1997-10 People Online
John Linnell Live Chat
By Patrizia DiLucchio, PEOPLE Online, October 1997
Archived from: https://web.archive.org/web/20031023060009/http://www.tmbg.net/articles/people1997.html
PEOPLE Online: We'll be starting shortly... We're just waiting for the guys to get logged on.... We're hoping they'll walk into the building any minute... Yea! We can start whenever you guys are ready!
John Linnell: Hey! Ready. Just Linnell here.
PEOPLE Online: Hi everyone - I'm Patrizia DiLucchio, this is PEOPLE Online on Pathfinder and tonight's guests... Well. They Might Be Giants - ...or they might be two guys from Brooklyn, John Flansburgh and John Linnell, who put together a self-titled debut album in 1986 ( "the pink album" to initiates), full of great tunes that made people want to laugh and dance (not necessarily in that order) and who were jet-propelled into Underground Celebrity status. Many albums and great songs later, fresh on the heels of the release of their 72 song box set from Restless Records, Then: The Earlier Years (the entire first three albums as well as many unreleased bonus tracks), They Might Be Giants are in the middle of an International Tour - and what tour in the wired age would be complete without a stop on the Internet?
Question: Howdy John. You guys have more than 120 fan sites on the Web! (I know because I counted all of 'em...) How do you account for your tremendous digital popularity? Or do you bother?
John Linnell: We never made much of an effort to cultivate fans on-line until they made themselves known.
Question: Hi John & John, thanks for doing this CyberChat! Here's my question: When you pick songs to play live, there are 1) Standards 2) New Songs and 3) "Random older songs." Are you planning on varying the "Random older songs" for your upcoming concerts so as to avoid the situation where your setlist is essentially the same show to show? Thanks! (P.S. TMBG RULES!)
John Linnell: We'll be playing songs from our back catalog that we haven't played in a long time. We're currently busy relearning old material for that purpose. We've got lot's of new songs no one , including ourselves, is very familiar with. It will be a hodge podge lodge.
Question: Do you guys plan to come back to Australia soon?
John Linnell: We'll be back in Australia and other far flung parts as soon as we have a new record to promote. For now we're mostly doing local shows (East Coast and nearby.)
Question: What was it like working with Suzanne Vega?
John Linnell: Suzanne's home studio was pretty charming. I recorded my accordion solo in a tiny closet with no air conditioning. Sort of like the room I'm in right now.
PEOPLE Online: We like think of them as "cozy."
Question: What is your stance on bootlegs? so long as they're not being sold, just as a supplement to the stuff for sale?
John Linnell: Hmm. Well personally I like hearing bootlegs of other bands. Professionally I have to say we like to get paid for work we do.
Question: Will the unreleased songs from Factory Showroom ever see the light of day?
John Linnell: The unreleased recordings may get fixed up or rerecorded by the time we wind up putting that stuff out. Since we started performing the song You're Older the arrangement has improved, so we might want to put out the better version.
Question: How do you get your opening acts? Did you know Lincoln beforehand?
John Linnell: We know Lincoln through our manager, Jamie Lincoln Kitman, who likes to represent bands that refer in some way to his middle name.
Question: Do you enjoy performing in Florida? We'd like to see more of you!
John Linnell: We miss the roadside armadillos and the tiny lizards that hang out on the sidewalks. We'll come back as soon as we can.
Question: Do you guys consider yourselves meta-popsters?
John Linnell: No.
Question: Why are so many shows being put on at the Mercury Lounge this year?
John Linnell: We're preparing tons of new songs for next year's release, so it's an opportunity to practice them in public and sleep in our own beds.
Question: What are your favorite songs to perform? (Could be your original songs or somebody else's)
John Linnell: We like doing songs we haven't done in awhile. We like doing the ones people scream and yell at. We especially like playing songs we've never played before, but only when we execute them perfectly, which is never.
Question: Will Certain People I Could Name be released?
John Linnell: Sure. We'll cook that one up real soon.
Question: I think your State Songs on Hello are great! How many more have you written, and when will we hear them?
John Linnell: I started writing the state songs way back in '87 when we were recording "Lincoln" I've kind of lost count of them, but when I check out the old ones I always want to go back and rewrite them, so I may never finish this particular project.
Question: To listen to your music, one would guess y'all have little interest in pop prior to 1963-64.
John Linnell: Not true. We dig the sounds of post war pop, not to say pre war pop, and things beyond. When I met Flansburgh he was deeply into recordings of 1940's radio shows. I have a huge collection of 78's.
PEOPLE Online: Do you specialize - one John writing melody, the other writing lyrics? Or do you switch off? Can you describe the process of creation? How does a song get from your head(s) to our ears?
John Linnell: We generally each write entire songs. I think John and I each have our specialties, but we take a certain amount of pride in putting the whole contraption together. We've also collaborated in various ways. Since we have a lot of the same recording equipment we can pass things back and forth. Once in a while I'll get John to write a bunch of lyrics for me to set to music.
PEOPLE Online: Part of what inspired you to make your 1987 album (or at least this is my theory) was the delight in poking a stick into the bloated belly of rock 'n' roll tradition. And yet now, 10 years later, They Might Be Giants have become a rock 'n' roll tradition. Any paradox in that? How do you deal with becoming that which you would parody?
John Linnell: We were never a parody of anything. We love the traditions and conventions of pop and we don't feel like our editorial policy has changed any.
Question: Do you ever get any of your own songs stuck in your head?
John Linnell: When I'm working on a song it's usually running around and around in my head and it is sometimes a relief to finish it for that reason.
PEOPLE Online: You guys do a helluva lot of touring! How do you survive life on the road?
John Linnell: I'm glad that you perceive it that way. Most people want to know where we've been lazing around in the year or so since we last played in their town. It's hard to satisfy everyone. Yes. It's sometimes a drag touring for long periods of time. Sometimes it's fun to travel around and see places. Sometimes performing is really fun.
Question: Why don't you guys like Richmond, Virginia? I've heard a lot of rumors!
John Linnell: We totally love Richmond. We like the people, we like that "lost dog" restaurant. We almost wish the south had won the war, that's how much we like it there.
Question: What's the scariest thing a fan's ever done to or for you guys?
John Linnell: Couldn't say.
Question: Have you gotten any feedback from Andy Partridge regarding the song XTC Vs. Adam Ant?
John Linnell: I haven't heard anything. Flans was in touch with him when he contributed his Hello CD. I hope he took it the right way.
Question: There were lots of interesting arrangements for the songs on Factory Showroom. What can we expect when some of the newer songs we've come to love in concert get the studio treatment?
John Linnell: More clarinets. More screaming.
Question: how many instruments do you play total?
John Linnell: I play keyboards & reeds. That includes a wide variety of interchangeable skills.
PEOPLE Online: Folks, we have nearly 300 questions...but our time is running out. Two more after this and we have to let John go.
Question: Linnell...where is Flansburgh? I hope he's not sick or something (or did I already miss that answer?)
John Linnell: He's in Brooklyn tonight working on a song we're going to perform on WFUV on saturday afternoon. He needed the time.
PEOPLE Online: Are you doing a show on Halloween (tomorrow night)? Any special plans for the Halloween show?
John Linnell: No, we'll be rehearsing tomorrow and tomorrow night we be in our homes hiding from the hail of eggs and other mischief.
PEOPLE Online: John, you've been a great guest! We'd love to keep you here all night...but it's getting late in New York. Thanks so much for coming online!
John Linnell: Thanks, Patrizia. Thanks everybody. See you on the road!