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SAN FRANCISCO--Whether you consider them hobbyists, fetishists, or losers, dudes who
play
with home-recording devices are a rare brand of freak. And when you're
going
to San Francisco, Brian Weaver's the man to know when it comes to
tracking
them down, as he's recently put on a circus of such freaks, showcasing
their
surprisingly polished works of songcraft on a rare compilation CD and
at a
live show at SF's Rodent Records. But Brian Weaver's not just the
ringmaster; he's one of the freaks. What a lot of time alone in a bedroom with a guitar, a mike, and a home-recording device can do to a man is fascinating; the product such a confluence of circumstances can breed is the subject of Cubby Creature Brian Weaver's Embryo 4 CD, a basketful of luscious fruits from homegrown talents plucked from Weaver's own backyard, a San Francisco psychedelic wonderland peopled by gifted home-recording wanks and band diehards who believe passionately in making music. Cubby News Syndicate interviewed Brian Weaver via Instant Messenger earlier this month. Here's how it went down: You are now in chat room ³chat22566176670025507641.² CubbyCreatureB has entered the chat room. CubbyCreatureB (9:53:10 PM): what up? cubbynews(9:56:51 PM): so, it's now the 10th of october. The Embryo 4 release party happened just three days ago. we're living in a post Embryo 4-release world. how does it feel? CubbyCreatureB (10:00:04 PM): It feels really great, kinda like a load has been lifted off my back. I'm having a bit of postpartum depression, but it's being overpowered by the sense of relief I feel of having finally gotten Embryo 4 out into the world. cubbynews (10:00:32 PM): so that was more than two years in the making, right? CubbyCreatureB (10:01:42 PM): Yeah, I think I started the whole project about two and a half years ago. That's when I first sent out emails telling people I was going to do a fourth Embryo, and asking them if they wanted to contribute. cubbynews (10:03:06 PM): what part of the process takes the longest? i'd imagine it's just waiting on all of these artists to produce a work ESPECIALLY FOR the project. i mean, to ask that of 20 different projects is amazing. CubbyCreatureB (10:07:30 PM): Yeah, you're right -- waiting on all the artists to give me their submissions was what took the longest... It probably worked out for the best that way since I was in school and probably couldn't have spent too much time finishing the Embryo 4 even if all the artists had given me their projects prior to me graduating. But I received the final contribution around the same time that I was finishing up school, which was December 2005. cubbynews (10:08:03 PM): perfect. and congrats, by the way, on the school completion thing. CubbyCreatureB (10:08:55 PM): Thanks! cubbynews (10:08:58 PM): so you're a real librarian now. CubbyCreatureB (10:09:05 PM): Yep! cubbynews (10:09:24 PM): that's something else! CubbyCreatureB (10:09:59 PM): Yeah, it's kinda nice knowing my hard work has paid off. cubbynews (10:11:57 PM): ok, so before i start asking for your fall reading list, let me return to the subject of the embryo, which is why the cubby news wanted me to interview you: how do you know all of these artists represented on the embryo? CubbyCreatureB (10:12:59 PM): Yeah, I know them all. They're either friends or musicians I've played shows with. cubbynews (10:14:26 PM): and how long has it taken you to get to know all these people? CubbyCreatureB (10:16:29 PM): Well, they're all people I've met during the 12 years I've lived in San Francisco. Some I've known for maybe 10+ years, others I've only known for a couple years. CubbyCreatureB (10:16:54 PM): a couple years or more, that is. cubbynews (10:17:06 PM): wow, so you've been doing your thing for a while there in sf. you must really dig it. CubbyCreatureB (10:17:30 PM): I do dig it. cubbynews (10:18:10 PM): Is it true that you've played in somewhere in the ballpark of six bands? Is that all while you were in san francisco? CubbyCreatureB (10:18:32 PM): Yes, Yes, all in San Francisco. Let me see if I can name them all... National Holiday, Cubby Creatures, Coolidge, Andy Peters Show, Go Go Galaxion, Thee Druggles cubbynews (10:18:59 PM): national holiday was my favorite! were you in bands before that, when you were growing up in so cal? CubbyCreatureB (10:19:25 PM): Yeah, I played in a band with friends from high school. We called ourselves The Red Light District. cubbynews (10:19:41 PM): sweet CubbyCreatureB (10:19:42 PM): We were sorta goth. Southern California suburban goth. cubbynews (10:20:23 PM): that's really an awesome genre, especially at that time. CubbyCreatureB (10:21:50 PM): Yeah, we thought so. cubbynews (10:22:36 PM): so you named all six bands. but then there are all the projects. what about poopdeck pappy? cubbynews (10:22:49 PM): i loved poopdeck CubbyCreatureB (10:23:17 PM): Oh, yeah, that's true! There was also the