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Joe: Paisley Babylon started as a really
snotty synth experiment...I wanted to fuse New Wave with punk attitude...this was a couple
of years before Prodigy started all that "electronic punks"
business. The snottiness lasted about two cassette-only releases before getting serious. I
started going into less structured compositions and using some zen ideas in the creation
of the music, so that there was a minimum of planning, a lot of spontaneous
spaceyness...the whole idea being that in zen, you try to achieve being "within the
moment", not thinking ahead or behind, and musically you would apply that by just
DOING the music with no forethought of how it will go...eventually I found a happy medium
between planning and the "no mind" method of writing... Last Sigh: What influences your work? I noticed in "Alpha Wave Variations" you used samples of what sounds like newcasts about bizarre murders. Are those samples real events from history? What prompted you to use such morbid sampling in this release? Joe: In that piece, I used some samples that were fictitious news reports, but one of them was based on real events. The thing that I was trying to do was to give the piece a Texas tie-in, since that's where the track was recorded (the track has a news reporter talking about grave robbing in Texas) and I was also trying out some thematic ideas at the time. That sample was from a tape of sources I made with three generalized themes -- death, murder and war. I used that tape in a live show with really creepy results. The morbid angle...well, I think in places the disc is really really dark, because I like to capture a dream-like or nightmare type feeling in the pieces. Those feelings you get while having the nightmares, the sort of unfamiliar dread that starts coming on, that's what I'm trying to put into music, but also the dreamy qualities. You get those weird dreams just before you wake up -- ones that are sometimes half bad dreams and half good ones, the kind where you are making love to someone you know and suddenly they turn into a surfboard or something ...and no, I haven't had THAT dream. Last Sigh: The state of the affairs with society seems to be a common ground for experimental music/sampling. How do you feel about the state of affairs in today's modern world? (ie. environment, societal, moral/ethically speaking?) Do you have a message in your music relative to these issues? Joe: I don't think there's any overt message other than something along the lines of "things aren't what they seem". You can try and divine things based on samples used in stuff like this, but in some cases (like the song "Retina" on the cd) the samples are chosen for their creepiness or odd flavors rather than what's actually being said. As far as the world itself, I think most anyone with a brain sees that most of the world's resources are being hogged by a small amount of people, and since we in America as a society and almost as a religion have dedicated ourselves to propogating...scratch that. What I REALLY mean to say is, those in power over the resources are concerned more with continuing to remain in power than they are with the problems of the hungry people, this is true world-wide. We shouldn't be tricked anymore by these people into thinking that it's one SYSTEM or another that is bad -- no, it is the decision makers who have guided our collective economic destinies, they are responsible on a global basis for these problems. The REAL evil here is NOT capitalism, communism or any other kind of ism -- you can't even blame christianity, you instead have to blame plain old human nature, the capacity for greed, being corrupted by awesome powers, personal gains, etc. THAT is the real evil in this world, and it always has been. People have been chasing ghosts when it comes to these causes they champion -- the Cold War, attempting to eliminate communism, nuclear disarmament, all these things are smokescreens for the real issues that no one wants to identify or talk about -- that it's basically that people live up to their "God-Given Potential" to be horrible and selfish. Change THAT and we can start talking about changing the planet. Unfortunately, the majority of the world's religions either train people to rely on a god to do that FOR THEM, or people misinterpret those religions to mean that...so we go back to square one. Once humans start looking within to change themselves, to realize their true selves and try to combat the parts that are collectively wrong or stupid, then we'll see the revolutions that punks, militant islamists, blacks, anarchists and other groups who want massive changes RIGHT NOW are all seeking. Wow, is my preaching time up yet? Last Sigh: What type of equipment are you using in the studio and in live performances? What do you prefer, live or studio work and why? Joe: It's kind of odd...they both have their uses. I use the same gear in studio that I use in shows, kind of a precarious thing since my gear is irreplaceable. If i had a car crash and couldn't get the money to replace this stuff it would be gone forever, it's the product of years of purchasing used equipment one piece at a time. Mostly I love studio work, because I feel a lot more freedom -- I sit about half-clothed, drinking, eating, generally just messing about till I can get down to business. Live, they want a PERFORMANCE. So it's a different level of concentration for me, making sure everything goes in a linear flow towards preplanned goals, rather than trying to "play music" which is what most people seem to do. When I perform, it's like running a 5k road race -- you have specific checkpoints where you want to be at specified times, keeping a pace, trying to make set goals....it's really OUT THERE, I suppose...Most of my live performances are based around certain contents, like the samples I use and certain moods I want to set. Last Sigh: What do you currently listen to relative to bands/sound? Do any of them influence your music? Joe: Wow...hmmm...a LOT of Bowie, Gary Numan, Coil, Agustus Pablo, Mad Professor, New Order, mmmmm...the list could go on forever. I'm interested in unique sounding things, so I have what some people would call an "eclectic" taste, but I don't think that's true at all...I hate people who say "oh, I like EVERYTHING!" You know the type, they have a Garth Brooks CD right next to Flock Of Seagulls, and they also like all that cheese-metal