1999-07-19 eMusic
They Might Be Giants Live Chat
eMusic, July 19, 1999
Archived from: https://web.archive.org/web/20020611183638/http://emusic.com:80/promo/tmbg/tmbg_chat.html
Some messages have been reordered for length and clarity.
TVG_Michael: Coming up in 10 minutes are John Linnell and John Flansburgh. They're better know as They Might Be Giants. Come chat with them about their new album "Long Tall Weekend."
TVG_Michael: Emusic.com and Yahoolive will be at Irving Plaza in NYC covering the first album to be released exclusively in MP3 format. Following the chat will be a live webcast at 10PM EST.
giant_john_flansburgh: Hey Flansburgh here
giant_john_linnell: Hi Everyone
onthejohns asks: Just wondering, I've been a fan for a long time, and now it seems like TMBG is getting popular in the mainstream again, with their Austin Powers theme song and all the upcoming songs for TV shows. Any idea where the popularity surges come from?
giant_john_flansburgh: Well, we just try to work as much as we can. I don't feel we'll ever be "mainstream" in one sense, but I also never felt too experimental either.
timnickodemus asks: To TMBG: What do you regularly eat at Katz's?
giant_john_linnell: The pastrami is unfailingly good
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes, we do eat at Katz. I once saw Robert Crumb there too.
ted_1_0 asks: For Linnel, when will the State Songs album be available?
giant_john_linnell: The release date for State Songs is in late October
timnickodemus asks: To TMBG: Who do you see as your musical peers? What kind of music have you been listening to recently?
giant_john_flansburgh: That's a tough question. Many of our friends are musicians, but they don't seem like "peers" in any formal sense.
jim_bob_jones_02 asks: How did yall meet each other?
giant_john_linnell: John and I went to school together outside of Boston, a few years before we declared ourselves musicians
giant_john_flansburgh: Tony Maimone runs a studio in Brooklyn and plays in bands, and Graham Maby is out on the road with Natalie Merchant, but he'll be back on the tail leg of our fall tour, since Danny W., our current bassist is expecting to be a Dad in Sept.
timnickodemus asks: To TMBG: Why would you release "Long Tall Weekend" on a Monday?
giant_john_flansburgh: We don't make those decisions.
erinsiwik asks: when will you guys be coming back to cleveland?? you rocked last time at endfest...
giant_john_flansburgh: Probably in the end of Sept.
mrgrimmie asks: Do you guys have any plans to visit the West Coast anytime soon again?
giant_john_flansburgh: We will be going on a national tour in Sept. including the West Coast
FakeOut86 asks: Have you considered incorperating MP3 into your Dial-A-Song site?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're thinking about a bunch of stuff, including a TMBG radio site .
samanthasploosh asks: You obviously know that you have a large internet following. Do you acknowledge that fans have sound files from your concerts online? Are you going to do anything to stop them or do you not mind?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're trying not to give everything away. We'll be wearing barrels if we do.
giant_john_linnell: In answer to the sound files question, we prefer to get paid for our songs, but it's clear that there's a kind of wild west atmosphere where i'ts difficult to control pirating of stuff
mr_utah9027 asks: so exactly what is "undine"???
giant_john_flansburgh: "Ondine" is a french name, and I went to college with a woman by that name, but the character in the song is ficticious.
tanzennancy asks: Where is your favorite place to compose songs?
giant_john_flansburgh: My favorite place to write seems to be on elevators just before the doors open.
phontam asks: Will concert-staples Cyclops Rock, It's So Loud In Here, and Thunderbird be on your next album?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yesss.
FakeOut86 asks: Who's face is that in the videos from the Pink Album?
giant_john_flansburgh: It's a guy who looked like Orson Wells, who we wanted to make our mascot, or logo, but we knew he would sue us, so we used a more obscure guy who has yet to sue us,
criscodog asks: are you married?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes.
