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OK, LET`S START WITH WHAT IS, PROBABLY, THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU GUYS WHO ARE PLAYING IN
CHAMBERLAIN AND IT`S YOUR LATEST RELEASE EXIT 263.
SINCE YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO THINK A LITTLE
BETTER ABOUT IT, WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT IT NOW?
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Well, it is important for people to understand that Exit 263 is not a cohesive album…
in fact, it's hardly an album at all - at least not in the traditional sense of the word. When the band broke up,
we had a considerable number of songs that we had written…songs that were still in the primitive stages of development.
Most were unfinished, unpolished and were more or less blueprints of songs to be. In the aftermath of the break-up, our
management team thought we should release the songs we had at the time, even if they were not fully realized and complete -
as a parting offering to the fans who had hung with us through the years. For me, the record is a kind of scrapbook - sketches
of what might have been. But, it certainly is not the recording we had intended on making. Some of these songs would probably
never have made the final cut on our next record. As a band, we had very little to do with the release of Exit 263, since it
occurred after the break-up, so aside from the actual songwriting, we don't really regard it as our own endeavor.
I'm sure everyone involved regrets not having had the opportunity to give these songs the kind of representation they deserved.
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DID THE BAND HAD ENOUGH TIME , SPACE AND
INSPIRATION FOR RECORDING IT, AND IF YOU COULD WOULD
YOU CHANGE SOME THING IN IT NOW?
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I would change just about everything about the record now. As I said, these songs, the
four-track recordings, etc., were never supposed to see the light of day. We were making our own low-budget
recordings in preparation for an upcoming album. But, because we all decided to go our separate ways, we never
had the time to make the record we had begun to envision. I do think there are some potent, intimate musical moments
captured on Exit 263, and I'm very proud of some aspects of the record. But, these songs could have accomplished
so much more with the time and opportunity to develop them further.
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OK, IS THERE SOMETHING LIKE A PROMO TOUR AS A
SUPPORT FOR THIS RECORDING AND IF THERE IS SO, WILL
YOU COVER EUROPE TOO?
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Unfortunately, there won't be a promotional tour in support of the album.
All the band members have moved on in their lives…some have moved away, etc. But, our first (and only)
European tour - some 5 years ago - was one of the greatest times in the band's career, and it was arguably
the best touring situation we had ever been exposed to. Everyone treated as like family, and the shows were
just unbelievable.
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EXIT 263 SEEMED TO ME , AFTER I LISTENED IT
CAREFULLY, AS A LOGICAL AND PROBABLY THE ONLY WAY IN
WHICH YOUR BAND COULD GO.YOU CAME A LONG WAY TIL NOW
FROM SPLIT LIP UNTIL EXIT 263, SO WHICH MOMENTS IN
YOUR MUSICAL "CAREER" DO YOU SEE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT
TO BECOME WHAT YOU BECAME NOW?
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Well, we were always the kind of band that strove to
find our own voice…to create from a level of sincerity and honesty. All of the
different musical manifestations of the band over the years - all of the changes
in style, form, etc. were simply a means to an end. We were always digging deeper,
always mining our own experiences for the better line, the better chord progression,
the better song. The one thing I am most proud of, when I look back at our creative
output, is that we really never concerned ourselves with other people's responses to
our music. We never rested on our laurels, got too comfortable, or stopped taking risks.
We ventured into different musical genres - from punk, to roots, to blues, to country,
to soul music, etc. - in an attempt to find something we could use from every genre.
We tried to take something from everything we heard, everything we came in contact with.
If we had stayed together, I'm sure we would have changed countless times before we found
our own unique voice.
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EVEN THOUGH YOUR MUSIC NOW HAVE A LITTLE THIN
CONNECTION WITH PUNK/HC, SO MANY PEOPLE STILL SEE YOU
AS A VERY IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PART OF THE
UNDERGROUND/ALTERNATIVE/CALL IT WHAT YOU LIKE - SCENE.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS A REASON FOR THIS?
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I don't really know. We never put too much stock in those
sorts of things. We always just tried to control what we could…and that was the songs,
the music. I don't really know what Chamberlain's lasting influence will be, or if we
will even have one. We got involved in the punk scene at a very early age. But again,
that scene was more or less a means to an end…one manifestation among many…a starting
place. I certainly hope we have had some lasting effect or left some semblance of a legacy,
however small. But, what I take with me from the experience is how it touched me…how the band
changed my life and how it gave me some of the greatest, most memorable experiences in my life.
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SINCE WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PAST DAYS, CAN YOU
TELL ME WHICH RECORDS DO YOU SEE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT
AND INFLUENTIAL IN YOUR LIVES?
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I'll just rattle off a quick list of records and/or artists that
have at least changed my little world: Bob Dylan's Blood on the
Tracks (and everything else by Bob); Van Morrison's Tupeon Honey
and Moondance; Otis Redding's greatest hits, Soul Side; David Gray's
Lost Songs; anything by The Smiths, Smokey Robinson, Bob Marley (anything);
Greg Brown's The Poet Game and Tom Waits' Bone Machine and Nighthawks at the
Diner; Jeff Buckley's Grace; Radiohead's The Bends; Cat Stevens' Tea for the
Tillerman; John Denver, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street;
etc, etc. - the list could go on and on.
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OK, THANX FOR THE ANSWERS AND ALL THE BEST. JUST
KEEP ROCKING! AMD FOR THE END OF THIS INTERVIEW,
PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO YOUR
YUGOSLAVIAN FANS THROUGH BREAKING THE SILENCE RADIO
SHOW!
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To Chamberlain fans in Yugoslavia,
I would like to say 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in us!
Just knowing that you've been there with us - that in some way we've touched you -- means so much!
God bless you all."
Thanks again for your interest. I hope my responses have been helpful.
I wish you all the luck in the future! God bless.
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INTERVIEWS :: |
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