From: Nisus <
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Subject: LPD interview 11/18/95 - AsYlem Magazine
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Hey kids! Well, I finally transcribed
that interview I mentioned right after the
L.A. show. I've included the intro and show
review as they'll appear in AsYlem. I'll also
be putting information on how to join CZ and
the web address at the end of the article.
My discussion with them was more of a chat than
an interview in the long run, and what I've
posted here includes stuff that won't be in
the publication - just about everything I
caught on tape - because I figure you'll all
be interested to hear things the general
public probably wouldn't care about... So, if
some of it sounds like spam, that's why.
Also, the bit from A Nine Shades to the Circle is
from my memory alone, so if it isn't exact, I
apologize and please correct me before 12/21.

And with no further ado....

L.P.D. Interview 11/18/95
AsYlem Magazine (with some CZ only additions)
- Winter Solstice Issue 12/21/95

"Like any other day, I heard the bell
and grabbed my coat.  I snatched
a coffee, nearly choked and semi-cartwheeled
headfirst in the rain. I knew I had to make
that train.  My life depended on that train.
It was cold, so I semi-cartwheeled back
inside again. The phone rang, and though I
usually am not very fond of telephones, this
time I decided to answer it anyway. There was
a voice on the other end of the phone, and
the voice said, 'Edward, we need you to be
the new Pope - Pope Edwardus I'. 'Well, this
poses some dilemma,' I said, 'because first
of all, the other Pope isn't dead yet.' But
the voice said that they have ways of taking
care of unwanted Popes. 'Alright,' I said,
'but there's still another problem - I'm not
Catholic'. 'That's okay,' said the voice,
'neither were some of the other Popes. Some
of them were Satanists'. 'Well, I'm not
exactly a Satanist either,' I said,  'but
alright. There will have to be some changes,
though. First of all, we'll have Legendary
Pink Dots music piped in throughout the city
day and night. And what about all the money
in the Vatican? We'll have to give that to
the charities. And there will have to be some
changes in the Mafia, because the Mafia is
connected to the Catholic church, you know.
We'll have a new head of the Mafia - a
vegetarian pacifist head of the Mafia. And
we'll change the Catholic church to the New
Progressive Church, and I'll be Pope Edwardus
I of the New Progressive Church.'"
This was the story told during the
song  "A Velvet Resurrection" when the
Legendary Pink Dots played at Hollywood's
Roxy theater recently. The story changes for
every show. Sometimes it involves talking
corn flakes which ask
vocalist/lyricist/keyboardist Edward Ka-Spel
what he's planning to do with them when he
pours them into a bowl. Other times, the
story revolves around a beautiful alien woman
with many eyes who comes to our planet
bearing "all vegetarian pizza," which she'd
really like to share with Edward, but can't
because she's surrounded by threatening
humans who don't understand her good
intentions. Other times the story
involves talking plastic kangaroos named
Joey. One never knows what to expect from the
Netherlands-based quintet, but one can always
expect it to be unique.
With a 15 year history and a
following which compares to Deadheadism in
ardor, the Legendary Pink Dots balance
expertly on the head of that pin bordering
the truly underground and the musically
accessible.  They sold out the Roxy;  I was
in fact offered $80 (quadruple the original
price) to relinquish my ticket to unlucky
fans who'd waited too long to buy theirs. The
band and its releases are the subjects of a
very interactive Internet mailing list known
as "Cloud Zero." People who see them live are
invariably hooked and the experience is so
overwhelmingly intense that fans are known to
follow them from city to city to keep the
'trip' going, instead of letting themselves
'come down' off Cloud Zero. And this is
without drugs, man! Still, one is not likely
to hear an L.P.D. song on the radio, nor see
a listing for them in any musical
encyclopedia. Neither will one find their
releases on a huge capitalist record label,
for their main source of distribution in
America is the small, but very high quality
Soleilmoon Recordings.