Surfer_teen16 asks: hi what is you favorite song you did?
giant_john_flansburgh: My favorite song is called "Unreliable Narator". Linnell just wrote it!
ted_1_0 asks: anyone hear long tall weekend yet?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes. It rocks!
bugg0superstar asks: what do you think of the new music now adays, like the bsb, and nsync, you know the people who have no talents?
giant_john_flansburgh: Well, there is always some element of teenybop stuff. I'm just glad I'm not in school anymore.
girkabob asks: Hi, John and John, I love you guys. My question is for Mr. Flansburgh: Will we be hearing anything from the Mono Puff Syndicate anytime soon? If so, will you tour?
giant_john_flansburgh: We don't really sell enough records to make Mono Puff touring viable. We opened for TMBG once, but I think I would be in the hospital after a weekend if we did that for a tour.
apb86 asks: Who are you influenced by?
giant_john_flansburgh: Beatles, Elvis, the Residents, the reverb on Willie Nelson's voice in ballads, Pere Ubu, Jonathan Richman,
giant_john_flansburgh: New Wave bands, Burt Bacharach
giant_john_flansburgh: Early drum machine songs from the the '80's.
giant_john_flansburgh: Ramones, Talking Heads, Televison
giant_john_flansburgh: Pixies Smiths
giant_john_linnell: We spent a long time making up songs at home. Eventually we built up a local following in New York. The guys who started up Bar/None records came to our show and took a chance on releasing our tape, which cost around $2000.
naughtyangel_68 asks: HOW DID U GE INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS, DID U TURN DEMOS IN OR DID U AUDITION?
giant_john_linnell: Right. that was the question I was answering
apb86 asks: Are you gonna have a nation wide tour in support of the new album?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes. we are going to
giant_john_flansburgh: GA, LA, TX, NM, CA, OR, WA
giant_john_flansburgh: BC, MN IL, CO, UT, NY, MA, DC
giant_john_flansburgh: EVERYWHERE except Florida.
vidiot42 asks: How much of a New York sensibility do you think you have? Brooklyn? You seem to identify yourself with NYC/Brooklyn a lot.. even though you're not from there originally.
giant_john_linnell: Actually I'm originally from New York. I feel a strong kinship with this town, but I never really acquired the accent.
ted_1_0 asks: Will there be a major lable TMBG release in the future?
giant_john_flansburgh: Hopefully soon, but we gotta sort out a deal.
franny_2_far_from_irving_plaza asks: Any collaborations planned with Frank Black in the near future?
giant_john_flansburgh: He's going to be in town this week. I hope to see him.
franny_2_far_from_irving_plaza asks: Flansburgh-I miss the Hello Recording Club. Will you ever revive it or do a similar project?
giant_john_flansburgh: I would love to, but we did most of what we set out to accomplish. We are going to do a compilatin soon. for CD.
Corianna6 asks: Mr. Linnell and MR. Flansburgh, can you tell us a little more about your families?
giant_john_flansburgh: I come from a family of wonderful people, as does Mr. Linnell.
timnickodemus asks: Hello TMBG, what do you do all day long? Certainly you don't have normal jobs. I doubt you practice all day long. What do you do?
giant_john_flansburgh: Well, we do practice, and we are doing a lot of work for this ABC series of specials...
giant_john_flansburgh: It's being broadcast starting on July 29.
Marsilies asks: What is TMBG radio?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're trying to put together a thing where you can here TMBG stuff, and related stuff online like a radio station
jdf179 asks: On The Drag wasn't included on LTW. Do you plan on releasing it eventually?
giant_john_flansburgh: We just recorded a killer version of it, and it will be on our next release. We did it in Brooklyn, in a very tiny studio. It's highly rockin. The band sounds great.
gibbysalem asks: do you guys play a lot of video games?
giant_john_flansburgh: I never do, but I do spend a lot of time watching tv, sadly.
