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Primal Chaos Online, 2/00

(Untitled Interview With Steve)
By Sean Heskett

Tell me how Mudhoney first got together?
Well, Mark and I had already been in Mr. Epp, Limp Richerds, Green River and The Thrown-Ups together, so it was just another one. And Dan was around in a couple bands at the time so we asked him. Matt had just left the Melvins and he was convinced to come to town and play with us.

How does music now compare to the old Sub Pop days, when Mudhoney, Nirvana, Dwarves, etc were around. Do you see an evolution in the music industry or do you see the industry destroying itself?
Well, now that we're back on Sub Pop for this double CD, it feels a little more similar than the last 8 years. I'm totally fine with the industry destroying itself though...

What are your main musical influences?
We like Punk Rock, Rock and Roll, Rock, Folk music, Country music, Irish music, Blues, Jazz, reggae, etc. I really like old punk rock, 60s garage and psyche, 60s folk, old country/hillbilly...pretty obvious stuff and a lot of obscure stuff.

Non musical influences?
People, books, sex, dogs, cats, bikes, desire, pot, beer, fear, snow, skateboards, money, work, ego, gardening, talking, greed, lust, jealousy, anger, self pity. And other stuff.

What is everyone in Mudhoney doing these days?
I've been doing some work at the experience Music project, a museum being built by Paul Allen here in Seattle. Research and writing, mainly on punk rock and skateboarding! Two of my influences! And putting together the double CD for Sub Pop, and another one for the BBC and recording a Monkeywrench record with Mark. And looking for other writing jobs here and there. Mark has just returned from a month and a half in Vietnam, travelling with his wife. Dan is working as a production assistant on photo shoots and commercials, and drumming occasionally with a few people, myself included. Matt is a carpenter and retired from music and (I think) beer.

Are you happy with the new Best of.. CD that was just released? Tell me a little bit about it.
Yes, I think it came out great. 52 songs, one cd is a best of the album tracks, and the other CD is b-sides and other strange songs from the entire 11 year run. And a triple lp! And it's only $16.00!

What about the BBC sessions CD coming out? That sounds very cool.
It's coming out in the UK really soon and the states in a couple of months. 4 studio songs from 1989, 4 studio songs from 1995 and most of the 1995 Reading festival and some liner notes from moi. Nothing too fancy, but it's pretty cool.

You have a great record label yourself. How is the label doing? What bands do you currently have on your roster?
I haven't had time for much work on Super Electro lately, unfortunatly. My partner Caryn has been out of the country for almost 5 months this year and I've had too many other fires cooking. I want to get it into downloadable form, soon though. I've put out 11 albums and 20 singles over 8 years, including The Fall-Outs, Nightkings, Kent 3, Wellwater Conspiracy, Wiretaps, Thee Headcoats, Holly Go-Lightly, Mudhoney, etc.

If music didn't exist on the planet what do you think you would be doing right now?
Tapping my fingers on the table very arhythmically? And I'd be a worker drone in an underground cave, forced to performing backbreaking labor for the more evolved rulers of this horrible planet without music.

Tell me about your upcoming CD with your band Monkeywrench? Isn't Mark in the band as well?
The Monkeywrench recorded a record for Sub Pop in 1992, and played a few shows back then. We decided to do it again. It's mark singing, Tom Price on guitar, Tim Kerr on guitar, me on bass, and Martin Bland on the drums. Same line up as before. The record "Electric Children" will be out April 4 on Estrus Records. Hopefully we'll go to Japan, Australia, NZ, Spain and Austin sometime soon.

You're not just one of the most legendary rock bands of this era, but also a great idol to many musicians. What advice would you give anyone in a band these days?
Thank you. Keep your day job. And please be a good band, I'm tired of bad bands.

You can contact Steve Turner's record label at:

Super Electro Sound Recordings
P.O. box 20401, Seattle, WA 98102
URL: www.superelectro.com
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