Based on a True Story:

the SubFidelics' accidental music

Bob: Hey, I saw Iggy Pop on Deep Space Six last night. Even with alien makeup on, he still looks just like Iggy.

HH: I think it's Deep Space Nine . . .

Bob: They're up to nine already? Shows how much I watch TV. I don't even own one.

HH: Anyway, you're the bassist for the SubFidelics . . .

Bob: Actually, we all do different things. I've been primarily a bassist in every other musical project I've been involved with. Mike is primarily a guitarist, Hondo a violinist, Brian . . . well, I don't know what Brian is primarily, but in the SubFidelics we all overlap and play instruments we might not even know how to play. So far I've played all the basslines, but I've also played some keys, xylophone, guitar, percussion, twisted knobs, set up signal chains, etc. That's not to say that one of the others might not play bass on a track. We don't seem to have any exclusive roles in this band, and if I play xylophone on a track, that doesn't mean that Brian can't play xylophone on the next track. Each of the four of us are general instrumentalists. It's a nice freedom.

HH: How did the band start?

Bob: Well, I've known Mike for a while; when Blue Muse was still around we recorded at his studio, and I've played on another band's album on Coffeehouse. We always seemed to have similar musical interests and similar viewpoints, and we used to keep saying that we should do a project together sometime. Last summer Mike finally said, "hey, lets just do it." He scheduled some studio time, and that's where it began.

HH: Did the two of you write together in preparation?

Bob: No! This whole thing might never have happened if we had written songs beforehand. We got together and just winged it, heading into it cold. We knew we were after a certain sort of sound and so we set up for that. We arrayed all our instruments and toys in front of us and went on instinct. And it all just flowed. It couldn't have been planned.

HH: Were Hondo and Brian involved at this point?

Bob: Not yet; this started as a project with Mike and me. We started thinking about like-minded people to bring in, and Mike suggested both Hondo and Brian. He was right. Hondo came in and just reacted viscerally with his violin to the tracks we'd already laid down. Brian brought in some old keyboards and added some absolutely brilliant tracks, the sort of things that you might not consciously notice right away, but you'd notice if they were suddenly missing. Adding Brian and Hondo is what made this start feeling like a band and not just some studio project.

HH: I understand that the recording went fairly quickly.

Bob: Yeah, I think we had six songs completed in the first weekend of sessions. Probably 85% of the tracks were first takes. We found we can work rather efficiently. For instance, while Mike would be in the control room adding a guitar or percussion track, I'd be out in the studio figuring out a bassline, and we'd be ready to track it as soon as Mike was finished with what he was doing.

HH: It sounds as if your methods are fairly spontaneous.

Bob: Yes, almost chaotic at times, but controlled chaos. I always like the way Man Ray worked in the darkroom with his photographs, letting accidents happen to see what wonderful things would emerge, but always paying attention to what he was doing so he could do it again . . .

HH: That sounds like how Eno works sometimes . . .

Bob: I was about to mention him. Yes, same sort of thing, I guess, but with sound instead of images. The thing is to be openminded about what the result is, even if it's not what you intended. We might not have any idea what we were going to end up with if we plug instrument X into box Y and into box Z, or we might think we knew what was going to happen, but we had to be open for whatever the result was, because it often was much better than what we could have planned. It's like note choices: Sometimes the wrong note is the right note. Same with tones and sounds. The thing is not to be too controlled; we set up an environment where happy accidents can happen.

HH: Sometimes I can't tell what instrument is playing a certain part.

Bob: And I can't tell you. It would ruin it if you knew. Like being behind the scenes at an opera or a play. If you see the backs of the setpieces it ruins the illusion. Besides, I don't think Mike wants me to reveal our methods. You can ask Mike if you want [HH note: I will!] but I don't think he'll tell you, either. Just suffice it to say that we had some truly bizarre signal chains in some cases.

We're not sure yet, but we might list the instruments used without saying where they're used.

HH: A few tracks sound like they have Optigan or Chamberlin on them.

Bob: Well, yeah, we do have some Optigan in there, and we'll have to admit to that one because we want to credit whoever the studio musicians were that created the looped tracks. We don't know their names—nobody does—but we can at least credit them anonymously.

HH: So when is the album due out?

Bob: We're not quite sure yet. We still have a little bit of mixing and mastering to finish, but French Fry Reindeer should be out on the Coffeehouse label sometime this year.

HH: French Fry Reindeer?

Bob: Don't ask. It's based on a true story.

HH: I've heard about Mike's diner tricks . . .

Bob: It's all true. I've seen it.

HH: So what's next for the SubFidelics?

Bob: I'm sure we'll keep recording whenever we get a chance to get together. We've still got a lot of untried tricks up our collective sleeves. Besides that, it's interesting to see how collaborations and side projects are materializing. People hear our music and want to do something with it. New applications for our tracks present themselves. It's still too early to see what will pan out and what won't, but it's fun. We're also amused by the attention we've gotten, because this all started as just a fun project, with no thought given to commercial application. It's turned out to be all-purpose music.

HH: But without being bland . . .

Bob: Exactly. It's fun, it's sexy, it grooves. It works in both the foreground and the background. It's rave music, it's make-out music, it's film music . . . I have to say, and it's not just because I'm involved, but I don't get tired of listening to it!

HH: I agree. It doesn't get worn out.

Bob, we're out of time. Thanks for talking with us.

Bob: And thank you. It was fun.