after their star-studded show at Vega on 13 November (1997), i caught a few words with singer & guitarist Ira KAPLAN of YO LA TENGO. this will be a new feature here at the home of p.m.r. - every so often a new band will be interviewed - the 5 W's & How?, plus a story about that age-old indie-rock institution, crashing at people's homes on tour.
who: Georgia, James, & Ira
when: December 1984 (their first show)
why: too personal
how: fender ace tone ludwig farfisa ampeg
where: Hoboken NJ (now; originally: Georgia - NYC, James - Virginia, Ira - New York state)
what: love-filled magic
"we've told one of these stories for the Matador newsletter, so i'll think of another one. let's see - another really amazing place..."
"ah - there was one time when we played in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. lots of times in places like that you don't know anybody, and there aren't many people at the show, so you're just hoping that a few people will come up & say "nice show." so then you stick them with asking if you can stay at their place - that's their 'reward' for them telling you it was a nice show! (laughs) so this time it was Georgia who same guy came up to, and she asked him if we could stay there. the guy went to the university there, and he thought it would be a cool idea for us to stay at his house. he had lots of videos, and do you know that movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"? ("yep," i say) they had more than one copy of it, like three or so. i don't know why they needed more than one copy, i guess it was that that way they could always have one rewound & ready to watch. so we ended up watching it, of course, and it was the three of us & the guy & a bunch of college guys, and although the TV was over here (gestures across the room with hands), the movie was all around us. we couldn't tell where the TV ended & the college guys began! (laughs) it was horrible. i don't think i slept at all that night."
"it was always kind of annoying touring like that & staying at strangers' places because you always feel like you're imposing. i mean, you ARE imposing! another time in Fresno, California a guy invited us to stay there just to piss his roommate off. (laughs) and the next day he gave us some of his roommate's clothes too - i think Georgia still has a jacket. we just saw him again for the first time in about ten years."