The L.P.D.'s incorporate nearly every
genre of music in their unmistakable brand of
quirky "kaleidoscope" sound. Violin brings a
spattering of the classical, keyboardist Phil
Knight (The Silverman) adds an
industrial/experimental sense and then glides
into near gothic arenas from time to time,
and horn player Niels Van Hoornblower
introduces a jazzy feel with saxophone while
giving the music an exotic spice with flute.
A splash of dub from bassist/percussionist
Ryan Moore can be heard here and there on
certain pieces, though the piano might linger
on a loungy tune, and guitarist/drummer
Martijn de Kleer wanders in and out of 60's-
reminiscent dittys. They've even dabbled with
a waltz that could put Strauss to shame. All
of this is combined with an uncanny timing
and feel for music which makes listening to
an album by the Legendary Pink Dots a truly
magical experience.
During their recent trip to Los
Angeles supporting their new album "From Here
You'll Watch The World Go By," AsYlem seized
the opportunity to talk with Ka-Spel and
Moore about touring, vegetarianism, the
drowning world, and Moore's recent solo
release as "Twilight Circus" - a highly
respectable reggae dub album entitled "In
Dub. Vol. 1."


AsYlem:		You don't mind the tape
recorder?
Edward Ka-Spel: Naw.... 
Just don't ask us how we got
our name.
A:		Actually, I heard
that it was from a keyboard
you had that you put pink dot
stickers on to indicate a
chord progression...
EKS:		Yeah, that's the real
story.
A:		I'm curious, though,
what became of  the keyboard?
EKS:		Ah! I don't...that's
something...I'm not sure. I
think friends... I mean, the
house was demolished. It was
really old - one of those
beautiful old houses, but as
is typical with beautiful old
houses, they get torn down
and a supermarket or parking
lot is put in their place.
England is no different than
anywhere else as you'd
suspect.
A:		What part of England
was that in?
EKS: 		East London.
A:		I stayed in a squat in
Hackney for...like, a month.
EKS:		Oh, that's a harsh area.
A:		It was a nice experience,
though. It was interesting
just to be able to do that,
you know, because I'd never
been to Europe or certainly
never lived in a squat.
EKS: 		Hackney's as harsh as
anywhere I've seen in
America, actually.
A:		Really?
EKS:		In its way, yeah.
A:		I didn't find it that
way at all, but that was
several years ago, so...
EKS:		Yeah. I know it, so I don't
feel uncomfortable there, but
I mean, you get a lot of bad
stuff that goes down in
Hackney.
A:		Wow, I didn't even realize at
the time. Of course, when
you're in a foreign country
it's like you're oblivious,
you know?
EKS:		Yeah, that's true.
A:		How's the tour going? I
remember some years ago you
told me about an experience
where you nearly got
electrocuted on a tour and
ended up having to wear a big
pink rubber glove or
something. Have you had any
weird experiences on this
tour?
EKS: 		I got pneumonia on the tour.
This was on the last part of
the European tour and I'd
been getting more and more
ill show after show and I
thought it was just the flu
but it turned into a really
heavy fever and I thought,
'ahhh...I've got to do
something about this'. We got
to Holland right at the end
of the tour and the guys
said, "Look, you've got to
see a doctor, you can't go on
like this." And I went to the
doctor thinking, "Okay, he's
gonna give me something and
I'll play." But he said,
"You've got pneumonia and
you can't play." And I just
said, "I have to play. We
live from this.	What am I
gonna tell the guys? What am
I going to tell the crowd?
They're all there." So I
laid down before the show,
sort of stood up for the
show, then laid down again
afterwards. We had to cancel
the next day's show, there
was no other way. But then I
managed to stand up for Paris
the day after and I completed
the European tour and then I
just kinda collapsed for a
while...went to an island in
Europe for a few days to
recover.
A:		How are you feeling now?
EKS:		Fine now actually, completely
clear of it. 
A:		Pneumonia, wow. That's a bad
state to be in for touring.
