by Aharona Ament
I’m sitting in the studio at Vocalo.org waiting till 2:20 for Bob Mould to call. My producer, a huge Hüsker Dü fan is freaking out and keeps thinking that he sees the phone light up. “What if Bob Mould calls exactly at 2:20?” he keeps asking. All we are lacking is a tube of cookie dough, and we are officially waiting for a boy to call. I start to get nervous as well. I am going to interview Bob Mould, leader of Hüsker Dü, a band who had a phenomenal impact on college and indie rock. He then went on to create the band Sugar, which was my introduction to his work in the 90’s, when he also came out. Bob continues to put out solo album after solo album; his latest Life and Times is due out April 7th on Anti Records. I talked to Bob about coming out, making music and the possibility of a Bob Mould cookbook in the future.
Cul de sac Magazine: This is a year of reflection for you. You are releasing your ninth solo album after leading two hugely influential rock bands. I really liked Life and Times. It was very coming-to-terms. What were you looking back on when you were making this album?
Bob Mould: I think with all records, there is a combination of autobiographical and observational. Where the two intersect and inform each other is the premise for this record. The big looking back for me is the autobiography that I am working on right now. That’s been a little more exhaustive than the writing and recording of Life and Times was.
CM: You are working with Michael Azerrad, who wrote Our Band Could Be Your Life.
BM: Yep. Michael also wrote Come as You Are, the Nirvana book. Michael and I have been friends for years, and it was something he had been thinking was years overdue and now seems as good a time as any to tackle the project. As I get older I forget things, so it’s probably good to get them documented now.
CM: So, you wanted to work with Michael?
BM: We had talked about it in 2001 actually, and when it came back up on the table, he was available and helped with the editing process. He’s been very good at guiding me towards the right stories.
CM: He’s an amazing writer. I really liked the Hüsker Dü chapter. In Our Band Could Be Your Life, I liked how the band was profiled. How did you feel about that?
BM: He got all of my quotes right. (laughs) He’s a good writer. He’s a good guy, too.
CM: You came out in Spin Magazine in 1994. This was at the height of Sugar’s popularity. But if I recall right it was more like Spin was outing you.
BM: Well, it was (pauses) yeah. You know, I think my sexuality was an open secret in the music business. Sugar was a very popular band. Spin was looking for an approach, and they said we want to deal with your sexuality and you can either talk with us about it or we will talk about it. When you are given that sort of choice, it’s usually best to try to defend yourself or explain yourself or justify yourself and that’s how all of that came about.
CM: If you got to do it all over again now, how would you publicly come out?
BM: I think sooner. As far a differently, there is no way to rewrite that story. I think it’s something that maybe had I been persuaded to address it sooner, I should have. It always happens when it happens.
CM: Going back to that time, was there ever any angst over coming out. I know you had a loss when a friend of yours was killed because he was gay. Was that ever a factor?
BM: There are a lot of different things that go into anybody’s comfort level about coming out. Mine being a public figure, not one of any great note, but someone that is tracked publicly, I think there is always a concern about how it falls out around you, you know with people in your life and family and stuff like that. So, there is a number of different things, how it affects your career professionally. You know, 1994 and now, I think the world has progressed quite a bit. I think if there are any 34-year-old musicians out there that are contemplating whether or not they should come out or not maybe 14 years later it might be a little bit easier. But again it is such a personal thing, it’s always a confluence of reasons as to why you do it and why you wait to do it.
CM: You had said that you wrote “Argos” from your new album for your “theoretical gay punk rock band.”
BM: Yeah, that’s what Andy the publicist says.
CM: Venti Chihuahua, is that the name of this band?
BM: Wow. Andy gave you all the good notes. This is a good interview.
CM: (Laughs) That sounds like a really great concept. I just really want a T-shirt that says Venti Chihuahua. Is this something that can happen? Will this become an actual band?
BM: No, ‘cause everyone is really slack and have real jobs. (laughs) It was sort of a running joke with me and a handful of friends that we were going to do this thing. It also looked really great on paper, and nobody ever really did too much to make it actually happen. So, I thought I would write a song hoping that if you do something and you put it in the universe that sometimes it happens. Eh, it didn’t happen, so I ended up with a good song, and I put it on this record.
