joe interviews guy picciotto

How is everyone? What are you guys doing right now? Anything special we should know of that is coming up for you?

We're doing pretty well all told. We kind of went into a paternity hibernation after the release of our last album because our bassist Joe had a kid with his wife right around the same time. We are only just now starting to practice again with any regularity after a break of around 6 months. For a band that's been around for 15 years, we got ourselves into a weird predicament....for the first time, we are without a practice space to play in. We still don't really have one but a friend is kindly letting us use his basement for a month so we can get our shit together before we go back on the road. We probably won't be touring a ton this year but we are planning some quick guerilla maneuvers here and there. People can stay updated on those developments at www.dischord.com and www.southern.com. Both will list any dates as they get confirmed. As for new releases, it will probably be awhile because we just put out the ARGUMENT album, the FURNITURE single and the INSTRUMENT DVD - so all that's going to hold us for awhile till the new songs make themselves apparent.

We know that the majority of critics praised your disc, but how successful was The Argument to you? And if it was, then why?

The fact that THE ARGUMENT even exists at all is probably the biggest success to us really. Making records and writing songs is not a smooth and easy thing for us....we really sweat the process so if we end up with something that people can actually buy and hear in the outside world then its a pretty big deal, to us anyway. When we started the sessions for the record, we were trying to be loose about it - mentally, we were more just taking stock of what we had written then definitively making an album. We sort of suprised ourselves when it really started to come together ....when it was over we actually had too much stuff for a single album so we exiled a few songs off to a single. In terms of how it stands up artistically or whatever, i have to leave that for other people to judge....to me judging the songs is a little like judging family members - its just a completely too complicated relationship to be objective about.

Name any specific momentthat makes you feel proud about being in Fugazi? Any particular disc of yours that makes you tingle all over?

I'm not really proud at all, to be honest. To me it would be like being proud that you can breathe oxygen or whatever - I don't see it as that big of a deal.... I mean if we had cured cancer or something maybe i would feel more puffed up but as it is, i'm just happy to be in a band. I don't ever get "tingely" concerning our records but i do feel a lotof adrenaline when we play live - that to me is our natural habitat. When we go for these long periods without playing, i start feeling like a hologram.

Was it ever a primary goal of Fugazi to remain politically active, or does it just come with the territory now? Are there any organizations orcauses as of late that you guys support or condone?

We really started with a very simple program: we wanted to make music and we wanted to maintain our autonomy while doing it. Along the way, we just tried to do every aspect of it according to what made us most comfortable as well as what helped us to realize our interests the most. We are all pretty engaged people politically so it just made sense for that to be reflected in our music and in the way we worked. The types of organizations and causes that we work with have varied over the years but generally we like to support grassroots organizations that operate here in our hometown, Washington DC - stuff like free health clinics, housing rights organizations, needle exchange programs, prisoners' rights groups, etc. Practically every show we have ever done in DC for the last 15 years has been either a benefit or a protest so over the years we have generated into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for various groups which is pretty killer.

When you think about Fugazi as a whole, what's the first thought that comes to your mind?

Fuck if i know - really, the band has been such an encompassing part of my life that its a bit hard to dissect it like that. Maybe something like "back-breaking labor lightly seasoned with occasional laughter".

What do you guys do on the side to keep yourselves occupied?

All of us are pretty busy outside of the band - Ian still basically manages the group as well as runs our label Dischord so he is always, always working his tail off. Joe, like i mentioned, is newly a father and he also runs his own label called Tolotta Records that releases stuff by great bands like Orthrelm, Spirit Caravan and Dead Meadow (interested parties should check out his web page www.tolotta.com). Brendan is also a dad with 2 sons - on the side he does soundtrack work for things like Discovery Channel documentaries, plays with Lois Maffeo occasionally and does production work for people like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I have my own label Peterbilt (which recently released a double CD by Octis) and I've done some production work for bands like Blonde Redhead, Quix-o-tic and the Make Up. But overall, since we are a self run band, there is also always alot of grunt work we all need to split up to keep the band working.

How much of a priority is it to stay connected with your fans? (you obviously do since you exchanged emails with myself) Do you have difficulty staying socially intact with your public?

We definitely keep ourselves accessible to people who are interested in what we do. We always answer all our mail (postal and email) - though sometimes it may take us awhile depending on how swollen the mailbag is, eventually everyone gets a reply. As for on the road, there its really easy to hang out with people who come to our shows - we aren't hiding out in a tour bus or anything. Generally, we have a pretty respectful, cool audience so its not like we are suffering or anything.

What is so devilishly attractive about those Rickenbacker rock axes? Are they a personal favorite of yours, or just something you've stuck with since the beginning?

I was always predisposed to liking Rickenbackers because growing up i was really, really obsessed with the Beatles and they played them. When I first started playing guitar in bands i used Gibsons; for some reason they were the guitar of choice for most of the DC punk scene. They had a thick sound which eventually wasn't really what i wanted to sound like.... towards the end of being in the band Rites of Spring, I saw an incredible looking 1971 blonde Rickenbacker in a store and grabbed it and that was it. It took me awhile to figure out how to control their tendency for crazy ass feedback (particularly when played through something like a Marshall) but now I can't imagine playing anything else. Its not just a sonic thing, the chimey tone or whatever, but its also the way they feel with the thin wood and thin necks. I'm just a believer.

You had mentioned in a previous interview that you love playing Italy and Brazil. What attracts you to these places? Are there any othersplaces that get you particularly excited?

Honestly, i like playing everywhere. We've been to so many cool places like Malaysia, Australia, Chile which all had major impacts on me but Brazil and Italy just have a special place in my heart because the audiences there are so warm - its kind of hard to explain but the shows there always seem to have some special kind of explosiveness coming off the crowds.

How's the DC music scene doing? Are there any bands that you take a personal interest in right now?

Its impossible to compare the scene in DC from the early 80's to what's going on now and in a way, what would be the point because contextually the two eras are just completely different. Still, there are always some interesting things happening here musically speaking. Right now some of the bands i'm digging are El Guapo and The Pupils (both of whom will have records coming out on Dischord soon), Quix-o-tic (who have a new album coming out on Kill Rock Stars) and Orthrelm (an insane guitar/drums duo that features some of the most mental guitar playing you will ever here - they are on our bassist joe's label Tolotta).

Even though you don't tour as much anymore, do you still get the same rush out of it as you did from the beginning? Could you describe the feelingyou get right before you take stage (do you still get nervous or excited, or do you even have any feeling about it anymore)?

Yeah - its been weird trying to acclimate to not touring as much as we once did. Having been on tour for what seems like 1/2 of the last 15 years - its a bit like being an astronaut coming back to earth and having to re-adjust to the gravity. Still, when we do get a chance to play it is every bit as much of a release as it ever was. Though it depends on the night usually I don't get crazy stage anxiety before we go on but its more like i just feel pressure to play well. It helps that we don't use a set list because it keeps us all focussed on what's happening - we can't ever zone out and just phone it in.

You're in the studio right now, What's happening in there?

When I mentioned in a previous email that I was in the studio, it was actually as an assistant on a session for the band Quix-o-tic I talked about earlier. I was just sitting in on their mixing sessions to help out. As for Fugazi, we have no plans to record for awhile....we've kind of tapped out our song reserve so we have to get back into writing mode.

Well Guy, thanks a load for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. best of luck to youand the rest of the folks and as a final traditional request, could you leave us with a good catch phrase or slogan to promote the doings of the Glove

All you need is Glove? or is that too obvious?