The
Seventy-
Sevens
can be found at
http://www.77s.com
Interview: Michael Roe / The Seventy Sevens
by Shauna Skye
I was excited to do this interview with Michael Roe because though I am
relatively new to the 77s
music, I have fallen in love with what I've heard.
The 77s have released a number
of albums, many dating back to my childhood,
and I look forward to delving into their past collection as well as grabbing
their new releases. Two words I
can think of to describe this band's music:
gripping and powerful!
For those unfamiliar with the 77s the band started in the early 80s. It has
gone through several members,
the current lineup being Michael Roe (the one
constant in the group, singer/songwriter/guitarist), Mark Harmon (Bass,
Guitar, Vocals) and Bruce
Spencer (Drums, Percussion, Vocals). They are
described as a "power jazz trio playing it all from gritty blues rock-n-roll
to soaring, jangly pop." Their
debut album was Ping Pong Over the Abyss, and
since then they have released eleven critically acclaimed albums on such
labels as Island, Myrrh
and their own Fools of the World.
This interview with Mike Roe was not done by the traditional telephone, face
to face, or even the "I send you
questions and you send them all back to me
answered" method. It's true I thought up questions and emailed them to
Mike,
but the way he responded
surprised me. He answered each question individually
and sent each one back in a
single letter. When I checked my email I got the
answers out of order and when I opened the first I thought he meant to answer
just one of my questions. Then I
saw several emails from him in my box. It
was unusual to get an interview back this way, but
fun going through each
email to see what he was going to say next since he is quite interesting!
Here follows is the interview we did, but I suggest if you're not familiar
with the 77s and would like a bit more history go visit www.77s.com. The band
also has a few tunes to sample at www.mp3.com/77s
Shauna: How old were you when you started playing music, and who are some of
the first
bands you were influenced by?
Mike: I started both guitar and drums at the ripe old age of 9. I played
the
drums at school through the 8th grade, but the guitar obviously won out,
which is a good thing since drummers have the hardest physical job in the
band. Plus everyone ends
up hating the drummer anyway (laughs).
Real young influences included Elvis Presley, who I wanted to be (as did
every other young boy into music in those days). On the guitar side, Chet
Atkins was a huge influence on me as a wee pup, along with an older cousin of
mine who played just like him.
This cousin ended up being my first guitar
teacher which didn't hurt at all.
When I started those lessons, The Beatles were my main interest. Shortly
thereafter, The Rolling Stones,
The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa,
Pete Townsend, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and MOST ESPECIALLY
Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac
were all huge influences on my playing, along
with way too many others to mention in this interview. If I were sitting
down talking to you I would try and list them all, but it would take hours.
Shauna: I read a quote about your band that I found interesting. It said "The
77s
have long been the underground heroes of bluesy, gritty, jangly rock. They're
that band that everyone
has heard of but few have actually heard." What is your take on this? Is it your
goal to make the 77s a household name, or are you comfortable with the measure
of success you have?
Mike: I think that's probably an accurate quote. We feel like The Velvet
Underground to me, of whom it's been said had sold only about 25,000 albums
total in their prime, but every
one of the folks that bought one started a
band!
I would love to make The 77's a household name if I could, but the measure of
success (or rather non-success)
I or the group have at the moment is more or
less satisfactory based on the spiritual fruit I have witnessed over the
years.
I no longer measure success in terms of record sales or popularity and
accolades from the music
business, thank God. If I had to do that I would
have put a bullet through
my head long ago. Too bad that many people in the
business actually have (in one
way or another) due to their personal
conclusions on this matter.
It's a shame, because the things we can't see ormeasure with our eyes are
often the most important in the long run.
Shauna: Tell us about
your newest album, A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows.
Are you excited about this release, and what kind of music fans do you think
will dig it?
Mike: We are very excited about this album, as it's the first complete new
album in nearly six years. It's
a pop album, mostly . . . lots of it written
during the summer months so it will sound good in a convertible with the top
down and your hair blowing in
the wind and all that.
I have a hard time being objective about our music or describing it in much
detail. My only advice is to buy
the album and turn it up loud. If after
several playings you seem to be getting nothing out of it, either use it as a
mini-frisbee or give it to
someone else that you think might dig it; the
younger the better. We need teenage fans desperately!
Shauna: You seem to have a lot of people come in and out of the group. How
many people have been in the 77s over the years? Why all the changes?
Mike: Well, let me think.... There was Mark Tootle, Jan Eric, Mark Proctor,
Aaron Smith, and David Leonhardt
who are alumni members. Tootle left due to
disagreements concerning management and direction, etc. I miss his musical
contribution a great deal. Jan Eric and Aaron Smith both moved to Nashville
for financial growth and
opportunities. I miss them both dearly as friends
and band guys. We had a lot of fun and made a lot of great music during
that
era in the 1980's.
