What's the background story of the name "Mission of Burma"? How did that name come about anyways?
Well, I mean, it's rather simple. When Clint and I were in the Moving Parts, Clint had kind of toyed around with funny names with “Burma” in them. I mean, they were just really goofy. When Moving Parts broke up, we were looking for a new band and name. We were in New York and saw a building with “Mission of Burma” on it.
So it was kind of coincidental?
Yeah, it was. It was funny too. All of the sudden, the name “Burma” was in front of us. It was funny because, at the time, because Burma [now Myanmar] was one of the countries people knew the least about. That definitely reflected our band.
As Mission of Burma's guitar player, who would you say are your influences?
First and foremost would be Jimi Hendrix and Syd Barrett. Then after that, the Ramones. Hendrix for his ripping solos and feedback, Barrett for his abstract stuff, and the Ramones for throwing all of that out the window. They just threw out all that guitar bullshit. Their first record had no guitar solos whatsoever. It was hard to understand how radical that was in an era of big riffs. I just tried to compress all of those good aspects, I guess.
As an overall musician and composer, who and/or what are your wider influences?
Well, the Beatles changed my life. I saw them on television. From that moment on, I was a rocker. But over the course of the years, I picked up things from the classical world. I really like the composer Béla Bartók. I play his piano music all the time. In fact, I was just listening to a piano concerto and a violin concerto yesterday. Really good stuff. I also really like the composer John Cage, too.
Oh man, he's a good one to have as an influence.
Yeah, I like his technique and composition style. And ya know, there's also Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. Definitely Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. We played with Gang of Four a lot, and people seem to compare us with them.
Yeah, I've heard "American Gang of Four" and "American Wire" thrown out in reference to Mission of Burma quite a bit.
It seems like almost every major US city had a strong musical movement in the 1980s, like Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and, where I live, Minneapolis.
There was a lot of great stuff from Minneapolis, yeah. Prince, for one.
So describe what Boston was like in those times.
Well I moved to Boston in '78, and punk was just starting to hit the city. The cool thing about Boston is that it has a lot of colleges that brought a youthful vibrancy to music. There were two camps in rock, and Mission of Burma straddled them. There was the art school rock and what Clint called meat-and-potatoes rock. Bands on both side of the coin were brilliant; don't get me wrong.
On the basic rock ’n’ roll side, you had Unnatural Axe, Muy Loco, Nervous Eaters, Classic Ruins, and DMZ. When Mission of Burma started, those groups were really happening. And on the other side, there was Human Sexual Response, who unfortunately only released two records, and my favorite band in Boston, the Girls. And when we started playing, we weren't art rock or hardcore, but we were certainly more complicated than your basic rock music.
So there wasn't really a homogeneous scene, right?
Well there was a lot of different stuff going on simultaneously. Ya know, there were clubs, there was Bayard Street, the loft scene where you'd have Mission of Burma, the Girls, and so on. And you could bounce between each scene. It all started out strong and then died out quickly around '83 or '84.
So did you guys see yourselves as having a role in the Boston underground? Were you the bridge between the art school rock and meat-and-potatoes rock communities, or were you there to play?
Well it felt like that. We weren't really a darling band because we played more unusual rock. We were also playing too hard. People liked us here, but we were a bit hard to understand.
Well I suppose that goes with territory of playing music that isn't easily pigeonholed.
Yeah, definitely.
In your opinion, what are the biggest differences between playing in two different musical eras—the late 1970s / early 1980s and the 2000s?
My situations are totally different. Back then I was 26, 27, 28 and all about the rock. Up all night, throwing my head against the wall. Now I'm an adult. My son is 19. I compose music for Alloy Orchestra. Even with Mission of Burma now, I'm not at the grassroots level of rock. I'm not out on the scene; I don't go out very much.
And that's just a reality of aging.
Well not so much as the actual physicality of aging, because I'll stay out all night drinking [laughs wildly]. It's more about the responsibilities associated with aging.
It's widely known that Mission of Burma split because of your increasing problems with tinnitus. During performances, you wear earplugs and place Plexiglas between you and the amps. Do you feel like an essential element of your live show is missing by doing so?
No, not at all. I wore earplugs back then, too. But now the earplugs are higher quality. And I have Plexiglas between me and the drums. I stand to the side of my amp instead in front of it. When we rehearse, I am in a special iso-room, and I'm in there trying to talk.
I bet that’s a sight to see.
Yeah. The guys are like, "What the hell are you saying?" [laughs] But noise is an occupational hazard. If you're a football player, you know you're gonna break some bones. Similar concept with my job. I knew when Mission of Burma split in '83, I wanted to hear when I'm 50.
Let me on a little secret, huh? Why do you think Mission of Burma's two early releases became so important and influential, long before any talk of new material or a reunion?
I don't really know [laughs]. We were told we were not appreciated. All we wanted to do was make a great rock record, and that was Vs. Vs., I think, is one of the top 5,000 rock records of all time.
Whoa, 5,000? More like Top 50. Let's knock off a couple of zeros, there.
Ha, okay. I can live with that. So Rolling Stone did a poll a while ago about the best musical artists of all time. There was Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Van Morrison, and Mission of Burma. I was like, "What?" We truly never expected any of the attention that we have received since '83.
After those initial reunion shows, we just decided to ride the wave as long as we could. We didn't intend to do anything beyond those Boston and New York shows. Pitchfork Festival and All Tomorrow's Parties happened, and we just jumped on board.
Well any band should dive into ATP if they get asked.
Oh yeah. I feel that if we make it to the pearly gates, having played in England would help our case [laughs].
The pearly gates, or at least the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You'll get your own display in Cleveland.
[Laughs] Yeah, I'd settle for that! I'm just happy about it all, really.
So is there any new material in the works?
Actually, yes. I was just playing a new Mission of Burma riff when you called, and we're still writing for a new record, too. I'm also writing new Alloy Orchestra compositions for the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado.
Well, Roger, thanks heaps for talking with me. It was a pleasure.
Cool! It was a pleasure for me as well. |