CM: It is a really good song, and I’m really glad it’s out there.
BM: Yeah, it’s funny. It’s a cute little song.
CM: There is a YouTube video of Hüsker Dü on The Joan Rivers Show. That seemed like it was awkward for everyone. How did that happen? Was Joan Rivers a Hüsker Dü fan?
BM: I think the people that booked the talent on the show were big fans. Joan Rivers seemed a little nervous about whole thing. You know, there have been great moments throughout the history of pop music. I can remember when John Lydon was on with Tom Snyder and it got very ugly and John Lydon got very confrontational or very stand-offish or a weird combination of emotions towards the host. They treated us well, but people have commented that it looks very awkward when they watch it. I guess that’s why so many people watch it.
CM: It was very interesting to watch. You mentioned that you are writing your autobiography and that you wanted to take down notes as you are getting older. One of the songs that really struck me off your new album was “I’m Sorry Baby, But You Can’t Stand in my Light Anymore” and to me this is an amazing song because it is about taking care of yourself first which is something that as a culture we don’t do successfully. Is taking care of yourself a priority as you are getting older?
BM: The song to me sorta fell out of me in a 15-minute blur. Once I realized what the twist was, I thought it was a pretty clever piece of writing. As far taking care of one’s self, I think it is something we all should do and be careful. I think people go into relationships sometimes, they don’t go in unconditionally, but they go in with the idea that “Oh look there is somebody that needs my help,” and I think not just the LGBT community, but I think people tend to do that more often than not. And I think it is a cautionary word to sort of be aware of yourself and be aware of what you really want to involve yourself in before you get into it.
CM: A lot of your songs—not only with Hüsker Dü and Sugar, but also your solo stuff—have been very dark, actually. “Bad Blood Better” from your new album was very reminiscent to me of “Black Sheet of Rain,” and when I think of Bob Mould, I think dark. I think depressed songs. I want to know what issues are going on in your life that has helped you produced such dark music.
BM: It’s funny because I generally think I’m a pretty sunny guy. I’m sort of a serious guy. I tend to take things seriously when people say them, maybe to a fault. I think I have a good sense of humor, so I’m not really sure. I think the dark story is a device that I’m pretty good with, I’m pretty well equipped to use it as my means of communication. Again, I would warn people not to read completely into the songs and try to project on to me that thinking that’s the way Bob really is.
CM: That’s actually really good advice. Now I’m going to have to go back and relisten to a lot of your stuff and look at it from a new perspective.
BM: Yeah, the singer is not always the song.
CM: On that note, within the indie rock/pop music communities, there’s this undeclared feud between you and Stephin Merritt as the most depressed man in pop music.
BM: (Laughs) I’ve heard that before
CM: Who’s winning that?
BM: Stephin would win it, I think. Not by a lot. Stephin’s a really nice guy. He’s really funny and engaging, too! I’ve spent time with Stephin, and he’s not as depressed as you think.
CM: Back to your autobiography, I hear that you make a killer blue-cheese meatloaf. Is this going to be in the book, or is there going to be a Bob Mould Cookbook? Cooking with Bob Mould?
BM: I’m going to hold on to those for a separate cookbook. I’m going to use that as a bargaining chip to get more book deals (laughs). I’m an okay cook. I can cook healthy, and I can cook meatloaf.
CM: A local queer DJ told me that Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons is the most important queer artist of our time. Who do you see as a leading voice in LGBT music, either in our past or what is going on currently?
BM: If you back go to someone like KD Lang, which is the initial era, she was one of the first really hugely out musicians. I would answer and say she is clearly the most gifted of our time. I think as far as the most important, do you go back to Tom Robinson? Do you go back to someone like Jimmy Summerville? And I guess I’m going back further because I think it was more of an issue then. I think it was a much bigger struggle. Now to be an out musician, we’re assimilated more and more as time goes on. You also want to look back. There were a lot bigger struggles. Those were some the pioneers of being out, you know, Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Now, you look around and me and Stephin and Rufus, I mean we do music. It’s different now.
