KIMYA DAWSONinterview |
May 1st 2003: |
Kimya: good morning brad Brad: Morning! Before we start is there anything that you wanna talk about or don't wanna talk about? Kimya: did you shower and eat breakfast? I do think that was a part of the deal. that we would both shower and eat breakfast. Brad: I took a bath and had chips and salsa Kimya: I even washed my hair (for the first time in 4 months) Kimya: that sounds good Brad: And some Easter candy Kimya: hmmm, I guess you can ask me anything. Brad: ok- you are working on some new songs right? for rough trade Kimya: I have some new songs, yeah. I am thinking of doing some recording with john flansburgh from they might be giants. he kindly offered his services to me. Kimya: I learned to bounce tracks on the four track Brad: how do you do that? Kimya: you recorded 3 tracks and then get the mix right and record them onto the fourth track and then you can use the first and second ones again Kimya: and record them onto the 3rd track and then record over the first and 2nd ones again Kimya: so I have been able to work out some fancier arrangements Kimya: it gets muddy though on the four track Kimya: so I have been making arrangements for the songs that way and I think I will have other people help me record them so they are clear. Kimya: it helps because I can only play one handed keyboard Kimya: so if I want a 2 handed keyboard part I have to use 2 tracks Brad: why can you only play one handed? Kimya: and before it could just be keyboard guitar and vocals if I did that Kimya: I took piano lessons when I was a kid and the only two handed song I got to was this one called the swan Kimya: whenever I put both hands on the keyboard at once everything I try to play ends up as the swan Brad: That's like me, I took a typing class and broke one of my hands, so I type with one hand Brad: What are the newer songs about>? Kimya: all different stuff Brad: like.... Kimya: I was kinda thinking that if they were all on one album it might seem kinda preachy but I have been really overwhelmed lately and have been using my songs to remind myself how to be Kimya: I am not telling other people how to be as much as I am telling me how to be Kimya: to keep my shit together Kimya: one is about my grandma Kimya: one is a love song Kimya: one is about peewee herman and michael jackson Kimya: one is about boats Kimya: some kinda war inspired ones Kimya: you know the usual Brad: Whats been overwhelming you lately? Kimya: well, I don't have a manager or a tour manager. and I have been playing a bunch of out of town shows. I am learning how to set everything up on my own. Kimya: yesterday I found out that I can't rent a car without a credit card Kimya: I thought I could use my debit card Kimya: so I spent all night trying to recruit fans to drive me city to city next week Kimya: I am going on a tour with the butchies that starts in minneapolis Brad: Is that Amy Ray? Kimya: plus I make all my own shirts Kimya: who? Kimya: I also burn copies of knock-knock who and my cute fiend..... Kimya: plus I have this handpainted tote bag business Kimya: and my parents are planning on selling the house Kimya: and my mom was diagnosed with 2 benign brain tumors Kimya: and my friend symenya died last month Kimya: just a lot going on Brad: you are starting to overwhelm me Brad: My mom is having a liver cancer scare right now Kimya: it is enough to make you wanna curl up in a ball and hide, right? Kimya: but I know how I get Brad: And my dad live in Hong Kong- big SARS scare over there, they give a mask when he goes to work Kimya: if I stop and let myself feel bad it might be hard for me to get going again Kimya: so I keep sooo busy and sometimes I get in over my head Brad: Feel good- ANti-up!! What were you like in the sixth grade? Mid-eights right? Kimya: I just sent a bag to a girl whose friend ordered it for her birthday which was last month Kimya: in 6th grade? Kimya: I was little and I was pretty scared Kimya: I had to have an 8th grade girl help me get the stuff out of the top of my locker Kimya: I don't really remember though Brad: I will fix most of the spelling and such Kimya: ok Kimya: older boys would pretend to have crushes on me because I would squirm Brad: that's not nice Brad: when was your first crush? Kimya: it's pretty funny because ira delone lee would say that sean had a crush on me and sean would turn red and I would just about die and then the next year I became good friends with sean's sister tina a Kimya: and I would go over to their house a lot Kimya: she is still one of my best friends so I see him a lot and just kinda giggle about how retarded we were Kimya: he has a daughter who is almost as tall as me Brad: whoa Kimya: she will be in 6th grade next year Kimya: it's funny Kimya: but sad too Kimya: the daughter is named after their big sister who died that year Kimya: even though I didn't know her my whole middle school and high school experience was affected by her death Brad: because you were friends with tina? Kimya: yeah Kimya: my grandpa and my dog and my great grandma and a 9 month old that came to our day care all died around that time too Kimya: I was really sensitive Kimya: and I kinda fell apart Brad: Me and my pal Ben say that the neighborhood that I grew up in is cursed cause about ten people around our age that grew up their died early. two of whom I considered my best friends at one time Kimya: how old were you? Kimya: