Truly indie

>> Stephen Malkmus emerges from cracks in Pavement

by LORRAINE CARPENTER,
photo by MOSES BERKSON

What's hard, grey, frequented by footwear, and synonymous with indie rock? Yes, that's right. But Pavement has bitten the dust, leaving its frontman free to go it alone, and, as macho and mature as "going solo" sounds, Mr. Malkmus is still the same dude. The Mirror spoke to said dude about the Jicks, ABBA and Mom 'n' Dad.



Mirror: Was it important for you to differentiate yourself from Pavement, musically?

Stephen Malkmus: It would just be safe for us to sound like Pavement, so there's a new paradigm to it. But it's not that different, to tell you the truth. I'm still singing and playing guitar, and I pretty much did 95 per cent of the songs in Pavement. Not to, like, brag or anything.

M: So you were considering "the Jicks" as a band name, but now it's you and the Jicks. Was it a case of your name being more marketable?

SM: I'm happy to call it by my own name, but it's not a very bankable name, really. There are many Pavement fans who don't even know who I am. I went over the top putting my face on the cover with ugly lettering and stuff. I wanted it to be pretty gaudy, but the music doesn't sound that way. The music's pretty open and welcoming.

M: Your album's self-titled, what's up with your original album title, Swedish Reggae?

SM: I tried to do a cryptic cover like old Pavement ones and it just seemed wrong, so we used a photo of me in Hawaii. But there was a different photo where I was wearing pink chiffon, I looked like an ABBA guy on the beach. Swedish Reggae kinda went with that, but people just hated that title, and I didn't wanna shoot myself in the foot. I tend to do that sometimes.

M: Are you pro-ABBA or anti-ABBA?

SM: I think they're pretty great, really. I didn't like them in the early '80s 'cuz they symbolized a lot of things that were bad. That's when punk rock meant the most to me. But Hot Chocolate and all these pop bands had a pretty cool sound compared to rock from that time, like Kiss. I'd rather listen to ABBA than Kiss.

M: Do you like Preston School of Industry [fellow ex-Pavement guy Scott Kannberg's new band]?

SM: Yeah, I like it. I'm happy to see Scott working, but it's not just a Scott-Stephen thing. The drummer I'm touring with, Steve Wesband, he's the last drummer of Pavement. His band Marble Valley has an album out and no one ever mentions that. I'm always worried about Steve, I want him to do well too.

M: Pavement is such a cult band, you must attract the stalker element.

SM: Oh, anyone worth their salt does... just kidding. I had stalkers, but they're not around, I don't think. My parents are kinda like stalkers. My dad has started introducing our group whenever he comes to the show and he totally eats up the applause. He's like, "I'm Steve's dad," and everyone's like, "Wooh!" Yeah, my parents love it. I would say they're the weirdest element. :

With the Lapse at Club Soda on Monday, Nov. 19, 9PM, $17.50