DAVE BIELANKO
SWERVE: The last time I spoke with you was at the end of a disastrous sound-board experience of a show at the Thunderbird Cafe, I see that you stuck to your word of not playing there the next time you toured Pittsburgh. Being a layman when it comes to sound engineering, what was going on from the stage that the sound guy was fucking up?
DB: Um, this is 3 questions in a row about sound? Really? Here's my answer in one go so as to not put our readers to sleep...we've played a million gigs, Tuesdays in Oklahoma City, Friday nights in London, whatever...sound is kind of relative, the soul and spirit carries the night, the fella in Pitt was working his first night "on the job", literally, I'm sure he wanted to do better but what are you gonna do...the only other variable in a great night of rock n roll is the audience, without a spirited room we might as well stay home...we have never played "casual" music...our job is to push and push and see where we end up..."pick you up in one place, put you down in another one"
SWERVE: Were you set to play longer that night? You made a comment late in the set about going longer, but seemed like you pulled the plug early because of the sound.
DB: N/A
SWERVE: (And feel free to let your true feelings fly as we here at Swerve are pretty sure our review of their shitty job at the Thunderbird and a subsequent review of another act at the Hard Rock Cafe, where the sound man left the board numerous times during a set, have us on a ‘list to not be invited back.’ I knew you were fighting an uphill battle when the sound tech couldn’t get the lights dimmed after you asked and he, actually, brightened them twice before doing what was asked...)
DB: zzzzzzzzz
SWERVE: How incredibly frustrating is it to have a first-time engineer basically ruin your welcome back to Pennsylvania show? Are sound issues a normal occurrence or are they a rare beast that raises its ugly head every so often?
DB: (snakes slithering through the eye sockets of my skull, the guitars hum under nine inches of dust)
SWERVE: In your last interview with me, you dropped that Dave Newman’s book,
“Please Don’t Kill Anyone Tonight,” was worth a trip to the bookstore. I happened to notice Mr. Newman at the Thunderbird Cafe show, and then hanging about after the show while we waited to briefly chat with you. The question is, do you often get writers or such that you mention in interviews wanting to chat you up post-show because you mentioned them? It seems like it would be a different take on being a groupie, as how would the conversation go? Do you talk about his work or does he talk about yours?
DB: I like writers somewhat, I read a pretty good amount...we talk about whatever, TV shows, Al Jolson, wars, sanding down old flea market furniture....I never talk about what we're up to musically too much, a few broken sentences here and there...I find most creative people to be similar in that way, noisy but quiet.
SWERVE: I recently read an interview with where you were mentioned, I won’t mention who did the interview for their sake of anonymity. But, the interviewee described as Marah just anyone that you pulled on to stage with you at that show. What is your thought on this description considering the time Christine and Serge have put into the band with you over the years?
DB: Nobody ever talks about Danny and Ronnie anymore...they were a great band, so was Joe Hooven...he played the lefty Bass on the Kids In Philly tour, he was funny as hell. I love Jamie Mahon too, talk about charisma, he did incredible jumps. I always wanted to be in a band with Tommy Stinson, he has a great spirit. Poor people play the best music...Junior Kimbrough raised his own bands. Cedell Davis plays with only a butter knife.
SWERVE: What is it like to be back on stage with Serge after a few years absence?
DB: He's my favorite, the last un-polished gem, all nervous energy and raw fire. Walk on stage with that guy and who knows WTF. Our voices fit together somehow. He knows 6 chords. He has an explosive temper.
SERGE BIELANKO
SWERVE: What is it like to be back on stage with Marah after being away for a while? And how is life now that you are back in Pennsylvania? I have read that Utah is an interesting place to live with the Mormons and different cultures, is that true and if so can you describe the difference between PA and there?
SB: Pennsylvania is great and it's nice to be back here. Where I live now is pretty rural and a lot different from where I grew up near Philly, but it somehow it still feels a lot like home. Utah is definitely a weird place for someone from the East Coast. I liked being there, and my kids were born there, as was my wife, so it will always have a place in my heart, if only because of them. It's a very conservative place politically, which isn't my thing at all. Culturally, Salt Lake City pretty much homogenized America; shopping malls and Taco Bells and all that. If you venture out into the sticks, out into most of the rest of the state, I really don't know who or what you might find besides loads of natural wonders. Utah was cool, but now it's over for me and I'm totally down with that.
SWERVE: You were writing a blog detailing your daily life in Utah, which I was a constant reader of until it went private. It was very, very good at catching the little things in life that other people seem to miss and exploring those thoughts and ideas. Have you ever considered pursing a writing career outside of the band, as you, much like Dave, have a gift for turning a phrase from something bland into something interesting and thought-provoking.
SB: Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I'm working on a book, actually. Much like my internet stuff, it'll circle around my journey from being in a rock band full time to becoming a dad and walking away from the life that I knew into the bigger and better and crazier world of parenthood. And by the way, my blog only ever went private for a day or so and that was long ago when I was messing with the graphics and stuff: so I'd check back if I was you. Here's the address. http://thegirlwho.net/thunder-pie/
With that question asked, “The Dishwasher’s Dream” is one of my all-time favorite songs. From the music to the well-crafted lyrics. What was the inspiration for the song? One reason I ask is I have the Marah at the Austin City Limits CD and before playing the song there, you dedicated it to Townes Van Zandt, how much of an influence was he on that song.