AkaneAGMA asks: who has Long Tall Weekend??
giant_john_flansburgh: It will be available very soon...
vidiot42 asks: You've collaborated with people as diverse as Eugene Chadbourne of the Mothers of Invention and the Dust Brothers. Who's next?
giant_john_flansburgh: Long Tall Weekend has a guest vocal by Nick Hill, a WFMU dj.
giant_john_flansburgh: and groovy guy...
Sam_the_Demon asks: why'd u guys change your musical style?
giant_john_flansburgh: We did?
Surfer_teen16 asks: what is your favorite song you have done?
giant_john_flansburgh: My favorite is "Unreliable Narator"
KrissyKochanski28 asks: have you seen eyes wide shut?
giant_john_flansburgh: My friend saw it and said it was strange, and maybe really bad.
giant_john_flansburgh: I think you can't say bad things about it infront of "film" people.
milhouse911 asks: Do you have any crazy stories about things that have gone wrong in a concert?
giant_john_flansburgh: We had the front of a stage collapse with people dancing on it in Milwaukee. It's hard to explain but it was really crazy.
squidlet.geo asks: Will we ever be able to get accordion sheet music for your songs? I'd love to be able to play some of your stuff, especially Letterbox, or 4 of 2.
giant_john_linnell: There isn't a big demand for accordion sheet music. Sadly. We've been trying to get it together to put out the standard piano & guitar song book for many years now, with no success.
voltaire74 asks: I have noticed that you have worked with other artists such as the Meat Puppets , Otis Ball, and Suzanne Vega. Is there anyone that you guys would like to work with in the future?
giant_john_flansburgh: We work with people in a pretty spontaneous way. No plans at the moment, although we did collaborate with a MIT robot for one of these ABC specials airing in a couple of weeks. The robot plays the drums.
mitchecp42 asks: Have you guys ever thought about making a movie? Like... oh, I suppose Spice World without the spice? :)
giant_john_flansburgh: We're talking to people about stuff like that. It's hard to do something "band driven" that seems interesting.
franny_2_far_from_irving_plaza asks: Since I'm too far from NYC, I will rent a movie tonight. Any suggestions?
giant_john_flansburgh: The Last Waltz
giant_john_linnell: There's a really great documentary about the '92 presidential election called "Feed".
zeke4269 asks: Will you be cutting back on touring now that you have families? I'm sure all of us hope not.
giant_john_flansburgh: I'm building a replicant of Linnell. We will be touring for all of 2000-2003!
kalabash72 asks: Where are the giants
giant_john_flansburgh: Where did they go....
__HOWARD_STERN_ asks: what do you do for a crazy night out
giant_john_flansburgh: We drink and talk amongst ourselves.
samanthasploosh asks: Some people feel that you have changed your "classic sound", as one person I know put it, by having a touring band and neglecting the electronic sounds that you used to employ. Other than that it would be hard to reproduce with a band, is there another reason that you do not put as many effects like you did in the beginning when you used a tape?
giant_john_linnell: The show we do now is really different from the tape show we used to do, but it's very satisfying to us. We've been honing a more chaotic, mistake-filled show for several years.
Marsilies asks: With the release of Long Tall Weekend, would you consider releasing more old dial-a-songs and demos as another mp3 album?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're a little concerned about saturating the market with things (maybe it's too late) but we've got this MP3, Linnell's disc and a childrens record all slated to come out before our next "rock" record (a lot of which we have already recorded) so there will be no shortage of STUFF.
xulaando asks: Should more people take your songs at face value rather than trying to "interpret" them?
giant_john_flansburgh: We don't mind interpretation, but I think one shouldn't be looking for "secret" meanings. Our songs meanings are often pretty up front if you're paying attention. I hope...
teo169 asks: are you going on tour anytime soon?
giant_john_flansburgh: September national tour
xulaando asks: Are you guys going to only play songs from "Long Tall Weekend" tonight?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're playing "Maybe I KNow" "Edith Head" and "Older"
TheLastThing asks: What happened to Kurt Hoffman?
giant_john_linnell: Our old bandmate Kurt is currently composing music for film. His most recent project is something starring Christopher Walken. I forget what it's called.
neko_crayon asks: TMBG: I heard a rumor that said your next album (CD album) will be your last before you call it quits...is this true?
wrldthatswings asks: I've heard that you are going to release Long Tall Weekend on CD if it does well as MP3. Is this true?
giant_john_flansburgh: neko. No, wridthatswing. I don't think so.
gonzo13743 asks: where did you guys find insperation for your "left of center" sound?\
giant_john_flansburgh: We just do what we like.
