Father figure

>> David Thomas of Pere Ubu on three decades of making the greatest rock music never heard

NOTHING’S FINAL: David Thomas (2nd from R) and Pere Ubu

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

The rumblings of underground rock forefathers Pere Ubu started off in 1975 in the grey urban centre of Cleveland, Ohio, and 14 albums later, the band remains on the margins. Singer David Thomas, currently the only original member, states matter-of-factly in his Wikipedia entry, “We are the longest-lasting, most disastrous commercial outfit ever to appear in rock ’n’ roll.”

Then again, early Pere Ubu material—like “Final Solution,” with its dark and pulsating beat, or the dervish whirl of “30 Seconds Over Tokyo”—could be compared to the Velvet Underground’s first record, in the sense that neither has been heard by many, but both continue to influence countless bands.

Last year’s provocatively titled Why I Hate Women shows Pere Ubu as inspired as ever, with Thomas firmly at the helm. It easily stands up next to their classic albums like Dub Housing and The Modern Dance. In keeping with Pere Ubu’s tradition, hidden within the thread of Why I Hate Women is a collection of love songs.

“Pere Ubu has always been a concept band,” says Thomas. “I hate to use the word ‘concept’ because it just sounds so grotesque. Whenever I start work on a record, I always come up with a fairly extensive back story, with characters and a narrative of sorts, none of which ever actually appears on the records.

“It’s just like writing a novel, but I don’t have the time or the talent to do that. I’m really a specialized person, I do one thing and that’s make music. Most other things, I just don’t care about.”

Pere Ubu’s policy is that they never repeat themselves, and remain a band with no grand scheme in mind. With a constantly rotating line-up behind him, Thomas has managed to re-invent the band with each new record, with nothing but his off-kilter squeal earmarking it as a Pere Ubu release. “When we first started the band, I was just coming out of Rocket From the Tombs, and knew I could do this music thing. We knew we had a foundation for Pere Ubu and we just wanted to see where we could take it from there. We really just wanted to see where the music would go.

“Pere Ubu is the same now as it has ever been, in the sense that we could break up tomorrow or go on forever. We really don’t know because we have never looked into the future. As long as we’re creating something that’s good and has somewhere to go, we’ll keep going. As soon as I reach wherever I’m going, I’ll quit.”

Pere Ubu’s influence on underground music is not lost on Thomas. Although he professes to hate almost all music, he is never shocked to hear about the influence he and his band have had on a new generation of musicians. “We knew before anybody had ever heard us that we quite possibly could be the best rock band that had ever existed in the world’s history. I suppose every band thinks that way. We just never thought anybody would ever hear us, but we always knew how good we were.”

With Fucked Up and Thundrah at
le National on Wednesday,
Oct. 3, 8:30 p.m., $25