SB: Well, I like Townes a lot, but I don't find myself listening to him all that much anymore. My brother probably plays his stuff more than I do. But he was an influence on us for sure, especially his live shows that we were lucky enough to see quite a few times. Townes was such a humble self-deprecating performer. Up there under a single light bulb, all by himself, he'd sometimes have little nervous breakdowns and giggle fits. I loved that. But then, sometimes he'd be bombed out of his mind and you'd feel really weird and sad about it all. So watching Townes was always like watching some really great film, although you weren't ever sure if you were gonna get the comedy or the tragedy. Or both.
"The Dishwasher's Dream" was largely inspired by Anthony Bourdain's bestseller Kitchen Confidential. Even after all the hype and the shitty failed sitcoms and the zillions of yardsale copies floating around, it's still one of the best modern reads out there about American Dreams and immigrant struggles/hard work. It ain't just a book about being a chef. It's way way more than that and I think it's fabulous. One night I had a buzz on and I was washing dishes in the sink and I stumbled into the title of my song when I was talking to myself. The next day, I wrote it in like an hour.
SWERVE: Also, Townes seems to be a big influence on Marah period, as on “Let’s Cut the Crap...” you have a song, “For the Price of a Song” that is a word play on his “For the Sake of the Song?”
And why do you think that the general public doesn’t seem to appreciate the genius of people like Townes Van Zandt while they are alive, why does it take death to make people see and realize the talent they missed out on while the man walked and toured this earth?
SB: I have no fucking clue what people like or why. The world is the world and it spins fast; stuff goes flying in and out of your head at a thousand mph. What sticks and why: no one knows. If you don't manufacture/deal in oil or carbonated soda in the Western World, then you're simply rolling the dice. And to be fair, I don't think Townes really tried that hard to reach big audiences or get famous. He wrote songs and drank like a fish played mostly folk clubs and festivals and he was pretty lucky in the end to have even hit the amount of people he did. Lots of people have achieved way less.
SWERVE: It is your first tour back with the band, I know this is early to ask, but I will ask nonetheless are we going to see more of you with the band again as time allows as I know you are raising a family (of which, how are they and how has that changed this tour for you). Or is this a one-shot deal, which you or Dave plan a Gallagher-like brother’s implosion of the band seconds before your last show just for the shits and giggles of it all?
SB: We're heading to Spain for about ten nights in October and it's gonna be fun, I know, but its also gonna be the first time I have been away from my kids for more than 24 hours so we'll have to see. Maybe I will do little things with Marah here and there, but mostly I want to write books and sand old furniture in my garage and fly fish for trout and play with my kids.
SWERVE: Do you have a backlog of songs you did while in Utah, or did you stop writing altogether musically?
SB: Nah, I haven't written any songs in a couple years. Maybe I will again some day, who knows.
SWERVE: As I asked Dave in our latest interview, being known as a very literate band, what was the last good book you read and would recommend?
SB: I read A Fine Balance, a novel by Rohinton Mistry a few months ago. One of the best I've ever read. You'll thank me later.
CHRISTINE SMITH
SWERVE: You have three years with the band now, what is it like being part of a group instead of being solo or picking up gigs playing keyboards for Jesse Malin (which I saw you on one his first stops in Pittsburgh)?
CS: I have six years with the band now. I started working with Marah on the Christmas record back in June 2005 (and although it didn’t make the final cut, I also recorded the title track to IYDLYC with the band right before that!) In the beginning I only did a handful of shows with Marah because I was busy touring and recording full time with Jesse Malin (Sept. 2003 – March 2008). I went full time with Marah in December 2006. I love the camaraderie of being in a group…it’s like being in a gang.
SWERVE: How did you meet Marah?
CS: Jesse Malin introduced me to Dave in December 2004. We all lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and started hanging out a lot…the rest is history!
SWERVE: Dave in our last interview gives credit to the survival and reorganization of the band to you. In pulling the band back together and taking charge, what did you see that could be done different, what was ok, that could be better and what did you leave alone?
CS: I really appreciate that Dave recognizes me like that. We’ve been through a lot of crap together and he has shown me a tremendous amount of loyalty, trust and respect. It’s completely mutual and he knows I will never let him down. I never wanted to take on the business side of things but I had to out of necessity, ever since we relocated the whole operation to an old farmhouse in Central PA where we built a studio and recorded our latest record “Life Is A Problem”. It’s been a huge learning curve, and sometimes it’s very stressful, but we do what we gotta do. We manage ourselves now and I think we’re getting better at it all the time. In the darkest moments when everything seems impossible, I’ve always encouraged him to keep going because I truly believe in him and the music. I’m also very stubborn and refuse to admit defeat!
SWERVE: Your British rap is a distinct part of the performances, what inspired to you to write it and include it in the shows?
CS: I didn’t write it. It’s from a fantastic sketch comedy show in London called Newsrevue that I spent 4 years working on as musical director, performer, contributing writer, and eventually co-producer. One night I did the rap at home for Dave and he insisted I do it in the show. I was pretty shocked! But really it’s just one of those things I do to cover for Dave when he breaks a string!