SpydreWeb asks: What motivated you to release your new album only in mp3 format?
giant_john_flansburgh: We were approached by emusic, and it sounded interesting.
docwormy asks: Mr. Linnell, do you prefer the keyboard or the accordion for concerts?
giant_john_linnell: Now that I'm getting old and creaky I like standing at the podium of a keyboard for most of the show. My stage accordion weighs around 17 pounds so it's hard to wear it for too long. Sigh.
Ronnie_Barzel asks: Which songs of your own are you the most tired of?
giant_john_flansburgh: The ones we don't play.
Mshkreli2 asks: I didn't quite understand your opinion of 'smells like teen spirit' when you guys covered it. Enlighten me ?
giant_john_linnell: We like that song.
tmbgrulez asks: Are you opening Gen Con again next month?
giant_john_flansburgh: We'd like to, but I don't know if that is going to happen.
p00p1e asks: When did you guys start playing your instruments?
giant_john_flansburgh: Linnell played piano from his early teens. I started guitar late (like 18)
thavelick asks: Do you guys have any idea radio doesnt play you very often yet your concerts always sell out?
giant_john_flansburgh: Because our records stink but we're great live? I don't know... I think it's always hard for more unusual bands.
TMBJon asks: Hey, can you tell us about your upcoming children's album?
giant_john_flansburgh: I wrote a song called "Clown Town." It's very kid oriented.
timnickodemus asks: Which Giant is the straight man? Which is the goofy one?
giant_john_flansburgh: Sadly, we are both straight men. No jokes please.
candycane1515 asks: All I am asking for is one of my questions to be shown and what do I get?? NOTHING
giant_john_flansburgh: Huh?
samanthasploosh asks: I have heard both of you refer to yourselves as dorky. What do you think of your long lasting following of obsessive female fans who swoon over both of you?
giant_john_flansburgh: Love is never wrong.
denomin8r asks: Linnell- what is the story behind "On Earth My Nina"
giant_john_linnell: When I listened to another new song of ours backwards, it sounded like "On Earth My Nina". So the whole thing was generated from a thorough listening of the other song backwards.
GravyTrainPup asks: will you be taking singing lessons?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes.
uvulapie asks: there are some real fans here. give the Johns some questions more intense than the usual "name your influences" fluff!
giant_john_flansburgh: We're actually picking the questions.
harryslaughter asks: why did you not renew your contract with your previous label?
giant_john_flansburgh: Because they started sucking.
mr_black989 asks: With the new MP3-only album, are you worried that a lot of people will get it for free from friends or other fans?
giant_john_flansburgh: That's an interesting question. We don't worry that much about piracy.
VKuhlmann asks: have you guys ever considered braching out into different styles of music
giant_john_flansburgh: We did this song for Austin Powers, and we are doing music for a sitcom called Malcolm in the Middle, as well as incidental music. Oh, we're also doing a Nickelodean show called "Stewy the Dog Boy"
mitchecp42 asks: Mr. Linnell, I would just like, as a resident of Oregon, to correct a bit of pronunciation... it's not "ore-*gone*", it's "*Or*-uh-gun". Just so's you know :)
giant_john_linnell: I know. Someone told me that already. I appreciate the fact that the mispronunciation was more offensive to Oregonians than calling the song "Oregon is bad"
rjkibble asks: Are you guys intending on a return to the Uk in the near future?
giant_john_flansburgh: I would love to. It's one of our favorite spots to travel round.
