music: Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan, Smog, or (smog) is an amazing musician. I think he is one of the greatest lyricists of the times- funny and true, narrative and precise. I remember the first time I heard him in high school, on the local college radio, a crescendo of strings, reaching the line "I'm gonna be drunk, so drunk at your wedding" and I knew exactly what he meant, just like I always feel I do with his music.

http://www.dragcity.com/artists/bill-callahan

http://www.dragcity.com/artists/smog

Q: So…what have you done today so far?

A: I drove home from Dallas today where I was mixing a live LP with John Congleton. I stopped at Starbucks about 45 mins. into the trip and got a coffee and a Power Protein Meal or something like that. One free range hard boiled egg, a cute little whole wheat bagel that didn't taste very good, a bit of cheese, 9 grapes, two slices of apple and a packet of peanut butter. I ate it all but the peanut butter. Peanut butter is for kids.

Q: Was being a musician always what you wanted to do? Always what you were aiming for?

A:When I was a little kid I wanted to be a record producer, although I wasn't sure what one did. I thought you just organized people and told them what to do. Which is fairly correct but I wasn't sure what sort of things I would be telling them to do. Being a musician is a way to be on the outside of society and right in the heart of it at the same time. I wanted to do it since I was 16 or so.

music: Michel Gondry

I think the list of musicians Michel Gondry has made videos for is like a who's who of pop music over the last decade or so: Bjork, The White Stripes, Beck, Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue and so on. He seems to have grown up on music and then grown into film making like a kid who keeps wearing his favorite t-shirt well into adulthood.
http://www.michelgondry.com/

Q: When did you start playing drums and why did you pick the drums? I’m always interested in what makes someone pick which instrument they want to play- who sees an oboe and says “Yes! That’s me! Double reed!”
A: It was like driving a motorbike, in terms of the testosterone's enhancement, only way safer.


Q:What drummers do you like or have learned from? I never thought of drums as a solo instrument until I wrote that question. I could listen to Jim White play by himself for hours I think…
A: I learned listening to the  Charlie Watts, which is pretty much the easiest thing to do. Later I became a huge fan of the band Booker T and the MG's and their drummer Al Jackson.


Q: Do you ever find your experience in music helpful in film? Does it affect the way you edit at all? Like in Daft Punk’s "Around the World" video where each character is a different sound- it’s very rhythmic, very percussive in visuals. (almost like those German Expressionists and their biorhythmic stuff)
A: I started by editing myself my first videos. But my drumming background was an obstacle. I HAD to cut on the beat each shot. I had to work with proper editors and learn to forget the beat. The music background came to be helpful in my understanding of the artists I was working with.