Hello Daevid,
Thank you for replying to my request for an interview.
Please explain your musical background. Did you have any formal training? At what age did you know that music would be an aspiring career for you?
No formal training except briefly aged 6 on piano which put me off being a pianist forever. Oh and I studied jazz guitar for two years under a Melbourne jazz guitarist named Bruce Clarkemainly chords.
How did the idea and the musical direction of Gong originate?
You can read about this more fully if you can find a copy of GONG DREAMING 1/soft machine the autobiographical volume published by GAS in 1994. But the IDEA came from the seed vision I experienced on Easter Sunday 1966 while living near the poet & witch, Robert Graves in Deya de Mallorca, Spain.
The musical direction developed from the combined individual preferences of the musicians that were attracted to the biomagnetic soul-call of the IDEA behind Gong.
The music of Gong is very difficult to categorize, though some people have called it progressive, psychedelic, fusion, spacey and Canterbury- to name a few. What do you think about these `labels?' And how would you classify your music to the uninformed.
Labels are for bands which belong to style clubs. Because it chooses to draw freely from any style from any time according to its inner need at that moment, Gong has now become its own style club.
Gong does not allow itself to be dictated to by commercial imperatives. This shrinks its access but expands its quality.
What do you do outside music? Any interesting hobbies?
Everything I do is my hobby. I am the original amateur at everything & on a good day I hope I reach my ideal of being an "inspired amateur". Infinitely preferable to being an old pro muso or performance artist & professing to possess some kind of wisdom or expertise. Let it all stay fresh.
You seem to be a very serene man. Is spirituality important in your life and in your music and if so, how has it affected your lifestyle in the past 30 years?
You must have caught me on a good day. No I am emotionally tumultuous, often aggressive, not a great breakfast companion & too spontaneous to be polite.
I wake in mental chaos & must meditate minimum one hour per day. This brings me back to a place in myself which manifests -what most people call- socially acceptable behaviour.
I am as multi-dimensional as most illegal minds & practising errorists.
If it weren't for meditation, music, & mammaries I would be mad.
You've probably been asked this hundreds of times, so here it is... one more time- How did all the concepts of The Flying Teapot, Radio Gnome, Zero the Hero, etc. come about?
(a) From the seed vision.
(b) From deeply HEARING the new music produced for each project.
What were the circumstances that made you leave Soft Machine.
Banned from entering the UK for three years by British Immigration ostensibly because I am by birth Australian but actually because I was playing in a psychelic band promoting hallucinagens. Stopped at Dover with the band singled out and sent back to Paris with only my guitar.
Gong's and your music seems to be devoid of the pretentiousness that categorize many of the 70's art rock bands. Do you like imposing humor into your music? How do you make up some of the outrageously clever song titles and lyrics?
There is an old saying that applies beautifully to Gongs attitude to serious message carrying. "It is all far to serious to be serious about it." Nobody with a free mind believes preachers for very long.
If you were stranded on a desert island (With a CD player and batteries), and you could have any ten albums, what would you choose and why?
I would be happier without any albums. I prefer the sound of the sea and of deep space.
You seem to use the glissando guitar quite a lot. What do you like about it? What instruments (and brands) do you use?
Hohner headless electric guitar. POD LINE 6 processor & vol pedal & boomerang loop processor. I play gliss with the whammy bar.
What is your favorite book?
ZEROS AND ONES by ...
Movie?
ANYTHING with music by BADALAMENTI spelling?
What do you feel about the hip-hop, garage band, bubble gum music of today? Do you feel that creativity in music is a dying art?
Hiphop: I write hiphop lyrics for the pure joy of it tho obviously as outsider. But I luv to freestyle my way on a good memory day.
Garage: I jam garage with particular friends & get right off on it. Often.
Bubble Gum. Don't hear it. Smells like cosmetix music. Woolworths.
You seem to cover a lot of musical territory on your recent solo work. `Sacred Geometry,' is your latest solo album. It has some amazing ambient sounds with a strong mid-eastern feel. `Eat me I'm a Jellybean' is a fantastic jazz album with non-`standard' lyrics. `Nectans Glen' has strong Celtic themes. Any new musical directions for you? Any new albums on the horizon? Please elaborate!
New UNIVERSITY OF ERRORS 3 cd "ugly music for monica"- out Sept. 02. Usic for olitical art errorists & rebellious revellry.
BRAINVILLE LIVE cd in the dispensary. (HUGHHOPPER/PIPPYLE/SELF)
Been mainly working on collection of performance poems heard over the last 20 years called POET FOR SALE- out September02.
You have created many solo albums. What is your favorite Gong & solo album?
1. GONG/shapeshifter
2. SHE, THE OWL & LA MAISON (a solo-accoustic best-of from VOICEPRINT RECORDS OUT oct 02)
You now have an open forum. Would you like to say anything else? Any advice to young musicians?
Phew. Don't do as I say, do as you do.
Thank you so much for this interview. I've been a fan of yours for many years! Best of Luck! Can't wait to hear more from the folks at Planet Gong and your wonderful solo work as well.
Best Wishes Lee
Thanks Lee & I wish U well
respex
daevid