hookeey34121 asks: I am a huge TMBG fan. I have a question for the Johns: What is your religious... position?
giant_john_flansburgh: We're not really religious... position.
violenttffemes asks: DID YOU MEET THE RAMONES BACK IN 93 AT INFEST, CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA
giant_john_flansburgh: YES. I MET JOEY. BUT WE HAVE MET HIM A FEW TIMES. A VERY COOL GUY
bugg0superstar asks: do you thrift shop?
giant_john_linnell: I got Flansburgh this really interesting phone at a thrift store. It was yellow with wicker around the sides.
akahenry_simon asks: why can't we get your singles easlily in the UK?
giant_john_flansburgh: Well, we don't really know.
CandraStokes asks: Will there be any new music videos coming our way?
giant_john_flansburgh: I directed five "videos" for TMBG that will be featured on this ABC nightline/primetime special starting July 29. Check it out.
SpydreWeb asks: Why will you not be touring in Florida?
giant_john_flansburgh: No reason except we couldn't get good gigs.
k_kafka2000 asks: What is the name of the children's record?
giant_john_linnell: The working title is "No!"
AkaneAGMA asks: I thought you feared your internet fan base, what drove you to come here?
giant_john_flansburgh: We do fear them, but we still respect them.
giant_john_linnell: Well, we get to answer the questions we don't fear and ignore the creepy ones.
tmbgjedi asks: How often do you visit the official TMBG chat at TMBG.com, and under what names?
giant_john_flansburgh: Not very often. I feel fat enough already.
akahenry_simon asks: The Giants are pretty big in the UK, but rarely appear here, why is that?
giant_john_flansburgh: We were there last spring. To be honest, it costs a lot to go. We don't really turn a profit. Otherwise we'd be there all the time.
VKuhlmann asks: are you coming to austraila soon?
giant_john_flansburgh: We hope so, probably next year.
vidiot42 asks: what are your favorite websites? (besides tmbg.com, 'course...)
giant_john_flansburgh: I like "The Smoking Gun"
bugg0superstar asks: do you have any dreams about the future, and where you will be?
giant_john_linnell: I have this recurring dream of us being old, old men. Theres an audience of slightly younger people. We no longer need earplugs. There isn't as much stage diving.
bugg0superstar asks: i like paper plates, do you?
giant_john_flansburgh: yesss...
thavelick asks: Do you guys have rights to publish the music from LTW on CDs at a later Date?
giant_john_flansburgh: Edith Head and Older will be on our next album but the rest is just for y'all internet folk.
squidlet.geo asks: Linnell, did you know there was a "Lovers of Linnell" fan club out there? How do you feel about that?
giant_john_linnell: Where do I sign up?
jonslifesavings asks: what college did you guys attend, and what did you majoy in?
giant_john_flansburgh: I went to art school, Pratt for a couple of years after Antioch and GW in DC. I was a mess. Linnell went to UMass for 2 semesters.
apb86 asks: did you ever here of Moxy Fruvous. their ofteen compared to you?
giant_john_flansburgh: Yes, we did a gig with them a couple of years ago. Impressive.
beisselb asks: When you finally release "On The Drag" is it going to be the "rock version or the popier version you started playing last year?
giant_john_flansburgh: Kind both. This new one kinda goes back to the original "grunge" spirit.
my_unique_name asks: How's Hal Cragin and Steve Calhoon doing?
giant_john_flansburgh: Hal moved to LA, Steve is coming to the show tonight. They're both great guys.
giant_john_flansburgh: We gotta split. It's been a gas.
giant_john_linnell: Thanks everyone. See you on the thingy.
giant_john_flansburgh: Guys - go to www.tmbg.com and register for free stuff by leaving your e-mail address on the site!
giant_john_flansburgh: Tune in for the live web cast from Irving Plaza at 10 PM ET, www.emusic.com/promo/tmbg
giant_john_flansburgh: Nice talking to you all!