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Virtual
Rock Star
An
Interview with Father Time (part 2)
Part
1 of this interview appeared in the November 15, 2000 issue
of Mindjack.
Dan Richards: Father Time, after we concluded with Part
1 of this interview, you have since written, recorded, mixed, mastered
and posted a new song to MP3.com, "Who Is The President".
Could you give us a little background on the artistic and technical
process that allows you to work so quickly and prolifically?
Father Time: OK, Well, I guess I do kind of have a diverse
musical background. Played the drums from 4th through 8th grade,
which probably helped me a lot when you think about it. Took piano
lessons from age 12 through 17, got pretty good, teacher found that
I really got into the pop songs so she would feed me a steady dose
of Elton and McCartney, which suited me just fine. But even though
I still love to play the piano, almost all the music I truly loved
was guitar based. Bought my first acoustic in college, bought a
better one when I moved to LA, and then soon after that, I sold
my baseball cards for 1000 bucks and bought my candy apple red Strat.
Those cards would be worth $100000 now but that was still the best
deal I ever made. I am still not a techically proficient guitar
player. I write good parts and sometimes have trouble playing them.
But I love it. Would never have the desire to learn all the scales
and shit. That's just tedious to me, like book learning memory items,
and to be honest, in various bands I've had, I always wanted guitarists
who didn't keep sticking those annoying structures into the music.
Likewise, I don't really buy into the Guitar Player Magazine mentality
at all. Dexterity has nothing to do with how music sounds. Speed
is about as important as what color T-shirt you wear when you're
playing. Oh, I forgot to add, I also sang in numerous choirs through
my schooling, and I honestly consider myself the king of harmony,
ha ha. My next CD will display that a lot more than the first one
did, though my latest song Who is the President? (which won't be
on that CD) has a section that to me is reminiscent of the Beach
Boys in their prime. I guess the final piece to the puzzle was the
years of struggle I had to master the Tascam portastudio, a 4 track
deck. By the way, I first started doing this for the simple reason
that I worked at a job where I could listen to music 10 hours a
day, but it was the 80s and there was simply little music in the
record stores that was worthy of buying. So, I decided that I would
prefer to listen to some songs I had written ! However, I am so
not technically inclined that it literally took me a year to not
be erasing my work by accident on a regular basis. Then I moved
up to 8 track, and now, the beauty of digital and especially automated
mixing. It is a small miracle that I know how to operate my Roland
VS 1680, maybe my most amazing accomplishment considering how difficult
this all was to me when I first started. The musical part now seems
like it's all ingrained. Songs are writing themselves these days
for me. When I'm in the flow, the recordings come together almost
as easily. I wrote that Election song and it was on my page within
the same week I wrote it. Today it's at # 11 on the Americana chart
at mp3.com for what that's worth.
DR: I, and many others, only know you as a virtual star
from the Internet. Do you have plans to perform live with your music
- and break the virtual barrier?
FT: Well, I have performed acoustically not all that long
ago, and had a few short duration bands play out as well. But I
have an event coming up in a few weeks that I will soon tell you
about, it's really gonna be cool. But you know, I'd like to add
something to this for all the musicians who may be out there reading.
If you really wanna serve music, you would be better off not getting
into a barband rut and simply spending your time writing better
songs. What I'm trying to say is this. If you wanna play cover songs,
by all means play in a cover band, but if recording is what you
wanna do, don't get sucked into the hustle bustle routine. Play
when you can take your songs out there and carry the night.
DR: You're quite involved in the MP3.com community. Are
there some other artists you like or could recommend?
FT: Well, I guess everyone probably knows my first answer
to this question. I know I talk about her a lot, but I do believe
that she's the greatest living female artist at this point in time.
Zeeza, of course. Since we last spoke she put another 9 or 10 songs
on her page and 2 of them, Numb Me, and House of the Rising Sun
with Preacher, may be THE best 2 songs ever on mp3.com. Everyone
will be telling me how right I was in a few years. I'll wait patiently.
After her, the artist I listen to the most is named Dyonisos, really
a guy named Dan out in Washington State who singlehandedly makes
music whose only peer is Waters era Pink Floyd. If you like Floyd,
you must check out Dyonisos. Other artists I listen to, well, there
is the King of Sustain, former Canned Heat guitar legend Harvey
Mandel. His song Freefall is great, and he just plain rocks. And,
there is a guy who has recently become a friend of mine, a guy who
plays electric guitar like a possessed man who I know is destined
for fame. His name is Preacher. There also is a female artist I
like, making excellent alternative music named Anet. Those would
be the most notable. I'm hoping in my dreams to someday play on
the same stage as Zeeza and Preacher. What a supergroup it would
be. Or is it the Woodstock class of 2002 ?
DR : The more I see of your total work as a successful
virtual artist, the more I see that it also involves your ability
to push people's buttons. I've seen you involved in threads where
people are often outraged at you for some reason or another - not
that it's always clear why. I've seen you described as everything
from a modern enigma to a complete asshole. As an artist you're
quite controversial. How is it that you can get some people so stirred
up on the internet? Why do you think it occurs and what do you think
it means?
FT: Well, you see, I have a hidden advantage when it comes
to getting attention. I didn't sign the sheet of paper saying I
understand and agree to the year 2000 version of "the unwritten
rules for artists". The truth is, at least half the people who freak
out when I'm doin' my thang are people who are watchin' me thinkin'
"That must be fun - I wish it was me doin' that but I'm gonna hide
behind my shell, thank you." They are so afraid to say and do the
wrong thing that they suffer from some form of paralysis. All the
color is gone, except for a few artists who are all color, no good
music, like Limp Bizkit, Insane Clown Posse, Eminem. Marilyn Manson
looks like a musical contenda compared to that group, but there
is a whole core bunch of mediocre talents who kiss ass every which
way they turn and you better not say you believe you're good or
you will hear their minds going in unison "Oooooh, Aaaaah", he thinks
he's the future of rock, does he ? Well I'll show him and listen,
with a sawed off shotgun pointing at the computer speakers, that
is. Dave Matthews. Could you have a more boring and benign dude
? I mean, let's have a new section in the record store "Impotent
Rock". This is the most boring common denominator that is now being
embraced by our greater sheep consensus. Oh, and you think artists
are free spirits ? No, I'll take a girl in a trailer park for openmindedness
and creativity over most of these clodslugs (my new word for the
day ? ha ha) Watching people who don't have one good song assume
the posture whenever they're even on a stupid bulletin board to
preserve their careers is pathetic if you ask me. Likewise, the
listeners I've recently run into on the Napster bb are just as goofy,
as well as the nucleus of geeks at the recording hobbyists' sites.
They want the artists to be ladies and gentlemen. Well, fuck you,
this is rock. Now, what does it mean that all eyes are focused on
Father Time ? Well, you know, what it really means is that people
are hungry for someone who wants to stand out, wants to take the
freaking torch. Shit, they're getting ready as we speak to canonize
Axl Rose again, you decide who YOU want to entertain YOU, muthafuckas.
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