MOUTHY ISSUE ONE
December 2003
WAYNE BUTANE
interview by Ian C Stewart
Is there anything you're feeling particularly mouthy about at the moment? It's a stupid question, but it is the name of the magazine after all.
No. Try not inflict my world views on others. My work revolves around giving
your brain some time off and letting it run naked through the tall grass and
just have fun. I do poke fun at politicians and preachers occasionally, but
I don't choose sides or play favorites. Everyone is fair game.
Fair enough. Then let's get really generic and talk about your influences: Who are your biggest influences and why?
Who were your early influences?
Dickie Goodman, the guy who did those cut and paste records like "The Flying
Saucer", "Batman and His Grandmother" and "Mr. Jaws", where he would ask
questions and the reply would be a line taken from a popular song was my
earliest influence. I would also have to list The Beatles for stuff like "I
Am The Walrus" that incorporates different sounds into the music. When I was
in Junior High, all the kids who were Beatle freaks loved the White Album
but HATED "Revolution # 9", which was a favorite of mine.
Where do you see your work heading?
I don't have any idea. And frankly, I'm surprised that I've gotten as far as
I have. I'm just enjoying the ride. Hopefully, I might inspire a few people
along the way to try their own hand at sound collage after they hear my
work.
What music software do you use?
I use SoundForge pretty much exclusively. I have other programs, but
SoundForge works the best for what I do.
Me too. SoundForge rules!Is there any other music software you plan on getting?
The other day I heard a DJ on the radio talking about some software that's
supposed to be coming out that will isolate stuff, like if you have a stereo
record or CD and you want to hear just the lead guitar by itself and nothing
else, the software will pull it out. I don't know if this DJ was full of
shit or not, but if this software comes out, I will be first in line for it.
I can't imagine the record companies would be real pleased with something
like that, since it will make mash-ups and homemade remixes a breeze. Big
record companies don't seem to like creativity. Even from their own artists.
They also don't like things they don't control. They didn't like Napster.
Now they control it, and now it sucks.
What else is in your home studio setup?
I have just about everything. Computer, a couple of turntables, mixer,
cassette deck, Yamaha 4-track cassette recorder, reel-to-reel, VHS and Beta
VCRs, and even a dinosaur 8-track tape player from the 70's, all hooked into
my system. I have all the formats covered, that way whatever I find at the
thrift store, I can play it.
Talk at great length about your latest release. Please.
SWIPES is my latest CD. It's my first effort recorded entirely on the
computer. A few years ago in the very pages of AUTOreverse I swore I would
never abandon analog recording, but I can do things with the computer that
just aren't possible on a 4-track. And the sound quality is so much better,
which is very important to me. I'm still lo-fi, but it's a very good lo-fi.
SWIPES made all my previous cassette releases pale by comparison, so I
deleted them from my catalog. The next CD, called WAYNE BUTANE SUCKS BIGTIME
will be out around March of ' 04. I truly believe it's the best thing I've
done yet.
Can you describe your writing methods?
I don't write down much. That's part of the fun, I never know what's going
materialize when I start creating. I will occasionally jot down notes
whenever I think of something I want to try, or if I hear something on the
radio, but mostly I just wing it, and a lot of times it's weird how things
just seem to fit together.
What made you decide to start making music of your own?
I was in a band called The D Cups and we did a lot of home recording, but
the other two members decided they wanted to play live shows, which didn't
interest me. They formed another band to play out, and while we still
recorded as The D Cups, our sessions weren't as frequent and I had a lot of
extra time on my hands. I decided to put out a tape of sound collage stuff
like I had already been doing by myself for years and people responded real
favorably to it.
Are you active in your local music scene?
Not really. The scene here in the Phoenix area isn't really geared to what I
do. Everybody around here wants to be the next Gin Blossoms, or Jimmy Eat
World who were the last local band to hit big. The New Times, a local
tabloid that claims to be the weekly "arts and music" paper here won't even
review my stuff. They'd rather run stories about national acts that don't
really need the exposure rather than write about myself or other locals,
especially those who are doing anything outside the norm. That may have to
do with the fact that we can't afford to buy full page ads in their rag to
pimp our CDs or tours like The Rolling Stones or Fleetwood Mac can.
Who would you like to collaborate with on new music?
I haven't quite figured out how to do it yet, but I've been asked by a
fellow collage artist named Klarc Qent to do a collaboration, and I want to
do something with him. He is also a great talent and if you like my work, I
highly recommend that you listen to his stuff.
What artists are you excited by?
As far as sound collage type stuff, I'm a huge fan of The Evolution Control
Committee. They always come up with really amazing stuff. And Mark Gunderson
of the ECC recently sent me a CD by Cassetteboy, which is two guys from
Britain. Everyone should seek out their CD The Parker Tapes and get a
copy. These guys are geniuses. I hope they come out with something new very
soon.
What's next for you?
I'm pretty curious about that myself. I don't have a clue.
What did I forget to ask you?
You forgot to ask my views on Dr. Pepper. Yes, I am a Pepper, and a lot of
my work is recorded under the influence of it.
DISCOGRAPHY
LAWSUITS APLENTY! (1992 cassette, never officially released)
SEDUCKTED! (1993 cassette) Zig Recordingz
POSTAURICULAR FLAP (1994 cassette) Zig Recordingz
PURLOINED CHIMP HAIR (1995 cassette) Zig Recordingz
DEAD MONKEY ARCADE (1996 split 7" single with Dum Dum TV) Eerie Materials
EAT SHIT AND BARK AT THE MOON (1996 cassette)
PAY BEFORE PUMPING (1998 cassette) Flaming Canine
MEAT CANNON (2001 cassette) Flaming Canine
SWIPES (2003 compact disc) Flaming Canine
BACKWASH: THE BEST OF WAYNE BUTANE (2003 compact disc) Flaming Canine
WAYNE BUTANE SUCKS BIGTIME (2004 compact disc) Flaming Canine
Compilations:
EERIE BAZARR (1996 compact disc) Eerie Materials
CLEAN UP! (1997 cassette) Taped Rugs Productions
PARTY LIKE IT'S $19.99 (2001 compact disc) Evolution Controlled Creations
www.flamingcanine.com
Mouthy Magazine home