Last Sigh: The other night, you mentioned that the Can Tour was "...the best thing that ever happened to me musically". What makes you say that?  This recent tour to Germany has obviously affected you in a positive way...

Mark Spybey: I learned from guys who are absolute masters of their craft. Like 30 year veterans, all of whom are still absolutely at the top of their profession.

Last Sigh: Like whom?

Mark Spybey:  Michael Karoli, Holger Czukay, Jaki Liebezeit and Irmin Schmidt. It was also a pleasure to hang out with the other musicians that they chose to play with. The whole event was very professional. The crew was quite excellent.

Mark Spybey: Berlin, Hamburg, Koeln and Frankfurt. The crowds were large. Yes, the event was well received. I had a strong sense of the fact that people were very much aware of who Can are and their legacy.

Last Sigh: What was it like to perform in front of that many people?

Mark Spybey: Somewhat intimidating to begin with. There were only 4 shows and that fact alone brought about pressure to perform well.

A friend on IRC #dvoa asks of you Did you have trouble dealing with or working with people who were your idols?

Mark Spybey: I would have referred to them as "idols" when I was younger but I found them to be quite human and endearing. It felt comfortable to be with them. I cherish the first time I met them all though. The internal photograph if you like. It was certainly a significant event in my life. I have listened to Can for about 25 years and one does tend to do a fair bit of self "pinching" just to see if it all feels real. When I was younger, I did tend to put musicians that I admired on a pedestal. It's not very flattering though to be treated differently. At least I feel that way when "fans" introduce themselves to me and clearly feel nervous because of what they think I am. I have a need to sit in the background and avoid attention. The whole experience brought up so many memories. Of seeing the band in 1977, of listening to their music in the different places that I have lived and with different people. Of being the guy making strange music in his bedroom, sending records to Can (much in the way that people send tapes to me now) and hoping that they would "discover" me. Or at least acknowledge my worth. I really don't think that I am anything special but the fact that I was there means a great deal to me.

Last Sigh: You must have had a great amount of fun there, would you like to share any highlights of your trip with us? Any memorable events while playing or touring perhaps?

Mark Spybey: I had great fun with Stephen Collins from The Lab. There are many highlights. When I met him after a week of being with mainly German speaking people, we immediately started talking to each other in quite ludicrous, basic English. Emphasizing words meticulously. We soon realized that when we were together, we didn't have to make ourselves understood to people for whom English is a second language. It was quite charming.  Generally, everyone had a great deal of fun together. Arthur Schmidt of GVOON, who Stephen worked with is a very funny guy. We laughed a great deal. It was quite the adventure.

Last Sigh: In what terms if any do you think your experience with the Can Tour has strengthened you as a musician? Are you any more or less comfortable with your own music now?

Mark Spybey: I feel validated. That's important. You have to understand, that I carry my own insecurities. I'm not comfortable being labeled as a musician and don't want to develop a particular approach to making music that limits what I do. I feel comfortable as the resident sound weirdo.  Comfortable and totally supported in that role by Michael. Ironically, I have learnt how to master the toys I use. I feel in control. I think that's reflected by the comfort I feel in working with musicians who have a very definite craft, especially those whose use of melody and rhythm is more pronounced than mine. An approach to music making that I feel entirely at home with. I think that the members of Can articulate themselves effectively, both verbally and through their music. Michael, Alex, Thomas and Mandjao operate at a level which most of us aspire to. So I felt like a student but one who had at least done enough to be there.
    As far as my own music, well it makes me want to re-evaluate things. I'm never particularly satisfied with what I have done in the past. I think that Piss Frond is a good record and that Propeller or the Plotkin/Spybey CDs are also acceptable. Fire In The Bronx Zoo, Spybey/Theriault, they all mean something to me. I listen to some older stuff and think, " that sounds muddy, I don't like the tape hiss, I want to change that section..." etc. I desperately want to move on though. To avoid falling into a way of working that I really do not feel is appropriate anymore and this tour firmly reinforced my desire to transcend aspects of my past. I mainly played a sampler on this tour and even with Piss Frond, I was still talking about how I, personally don't use samplers! So even Luddites like me change! I know something about my own music. I think I know what it isn't. I know something about it's intention and design. I feel that at I am being taken seriously by people who I very much admire, both personally and musically.  The satisfaction that I achieved through this tour however, is totally personal and cannot be communicated entirely to anyone else.

Last Sigh: Of course! Will there be any releases created for the public from this tour that you might be able to let us know about? CDs or videos?

Mark Spybey: Probably too early to say, although the tour was meticulously documented by many people armed with audio and video.

Last Sigh: Did this tour give you any insight into your past creations relative to what directions you might be going in the future with your music?

Mark Spybey: Yes. I never wanted my records to be directly associated with industrial music. I also never wanted to simply appeal to the left-field arts crowd. As a result of the connections made earlier in my career, some of the more "sensitive" or perhaps "snobby" listeners/stores/musicians were turned off by my music without hearing it. The name Dead Voices On Air didn't seem to help. They tagged it as a Goth band or something. So, working with my manager Thomas Ziegler, with Damo, Michael, Michael Rother and Moebius etc. has felt exceptionally good.  Not simply because they are hugely influential people.  I don't care if a goth, teddy boy, punk or a Can fan buys my CDs. I'm unmoved by the need to appear fashionable. I'm just happy that anyone feels the desire to buy them. I don't have a problem with anyone who listens to my music with a half open mind and dislikes it but people who criticize it due to their agenda, or because of hearsay or lies... without listening to it ? You probably get my general feeling.....
    I feel influenced by people, events and memories. I'm sure this tour will feed my motivation to carry on and explore my desire to make more music. To sense and define.  I'm already working on a project as a direct result of meeting people on the tour with Arthur and Stephen from GVOON.

Last Sigh: What's the beer like in Deutschland? ;) Did you get to view any interesting sights while you were abroad? You were in France and then Germany. Have you been there before?

Mark Spybey: German beer is very good. Very good. I have been to Germany several times before, especially the Rhineland. I got to spend longer [time] in cities like Berlin than I have before. I love being a tourist. I'd never been to the south of France before and it was quite spectacular. I visited several art galleries/museums and walked a great deal. I get absorbed by the food. By wine! By cheese! By street signs! So much to see, feel, eat, drink and do.


Last Sigh:  Yes, Europe is full of culture, grand buildings, people, languages, foods and such. I find it a very curious and exciting time when being there, as if there is something new every minute to experience outside the normal routine of "home". It's almost as if you are "Constantly Arriving" (Brion) Does being in Europe, when you are touring, have any different effect on your performing or enthusiasm for playing as opposed to say USA venues?

Mark Spybey: Yes and no. I love to tour in the USA . I love small town America. I also love the big cities. I feel very, very lucky to have experienced this.  However, I'm European. Totally. I love being in Europe. It's really difficult to settle back into Vancouver, which is a beautiful city with an insidious underbelly. It's paradise, if you can afford it. If you're lucky enough. I find it generally to be a shallow place. It's a city of people transplanted from all over the world and in comparison to places such as Chicago and New York, quite without established cultural traditions and identity.

Last Sigh: Thank you for taking the time to work with us Mark.

Mark Spybey: Thank you.