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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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| Bob Mould on his sexuality and playing with Nirvana | |
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by Albert Rodriguez -
SGN A&E Writer If you're strictly a pop music enthusiast, the name Bob Mould might not ring any bells. Allow me to ring them for you. Mould is a rock pioneer. A member of '80s-'90s outfit Husker Du, he helped pave the way for some of today's and yesterday's most successful punk bands - Nirvana among them. After parting ways with his second musical project Sugar, Mould pursued a solo career that brings him to current date. Touring frequently and recording original work, such as the just-released album District Line, keeps the openly Gay rocker very busy these days, but otherwise he's writing new material or having cocktails at a neighborhood bar in Washington DC. Mould performs Saturday, March 29, at Neumos (visit www.neumos.com for tickets and concert details). From a tour vehicle somewhere along the New York thruway, here's what Bob Mould got off his chest this week in "The Music Lounge". Albert Rodriguez: How many times will you have played Seattle when you're here this weekend? Bob Mould: Over the course of my entire life, I couldn't even hazard to guess. I'd say, like, the 30th time. I've been up there quite a bit. Rodriguez: Do you have any favorite things you like to do in Seattle, time permitting? Mould: I go to Capitol Hill and just hang out. There's a couple of restaurants I like - one diner on Broadway that I can't remember the name of. It's always been a good music town, so it's always an enjoyable time. And Neumos is a really fun club. I like that whole Pike-Pine area. I usually stay real close to there, so it's nice to just walk around. There's a lot of fun things to do. Rodriguez: Every album has a journey. What's the journey for your latest, District Line? Mould: These are the stories of my simple little life in Washington DC. It's an observational kind of record more than an autobiographical one. Rodriguez: Living in Washington DC, is it hard to escape the political scene? Mould: It is. I don't work down in the middle of it, but I have a heightened awareness for politics having lived in DC now for a couple of years. Especially with this proposed change in the administration that could be happening in November, I think everybody's very aware of it - from realtors to lobbyists to everybody. It'll have an impact on the whole city. Rodriguez: You're an artist who, with your former rock bands [Husker Du, Sugar], is said to have influenced Nirvana. Did you have a chance to see them when they broke through? Mould: Yeah, I played a lot of shows with them actually right as Nevermind was coming out. We did a number of festivals together in Europe. They were a great band. They were sort of like the summary of ten years' worth of hard work in alternative music in North America. Rodriguez: Do you remember the first time you saw them? Mould: I think it might have been, um, we did a show together in Germany that summer. We did a bunch of festivals together. I had to play after them one night, which was the first time I saw them, and they pretty much destroyed the whole stage at that festival in Cologne, Germany. Rodriguez: When you first heard them, did they show the potential to be huge? Mould: I was familiar with the band before that, but that was the first time I'd seen them live with Bleach. I was actually one of the early considerations for producer on that record. Nothing ever came of it. They obviously made the right choice with Butch [Vig] and Andy Wallace. So I was familiar with those songs before the album came out. Rodriguez: What makes a great show for you? Mould: Nothing goes wrong. Everything is effortless, it flies by and you're in a good mood. Just sort of a nothing went wrong, when everyone in the crowd seemed to enjoy it. When I think I've done as good a job as I could do - I'm not bleeding, I haven't lost my voice. Rodriguez: Are there any artists now on the music scene that you're really impressed with? Mould: As far as on the rock side, there's a handful of groups. Silversun Pickups from California, I've been an Interpol fan from the beginning. There's a group from England called Editors who I think are quite good. More on the electronic side, MSTRKRFT and Justice are both interesting acts live. I saw Digitalism last year at Coachella Music Festival. I've obviously been a huge Daft Punk fan for many years. Those would be the ones that come to mind right away. Rodriguez: Did you personally come out during your career or was it well known and people just began talking about it? Mould: I guess when I look back, I think people knew about my sexuality. It wasn't really a topic of conversation until 1994 when Spin magazine decided to make it a public issue, whether I liked it or not. Since then - the last 14 years - it's very common knowledge. I feel a lot more comfortable as a Gay man than I did 14 years ago when Spin magazine decided that they wanted to make my sexuality a matter of public record, with or without cooperation. Rodriguez: Are there any artists that surprised you at how Gay-friendly or supportive they are? Mould: Overall, I think most good artists are very tolerant of most everything. Incrementally over the years it's gotten more accepted in the workplace of music - at record companies, at radio. Amongst musicians, I never really sensed that it was a concern. But on the periphery, in the business part of it, I think it's more tolerated and more accepted now. That's the biggest change. Amongst players - if you play music, you play music. The other stuff doesn't really matter. Rodriguez: You know what they say about certain sports figures that haven't come out yet or never will? Do you feel this is true about musicians? Mould: I don't think so. I look around now, and it seems that musicians are tripping over themselves to talk about their sexuality - almost to the point where's there's no mystique to it. I think in any walk of life, everybody should be comfortable with who they are and how much they want to talk about something as personal as their sexuality. When you have people that live a lifestyle, and I think about politicians, that runs completely contrary to it - people who are anti-Gay in their legislation but the fact that they're big homosexuals - then we have a problem. I think if any of us are comfortable with our sexuality we should probably make it known because it actually makes other people, especially younger people, feel better about themselves - it gives them a little bit of hope, a little bit of reassurance that everything's okay. Rodriguez: Do you keep in contact with your former band members? Mould: Some of them, yeah. The Husker Du guys, we drifted pretty far apart. That's been over 20 years. The guys from Sugar I still stay in touch with. We all kind of get together along the way - it's a small world. Rodriguez: But no possible plans for a reunion? Mould: No, I'm not really into that. I try to look forward. |
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