EKS:		It's probably my own fault. I
should look after myself a
little better than I do.
A:		Yeah, you shouldn't be
smoking.
EKS:		Yeah. I should take better
care of myself, I really
should. I guess that it's
just I tend to drive myself a
bit too hard and I don't eat
as much as I should.
A:		It catches up with you after
a while.
EKS:		Yeah, it catches up with you.
A:		And you're a vegetarian too,
so you have to kinda watch
what you're eating, making
sure you're getting the right
vitamins and things.
EKS:		I'm always very paranoid of
having anything to do with
meat. Animal fat and things
like that - I can't stand the
thought of that.
A:		For what reason are you a
vegetarian?
EKS:		It's just basically I like
animals. You know, it wasn't
health reasons or anything
like that. I've never been
too conscious of that sort of
thing.
A:		The story about you guys
having problems entering the
United States a few years
ago....I've heard three
different versions.
EKS:		An awful lot has been made of
it and we've been in the
states twice since, so I
think it's a freak thing.
They tried to make a point
with unions. They wanted us
to be members of a union, the
American Musician's Union in
fact. I think it's more like
a dispute between the record
company we were with and the
immigration service and we
were unfortunately the
victims. But since then it's
actually been very easy to
get the visas. They just
selected us as a test case
but it just...the immigration
service also got a lot of bad
publicity out of it.
A:		I heard that they said
something about you guys not
having artistic merit?
EKS:		Well, that's basically what
they said, but then that was
like their stock thing - Does
a band have artistic merit or
does it not have artistic
merit? - and they base it on
how many records they sell.
A:		Are you serious? Oh that
sucks!
EKS:		I mean technically you have
to be like Michael Jackson to
get in, but it doesn't really
work that way, because the
people who are in business
with the immigration &
naturalization, they don't
know who's who. Skinny Puppy
even had trouble getting in
once and I think the argument
was, "Well look, they're on
Capitol Records." And the
immigrations said, "Well,
who's Capitol Records?" Then
they had to present a roster
of musicians on Capitol
Records and at the top of
the roster was The Beatles
and if they hadn't heard of
The Beatles, then really they
are living on their own
island.
A:		That's amazing, that they
actually do that.
Ryan Moore:	In order to come this time we
had to send, you know, like
5000 pages of press clippings
and interviews and
everything.
A:		They really make it that
difficult?
EKS:		They make it that difficult,
yeah.
RM:		And you have to use a lawyer.
I mean, there would be no way
otherwise.
EKS:		It cost us a thousand dollars
just to get in.
A:		That is ridiculous.
RM:		I mean, it's like that for
all bands.
A:		I had no idea it was that
difficult. I mean, just
because you're a band?
RM:		Yeah, but I mean you're
taking jobs away from
American bands. They were
even planning to bring in
legislation some years ago -
I think it was Senator
Kennedy or someone like that
who fought against it...? I'm
not sure, but part of this
legislation which was being
brought in by the American
Musician's Union, which I'm a
part of the Canadian chapter
of... they would have these
rules like if somebody was
not in the band for more than
a year, then they couldn't
come. And also you have to
prove artistic merit,
whatever that is.
A:		Yeah, I wonder who's grand
idea of artistic merit that
is.
RM:		Then there was also this
ridiculous thing where, say
for example some African star
was going to come to America,
then he would have to hire
American musicians. You sort
of have to prove why the
whole band should be able to
come and why somebody
shouldn't just hire American
musicians from the union. So
like King {my knowledge of
African musicians is lacking -
I seen this name, but don't
know how to spell it sounds
like "soon-y-uh-day" - anyone
know how you really spell
this?} would have to come and
hire a band in America. But I
don't think that one ever got
through.
A:		Man, it's a wonder people
even play here.
EKS:		Yeah, it is surprising
actually.
A:		Now you guys had, what was
it, a sword swallower or a
fire eater open for you?
RM + EKS:	Sword swallower!
