1997-02-11 iChat
John Linnell Live Chat
By Najus, iChat, February 11, 1997
Archived from: https://web.archive.org/web/19970614070344/http://www.yucc.yorku.ca/~flippy/tmbg/articles/ichat.html
Approx. 7:00PM EST.
(JohnL): Hello!
(Najus): John L., where did you think up the idea of recording the song I can hear you
(JohnL): Thanks, Najus. We were invited by the Edison Laboratory to come in and record at their facility last spring. The song was written by my partner Flansburgh for the occasion.
(Jish): JohnL, what happened to Brian Doherty?
(JohnL): Our old drummer Brian Doherty has gone on to other things. He will be missed. Vibes are good between us personally.
(Peter): john, what can we expect this fri?
(JohnL): This Friday at Irving Plaza we'll be playing songs from our upcoming record which has no name as yet. The evening's theme is "Valentine's day massacre of new songs"
(Carrot): Any plans for a cd-rom or enhanced cd
(JohnL): No CD Rom plans right now. We are still assembling materials for our web site.
(Ffork): JohnL: ever plan on releasing your Hello CD EP stuff on an album, for official release?
(JohnL): As far as my personal Hello CD stuff is concerned, I'll need to concentrate on that project one of these days. Elektra seems completely open to the idea.
(Najus): John, what do you and John Fl. like to do when you are not on the road?
(JohnL): Well, when we're not on the road we're almost always insanely busy working on some project or other. But in those rare moments when we have a little free time, I like staring out the window. Sometimes I play cards with some friends.
(Najus): John, what can we expect from the Box Set?
(JohnL): In answer to the question about the box set: We've included a whole bunch of unreleased material, plus John and I wrote voluminous liner notes about everything we could remember related to those early recordings.
(Ffork): JohnL: what bands do you like music from currently? I read Flans say in an interview that you listened to the new Beck CD
(JohnL): I tend to be a little behind the 8-ball when it comes to new bands, unlike Mr. Flansburgh who is more up on things. I heard a band I liked a lot recently called "Adventures in Stereo."
(Cheesy): John): what's the scoop with Superfueled F' and the new album? any tenative dates?
(JohnL): Superfueled Freaksicle is indefinately on hold while we put out Then: the early years and possibly one other record.
(Puppet): john: what is your favorite song on Factory Showroom?
(JohnL): We have no favorites.
(Jeremym): JohnL: Are you aware of the TMBG Internet Tribute album being put out in THEIR honor?
(JohnL): No, Jeremym, I'm unaware of this strange project
[In response to a question about the song "New York City"]
(JohnL): Flansburgh heard the Cub song on some college radio station and called them to find out who it was.
[In response to a question about what the retrospective show would be like]
(JohnL): The Irving Plaza show on the 21st will feature our band as usual, but we're planning a section where we get back to our roots as a duo with tapes.
(Bosch): hugo wants to know where tmbg got their name.
(JohnL): They Might Be Giants was originally a film starring George C. Scott. It's nothing special.
[In response to a question about when he began playing the accordion]
(JohnL): I started playing the accordion about two years into the life of TMBG. I tried it out at a party where John and I played and immediately liked it.
(Brawot2): John and John, do you usually record with drum machines or guest drummers?
(JohnL): Nowadays we usually record with a drummer.
(Dan144): John, why do most of the new songs have no accordian in them?
(JohnL): The current album (Factory Showroom) has something like four songs with accordion, which isn't particularly off the graph for us. I think the big change for me is I'm playing lots more electronic keyboards onstage, which means the accordion sits by itself for longer intervals.
(Kate): What happened to the Exquisite Dead Guy heads?
(JohnL): The delightful ventriloquist's dummy heads which performed the vocals on Exquisite Dead Guy last year were stolen, along with all our personal live gear, a few months ago. Replacement heads have recently been obtained and will be seen at Irving Plaza this month.
(Wyatt): Will you proably stop making records once your deal with elektra is up?
(JohnL): Stop making records if we're dropped by Elektra? That doesn't seem too likely.
(Mr_klaw): John, how do you feel about people taping your shows?
(JohnL): We appreciate the interest shown by tape traders and bootleggers, but we also appreciate the money from our record sales. I guess you should let your conscience be your guide.
(Christiane): What is your current line-up? And will you come over to Europe with a "full band" or will it just be the two of you again?!
(JohnL): We're not going to Europe until after the spring. Nothing scheduled now. We'll be in Japan and Australia this spring
(Jogroah): John, are there any other mediums you would like to try your hand at?
(Najus): John L, are you insterested in working in film like J. Flansburgh?
(JohnL): I don't think video directing is really my cup of tea. My interpersonal skills would have to be better for that.
(Percy): Have you ever thought about doing a concert on the Internet (or did I miss it already... =])?
(JohnL): Re: broadcasting a concert on the internet: Haven't thought about it. Don't have a problem with it.
