Q & A With Randy and Dean of No Age
Q & A With Randy and Dean of No Age
September 10th marked NYU’s annual Mystery Concert, although, needless to say, a bit of whisper down the lane spoiled the surprise. Just waiting in line for a ticket voucher spilled the proverbial beans, and (drum roll, please) No Age and Raekwon were announced as 2009’s contenders by spritely hipster mouths abound. The concert at Le Poisson Rouge was swimming with sober freshmen as No Age took the stage and rocked out one hell of a set.
The celebrated duo of Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt were able to grant CMJ an interview after the set. [Distractingly conducted as Raekwon and his energetic posse stood on their tiptoes backstage about to charge the LPR soapbox]
When did you guys start playing? How did you meet?
R: We started playing in January of ’06. We met in 2001 through a mutual friend.
So, did you play in bands prior to No Age?
R: We both had had bands since high school but never together.
Cool. Alright, so, you guys are West Coasters; Being from L.A., how has the L.A. scene influenced your style?
R: There’s a long history of L.A. punks, and we grew up skateboarding and on the punk scene. We grew up listening to punk and moved on further to a more ambient and experimental style.
So, is there a particular kind of crowd that you hope to attract?
D: I want to attract anyone who wants to hear us, young, old, black, white…
R: Yeah, kind of Michael Jackson style… [cue: Jackson’s eponymous lyrics, “But if you’re thinkin’ ‘bout my baby, it don’t matter if you’re black or white]
D: Just not Neo-Nazis. Make sure you underline that. Also, students are a really cool crowd; they’re always less jaded.
How long is the typical writing/recording process, and to what extent are you involved in all of your work?
D: Writing is an ongoing thing. It feels like a constant thing. Recording generally doesn’t take that long. People would be surprised; we basically just want to capture the energy of the moment. Are you familiar with the mixing process?
[A dreaded question, being unfamiliar and dangerous territory for writers, I had to admit…]
Nope.
D: Mixing [on the other hand] takes longer than the recording.
Okay.
R: We’re involved with everything up to the cover art; it’s fun. [The whole process] is like a rollercoaster ride – why would you want to get off in the middle of it?
Very true. What is your favorite memory that’s connected to a song that you’ve done?
R: We have a song called “Eraser” recorded on the 4th of July at Southern Studios. It’s an important studio because we got to be in the same studio as the band Crass (Brit punk band from ’77).
D: There’s a song that we have on the record Nouns called “Brainburner”. On some tours we were with our friends Mika Miko and everyone was having a conversation. I had a piece of paper that I started writing on and [that paper] eventually became a song.
Why the medium of music out of all art forms? What do you hope to convey or achieve with your music on a grand scale?
R: For me, there’s something about music that goes beyond words. I express myself better with music.
D: Our friend at the car rental said this yesterday: “I love music, it makes me happy.” And I agree with that.
- Christine Griffin