EKS:		Best opening act we ever had.
A:		That is great! Where did you
find him?
EKS + RM:	He found us, actually.
EKS:		That was classic. We wish it
was always like that. We
never know what we're gonna
get from night to night. I
wish we did.
A:		That was great. I read that
on Cloud Zero and I thought,
"Man, I	wish I'd been at that
show."
RM:		That created certainly a
special vibe. I mean, he
really swallowed the swords,
he really did!
EKS:		Yeah, and the way the
audience reacted to him was
just really significant - way
better than they ever react
to these opening bands that
are just put there.
A:		Yeah, and you feel sorry for
the bands too because...
EKS:		Some. We encountered one in
New Orleans that I can't feel
sorry for at all. They posed
and they were arrogant, and
I didn't like their
performance, the way they
were.
A:		Yeah? Well, there's no reason
for arrogance, it's true.
When did you get started with
the Dots, Ryan?
RM:		Um...four years ago, I guess.
I came over to Holland in
December of 91.
A:		What ever possessed you to do
a reggae dub album?
RM:		Well, that's the kind of
music that I was listening to
when I started playing music.
When I was a teenager, I was
riding around listening to
all this classic dub stuff on
my ghetto blaster, riding
around on my skateboard. So
that's kinda the music I was
playing and the music I was
listening to for the first
couple of years that I was
playing music. So that was a
huge influence. And I already
had this idea developing by
about 1985 of wanting to make
my own dub productions, but
it's taken about ten years to
get to the stage of actually
doing it because I needed to
learn how to play drums well.
A:		And your album came out when
exactly?
RM:		It came out in the Spring,
but it took a really long
time for me to make
connections with
distributors.
A:		You do some percussion in the
Dots, don't you? Well, I
guess you guys all pretty
much do percussion in the
Dots now, don't you?
RM:		Yeah.
EKS:		Mmmmm, 
not me.
A:		Hehehe, not a percussionist
huh?
EKS: 		Nnnno. Not really.
RM:		I'm kinda the main percussion
guy at the moment.
EKS: 		Yeah, it's really interesting
that Ryan and Martijn (de
Kleer) both play drums,
because for a long time we
couldn't find a drummer at
all for the Dots.
RM:		I just wanted to say too...
With the dub stuff... it's
just sort of like I've been
developing these ideas for
like ten years and its just
taken me this amount of time
to sort of finally get it
together to get all the
ideas.
A:		Well, you play most everthing
on the album, don't you?
RM:		Yeah well, I had to learn how
to play all the instruments
and I had to learn how to do
the engineering and stuff as
well, so all these years I've
just been slowly learning
skills and getting it
together to be able to do it.
A:		And didn't you do the
production and...some other
stuff?
RM:		I did the production and the
engineering mostly.
A:		Wow, what a project. And
you're going to do another
one too, right?
RM:		Yeah, I have another one
which is almost finished. I
just have to mix a couple
more songs and I want to
release it early next year.
And it's like the dub thing
again, but it's more creative
and original and I'm using
a lot more synthesized
textures and interesting
ethnic samples. So, this
first one was like a very
conservative sounding dub
album, which was kind of the
concept 'cos it was my
tribute to this old stuff
that I got inspired by and
then... I just have so many
ideas, you know, like it's
really... It just kind of
pours out.
A:		Are you thinking about doing
any other kind of music solo?
Any other genres that you're
thinking of experimenting in?
RM:		Yeah, I also have the idea at
some point of doing something
more like the kind of  stuff
we're doing in the Dots
realm. Songs with folk
instruments and stuff.
A:		What instruments were used on
your dub album?