(Najus): John, what made you decide to create tmbg.com
(JohnL): tmbg.com kind of grew out of the work of several website creators. We wanted to make the site officially ours so we could provide original material for it, which is still kind of gathering steam.
(JohnL): At the moment we're in the midst of performing here at Irving Plaza and preparing songs for the next record.
(Cameron): John, how much of the fanmail that you get do you have the time to personally respond to?
(JohnL): We're pretty bad about answering our fan mail. It's a lot of work and I'm really lazy.
(Cameron): John, how did you get a song on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers soundtrack?
(JohnL): We were offered a bunch of money to put a song we had already written and recorded on the Power Rangers record. It may seem kind of mercenary in that we don't especially identify with the 'Rangers. Well, maybe the blue one.
(Carrot): What about a new video compilation?
(JohnL): We have a pile of videos we've made for all the Elektra singles thus far. Someday we'll put them out. As you may know there is already a collection of all the Bar/None videos.
(Najus): John, everyone seems to be interested in you listen to this or that band. What are you listening to these days?
(JohnL): I like Bobby Vee.
(Christiane): are there any artist you would like to work with in the future?
(JohnL): It's hard to imagine who in particular I or we would collaborate with. Maybe Bobby Vee.
(Mikeleffel): JOHN: Will you and Flansburgh ever be guests on The Simpsons?
(JohnL): There's a conductor on the subway I ride every day who talks like Mr. Byrnes of the Simpsons. So in a sense I am a guest on the show, at least in my imagination.
(Matt): who's Bobby Vee?
(JohnL): Bobby Vee had a bunch of interesting hits in the fifties, such as "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"
(Cheesy): john: what's the status of Dial-A-Song -- the classic version? it just keeps ringing. :(
(JohnL): Dial-a-song is still going, still at the same phone number: (718) 387-6962.
(goatboy): JohnL: I hear you are a Residents fan. How did this come to be?
(JohnL): When John F. and I were teenagers our allegience was divided between The Residents and REO Speedwagen.
(Ffork): when will the unnamed new album come out?
(JohnL): We're still writing the songs for the next album. If all goes well it will be in the can this summer.
(Cameron): John, what knd of keyboard, and what kind of accordion do you use?
(JohnL): I have a Proteus FX for my live beeps and boops. It's cheap and small and I can afford to carry a backup.
(JohnL): I recently got an endorsement deal from Hohner. It took some doing but they gave me a sporty red model for half off.
(Carrot): Do you and JohnF collaborate on most songs or do you mostly write separately?
(JohnL): John and I generally write songs independantly, although we have ways of collaborating that work pretty well. Sometimes John writes a stack of lyrics and gives them to me. That's how we came up with "Subliminal" from John Henry
(Amie): JOHN, how do you feel about moshers? I get hurt all the time!
(JohnL): We try to discourage moshing, as it can lead to injury. I suppose it's none of our business, but we've seen people get badly hurt, and it's kind of a drag.
(Fuzzymonk): What inspires you to come up with the songs?
(JohnL): Answer: Coffee.
(Jeremym): JohnL: Speaking of coffee -- I bought some at your Count Basie Theatre show. Good blend. Who designed it?
(JohnL): I don't know who supplied that coffee we were selling. I did the little picture of JH with a mug.
(Matt): JohnL: do you speak German and write in Japanese?
(JohnL): I wish I could speak some other language properly. I speak pidgin Spanish and can read the Japanese Katakana charactors.
(Najus): John, what was your favorite album to record?
(JohnL): John Henry was really fun, because we weren't fussing too much with overdubs. We were all playing at the same time in a huge room up in Bearsville, NY, during a blizzard.
(Matt): John: is there another project after House of Mayors?
(JohnL): I don't have anything really cut out yet. I'd like to do a longer format State Songs recording, but I'm going to need a free moment.
(Wrac): john: did you like high school?
(JohnL): High School was a great resource, in retrospect. I didn't like it too much at the time, but I had free use of the facilities in the music room, including an old Bass Clarinet that launched my interest in reed instruments.
(Najus): Can you describe your experiences working with Josh Fried?
(JohnL): Josh Fried is someone we performed and recorded with way back in the mid-eighties. He's still doing interesting performances, some involving people wearing headphones and trying to repeat what they're hearing exactly as it happens, which is, as Joshua says, impossible.
(Katiejean): what happened to Flanny?
(JohnL): Flans is probably going to Star Wars. He didn't see those films the first time out.
(Wrac): John: who is James McIntyre?
(JohnL): Jim "Jimmy Mac" Macintyre was a close friend of both John F. and I in high school who died of AIDS the year before our first record came out. A lot of Jimmy's sensibility influenced what we were doing and is still part of what we do.
(JohnL): Here's the trivia question: What European country was the nineteenth century painter James Ensor born in?
(Najus): That's the end of the chat. Thanks John for stopping by.