FUGAZI

You probably know the drill. Fugazi release their own records, keep ticket prices low, only play all-ages shows, reject offers from big record companies, don't make music videos etc etc. So, lets keep it simple. The band formed in Washington DC in 1987, as a threepiece - drummer Brendan Canty, guitarist and singer Ian MacKaye and bassist Joe Lally. Guitarist and singer Guy Picciotto joined up shortly thereafter. From there they've released a handful of albums that show an impressive range of musical ability - and freedom. Their last release was the movie Instrument and accompanying soundtrack. A collection of live footage and other bits and pieces filmed by the band's friend Jem Cohen over the years, it's given fans the best view yet of the people behind the band. I, for one, didn't realise they were funny. Here Guy talks about the last time a record company tried to sign them up, explains the idea behind making Instrument ... and tells a joke.

Is it safe to say that everything Fugazi does (low ticket prices, releasing your own records etc) is all about the music?

Yeah - I guess so. Basically, we want to be in control of all the peripheral mechanics that come with being in a band because it makes us more comfortable, and if we're comfortable then we can be creative. If we let someone else call the shots, or we let the market dictate our pricing or whatever, it would fuck us up internally and the music wouldn't happen. It's all tied up together: aesthetics and operation.

Would you rather people respected you for your independent stance or for your music?

With us it's all of a piece. I think a lot of people think art and ideology are separate entities but in my mind they inform each other, it's all bound up together. People are free to pull whatever they want from it.

Do record companies still try and sign the band? What do you tell them?

It's actually been a really long time since we've been approached by any record companies. It never really happened that much because I think the word got around pretty quickly that we were very serious about maintaining our autonomy and running our own affairs. About 6 years ago we got approached by Atlantic with a really over the top jaw-dropping offer - I think when we turned that down it kind of silenced the playing field. We haven't heard a peep since from anyone.

Was part of the idea behind making Instrument to let fans have a look at a side of the band they might not otherwise see?

To be honest, we never really had that clear an idea of what we were making with INSTRUMENT till we were really deep in the process. The project started because the director Jem Cohen had amassed so much footage of us that it kind of asserted itself to be dealt with in some way - (that's kind of the way he operates - he just shoots and archives and eventually projects spring up from all the material). We just [gave] Jem a lot of access to hang out with us and shoot our shows, tours and recording sessions and we kind of beat it into shape in the editing. Jem certainly had particular ideas and themes he threaded through the movie but the "behind the scenes" type vibe was really just a consequence of the nature of the footage itself not the motivator behind it.

I really liked your riff about assassinating George Burns in Instrument. Very funny. Which, I admit, surprised me a little - I fell victim to the misconception that the band 'never smiles'. Do you get these sort of misconceptions a lot (the band's too serious, too earnest)? How do they make you feel?

I think that was one unexpected benefit from releasing the movie (Instrument) - it kind of disrupted a lot of the preconceptions about the group. We have always avoided getting into a lot of beg and scrape "we're nice guys really" type of exposure because that is the kind of a staple of celebrity culture ... ideas/ideology always get subsumed to more comfortable "we're just about having a good time" type bullshit. Still, I think the movie did a good job of avoiding a lot of bogus voyeurism while still showing that we are actually human beings not righteous automatons. In terms of how we feel about abounding misconceptions: it's not really something to get that hung up about. Since we don't employ any kind of PR army it's natural that people will not always have the clearest picture of what's up with us ... that kind of leaves the focus on what is readily available which is the work - the songs, the shows, the albums, which is I think is kind of the way it should be.

Is there such a thing as a 'Fugazi song'? For instance, could a band member turn up with a song that other members say they won't play because it's 'not the band's sound'?

The only thing that makes a song a "Fugazi" song is the fact that we're playing it. We really try to break up any rules that ever start to coalesce. The only times we ever reject any ideas that pass through is when they overtly suck or if they don't lead anywhere that we can corral into shape. We are actually really respectful of any parts that any one of us brings in - we have pieces of music that we have been tinkering with for over a decade and they keep getting another shot to see if they can pan out.

What's the most important thing you think Fugazi has accomplished?

I don't really think in those terms - to me, I guess I'm just glad we've managed to stick it out and get a lot of work done. Having been in a bunch of bands previously that imploded before they really reached their potential, I'm happy to be with people who are willing to push the music as far as it can go.

How much further can Fugazi go? One year? Five? Ten?

We don't project the future ... as long as the work makes sense to us and we feel that the ideas are flowing then we will be a band. When it dries up or people end up having other things they want to do then we will call it a day. For now, we're here.

What's your favourite Fugazi song and why?

We have a new song called "epic problem" which I'm really into right now - mainly because it took us almost a decade to arrange it and it's finally, finally, finally fallen into shape. Otherwise, the album I like the most is the INSTRUMENT soundtrack because it's so low-key and spontaneous ... it's the least self-conscious stuff we've ever done because none of it was recorded with any idea of releasing it.

Finally, what's the last funny joke you heard?

A turtle is mugged by 2 snails - the police ask "can you tell us what happened?". The turtle replies " I don't know - it all happened so fast!"