RM:		Um... I used drums, bass,
keyboards, sampler and
percussionism. There are
credits on there to "magical
mystery guests," 'cause
there's a violin line and
some saxophone and some
guitar, but those are samples
that I used from other
records. So, because I say
that I play all the
instruments, but I didn't
really want to take the
credit for things that I
didn't do, I credit them as
magical mystery guests. But
after I read the liner notes
I realized that probably a
lot of people interpret it as
being Dots members. I think
they probably think that it's
Patrick Paganini and Niels
and stuff, I realized
afterwards. But it's just my
way of giving a credit to
samples that I used.
EKS:		I'm really pleased that in
America particularly people
are reacting very well to
Ryan's album - it seems that
people are much more open.
A:		Yeah, I was meaning to ask
how it was being received.
RM:		Well, you see, the record,
the whole concept, the style
of music, the way it looks,
it's actually made to appeal
to the real hardcore fans of
that particular kind of
music, of dub music, so in
Europe, and in England
especially, that's where most
of the records have been
sold. For that particular
market, for the dub market,
it's been quite well
received.
A:		I understand it's quite tough
to get into a genre like
that, to get accepted.
RM:		Yeah, sure. But it's been
doing really quite well. But
over here I haven't been able
to get any form of
distribution through any
channels other than the Dots
channels like Soleilmoon, so
in America it's just gone
primarily to people who are
into the Pink Dots. And a lot
of those people are coming up
and it's really nice because
they seem to like it and it's
obviously a complete surprise
and a form of music that
they've just totally either
never heard or are not used
to hearing.
A:		Yeah, you're kinda opening
them up to something new,
which is part of what I
thought was neat about it.
You're creating a channel
for some of these people to a
kind of music I don't think
they normally would listen
to.
RM:		It's a very unlikely form of
music for someone from the
Dots to produce.
EKS:		But there's actually been
dubbing in the Dots as well.
EKS + A:	Lust For Powder.
EKS:		Yeah, things like that. It
really was there.
A:		Well, you were blatant, Ryan!
EKS:		Very.
A:		You guys are definitely one
of the best shows I've seen
live - on a par with
Bowie.... I've got a special
place in my heart for Bowie.
EKS:		I've got a special place in
my heart for Bowie, yeah...
RM:		I had a spiritual moment
about 3 this morning sitting
in a parking lot somewhere.
I'd just driven all night and
I was sort of falling half
asleep while Paul {their tour
manager} was calling and
listening to Space Oddity.
Oh, it was really a moment.
EKS + A:	Ahhh...Wow!
RM:		Yeah.
A:		With your popularity
increasing, do you feel like
you're kind of on
your way?
EKS:		Well, on a whole it feels
like it's going up in certain
parts of the world. America's
tripled. It's going up a lot
in Eastern Europe, that's the
real surprise.
A:		Yeah, well I think they're a
little more open to more
experimental forms.
EKS:		That's it, actually, yeah. In
Russia, a T.V. crew came and
filmed us and it's on
national T.V.
A:		That's great.
EKS:		It's great, but it makes you
kind of wonder, "What's going
to happen from that?" I mean,
like some people may put
their feet through the T.V.
screen.
RM:		Yeah, like this show I think
was too weird for the
station, so they knew that
they were going to be
cancelled after a couple of
shows. But they're very
industrious people, you know,
they'll get something else
together. They don't seem to
be worried.
A:		You always have this fear,
when something begins to
become really popular, that
it's going to become totally
trivialized, you know? It's
like, you want it to become
popular, of course, for its
sake. But then there's this
part of you that kinda goes,
"I don't know if I want it to
become everyone else's baby
too."
RM:		Well, the thing is, the Pink
Dots will never become hugely
popular because the music is
too weird and because we're
not on a major label, so it's
just always going to remain.
A:		But might you ever be on a
major label?
RM:		I doubt it. I really doubt
it. Sometimes you sort of
have a little bit of this
tantalizing fantasy - "Oh
gee, major label, lots of
promotion and we can make
music under better
circumstances and be more
comfortable," but then
actually when you talk to
friends and colleagues and
hear of other bands and their
major label experiences, you
get a big dose of reality and
you go "no way."
