Interviews

Cursive

Interview with Ted, Matt & Clint on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

This interview was done by Bonnie on March 25, 2001, outside the Troubadour in North Hollywood, CA. I really want to thank Ted, Matt and Clint for talking with me and for being in such an incredible band. Make sure to check out their new EP entitled, Burst and Bloom that is available July 24th on Saddle Creek Records. 

PB: So, do you guys just want to introduce yourselves and say what it is you do in the band?
Ted: I'm Ted, I sing and play guitar, but not main vocals, second vocals.
Matt: I'm Matt I play bass.

PB: So, I read this quote by Tim Kashner,(the main vocalist and song writer) about Cursive's breakup (between the albums The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song and Domestica).................. "Personally, I was cocky in breaking up. My life seemed to be going really well at the time...I assumed that I didn't need Cursive anymore" I was wondering what it meant to you guys to need Cursive,what does it do for you guys to be in this band?
Matt: Oh, what do you think he would mean? I guess he meant that, I would say that there is some camaraderie, but I would also say that musically, at the time that he made that statement he meant, or he may have had in mind, that he could just go and sort of play somewhere else. At least when I read that, that's the way that I took it.

PB: So, was that sort of hard for you to read then?
Ted: No, I read that as him saying that he cant just pick it up and move on, that he can't just play with other players. That he really misses something about the songs and the dynamics of this group of players. And that by saying that he's cocky he's admitting that.

PB: When he came back how did it feel? Was it a release, like how things were supposed to be?
Matt: I would say that we were reluctant at first. At least I was. It took a few conversations before we figured out what we were going to do and whether what we were doing was the correct thing for us. Mainly because it had been a year and we were sort of not used to being in Cursive anymore and had been doing other things.

PB: Domestica has been tagged a breakup album...what sort of theme would you say your upcoming EP has?
Ted: I think it's about becoming, it's about a transition period. We are trying to write and trying to develop new themes. And I think that it's about five different songs that are of totally different concepts, themes and imagery. And they are just about developing a new style of music, or developing a new theme. And it's not really about just one thing, its five randoms.

PB: Are you guys excited to be releasing this new EP?
Ted: Yeah, I'm really proud of it.
Matt: It's recorded already so we are very happy with it. Oh, and this is Clint, he's our Drummer.

PB: Who are the Mogis Brothers and what role do they play in Cursive?
Ted: The Mogis Brothers, Mike and A.J. Mogis they are from North Plat, Nebraska. They are musicians and engineers. They are approximately 26 and 30, 26 and 29. They live in Lincoln, NE and they run Presto Recordings.
Matt: Which use to be Whoopass and use to be Dead Space. If you look at the releases they all have different names, but it was the same studio and the same guys. Or the same set up and the same guys.
Ted: And they are basically the shit. Mike engineered Domestica and engineered the new EP. A.J. got the drum sounds for the new EP and he did great on that. And Mike did a great job mixing and mastering.
Matt: Well, mixing.
Ted: And initial mastering.

PB: How would your life be different if you weren't a musician? Could you picture yourself doing something else?
Ted: I probably wouldn't do anything.
Clint: I'd be working for my Dad, at Weigh Better Scale, its right here on my work shirt. I'm just trying to get a plug in. 

PB: What bands did you listen to growing up? What were some of your first concert experiences?
Matt: I listened to a lot of Fugazi, Tool, R.E.M., U2. I'm talking really young. What else, a little sex pistols. That's as far as my minds going right now.
Ted: I could add Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Guns and Roses.

PB: What sort of stuff do you like to listen to now and share with other people?
Ted: Everything, anything under the sun we'll listen to. Except for bad country music. But we do listen to good country music.

PB: Like Patsy Cline or what?
Ted: Yeah, she's good. Shania Twain is bad. But we listen to everything. Well, not too much classical I guess.

PB: Are they any bands that you are dying to tour with?
Ted: Karate.
Matt: Yeah, we listened to the new Karate album today.
Ted: I love Karate right now. The new record is great.
Matt: We went out with At the Drive In and had a good time and we'll, hopefully, one day get the chance to do it again. Maybe with the Murder City Devils.

PB: What do you think of what's happening to At the Drive In and their main stream success? (This question was asked before ATDI decided to go on an indefinite hiatus.)
Ted: I wish the best for them.
Clint: They deserve it.

PB: Would guys want something similar for yourselves?
Clint: I think anybody does. But you have to be realistic about it too. You can only do as much as you think you can handle. We think we could handle it if it happened, but there's no rush.
Matt: And I think they are going about it the right way. I think you could go about it the wrong way and really hate yourself. But I think they are sort of taking a slow approach, in a sense. I mean, you are talking a large scale release and they are just letting it grow on its own.

PB: What makes a show good for you guys?
Ted: Free beer.
Matt: Free beer.
Ted: Over ten people.
Matt: Kind crowd, nice crowd is usually nice. Mean crowd equals not fun.
Ted: No bastards in the crowd.

PB: Have you had a lot of that?
Ted: Just in a couple of cities in the deep South. Everywhere else they have been pretty cool.

PB: What do you look forward to while on the road? I know a lot of bad things happen, but what's some fun stuff that you look forward to?
Ted: Swimming. Night swimming, anywhere. Preferably outdoors. Hotel rooms, cable TV, movies, good meals, good friends, visiting friends...
Matt: I'd say visiting people that you've stayed with in every city.
Ted: That's probably the number one.
Matt: Playing with bands that we've played with or new bands that we make friends with. That's number one too, or number two.
Ted: Meeting singers and songwriters and players that you've listened to, but you've never met them. That's kind of thrilling. 

PB: How do you cope with being away from home for stretches at a time?
Ted: I live in the van.
Matt: I call home everyday.

PB: Is touring something you look forward to, do you like getting out of Omaha?
Clint: Absolutely. We look forward to getting out, but we can never wait to get back.
Matt: Yeah, that's a good way to put it.

PB: This is just something that you guys can comment on, Stephen Pederson, who was in Cursive, said this about Tim in an interview in Delusions of Adequacy. Tim (Kasher) of Cursive is a genius. He makes everyone around him better. He's the Michael Jordan of indie-rock.
Band: Hahahahahaha...
Ted: Ahhh... Steve.

PB: So, do you think this is true, do people really look up to him like that?
Ted: We try not to let him know that. We try and keep that a secret.
Matt: Remember that cocky part in the other quote?
Ted: Clint taught him everything he knows, Clint is the Michael Jordan of Indie Rock.

PB: Oh really, well all right Clint.
Ted: Clint was talking about getting a Michael Jordan tattoo this morning actually.
Clint: Yeah, I probably will tomorrow.
Ted: At like 3 o'clock in the morning he mentioned that he wanted to get a Michael Jordan tattoo, the air design.

PB: The Nike one?
Band: yeah.

PB:That's sweet, I have it on my lower back.
Clint: Really? Kick ass.

PB: I'm totally joking.
Band: Hahahahaha

PB: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
Ted: Hard rock.
Matt: That's all I can ever say. Unless, well I guess I'm usually explaining it to people that don't normally listen to indie rock.

PB: Isn't that fun?
Matt: Yeah, that's why hard rock.
Ted: It's funnier to say hard rock. Cause normally they don't care anyway and they are satisfied with that. And if they aren't satisfied with that, they are kind of intrigued and they want to hear what hard rock sounds like in this day and age.