Dave Leonhardt moved to Atlanta to be close to his wife. (!) I probably
miss
him the most because he was
probably my best friend, in addition to his musical and professional
contributions to the group which are irreplaceable.
I am currently working on getting him back to California to resume residency
with us. He's one guy I'm
convinced we really shouldn't be without.
I would say that people need to move on and grow and make changes, and since
the band has never been a 'cash
cow' or stable in any way, there's really no
point in letting it ruin your life if it doesn't have to . . . myself
excepted of course, as I pretty
much knew my life would end up ruined
regardless, so why not get some interesting music out of it at least?
Shauna: Aside from music what hobbies or interests do you have?
Mike: I never get asked this -- what a teen mag question -- I love it!
Besides music, spending time
with my 11 year-old daughter is my full time
interest and love. We love to swim and ride bikes and stuff like that.
I've
even conned her into being the
host of her own radio show, which I'm allowed
to co-host. It's hysterical! In my spare time I adore cooking,
reading,
goofing on the computer, and
hanging out in small coastal towns. That, of
course, would include trips to the beach and mountains . . . long beautiful
drives . . . things like that.
Shauna: Many of the listeners to Moon Radio have said they enjoyed your
songs
and had not heard them before
the show. For new fans what 77s albums would
you recommend to check out along with your new one? Do you have any
favorites?
Mike: I would recommend a recent compilation we did called "Late," which
features the best of what we've
been up to for the last 6 or 7 years. If you
wish to go back further, Pray
Naked or Drowning With Land In Sight are good
choices, along with the new version of 88 which features us in concert.
Another important early album is Sticks
& Stones, which many hard-core fans
still regard as their favorite.
If you prefer something less noisy, try Echos O' Faith, which is our
'unplugged' live album. My
personal favorites are my solo albums Safe As Milk
and The Boat Ashore, which also feature the group. (The band actually
loves these albums
quite a bit!) I also did an instrumental album with our bassist
Mark Harmon, if you like a more ambient experience.
Shauna: On a personal level you have a strong faith in God. In what way does
this faith play a part in the 77s music?
Mike: I don't think there's any way that a musician or songwriter can escape
having who and what he is reflect in his art. Inevitably, your entire soul
shows up in it because music comes from and reaches such a deep place within
us all. It's a spiritual
language, much higher than speech, I believe. So in
the final analysis the art of music is, to me, a spiritual art and practice.
We are all in various places individually and spiritually, but our collective
output, both recorded and in
concert, always seems to go beyond entertainment
into something altogether outside of ourselves. This pleases me very much as
I would grow bored with just the
simple act of entertainment, though of
course that is very important. I'm totally in love with show business and
always have been. That's my
chosen profession. But what I'm referring to is
what makes it really matter to me on a much deeper and profound level.
Ultimately, I want what we do to go beyond the moment. I want to infect and
influence people in a way that
will benefit them permanently.
Though my struggles with my so-called 'faith' are legendary, I can't get
around the reality of Jesus
Christ as a person, or the Bible as the word of
God. Lord knows I've done everything I can to screw it all up or ignore it,
but my creator won't leave me
alone! Many people spend their entire life
looking for God. I've spent my entire life looking away from God, and
conversely, He's spent my entire
life looking after me. I don't get it . . .but it's a love I can't refuse. I
just don't know how to handle it.
Hope I try before I get old.
Shauna: Who are some of your favorite underground musicians?
Mike: I really dig Mark Kozelek from the Red House Painters. I'm way into
collecting very old Fleetwood Mac recordings from the period when Peter Green
was in the band. That music is
beyond belief!!
I also love Vini Rielly from Durutti Column -- what an original guitarist.
I also enjoy
Leo Kotkke and Steve Hackett's nylon string stuff. The Blue Nile
and late period Talk Talk are still a joy, and just about anything that Jerry
Garcia was involved in (yes, I'm
a Deadhead -- shoot me).
I still spend a lot of time listening to old West Coast cool jazz like Dave
Brubeck, Chet Baker, Bill Evans,
and suchlike. I simply can't get enough of
all that.
Of course, if you throw on Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson or Jimmy
Reed, I'm a captive audience.
This is just scratching the surface, mind you.
Shauna: Favorite Beatle?
Mike: George Martin.
Shauna: Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote? If so, the floor is
yours!
Mike: Be sure to try a 'hot now' right off the press Krispy Kreme glazed
donut, if you never have. It beats any drug.
Shauna: Thanks Mike! haha!
SHAUNA SKYE
http://www.mp3.com/shaunaskye