EKS:		Yeah, I mean like Play It
Again Sam in Europe was
actually a really big label.
But we were, like, ten years
with them and they really
didn't do anything for us.
A:		I heard they screwed a couple
of their bands really bad.
EKS:		They weren't particularly
fair to us in the last few
years, but they did put
things right. I don't want to
spit knives into them or
anything like that, but...
We're experimenting this
year. We're not signed to
anyone.
A:		Soleilmoon seems to be good.
EKS:		Soleilmoon is really nice.
RM:		Yeah, I think they're great
and Charles is one of the
friendliest, most honest
people that I've ever
encountered in the music
business.
EKS:		Yeah, he's working harder on
the band than actually
anybody's worked on the band
before. And the label is
growing from it as well
and that makes us feel good.
Nothing's too small for them,
I like that.
A:		Did you guys consider doing
anything before the Dots? Did
you really consider writing
novels, Edward?
EKS:		Oh, I've thought about it,
yeah. I still might. But I've
always wanted to do this.
It's been a fantasy...sort of
lying bed with the covers
pulled up and thinking of
this.
RM:		I've been playing in bands
starting when I was 13 and
that was always my main
interest. Even when I was in
high school I was just, you
know, the band guy,
completely focussed on that.
There were a couple of times
when I had a crisis of faith
or something and thought
about doing something else,
but I can't escape...I'm a
lifer.
EKS:		Yeah, I can't imagine doing
anything else.
RM:		And the other guys - like
Niels has been a musician his
entire life and Martijne also
started playing in bands when
he was a teenager.
EKS:		Martijne's sort of like the
quiet powerhouse. Martijne's
a really big part of the
writing of the new album.
He's such a good musician
and a great powerhouse. I
wish more people recognized
what he did.
A:		I noticed there seems to be
an entirely new use of guitar
for the L.P.D.'s on the new
album. Is he responsible for
that?
EKS:		Exactly, that's Martijne.
RM:		Yeah, that's Marty. I mean,
we all do the music together,
it's really a band thing and
a collective pot that
everybody's throwing ideas
into, but a lot of the guitar
songs... he came up with
those ideas pretty much.
EKS:		We just get together in a
room and he comes up with a
little chord structure, I
come up with a lyric, then
they all take it there. Then
Martijne says 'why don't we
take it there', so he takes
it there from there and I
follow it and it sort of
comes together. And then Phil
and Ryan also are there and a
bit of discussion goes on,
and we should all take it
there... and it's like so
much a collective.
RM:		Yeah, so Marty really has
quite a lot to do with the
sound of the songs and stuff
like that.
A:		The new album is making quite
a stir.
EKS:		Yeah? 
A:		There's been a lot of
um...like at first, "Oh my
god, this is an entirely new
sound for the Legendary Pink
Dots... are we gonna like \
it?" You know, that fear of
change reaction initially,
then everybody started really
grabbing it. It's like it
took a little bit of time,
but when it grabbed it
grabbed very hard. When I
heard it I thought it sounded
very L.P.D. personally.
EKS + RM:	Yeah, I thought it was very
L.P.D.
A:		I noticed the guitar and I
think that's what people are
not used to. But you know,
everybody did the same thing
when the horn was introduced
too. At first everyone was
like, "Whoa, are we going to
be able to take this?" about
the change.
EKS:		I hope we can shock people
like that every time.
RM:		Yeah, I mean that's what I'm
into. I'm into making every
album a shock and a challenge
and always changing.
EKS:		It keeps us sort of alive and
discussing the music, and we
don't get bored with it. We
want it to be the Pink Dots,
it should really be the Pink
Dots every time, but should
also change. This is an
important year for us too
because also the Chemical
Playschool album was this
year. In a way that's
designed to be the ultimate
trip double, 'cos that
completes the circle, but we
wanted to do it more
intensely than in the way
we've done it before. The
Pink Box is maybe it's
nearest relation, but I think
it's way better than the Pink
Box. I think at the moment
we're more into the natural
sounds of real instruments.
