July 2, 2006: Steve Fisk
Updated: July 4, 2006Well, I guess its not going to be as easy to keep this up as I thought! Getting a new Q&A each and every week, that is. The scheduled feature this week is with
Steve Fisk, so I'll just do a little online research and fill in the questions for now... (note: an email this afternoon from Mr. Fisk indicates that they are on their way)!
July 4 Update: They were indeed, and the updated Q&A is below. We agreed to simply add his (and bandmate, Greg Gillmore's) answers after
the Q&A I started on Sunday. Read on...
Steve Fisk is one of those legendary figures in the world of
sound collage. I first became aware of his work about eight years ago when I began a search for his record
Over and Thru the Night. It had received rave reviews on one of the listservs I belonged to and at the time I was scrounging everywhere to find anything that recycled sound. Finding any clues whatsoever was exciting, and I sought out every album I caught wind of, back then. In a way, I kind of miss those days. Now I get a dozen CDs every month, and tons of emails announcing new releases every week, most of which don't even fit the format of the show! Having to sift through all of that, to find the one or two gems (inevitably hiding beneath it all), can be kind of a challenge. I'm happy to do it - don't get me wrong. I'm just remembering how it used to be - the thrill of the chase, as opposed to the process of elimination...
So after searching tirelessly for
Steve Fisk's
Over and Thru the Night, and always coming up empty-handed, I finally just called the label, or the distributor, or someone with a relationship to the record. I must have found their number online, I guess. The guy who answered the phone confirmed that the system did say it was out of print, but he hesitated and said he had a funny feeling... When he came back to the phone, he told me he had found a box hiding in a backroom or somewhere, and asked if I would like to place the order! Of course I did, and when the CD finally arrived in my mailbox, I felt like I'd found buried treasure.
The funny thing is, I was familiar with
Fisk's work even before that record ever arrived in my mailbox, though I hadn't put two and two together at that point. He has worked as producer with several of my favorite bands over the years, including
Nirvana,
Soul Coughing,
Low and
Damien Jurado. He also produced a great spoken word CD by
Steven Jesse Bernstein called
Prison. He's worked with a ton of other artists as well - check out
his website for more information about all the projects he's been involved with.
Here's the SAR Q&A with
Steve Fisk, as filled in by me. Hopefully we'll be able to replace this, later this afternoon. If not, here goes...
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*Name: Steve Fisk*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: Fisk joined vocalist Shawn Smith to form Pigeonhed, releasing their debut album in 1993. See below for a list of other bands he's been in...*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: Steve Fisk is an engineer, producer and musician. His solo records often use sampling techniques and include lots of appropriated sounds. My guess is that he's familiar with both tape manipulations and digital deconstructions. *Location: Seattle, Washington*What is your creative/artistic background: (Copied directly from his Myspace page...)
Greg Gilmore, Leo Mayberry and I play "improvised" shows infrequently around the Northwest. We're working on a name. We might have a "live" record soon. I have played in Heather Duby's band. I have rocked with Kim Thayil, George Lynch and Dave Alvin. I was also in Cut Out, Pell Mell, Pigeonhed, Halo Benders, Anonymous, Customer Service, Tiny Holes, War with Elevators, The Fisk Fibers, Nashville Chubs and the Tennesee Tanglers, The Elrukns, Havana 3 A.M., Tungus Grump, John Foster's Pop Philosphers, West Side Lockers and the Chains of Hell Orchestra.*History: (also from Fisk's Myspace page...)
I also produce records. The Wedding Present, Screaming Trees, Unwound, Beat Happening and MANY others. The list is at stevefisk.com. Career Highlite: I believe I was the first person to interveiw Dot Wiggin about the Shaggs and their wonderfull record "Philosphy of the World."*Web address: www.stevefisk.com
July 4 Update: Since posting this Q&A, Steve Fisk and Greg Gilmore wrote in with some answers, pertaining to their band, Archivaro Vertical, so I’ll add them here, as a short “PS” to this week’s SAR Q&A, with Steve Fisk…
*Name: "Archivaro Vertical"
*Members: Steven Henry Fisk, Greg Gilmore, Leo Mayberry
*Founding Members: same
*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: no
*Another genre descriptor:
Greg Gilmore: If you make up a weird word to describe yourself you'll just be asked to define what it means. Then you're in trouble.
*Location: Seattle
*What is your creative/artistic background:
Steve Fisk: I was in bands, studied comp somewhat formally. Greg was in bands and knows too much about computers. Leo is a VJ.
*History: 4 years
*Born:
Steve Fisk: I was born in Long Beach, California. I don't know about the other guys.
Greg Gilmore: Just a few years after Steve, in Verdun, France.
*Motivations:
Steve Fisk: We try to entertain ourselves and our small audience. We never rehearse. So I guess we're improvisers.
Greg Gilmore: Discovering what music might come from a pregnant, empty moment.
*Philosophy:
Steve Fisk: We never rehearse.
*How would you like to be remembered:
Steve Fisk: We never took the easy way out.
Greg Gilmore: And we never rehearsed.
*Web address:
Steve Fisk: stevefisk.com
Greg Gilmore: Like a cobler with no shoes...
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