Source: The Damn! Interviewz (late 1998)
INTERVIEW W/ wILLiAM TUcKER
by Simon Babar
Anyone who was ever a fan of industrial music back in the late eighties knows that William Tucker was one of the movers and shakers of a movement that spawned many an "industrial" band today. As a guitarist, he played in Ministry, The Revolting Cocks, Pigface, and several other trend-setting industrial acts of that era. He was a rock star in Chicago during a time when Wax Trax's popularity was at its height. And never one to refuse a good time, he would often partake in excessive self-indulgence, living out the stereotypical rock'n roll lifestyle of sex, drugs, and of course, more drugs.
However, these days, it seems as if he's shaken most if not all of his destructive habits and taken his music in a new direction trading in angst for atmosphere. It's evident he has no interest in holding a torch for industrial music or pursuing a career rehashing and capitalizing on a formula than was fashionable ten years ago. Nor have his tastes learned to embrace electronica as a form of musical expression. Instead, today William Tucker's creative energy is stimulated and manifested through the collaborative work he's done with Pat Ogle and their band Thanatos as well as the work he's done with Chainsuck and Chris Connelly. With industrial elements being few and far between, these are musical entities that represent the next logical step forward for a musician as well versed as Tucker.
His latest work with Thanatos, Blisters, is visionary. Dark and cryptic, Blisters is despondent psychedelia at its dreamiest. Reminiscent of The Legendary Pink Dots, Pat Ogle delivers wistful vocals that glide effortlessly across the heavenly bed of symphony arranged by Tucker. And while Tucker might be primarily known for his guitar work, he exhibits a flair for subtlety applying acoustical guitar, horns, woodwinds, clever programming and some soaring electric guitar jams to elevate the music beyond conscious comprehension. Is Blisters industrial? Hardly. Is it one of the most aesthetically brilliant albums I've heard in a long time? Absolutely.
DAMn!: I know some of the highlights, but please give a brief history of your work and musical involvement in case I missed anything.
Tucker: Uh oh...Between 1980-1983 I was in a 3 piece instrumental band called Regressive Aid. The bass player was Andrew Weiss (Ween, Rollins Band, etc.) and the drummer was Sim Cain (Rollins Band, etc.). We released a number of records on our own label Rhesus Records and played a great number of shows. In fact, opening for literally everybody in the Trenton/Philadelphia area (Gang of Four, Billy Idol, Bow Wow Wow, Romeo Void, Swans, Flipper, Butthole Surfers, G.B.H., Black Flag, Ramones, Dead Kennedys). As a band we were extremely influenced by the post punk movement and the very early industrial music scene. In Regressive Aid, we would routinely cover the stage with stolen 55 gallon drums, use prepared tapes and play with instruments we built ourselves. This would account for a great deal of my "been there, done that" attitude and why I'm not interested in repeating myself as a an artist. At the same time, we also had an offshoot band called "Scornflakes" which was comprised of Regressive Aid and our psychotic vocalist friend "Chang". In this case the music was 100% improvised (we never wrote a song or rehearsed ever) so no two shows were ever the same...In the mid 80's I started a band called Cleft Palate, a project in which I played all the instruments and my friend "Chang" was the, uh, singer...our live performances consisted of the two of us playing to a pre-recorded tape and starting fights with various audience members...despite how absolutely dreadful we were, it was through this band that I met Martin Atkins and subsequently ended up on Invisible Records in 1989-90 and began almost immediately working in the Wax Trax/Industrial camp. I should make it clear that at that time I was a huge Wax Trax fan, and had been since the Front 242 Endless Riddance EP (which I played incessantly on my college radio show "Uncle Williams Holiday Death Camp" on WTSR, Trenton State) in 1985/86.
DAMn!: What do you think of when you look back at those years with Wax Trax?
Tucker: At the time, it was extremely rewarding to be involved in something I recognized as being a groundbreaking and forward thinking movement. My remembrance of the scene is that of a large, incestuous, co-dependent and somewhat inbred family. Add to this extremely reckless behavior on a more than regular basis from both key and peripheral personnel and you would have a pretty good picture of Chicago at the time. There was an INSANE amount of drug-crazed madness with tours being the perfect vehicle for violently anti-social behavior coupled with non-stop drug consumption. It was good fun for me because, well, I'll try anything once. Unfortunately, I'll also try everything all at once.
DAMn!: Why have you chosen to become a hired gun as opposed to staying with one band or project for a prolonged period of time?
