Sonic
Boom aka Peter Gunn aka Pete Kember is a
notorious figure in the music world. Renown as one of the architects for the
incredible 80s UK drone outfit Spacemen 3. Infamous for the drug aura that
surrounds him. Indeed mere mention of his or his band's name and immediately
it conjures up a mythology of druggy decadence. But peel back the fog and
Spacemen 3 had a clear, unique vision. Modern psychedelia of the highest order
- informed as much by punk as the original psych bands were flavoured by the
blues. They left some astonishing, brave albums like Dream Weapon,
Perfect Prescription, Playing with Fire and Recurring
- the final record before the acrimonious split with co-pilot Jason Spaceman
(aka Jason Pierce). A drama that forms the backbone of Erik Morse's recent
biography Dream Weapon: Spacemen 3 & The Birth of Spiritualized.
Pierce went onto form Spiritualized while Kember has had an array of projects
including Spectrum, EAR aka Experimental Audio Research and other collaborations
(with the likes of Silver Apples, Yo La Tengo and Delia Derbyshire).
It was one of Kember's recent collaborations that turned me on to where he's
at these days. It was Sonic Souvenirs - the ep of remixes Kember did
for Luna's Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips from their duo lp L'Avventura.
It's remarkable stuff and a timely reminder that Sonic Boom is still making
vital contributions. The trio followed up with a Christmas mp3 - a cover of
Roger Miller's 'Old Toy Trains' - that's still available on www.sonic-boom.info
or www.deanandbritta.com and there's plans to do more work together.
Kember's also just compiled a set of his favourite obscurities (including
Juicy Lucy, Rolf Harris, Xavier Cugat, Daniel Johnston, Bo Diddley and more)
called Spacelines on Spain's Munster Records. It serves as a pointer
to his influences and a great leaping off point for further investigation.
You were well known for wearing moccasins –
do you still wear them?
Yes, pretty much always.
Whatever happened to Peter Gunn?
He mutated...
You’ve got a reputation for high times … do you find your reputation
precedes you when you walk into a room?
Unfortunately it does, too often. Reputations are rarely deserved. Wickedness
is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness
of others - to quote Mr.Wilde
Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe treated Melbourne to one of the
craziest shows ever last year – was meeting him a meeting of the minds?
Er...no. I'm as different from Anton as I can hope to be without wasting time
trying harder.
You once said ‘I played for
Yo La Tengo for a week and put up with Ira Kaplan, so anything is possible...’
– can you give us an insight into that experience?
Musically it was a great experience. Ira, which I believe is short for Irate,
took out his own under-planning on me and others. He booked two days rehearsal
to learn around 17 songs of theirs, plus Neil Innes and my stuff. Ultimately
they were great gigs. That's a band with a weird dynamic though .
What’s
the most outrageous thing you read about yourself in the recent Spacemen 3 book
‘Dream Weapon’?
There's too many bits to mention. The worse bits were removed - they were untrue
factually plus I threatened to sue. It is interesting to read people's thoughts.
Pete Bain excelled himself in the bigotry stakes. It was strange reading that
the guy had patently hated and resented me for over a decade...though somehow
never had the balls to say shit to me and even worked for me through all the
period he discusses. It's never been easy being 'different' to others in this
small town. Never mind...
Did you ever get to Genesis P.
Orridge’s pad in Hackney to see the occult members straddling sex furniture?
What had you heard about it?
Just rumours and stories - probably exaggerated. Genesis does seem to be a freak
magnet though, so he's associated with a lot of loonies. He was never anything
but a perfect gent to us as Spacemen 3.
You’ve
said of the book that it was ‘quite amusing ....... and equally rather
sad’ – for all the successes of Spacemen 3 you lost, or sacrificed,
quite a bit too – is that how you feel?
I gave my body and soul to it. I don't know if its a sacrifice. To be honest,
I just happened to be the one that had the energy and ideas. Being successful
in a small town is strange. People resent it rather than support it. I guess
it makes them feel in someway deficient? I don't understand it .
Would you write a book?
Maybe. At some point .
What's your favourite Spacemen
3 LP?
Probably Perfect Prescription. I like the overall feel and the songs
...
What is your relationship with Jason Spaceman these days?
Nonexistent. I sent him a note about a year ago, but no reply. I have forgiven
and forgotten long ago.
Have you ever heard the band Spectrum
from Australia – they had a massive hit here in the early 70s with ‘I’ll
Be Gone’ but were pretty prog?
No, but I know of them.
You’ve mentioned that a new
Spectrum lp is in the works – what can we expect?
More guitar based songs but nothing too unfamiliar.
What's your favourite EAR lp?
I like Continuum and Vibrations a lot . I was helped by Delia
Derbyshire (electronica pioneer most famous for the Doctor Who theme)
on those two and I felt they came out really well.
Last
year you remixed the L'Avventura album by Dean (Wareham) & Britta
(Phillips), of Luna fame, that you called 'your favourite of the year and favourite
of the decade’. What did you feel your remixes added to the original L’Avventura
lp?
Some atmosphere that I thought suited. It's hard to re-mix (Tony) Visconti (L'Avventura
producer). I also like the way the whole thing runs.
You also did an mp3 release of the Roger Miller Christmas track ‘Little
Toy Trains’ (available at …) how did that come about?
It was a track Dean found and suggested. We're planning on doing a collaborative
disc, but fitting it round other stuff etc. means it'll take some time I suspect.
Were other Christmas tunes mooted?
Yes . We've started a recording of 'She's Coming Home' by the Wailers.
So where would you like to take the next Dean & Britta collaboration?
We'll see. I have no preset ideas.
Who else would
you like to produce or remix?
Nothing springs to mind immediately. But I'm sure there are tons.......
This is where we go into 'tech head' mode. You're known as much for synth
playing as your guitar work. What's your favourite synth?
For a mono synth - the OSCar. It sounds great, it looks great and it has memories.
For a modular synth - the EMS synth, again it looks superb and it is a very
cleverly designed piece of equipment. The possibilities of sound treatment and
creation for its limited components is staggering .
What's your favourite guitar?
hmm......either the Fender Jaguar
or the Vox Starstream - but for different reasons. The DiPinto Galaxie is a
nice guitar too, that I'd recommend as a good inexpensive guitar.
What about your favourite effect pedal and what song does it come up best
in?
Well, I'm just working on the final stages of a pedal that clones the vox treb/bass
booster, fuzz and repeater. Normally you find this combo in some Vox guitars
like the Starstream. It's best heard on 'Honey' or 'How Does it feel' on Playing
with Fire.
Tell us about the Spacelines compilation you put together – you've
intimated you’d have different song selections if it wasn’t as nefarious
a release? What songs would’ve you liked to have added?
Oh, I don't know. It's cool that they're mostly obscure trax. There was meant
to be the Saints track 'No Time', but Munster removed it and put on that bad
live MC5 track . I woulda had 'Borderline' (the A2 single version) if I had
known they were gonna do that. I even got clearance for it...
Of course, the Saints 'No Time' is like a national anthem down here.
And so it should be...that song has long been a desert island disc for me.
I have a weird theory about Aussie bands being the first to really tap into
the Stooges/MC5 thing - look at Birdman , AC/DC and the Saints - even a second
wave with the Scientists etc...
What's your favourite track off
that Spacelines record?
'Elevator Operator' by the Rays. No reason.
What, or who, excites you in music today?
All sorts of stuff. Anything that's passionate and moves me.
The last record you bought?
Antony & the Johnsons ep.
¡Tarantula!
the Sand Pebbles' fanzine
'another ghost transmission...'
sandpebbles@brella.org
©2005 Christopher Hollow
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