Like in the mid-80's...and
I'm not putting the albums
down, but I do find myself
very allergic to some of the
drum machine sounds. I like
the fact that we're using
real drums. That's what
Martijne and Ryan are for. We
never could find a drummer
for the Pink Dots before.
RM + EKS:	We had to do it ourselves.
EKS:		And these guys play them, you
know, the way they should
sound and it still doesn't
sound like a rock band.
A:		When you actually listen to
music, do you gravitate
toward listening to the
lyrics or listening to the
music or both?
EKS:		Actually, mostly I try to
ignore the lyrics. I actually
hate most people's lyrics.
A:		Now that's interesting, since
your lyrics are such a big
part of the L.P.D.'s.
EKS:		There are exceptions. The
only lyrical band I can
really listen to and enjoy
now is Current 93, because I
think it's fantastic. Or
David Bowie. I mean, I'm glad
you mentioned Bowie because
he's one of the lyricists I
really admire. And I really
admire Lou Reed. And I really
like The Beatles actually for
lyrics because they always
throw these asides in. I
mean, it'll be completely
psychedelic and then they'll
mention that the floor needs
sweeping and I really love
that. It's very special. When
they do take the mystery
away, there's a new mystery
they make.
A:		Every once in a while you put
out an album with some Steven
Stapleton influence. Do you
think that might happen again
in the near future?
EKS:		I think it's possible. He's a
real friend. Steve's working
on a whole bunch of loops
that I sent him a few years
ago, actually. I'd even
forgotten about them and he
phoned me and said, "I need
more loops." And I said "More
loops? What loops, Steve?"
"Yeah, I'm working on these
loops." I think it's going to
be the new Nurse With Wound
album. You know, the beauty
with working with Steve is
we'll probably never
recognize any of them when
he's finished with them, but
you know, he's a genius, you
want him to do things with
what you've done.
A:		He was on Malachai and
Asylum?
EKS:		Well, he wasn't on Asylum.
That's not particularly true.
He actually physically edited
the tapes for us because we
didn't know how to glue
pieces of tape together. But
yeah, with Malachai.
A:		What is your favorite
imaginary place?
EKS:		It's an island... purple and
yellow skies... and a single
mountain...black sand.
A:		You had a quick answer to
that!
EKS:		Yeah, I was just talking
about it the other night,
actually.
A:		I want to know yours too,
Ryan. Or your favorite
philosopher.
RM:		My favorite philosopher?
Uh.... Edward Ka-Spel?
A:		Ahh, that's not fair!
EKS:		That's not fair, no...
RM:		I don't know... somehow the
image of palm trees blowing
in the breeze comes to mind.
A:		That's because you're in
California.
RM:		Yeah, exactly, that's why.
A:		Well, we're glad that you
like it. You guys can stay
here as	long as you like.
RM:		Oh, I'm enjoying it.
EKS:		I know mine has these
eternally changing sunsets
with triple moons....
A:		Triple moons...
EKS:		Always triple moons...
A:		And why?
EKS:		I've always loved triple
moons.
A:		That is a neat idea. I almost
hate to ask you this question
about the Terminal
Kaleidoscope and Sing While
You May - I know you've been
over this 9 million times.
EKS:		No no no, it's alright. I
have to say it's very much a
personal thing and I'm not
saying it's the truth or
anything like that, but
...looking at what's gone on
in my life and the people
around me, nothing changes...
Like the Terminal
Kaleidoscope... It's viewing
the planet kind of as a
drowning man with its life
flashing before its eyes and
everything more and more
rapidly dissolving into just
a mess of colour and sound,
just saturation and overload.
This is the time we live in,
sort of an intense
saturation. And we can either
be frightened of that intense
saturation or we can cherish
it and be glad we live now...
Sing While You May....
A:		And where do the L.P.D.'s fit
into that?
EKS:		We make the soundtrack.