Midnight Mud Flaps. cubbynews (10:23:23 PM): right!!!! CubbyCreatureB (10:23:59 PM): And then just the tracks I released under my name on Embryos 2, 3, and 4. cubbynews (10:24:09 PM): what's great is you're in your 30s now and not showing any signs of burnout. CubbyCreatureB (10:24:40 PM): That's good that it's not showing. cubbynews (10:25:02 PM): well, you're not outwardly bitter. outwardly bitter's so unattractive. CubbyCreatureB (10:25:37 PM): Yeah, true, I don't feel bitter about anything. CubbyCreatureB (10:26:23 PM): I've really enjoyed my time as a musician in San Francisco and feel really lucky that I got to play with so many great musicians. cubbynews (10:26:58 PM): so is that the secret to your happiness and longevity? CubbyCreatureB (10:28:31 PM): Yeah, maybe it is. cubbynews (10:29:33 PM): so for the sad, sad assholes who couldn't be at the embryo 4 release party, what was the scene? CubbyCreatureB (10:32:52 PM): Totally crazy! It was well attended -- lots of people -- and the performances were great! It was a total blast -- I had a lot of fun. The only problem was that we ran really late and the drummer for the last two bands (he was playing for both of them) had to leave at 1:00am, so the last two bands didn't get to play. cubbynews (10:33:17 PM): that's sad. so did the dubiously titled "cubby effluvium" fill the void? CubbyCreatureB (10:38:12 PM): Cubby Effluvium did play. It was really fun. But we played really late, so we were all kinda drunk and the performance was fraught with mistakes and technical difficulties. But people still seemed to like it. CubbyCreatureB (10:39:20 PM): Hey, our Chinese just arrived. Can we continue later, or another day if it's too late for you? At this point our interviewer granted Brian Weaver a brief break to eat Chinese food with his girlfriend (Brian's, we mean). Yes, boys who play with 4-tracks do get girlfriends. Later CubbyCreatureB (11:01:51 PM): still there? cubbynews (11:07:41 PM): yeah now i'm here CubbyCreatureB (11:07:49 PM): cool !! anything else you want to ask? cubbynews (11:09:37 PM): yeah, what up with korea and nukes? CubbyCreatureB (11:10:08 PM): Yeah, I don't know. Looks like they got something going on over there. cubbynews (11:10:56 PM): so what was the best moment of the embryo release party for you? CubbyCreatureB (11:12:18 PM): Well, there were a lot of best moments I think... CubbyCreatureB (11:12:32 PM): ...playing a solo set was pretty fun, since I had never done that before... CubbyCreatureB (11:12:52 PM): ...playing with the Druggles was fun... CubbyCreatureB (11:13:07 PM): Actually I think I do have a favorite moment... CubbyCreatureB (11:13:22 PM): It came during the Cubby Effluvium set... CubbyCreatureB (11:14:02 PM): ...when we were playing Greg Turner's song (the Planethead song from Embryo 4 -- "O Dark Thirty")... CubbyCreatureB (11:14:19 PM): I love that song, and when we started it, it was really slow... CubbyCreatureB (11:14:42 PM): ...but then as continued playing I realized I really liked the song at that tempo... CubbyCreatureB (11:15:19 PM): ...And Bill was playing this big organ.... cubbynews (11:16:14 PM): insert "bill's big organ" joke here CubbyCreatureB (11:16:29 PM): ...and I just got into one of those moments with the music where you're just sorta taken away by it because you're so into the groove. And we played that song really well without any major fuckups or technical problems (unlike the other two songs we played). That was a really great moment!! cubbynews (11:18:19 PM): so when did you make your first home recording, brian? CubbyCreatureB (11:19:19 PM): Well, when I played with that first band in high school we used to record every rehearsal, but I bought my first 4-track machine back in 1997... cubbynews (11:20:18 PM): the year of the first embryo! CubbyCreatureB (11:21:08 PM): OK, wow, it must've actually been '95 when I bought the 4-track, because I remember making my first 4-track songs during the short period I lived in Santa Cruz and that was right before I moved into this flat (that later became Cubby Control). cubbynews (11:23:13 PM): was that the poopdeck pappy/coolidge period? CubbyCreatureB (11:23:36 PM): Yeah. I got an 8-track a number of years later, but all the first poopdeck, coolidge, and even the first Cubby Creatures recordings, were all on 4-track. The Tascam Porta 05 to be exact. Which I recently replaced, because the old one had stopped working. cubbynews (11:30:33 PM): anyway, so there's kind of this subculture of dudes who play with tascams. i think to musicians it's maybe taken for granted, but i think from the point of view of a civilian it could be pretty mindbonglingly hot. CubbyCreatureB (11:31:03 PM): Yeah? cubbynews (11:31:18 PM): sure. CubbyCreatureB (11:31:47 PM): Never thought about it like that, I guess. cubbynews (11:31:55 PM): i think the embryo's helping to make it a real fetish. CubbyCreatureB (11:32:11 PM): Awesome!! CubbyCreatureB has left the chat room. |