SPOTLIGHT
played at the military base. We also played for one of the tank battal- ions out in the desert about fifteen kilometers from the Iraqi border. We played a gig and then stayed and had dinner with the troops. That was probably the coolest. It was very moving. Also, we have gotten to play with and meet musicians who we were
fans of. We have played at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London…that is always exciting. Please tell me about the new album in the works and how the songwriting energy is for you? We’re still working on the songs and some of them I really don’t
have opinions on yet. I like everything that we have put down so far. I’m excited about writing songs again. Writing and recording them, and making a moment that you have control over like that…that is the most fun. But, it is also very challenging to do, it’s quite a task and a process. As a group creating art collectively, it can be a delicate thing. In a way, it’s sort of thrilling, knowing that you are all laying it out like that. It has been a while since we have done this and that is one of the
reasons there is so much excitement, because it’s fun to be back at it. For this record, some of the songs have been written for a while and we haven’t really played them in a while. Some of them are very new to Mary. Some had lyrics that she had to get used to and she is writing the lyrics to to some of them. The shift of musical taste between folk, alternative and mainstream suc- cess…how has that been an influence of the band? We kind of came of age during the whole MTV thing, David Let-
terman, MTV and the band, all kind of started at the same time. We certainly were embraced by MTV then for quite a while. When we were with Electra Records during the late 1980s or early 1990s, the record companies were just hitting their stride. They were making lots of money and throwing a lot of money around. Our record com- pany for the most part was really good to us. They kind of let us be, but they still push you in directions. Yet, the band for the most part has not made grand or shifting changes. Eighty percent of it is just a happy accident…all we try to do is keep writing songs that we like and release songs that we are proud of and let the rest of it happen. Writing a song is like raising a child. You mold it and feed it and dress it up and push it out the door and never see it again. There is nothing much you can do about it, once they’ve left home. How would you describe the dynamics of a great live show from the band? Most of our live shows start with the drummer and if Jerry
[Augustyniak] has complete ownership and is taking control of the songs completely…all of us play really well because all we’re doing is following him. This is our dynamic and what we think when we walk off the stage. The great thing about live playing is that there is a twelfth player and that’s the audience. They have so much to say as to how the show goes. If the audiences are into it and are paying atten- tion and are smiling with you, it’s the greatest thing especially from the seat I’ve got on stage. I think Jerry Garcia called it the “X Factor.” As a musician, you’re wearing it on your sleeve and you’re playing your damndest and when the audience reacts to that, it’s really cool.
10,000 MANIACS April 15 at 8:00 p.m. The DreamCatcher at Viejas Casino
ViejasEntertainment.com
Steve Gustafson
FIVE FAST ONES FOR STEVE OF 10,000 MANIACS
The last CD you bought? I buy all my tunes on iTunes…isn’t that weird? But the last album I bought on CD was The Who’s Tommy. I’m also the technical director of our college theatre in our town and last Fall, we presented the musical Tommy. But, in the last year, I’ve been listening to a lot of Harry Nilsson, I love Harry and I’ve been grooving to a lot of Leonard Cohen too.
What do you watch on TV? I haven’t seen any episode of a reality TV show ever, or much TV as far as sitcoms or shows like that. I prefer news, hockey and golf. I do watch a lot of movies with my kids, I like Night at the Museum.
A quick reminder as to why the band is called 10,000 Maniacs? It’s ironic…how’s that for quick? No, I know, The Beatles was taken.
What was the last book you read?
Ohhh...last year, I went nuts and read sixteen books during the summer. I just read John Sandford’s Rough Country and also just re-read Stephen King’s Rose Madder. I get the bug [to read] once in a while and when I do, I can’t stop.
A favorite travel destination? Home.
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