Tucker: Because variety is the spice of life and I enjoy working with different artists...they're also financial considerations that come into play...
DAMn!: Does it bother you that people usually don't identify you with a single band or entity?
Tucker: No. I like to keep people guessing.
DAMn!: What made you want to work with Pat Ogle on the latest Thanatos album?
Tucker: Despite the fact I absolutely hate the first two Thanatos LP's, it was obvious that Pat was a fairly clever vocalist and given the right working conditions would be capable of producing some wonderful music.
DAMn!: Do you perceive it as your best work so far?
Tucker: We're getting there...I feel the best record I've ever done is Shipwreck by Chris Connelly.
DAMn!: How long have you been playing guitar?
Tucker: 25 years...but I was originally a drummer (at age 6), played keyboards (my brother was a classical pianist), and studied trumpet for a number of years before I became enamored with guitar in the early 70's.
DAMn!: Your guitar playing on Blisters is much more fluid and psychedelic sounding than the guitar playing I think most people would associate you with. Stylistically, is this what you'd rather do at this point in your career?
Tucker: Stylistically, it IS what I do at this point in my career. It's also what I've almost exclusively done since 1994. I have very little interest in banging out bar chords over a repetitive beat with some insipid idiot screaming about nothing. I vastly prefer my work with Chris Connelly, Chainsuck, Thanatos, etc.
DAMn!: Are you no longer interested in creating music that fits into the Wax Trax mold?
Tucker: For the most part, no. But I love Wax Trax.
DAMn!: Do you think too many musicians today in the elektro genre are trying to re-enact those years?
Tucker: Not necessarily. It just seems that much of that music is a bad xerox of a good blueprint. It's all formula: disco beat + metal guitar + gruff/angst ridden/fuzz vocals = industrial/etc. I find it both uninspired and uninspiring, lacking in originality, innovation and most importantly, attitude.
DAMn!: Being a musician who's seen a lot happen during his career, what kind of insight can you give as to the direction you think the industrial scene is going? Is it dead?
Tucker: I have so little interest in the genre that I don't really give a fuck where the scene is going and no, it just smells that way.
DAMn!: How extensive was your contribution to Blisters aside from playing guitar?
Tucker: Let's see...Aside from writing all the music with Pat, playing all the instruments, arranging, producing and recording the entire thing at my studio and mastering...uh very little.
DAMn!: What projects are you working on?
Tucker: I'm finishing a soundtrack for a Chicago based independent film maker named Dan Dinello. In the next two months I will be (A) producing the new Chainsuck record for Wax Trax/TVT, (B) working with Frankie Nardiello (Groovy Mann of T.K.K.) on his first solo record, and (C) starting production on a new Thanatos record.
DAMn!: Looking back over your career, do you have any major regrets in regards to collaborations, signing shitty contracts, etc.?
Tucker: Crash and burn, live and learn...the worst music experience I ever had was attempting to produce the 2nd Final Cut record. The band leader (using the term extremely loosely) is the most egotistical, greedy, lazy talentless and stupid individual I have ever met. The only person more fucked up than him would be anyone who would work with him.
DAMn!: What music have you been listening to lately? What kinds of music have influenced you over the years?
Tucker: I'm fairly proud to say that I listen to virtually no contemporary music. I basically spend my money buying the influential music of my early youth (Bowie, Alice Cooper, Iggy, old funk, disco, etc.) on CD.
DAMn!: Why don't you listen to contemporary music? Do you not have any contemporary influences?
Tucker: It's not like I don't listen to contemporary music. It's just that if I'm going to spend my hard-earned money on a CD, it's going to be something I view as a classic and will listen to forever. The sad truth of the matter is that I'm so busy as an artist, I rarely have time to listen to music other than my own. At this point, any influences I have seem to be of a cinematic nature. I spend far more time taping, purchasing, and collecting movies than I do music.
DAMn!: Please describe a pivotal event in your life that had a deep affect on your music?
Tucker: The death of my good friend Jonathan Melvoin (Smashing Pumpkins' keyboardist) profoundly affected me. We had met on the Shipwreck tour when he was playing for them and we shared a mutual interest in music, fun, and heroin. His passing caused me to more than reflect on a number of aspects of my lifestyle and my career.
DAMn!: Have you achieved all of your personal goals as far as your musical career goes?
Tucker: I've reached a number of personal goals but there are a number of personal plateaus I've yet to achieve. I'm generally pretty happy if I can get up in the morning, look in the bathroom mirror and be assured that I haven't involved myself in anything absolutely wretched.