Guns N Roses crap from the 80's. They will listen to, and half the time like, anything in your CD collection UNTIL you take away their precious spoon-fed musical preconceptions. The SECOND you play them something like DVOA, Throbbing Gristle, Download, Eno, whatever, put on something by early Aphex Twin and they say the SAME EXACT THINGS "when does the BEAT come in? This needs some drums, man." These people have no concept of anything not structured around western musical stereotypes, and I HATE THEM. Actually some of my friends are shameless in this way, so I have to constantly stifle the urge to smash their CD collections. Editor's note: HAHAHAHAHAH! Been there! Last Sigh: Do you have any philosophy behind your work, and could you tell us about it? Joe: Well, again, Zen has some big parts to play when composing...I like to sort of empty my mind and start the record function on the sequencer, and record a lot of spontaneous parts for use as backing tracks. The irony of this hasn't escaped me! Backing tracks made at random! Last Sigh: How did you get interested in creating this music? Do you have any other influences outside of music that help you to in the process of creating music? Joe: One of the biggest influences
was my experiences in Japan, in a punk band called TOILET. Last Sigh: If you could work with ONE band/person for month in the studio whom might that be and why? Joe: I think Brian Eno would be fascinating...if you read his diary (A YEAR, With Swollen Apendices) you see that he is a very well-thought-out person when it comes to creating the music and atmospheres. He's also leaps and bounds more intelligent than most of his peers. In addition, he's really twisted, he's got kinks I never even considered, so it would be cool having his influence in my life... Last Sigh: You are currently living in Texas, what is the scene for underground music like there in terms of live music? Do you have any suggestions for venues for other experimental/noise bands who may want to play there live? Would you be willing to open up with any bands touring in your part of the country? Joe: I will open for anyone who wants to come here...live underground music has plenty of stage space in this town, trouble is, the scene is populated by a lot of experimenters, but not a lot of audience members. Most of the audience at any given show I've played at in two years has been the other bands, friends of said bands and people waiting for "the real band" to start. When there was NO "real band" (read -- something with drums) these people run like hell. There are some REALLY brilliant people here though, Crevice, Lysergic Dream, a lot of good things happening. Crevice also run Uncle Buzz Records -- they have a philosophy I agree with. The "market" for this stuff is nearly non-existent in San Antonio, so Uncle Buzz has gone totally outside the local scene, but they are taking other local artists with them. They are taking Mohammed to the mountain, as it were, instead of bringing the mountain here. They have built a pretty impressive catalog, and I'm proud to say they are releasing The Alpha Wave Variations soon, so my latest work will be available by mailorder soon, thanks to Uncle Buzz. They are most excellent, and I highly encourage anyone into the underground to check them out -- they have some excellent releases. Last Sigh: Who have you played with live? What were some of your most memorable moments live? Joe: Crevice is the group I've performed with the most, in one form or another, as well as Lysergic from the Lysergic Dream. Most memorable? Hard to say....I think the silliest one was a show we played at the Blue Star Arts complex, where I was doing a lot of minimal keyboard drones to start the first hour of a THREE HOUR SHOW. The arties were terrified of my non-drum approach, and I kept getting asked to "turn it down" at an OUTDOOR GIG! There was hardly any volume at all, and it wasn't like it was Merzbow playing or anything, just some non-intrusive little hypnotic patterns, and they were scared to death. Of course this is the same gallery that invited Crevice to play, and then were told that they were scaring the buyers away. Crevice had a violin player who was doing non-scary violin drones, that sort of thing, and the arties couldn't even handle THAT! Last Sigh: What's in store for Paisley Babylon in the future? Joe: The Alpha Wave Variations is being released on Uncle Buzz. If that goes well, a followup is planned for next year. It will be recorded in Iceland, where the 24 hour long nights six months out of the year should provide some interesting influence. It could be a dark release, even darker than Alpha Wave....I'll put out two releases from Iceland, play a lot of shows there, then come back to the states to either fame and fortune or complete obscurity. (Joke mode off) Last Sigh: Any suggestions for other artists starting out in the music business? Joe: Absolutley under no
circumstances should you think that anyone has any purity of motive -- if you want to
SELL, you WILL have to make compromises. There's nothing WRONG with it..get used to it and
accept. It doesn't mean you are a WHORE, it means you can PLAY THE GAME. If you don't care
about huge sales, then compromise as little as possible. I will barely break even on the Uncle
Buzz release, I probably won't even break even, exactly. But I don't care about
that as much as I care about getting the CD out, so I make a trade...the most important
thing you can get in the "Music Biz" is EXPOSURE and a lot of it. IF you want
MONEY, you should try getting a Real Estate license. Playing and getting your music
exposed to other mutants is paramount, and you'll spend a lot of your own money doing it,
but I can't ever recall reading about how Jackson Pollack bitched about having to
buy paint and canvasses. Joe: I'd like to go on an EATING TOUR where you could visit the best sushi bar in the world, the best curry, the best pizza, that sort of thing. I guess I have an oral fixation. Last Sigh: Thanks for your time in doing this interview. Keep us posted as to what Paisley Babylon is up to in the future! Joe: By all means, come by the web site! There are music samples, and a lot of really screwed up fictional writings I'm sure will get me committed to an asylum one day. And if any of you like minded people are out there wanting to get in touch, drop me a line and let's plot together to infect others.
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