Interview - Jeffery Lewis

Written by The Dish | Tuesday, May 23, 2006 |

Sat at my friends house I discovered something quite special. That something was not only was Jeffrey Lewis playing 20 minutes away from my home, but on top of that my friends band ‘Don’t Move’ were supporting him.

There was to be no stopping me. I was there!Arriving at the venue as a ‘make shift roadie’ for Don’t Move The Tin Angel in Coventry was pretty empty. The Tin Angel is a cute little music venue by night, and a chilled café by day. It even had an olive dispensing machine c’mon!!

By 8:30 it’s fair to say the venue was filled to the brim with literally no more room for anyone. Which was worrying considering Jeff, his brother and bassist Jack and drummer friend Dave were yet to arrive. After a brilliant set by Don’t Move I take on the role of roadie and take the bass to the car, beginning to become confused about whether an interview was actually taking place or not I turn around to see a cosy looking room with leather sofas and a merch table. And, as if by magic, Jeff comes out to greet me and invite me in. And boy, was I right, compared to the cold of outside, the room was perfect. Once in, I’m introduced to drummer Dave, brother Jack, who is busily painting record covers, and two members of Misty’s Big Adventure, a band from Birmingham, and friends of the Jeff Lewis band.

So with backstage and introductions out of the way it’s time to let the Interview commence.

Whats the best gig you’ve ever played, and why?

‘The best show we’ve ever played? It’s hard to say’

A thoughtful moment passes

‘Jack, what do you thinks the best show we’ve ever played?’

‘There have been some top shows. There was one in paris.’

‘Yeh we’ve had a couple of great shows in Paris’

‘No they usually stink in Paris, but this one was a good one.’

‘Oh well, whatever. A personal highlight, I had a solo show at a small place in Brooklyn. And a show I did right before I left Austin. I stayed there for 6 months. The final one I did there was one of the greatest shows I ever played. After 6 months of terrible shows and a lot of experimentation, and a huge amount of mistakes, I finally put all of the elements I’d been messing around with into one show and it fulfilled everything that I wanted. Austin was great I met a Korean guy who taught me Korean punk rock songs. And by the end of my time there I had managed to train the whole house of people I was living with so I had a huge chorus of people. I did this version of ‘The Last Time I did Acid I went Insane’ where I went into an improvised monologue of going insane on acid, and I asked if anyone else had tales and it just went on and on. It must have gone on for something like 2 hours or something. It was just absolutely amazing.’

For more details of Jeffs time in Austin you can buy his comic book, where it is all detailed in pen and paper. A damn good read if you ask me!

The band truthfully tell me that they’ve had too many bad shows to pick one, so before beginning to dwell upon the bad times I ask about the song writing side of things.

So how exactly does Jeff put the magical music together?

‘I do a combination of having music than lyrics or vice versa. I don‘t really have a set way as such.’

And what about the inspiration?

‘If I knew where, I could go to that place more often and write more songs.’

And, despite what his brother told me, it’s not heavy drug smoking that does it. In fact it’s been 10 years since any illegal goings on have taken place in the Lewis lifestyle.

So am I sat talking to a one man band or is there more behind it?

‘I prefer being able to have the full range of music. I like playing solo, but when I do so, I can only play solo songs. Where as if I have accompaniment I can do that and more.’

So US or UK?

‘Tazmania is really top of our list. But it’s a good balance, in the UK we can play shows where it’s packed full of people, but then we got back to the US and we’re playing to like, 10 people a night. So it’s a very different feeling.’

‘Also playing the US you have to try and get peoples attention a bit more. It’s difficult because there’s so many bands.’

‘It’s the different feeling between there being expectation and no expectations, and I enjoy both. It’s really fun to be able to play to a room full of people that are enjoying what you do, but it’s also really fun to play to a room full of people who have don’t know what to expect, and you can take them by surprise. Then they’re like what the hell did I just see.’

But Jeff isn’t just ‘the psychedelic music man’ he’s a comic book writer too y’know!

So tell us about the comic books

‘I draw all of it’ Jack says looking up from his painting for one second ‘No, jeff does all the comic books, he’s a very talented guy’

We don’t need to be told, it’s clear to see.

But what exactly made Jeff want to write and sing and play and draw?

‘Feelings of complete worthlessness, loneliness and desperation. Trying to find any avenue to get people approval or attention. Having no other means of finding any sense of self worth….What else would drive somebody to do something like comic books, it’s a last resort.’