brad? Brad: I was 20 when Roger got run over by an 18 wheeler, and 26 when bill's motorcycle hit a car, but lots of kids died earlier, Nathan hung himself by accident when I was 16 and so on Kimya: my goodness. tina's sister was hit by a train. Kimya: and the little baby daniel was killed in a car accident Brad: Roger was hitchhiking, and they found him 3 months after it happened Kimya: holy crap Brad: I knew since I was 2 Brad: knew him Brad: where are your parents going and what are you gunna do? Kimya: you'd think that each death could be death with individually, but everytime someone dies it just adds on to the pile and brings up emotions from every other time Brad: true! Kimya: symenya was neighbor from when we were kids Brad: Vanessa has never known anyone who has died Kimya: she was diagnosed with cancer a couple months ago and died 3 weeks after she was diagnosed Brad: sheeees\ Kimya: my age Kimya: she was the one who would spend 6 hours at a time braiding my hair for me in high school Kimya: I had long milli vanilli braids down past my butt Brad: me too Brad: jk Kimya: haha! I bet you did! Brad: I had pig-tails Kimya: oh yeah, I am not morbid all the time, but when people get sick it brings up those same feeling for me almost as when someone dies Kimya: but almost worse because when they die they die Kimya: the anticipation and fear are too fucking much Brad: that reminds me of... Kimya: when they are sick Kimya: of...... Kimya: hmmm Brad: my grandmother was born two months pre mature, which in those days was a death sentence, the doctors told her mom not to let her cry, after about a week... Kimya: and the war doesn't help relax me any Brad: she wouldn't stop cryin' and her mom said, "if she dies, she dies, I can't stop the crying Kimya: my across the street neighbor chichi just had a baby 2 1/2 months early Kimya: 2 lbs Brad: wow... Brad: what has been the happiest time lately? (I lost Like Three Lines of the Interview here- Talking about the Daniel Johnston Tour. I am sooo lame.) Kimya: and we got to stay on a dairy farm in vermont! Brad: with cows... Kimya: there are pics from that trip on my website Kimya: they are all from the farm none from the shows Kimya: and we spent a couple days with john from important records Kimya: he is really a good good person Brad: good good people are the best Kimya: he is going to put out knock-knock who and my cute fiend as a double cd Kimya: we are going to manufacture it inexpensively so it can be sold for the price of a single cd Kimya: and I will do a painting for the cover and the insert will be a picture book! Brad: I am trying to work on a sticker design for my site Kimya: he is into doing special limited runs of things too so maybe we'll do a hundred that come with a puppet or something Kimya: oh that is cool Kimya: i'd put stickers for this site on my stuff Kimya: for some reason stickers fall off my guitar case Brad: I have covered my guitar in stickers Kimya: the only one that has survived my adventures is the purple organ one Brad: that is on my guitar Kimya: daniel johnston was going to draw on my guitar but we both forgot Kimya: next time Brad: doug just got email Kimya: from you? Brad: an email address Kimya: or you mean an email account Kimya: oh yeah Brad: yep Kimya: I got an email from him this morning Kimya: he wants to buy a painting of a baby cow I did Kimya: called "gulden scours" Kimya: I showed paintings at galapagos the other night at the unicornsounds cd release party Brad: he is doing a mad libs for me, I heard that was really cool Brad: unicornsounds rocks Kimya: it was great, I was exhausted though Brad: Simple rules Kimya: yeah toby is doing good things Kimya: simple is a very amazing man Brad: Do you like hangin with kids? Kimya: yeah Kimya: especially my nephew skyler Kimya: he is sooooo cool Brad: baby of the summer Kimya: he is so silly and smart Kimya: yup Kimya: this is the first nice weather since he learned to walk and it is so crazy how much he loves to be outside Kimya: when he gets brought back in the house he screams at the top of his lungs Kimya: he also likes making faces at himself in the mirror and dancing and singing and playing music Kimya: he makes really funny tuff guy faces Kimya: it's extra funny because he is so tiny Kimya: just this little 20 pound human Kimya: and he already cracks himself up Kimya: I was watching some of the stuff at punkcast.com with him the other day Kimya: he really liked tv smith Kimya: and diane cluck Brad: diane is way cool Kimya: he was singing along and trying to strum their guitars! Kimya: diane is very very cool Kimya: I don't know if you remember my krisbee interview from fall but I said my dream show would be to play with daniel johnston and the danielson famile Brad: I remember Brad: he is in NC now Kimya: I have played with both, but diane gets to play a show with daniel johnston and brother danielson together at a church in pennsylvania Kimya: I am a little jealous! Kimya: that is going to be AMAZING Kimya: the 3 of them are so intense and so inspiring! Brad: I don't know of the danielson famile Kimya: holy crap brad! http://www.danielsonfamile.com Brad: hey I am so out of the loop Kimya: they aren't a part of antifolk Brad: I barely know antifolk Kimya: some brothers and sisters and their spouses from new jersey good christians with weir weird good music Kimya: they dress like nurses Kimya: the songs are so good |