For over a decade, the members of The Dismemberment Plan have been making
some of the most eclectic and original music around. Although they came
from Washington, D.C.’s fertile music scene (home to Fugazi, Jawbox,
Smart Went Crazy, the Apes, et. al.) their sound never quite fit under
the nebulous “D.C. post-punk” tag. Instead, the Plan charted
their own course, creating a sound that was unmistakably their own.
They were a band that sounded like everything and nothing in your CD
collection, taking shards of late 70s post-punk, rock, hip hop, hardcore,
top 40 radio, prog, IDM, classic soul and jazz, reconfiguring them into
something undeniably fresh. It was a testament to their varied influences
that the Plan was equally at home covering the Cure, Jennifer Paige,
and Mystikal.
They seemingly had it all: virtuoso musicians, a lyrical ability rivaling
Paul Simon and Elvis Costello, rabidly dedicated fans, a must-see live
show, and nearly unanimous critical praise. Maybe that’s why it
was such a shock when they announced earlier this year that The Dismemberment
Plan was calling it quits, seemingly at the height of their career.
But such a move is befitting of a great band—dropping four stellar
LPs and bowing out gracefully. Although those who skipped the June 16
show at the Granada missed their last chance to see the Dismemberment
Plan in Lawrence, fans still have a few things to look forward to. Lead
singer Travis Morrison is working on a solo album, and a remix record
(almost exclusively featuring no-name artists who downloaded free samples
off the band’s website) is due early this fall. We recently got
a chance to talk to Travis Morrison via email about the Plan’s
legacy, music critics, and the middle east.
Everyone seems to have a hard time describing the Dismemberment
Plan’s sound. Help us out: how would you describe it?
I usually just say we're an eclectic rock band in the mold of Blur,
The Beatles, David Bowie, Talking Heads... that kind of thing. And that
there is a prominent hip-hop influence.
What did you originally set out to accomplish as a band, and
do you believe you have reached those goals?
We just wanted to have some fun and play some shows and make a record
or two. So, yes!
If you had to narrow it down, what were your top 5 favorite
performances over the course of your career?
I can't do that, but I would say that my favorite thing about being
in the Plan was the contrast of environments we found ourselves in.
In 2000, we played a tiny art gallery in Bloomington, Indiana, and then
two months later were in a 2000-year-old Roman coliseum in Verona (with
Pearl Jam.) that's great.
Songs like “Do the Standing Still” seem to take
aim at audiences made up of joyless, too-cool-for-school indie kids.
What is your ideal audience (who would be in it, how would they act)?
Mentally aware. They don't have to 'dance,' but come with creativity.
Over the course of the Plan’s career, you earned mad props
from music critics. What is your attitude towards critics, and did they
ever influence your playing or writing?
I don't let myself get too high on the praise or too low on the negativity.
The thing I try to remember is that any piece of art needs context,
and frequently, a record comes out and has no context and it gets belittled.
Then it grows a context, grows resonance, and then everyone loves it,
but how will critics know what will have context and what won't? Oftentimes,
the creator of the art doesn't either.
I will say that most people that write record reviews really don't know
anything about the history of music. That's a bummer, when you reference
Muddy Waters in an interview and the interviewer has no idea what you're
talking about and you're trying to talk to them about music. They tend
to be more half-assed socio-media commentators than "music critics."
There are those particular rock critics who are really knowledgeable
and they're a joy to talk to, because I love music and I love people
who love it as much as I do.
In a perfect world, what bands/musicians would you have toured
or collaborated with?
Lindsey Buckingham, Nile Rodgers, Brainiac, Trent Reznor, Ian MacKaye
What lessons did you learn from the Plan’s brief time on Interscope
records, and what is your attitude towards major labels in general?
I learned that people really want bands to have narratives and stories,
and that the music is kind of a backdrop to that. We were given context
by that whole failed business deal and suddenly seen as relevant and
important, whereas before people were just like... uh, the Plan? From
D.C.? They're... weird.
I mean, look, I am still answering questions about one failed business
deal from five years ago. This is the fifth interview this month that
has asked me about it. That's how important this kind of thing is to
everyone. My identity was never tied to what label my band was on--I
see all that as one failed business deal from five years ago--but to
other people, it's a major part of processing Dismemberment Plan shows
and records. My feelings on that are deeply, deeply mixed.
I need an artistic sponsor that can help me realize visions. My visions
are cheap and odd and involve a lot of courage on the intellectual-property
frontier (such as our remix-resource section on our website, which I
think is one of our greatest achievements as a band) and as such are
probably ill-suited for a major label. However, were I in the mood to
make, say, a full animated DVD to go along with my songs (something
I'm seriously thinking about,) I would need one thing: MONEY. And major
labels got that. So I have no attitude towards labels. I only have an
attitude towards the things I want to accomplish artistically, and that
attitude is that I will stop at nothing to get it done right.
Your “Top 10 greatest songs of all time (right now) lists”
almost always name a few hip hop tracks. How did hip hop influence your
music?
Essential. Part of the DNA of the music.
I gather from other interviews and the postings on your website
that Washington DC has a strong, supportive local music scene. Why do
you think that is, and what is your advice to people looking to build
a good local scene?
Work hard and be oddly unconcerned if any one will ever care. That,
of course, rules out almost everyone.
The comments posted on your website about the war in Iraq seem
to have created quite a stir—What were the most notable/outrageous
responses you received?
I got an overwhelming wave of support, and the support consistently
thanked me for making a public attempt at something approaching a thought-out
and historically aware take on it--even from people that didn't agree
with me. That was great. Many were college kids who said they were afraid
to even open the possibility that there were good reasons to do what
we were doing, because they feared ridicule. Most rational discussion
was shut down in favor of a pretty narcissistic us-and-them thing and
it was a drag.
I also appreciated getting thoughtful and learned correspondence from
anti-war types who weren't simply obsessed with the notion of a Halliburton-led
profit conspiracy--which was the kind of intellectually half-baked crap
that made the anti-war left marginalize itself, I thought--but actually
had some erudite things to say on what this would mean in the long term
for the middle east, and I liked that, because it made me think a lot.
A lot of them had some very troubling and cogent reservations about
the invasion of Iraq and I appreciated hearing them.
What do you perceive as the biggest misconception people hold about
your band?
That we're funky. That we're emo.
What do you hope the Plan will be remembered for?
Being funky and emo.
For info
about the Plan’s remix album and Travis Morrison’s solo
work see:
The Dismemberment Plan: www.dismembermentplan.com
Travis Morrison: www.travismorrison.com
DeSoto Records: www.desotorecords.com
Copyright Lawrencerock.com
2003 |