(laughs all round)

Well he said it, not me. I suggest next time you go see this guy, show him your approval, make him feel loved, that’s all he ever wanted! I’m sure he won’t charge you for a hug.

So when you were feeling like this, which came first?

‘Definitely comic books.’

How did that turn into music?

Jeff pauses for a moment.

‘I don’t know. I still had too much lonely time. When I was frustrated I found a way to distract myself from comics, I’d be sitting at my desk trying to do comics, and there was a guitar in the corner, used to be my fathers and I’d just go and mess around with the guitar. Procrastinate.’

If you haven’t had a chance to see him live, Jeff performances include live comic book shows.

Which do you prefer?

‘I like doing a mixture of both. It would be fun at some point to do a show that’s all comic books. But I think what really works best for us is mixing everything together.’

Who inspired you to do what you’re doing?

‘Our uncle was a rapper in Brooklyn and he’s probably the only 60 year old Jewish rapper in Brooklyn, and he’s the most amazing lyricist I’ve ever heard. Totally brilliant. He has no interest in the music business at all, he only really performs if it’s for a certain cause, like union rallys or things like that. He’s an absolute inspiration, always. And simple music, like Donovan, it’s so beautiful but so simple. If you listen to Dylan, you only ever feel you can be a poor imitation of him, but if you listen to Donovan it really shows you can make amazing songs without being complicated.’

What bands that are around at the moment do you like?

‘Misty’s Big Adventure (obviously no plug there!), I don’t know I find there’s almost nothing in the regular known music world that I’m actually into. All the bands that I really love are bands that are under the radar. Herman Dune, Pre War Yardsale, the Late Pictures, Dufus from New York is a big influence. It seems I’m most into all these bands that are floating around on local level.’

What do you hope to have achieved by this time next year?

‘I would like to have another bunch of comic books done. I would like to have my history of communism performance piece finished, and be able to do a complete set. I have 3 parts of it finished, I’ve just finished the Russian Revolution, and I’m going to do the history of communism in China next. I wanna do more educational projects within the music that I make. I just want to keep no surprising myself with new directions.’

This guys out to teach the kids something new. Soon enough kids will be flocking to gigs eager to learn…better than school if you ask me!

‘My favorite to perform is the history of communism thing because it’s great that we can get up in front of a 1000 15 year old Cribs fans and make them listen to a 15 minute speech about the history of communism.’

So Cribs fans will be the new cultured generation of the world…it’ll be Interesting to see how that works out.

How do the Cribs fans react to you, because I think it’s safe to say your pretty different from them?

‘I feel that one of our strengths is that even if you think we’re terrible we’re at elast interesting. I think on one of our worst nights, the audience would still want to say ‘I want to know what that was all about.”

And that is no lie!

What would your ideal musician be like?

‘He would certainly have a voice that is not a traditional singing voice.A voice that’s purely full of character, like Daniel Johnston or Mark E Smith of the Fall. I love the Fall. Or Jonathon Richmond or anybody that can absolutely fury you just because it’s a real voice. And for his music, someone who combines the right elements of order and chaos. Like can play beautiful music but also just make a lot of noise. Like ‘Yo La Tengo’ and ‘Sonic Youth’ also.’

How would you describe your music to someone that had never heard you before?

‘I think that’s the best comliment when people don’t know how to describe the music. But, it’s pretty simple, there’s 4 or 5 elements to the shows. I’d say folk punk indie rock with comic books and psychedelice noise and long narratives and short noisy songs.’

‘We get people who come up to us after the shows and are like ‘That was totally weird what you just did, and I guess ever hearing it enough we realise that it’s weird to some people but it doesn’t seem that weird.’

‘It seems perfectly natural to me. I don’t uinderstand why more bands don’t do this.’

Ok so there you go Jeff Lewis band - A cocktail of folk punk indie rock with comic books and psychedelic noise, long narratives and short noisy songs…..I can see it now!

‘I love the fact that people can stand there are not be sure what to think of us, and not sure about what they’ve just heard. That what I love most about the art. What I hope to do with my own books and music is to put something totally new into somebodys brain, something that doesn’t fit into any pre existing box, create a new box that only you fit in. So that any time they want to enjoy it they have to come to you…it’s a supply and demand thing.’

So if you want it, they’ve got it and you know where to find it!

• No Related Post

Post A Comment