A:		Is that primarily a Kaspelian
vision, Ryan, or do you
subscribe to that too?
RM:		Well, I suppose that's a
Kaspelian vision, but I've
sometimes said to people that
we make soundtracks for the
mind. And then they go, "The
Mind? Oh, I haven't seen that
film..."
EKS:		From the beginning I always
took to the idea that it's
important to try and paint
your own soul, you know. And
lyrically it's something
where it seems to be so
personal, it really opens all
the doors, even to the point
where you might be
embaressed later but you
know, do it anyway.
A:		So making music is kind of
like a catharsis for you.
EKS:		It has to be.
A:		Do you guys practice any kind
of magic or any religious or
mystical beliefs?
EKS + RM:	No.
RM:		No, there's no esoteric or
mystical stuff going down.
EKS:		I actually really try and
avoid any kind of religious
beliefs, because I believe
everything is inside and
rituals should be personal,
they should come from within.
A:		Would you call that a certain
kind of personal mysticism
then?
EKS:		I'm not sure if mysticism is
the right word. I mean, there
are certain things that I do,
certain things I go through,
I don't know why I go through
them.
RM:		And I think everyone in the
band sort of follows their
own particular vision or
personal mysticism pretty
much, whatever form that it
might take.
EKS:		Sometimes you find that, you
know, coincidentally you do
relate to other people's
ideas and that surprises you.
A:		Anything else you would like
to say to the world in an
interview?
EKS:		Oh, I always have trouble
with that question.
A:		Any final words?
EKS:		 Hopefully not final,
we'd like to keep going
really.


THE L.A. SHOW REVIEW


I feel sorry for anyone who has not
had the pleasure of attending a Legendary
Pink Dots show. I'm so serious about this
that I brought my mother to this one - she
loved them, of course. There is literally
nothing quite like an L.P.D. concert, and the
L.A. show at the Roxy was no exception. The
experience was wonderful, as usual, despite
too much smoke and an overabundance of
slightly pushy gothy creatures all shoving
for a closer look or for a chance to stroke
vocalist Edward Ka-Spel's bare feet.
The sound created by the bass guitar
had an intensity of 1 watts/meters squared.
The responsible musician,
bassist/percussionist Ryan Moore, was
striking the string with a force of 226N. The
power of the amplifier that produced the
sound was 11, 309.7 newtons. In other words,
the sound was really intense - but that
didn't stop the music from being beautiful.
Somehow these average looking, yet
very talented guys manage to take you into
another dimension - deeper into yourself
perhaps - and although the view from within
can be frightening, it is also pure addictive
ecstasy. They are somehow able to depose that
all-pervading human desire to always be
"elsewhere," bringing the audience purely
into the now and simultaneously suspending
all concept of time. It doesn't even hurt to
stand for two hours - well, not until the
concert is over, anyway. It is pure escapism,
but by a very unlikely route - they enable
you to escape yourself by thrusting you
firmly into yourself.
When Ka-Spel shuffles onto the
stage in his torn and tattered robe, wearing
a dour expression on his bespeckled Puckish
face as though he carries the dilemmas of the
world on his sagging shoulders, the crowd is
instantly moved to silence. Everyone is
enraptured as he sings in a velvety soft, yet
embittered voice, "I want to believe in the
nobility of the human spirit... I want to
believe that the horrors I see and the
horrors I hear about are simply the last
cries of the dying spectre that haunted our
fragile bones for just too long... I want to
believe that we will peel away the masks with
which we frighten each other... I want to
believe all of these things and more, but you
caught me at a bad moment and I can't." And
when he entreats, as in the title of one
song, "Remember Me This Way," he can be
assured that everyone will.


________________________________________________________________________



"I am paralyzed by the burden of freedom set in motion by the
unconquerable will to knowledge as individual desires drink me in."

A.K.

(man, that's a mouthful - try that one 5 times fast!)


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