The Disco BiscuitsThe Wind at Four to FlyPART I The Epic Tale of Corrinado the Wise“I saw a medley of haphazard facts fall into line and order“But it’s true,” I said to myself. “It’s very beautiful. And it’s true.”The SearchRR: Does The Wind at Four to Fly capture a solid overall view of the Disco Biscuits?The Wind at Four to FlyreallyRR: How close was the Duo’s Joe Russo to joining the Biscuits?goodRR: Which songs have you dropped from rotation since Allen joined?addingRR: You’ve got the frame, the new canvas and you’re deciding which colors to use?RR: How many new songs are waiting to be debuted?RR: When did you know that the band was back?differentmeaningThatRR: Is that similar to the desire for a complete album experience with each song telling a small story that helps flesh out the greater whole as opposed to tacking on a whole bunch of filler songs? It’s very interesting that you said it like that because sometimes I think a musician never asks those sort of questions because they know that only three songs on the album are any damn good.RR: What are you going to do about The Hot Air Balloon film?A-A-B-B-C-C-D-DRR: The Disco Biscuits were the cover story for the April/May 2005 issue of Relix. In the article, you mentioned that as soon as you became the Jon Gutwillig that you always wanted to be, people like your father still wanted you to get a real job.RelixeverybodyRR: Does your dad still not want you to pursue art?RR: “Come down to the bar, dad.”what’sdoanythingRR: Are you fairly content right now?contentRR: Are you still artistically curious?RR: Are you still assimilating influences and finding new ways to produce results? Do you still have interests so you’re not in a rut concluding that it’s just a job?RR: Sure.verytimeRR: I hear ya. Pisses me off. I don’t even have time to be bored anymore! I don’t have any time to stare at the walls; I’m always moving from one thing to another and that feeling of “What happened to the time?”sameRR: I think, somehow, suddenly, the laws of physics have been manipulated.fasterdoubledHUGERR: Well, I’m never bored anymore and maybe that’s a good deal.PART II Home Again“The question is: How does it end? The answer is: It doesn’t. Ask any scientist and one will tell you. It keeps going. At the same beat. On. Off. On. Off.”The Politics of EcstasyRR: I recently sat in on a Relix podcast where I asked Kirk West about Duane Allman’s background because he, obviously, had classical music influences. I also compared his work with some of the classical music structure you have brought to the Biscuits. How did this structure give you a new way of presenting either a song, set list or an entire show? It became almost like a trademark of the band to subvert your music.RR: I almost parallel it to Stravinsky’s work because people were outraged when he redefined how a piece of music could be presented.inventedRR: Was that the same thought process that went into the live scoring of films? Was the band looking for a different way to approach a show or set list?RR: Are you planning on any more shows with film scores in the next few years?Bitches BrewRR: Jon, I’m sure your mind covers around eighteen different levels while you’re playing. How do you turn your thought process off?RR: I’m usually listening to the arc of the story being told when I dig really deep into a strong musician’s workedgy tune with an emotional arc is everything to me.RR: Are you always trying to modify your level of restraint on guitar?RR: You mention Miles Davis and there were a lot of times when he wasn’t playing.BOOMBitches BrewRR: Is that based on the drummer transition from Sam Altman to Allen Aucoin?RR: When Sam left, he took part of the rocker’s mindset awaycoupled with your own. As the lone rocker with three electronica band members, do you feel that the Biscuits are shifting back towards electronic beats?Bitches BrewRR: How did the Amsterdam dates go for the Jam at the ’Dam?RR: What part of the run was that show?RR: Did you get a chance to check out the Benevento/Russo Duo in Amsterdam?RR: Are they considered your second generation?extremelyPart III Gimme Three Steps“However Moliere himself is not there. The sarcophagus that bears his name does not contain his body, but rather the remains of some Parisian nobody.”After the FuneralRR: In the metal world according to Spinal Tap, bands lose their drummers to vomit, overdoses and spontaneous combustion. However, in the jamband world, what is with the recent loss of drummers to medical school?BOOMRR: Oh, yeah. What was it1995?RR: Yeah, eight. 1962-1970. Although, emotionally, I think it was more like three years. Later on, they were so detached from the group concept.Senor BoomboxRR: So you fired the guy that was just in the band for the musicthat’s pretty funny.stonedRR: Speaking of decision-making processwhen did you start noticing that the fans had created a community around the Disco Biscuits?PART IV Koyaanisqatsi Now!“His eyes lit up, as if they were opening for the first time, and I had a glimpse of some demonic intelligence at least glancingly in residence there.”Gun, With Occasional MusicRR: Historically, 1999 was a huge year for the Disco Biscuits. Looking back, to what extent was the influx of fans and notoriety a disruption to your work?RR: This generation of fans has easier access to live music than any prior generation. I think as a musician that is also a double-edged sword. Three hours after a show, before you’ve even had a chance to digest your own work, some fan can hear and nitpick the performance. In the past, there was a mystique about a live performance that wasn’t so thoroughly analyzed which created a legend.RR: Every woman, hot dog and beer would be written about 150 times in the press.RR: UmmmI think he would but he’d have a sense of distraction and pressure that he couldn’t have comprehended back in 1927.RR: Do you think the music gets better because of that heightened attention?doRR: I share a bit of that old guard’ kinship. I used to listen to live versions of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” and question Robert Plant’s echoed sexual scat after Jimmy Page’s riffs during the violin bow sequence.RR: You’re even more macho than Robert Plant?RR: Sure. I’m going to have an orgasm on stage and you’re going to like it.
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