Nomeansno
Post-punk, art-funk & jazz-rock fusion
Photo by Flickr
When Nomeansno’s All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt came out in 2006, I interviewed John Wright for the first time. I went way long on the interview because both Wright and I are verbose, loquacious men. (See, right there I could have used either “verbose” or “loquacious” and yet I used both—and then I explained as much.) This time around, uh, well, very little has changed.
Because he’s way smarter and more engaging than I am, I’ve curated this piece to be heavy on Wright’s verbosity and not so much on mine. It seemed the least I could do.
John Wright on the band’s releases since Ausfahrt five years ago: “We have released two EPs, Tour EP 1 and Tour EP 2, and plan on having two more out next year—you guessed it—Tour EP 3 and [Tour EP] 4. We spent long hours coming up with those titles.”
On how the band measures success: “We do not actively market ourselves and don't measure success with growth charts but concentrate on rediscovering the things about music that have always inspired and energized us. I want my experience on stage to move me first—then I know that the audience has something to grab a hold of and give back the energy that a great show requires.”
On boredom: “If I'm bored, you're bored, I have yet to become bored with playing.”
On whether the music industry has gotten “worse” over the years: “It has always been a venal business, like all the business of art and literature. I think it’s harder now for bands now that things are so diffuse, crowded and generic. All the lines are blurred and everyone is grappling to find ways to stand out in the crowd.”
On how Nomeansno are funny with their music: “We have always been a little cheeky and never too serious. We are on stage much the way we are off stage. I crack jokes all the time and punning is a pastime. Humour keeps people relaxed and thus receptive.”
On why Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? is his favourite Nomeansno album: “I have always felt that this album had the best feel and flow and very strong songwriting. It had a cool overall sound and putting all things together, I was very pleased with the results. I am enjoying recording our new stuff now too but as a body of work it is coming out in shorter bursts.”
On the eternal question, “Is punk dead?”: “Does it matter? Really?”
On whether Nomeansno are the godfathers of math rock: “I think Bach was and will always be the Godfather of math rock. Aren't we jazz-core? Prod-puck, that's it. I know that in the eighties we were change-core. But of course as we all know, we have always been high-volume, post-punk, art-funk, jazz-rock fusion.”
Photo by Flickr
John Wright
Photo by Damon Allen Davison
Nomeansno
You must be logged in to leave a comment.
