
 and they never will do  anything - 
B: They're doing techno-rock.


[ Part III:  The story behind the SONIC YOUTH 
  		incident.  More accusatory
  		blather.  They come clean but
		erase the tape. We head to
		the block]