bill callahan: the chickfactor interview

we are thrilled to have an interview with the phenomenal american singer songwriter… (originally appeared on paper in chickfactor 17, which came out in december 2012)

interview by connie lovatt and gail o’hara // photograph by kirstie shanley

chickfactor: what’s some of the best advice you’ve been given by a man about being a man?
bill callahan: I don’t think I’ve been given much advice man to man. I wish I had. I think it’s mostly women that have taught me about being a man anyway. a healthy woman wants you to be a man. I grew up with two sisters and they wanted me to be a man right from the start. they were so happy I was a little boyman – I could sense it from their faces. as soon as I could walk my sisters begged me to put on a tutu. this ballerina tutu we had lying around. maybe it was left over from when one or both of my sisters went through their little princess phases. seeing their reaction to me in the tutu was the first time I felt like a man. and I never looked back.


cf: what’s the best insurance against your own shenanigans?

bill: there isn’t any really. things always come back to haunt. and if they don’t, the looming spectre of threat is worse. if we let the shenanigans win….

cf: what were you like as a teenager?

bill: dumb. I was just in receiving mode, programming mode and I was kind of inoperable in that state. just taking things in or waiting for an opening in the race. it helps to have a soundtrack to such times and I listened to music 7 or 8 hours per day. classic rock radio, which I found some worth in but after awhile it started to feel like some drunk guy waking you up every time you fall asleep and just laughing at you and not saying anything. I realized a lot of classic rock is not classic at all. I had been taking their word for it at first. I was always counting the days until school ended, for years and years. and when it did it was even better than I dreamed.

cf: what was the first song you wrote and why and what was it called?

bill: when I was really little I wrote a song called, “peanut butter shoe.” the lyrics were, “it’s new, it’s blue, it’s a peanut butter shoe!” I think I wrote it, since you ask why, to mirror the life impulse inside a human.

cf: tell us about your songwriting process/ space/rituals.

bill: I’m not a ritualist and space is not something I really notice either. well, I guess I like electric light, no natural light and no window. I don’t like to know what time of day it is and I don’t like to see natural events happening. writing and music are human concepts—like electric light, so it helps to block out anything from the unadorned natural world. there is a pen I like, I buy by the carton. I just bought a carton yesterday. I couldn’t find black. It has to be black because of the primal black and white thing, primitive brain sight and film noir. I always turn down help from those big store employees because they never know anything but this time I said yes, where’s the black. he found it. It was in a newly designed box because now the pens are “made from recycled electronics.” I guess this is good but I don’t want to get cellular microbes in my notebooks.

cf: have you ever had to stop listening to a song or band because of a certain person or memory?

bill: maybe, but I wouldn’t think it was a struggle. if a memory or event was that strong then the song probably should go where that person or memory went anyway.

cf: does it bother you when your lyrics are misinterpreted?

bill: I think it happens all the time. I think I also misinterpret other people’s lyrics, other people’s everything. that is the lair of the audience, that is where you make your connection – from yourself. listening to music is not a passive act. when you’re a teenager and your parents wonder how you can just sit and listen listen listen. you’re making all your connections then. your head is dancing with it. so I think “misinterpreted” is the same as “interpreted” really. who can put the “mis-” on there? only the creator and half the time the creator can’t even concretize an interpretation. if someone has an interpretation of my lyrics that feels to me to be way off base, I just think that is the level that person is on at that time. that is where they are finding a connection to the song. but don’t get angry if I or someone else has a different interpretation of the song. I’ve often been told I am lying, when someone asks me what a line I wrote means. because songs become part of the body, part of the psyche, part of the filter of the way a person sees the world. when you tell them something else, they feel as if their essence is being negated. this is why people are so fiercely passionate about the music they love. the music is them.

cf: on most days would you prefer an elaborate breakfast or an elaborate dinner?

bill: oh man. an elaborate breakfast usually says, “I’m going to fuck off today” or “damn, life is good, ain’t it?” both of which are good sentiments. but mostly I like a simple breakfast cos I’m in no mood, you know? I think I like a simply elaborate breakfast. just toss a couple basil leaves in my eggs and I’ll be like, “damn!” breakfast should be simple but with a tiny zing. like raspberries in your oatmeal. food can’t stand on its own though, for me. I can’t have an elaborate dinner and think, “what a great day this is or was based on this meal!” it’s more of a bonus thing, like, “I had a great day of work and now look at this delicious hot pocket before me. it has basil on it.”

cf: what singer or songwriter do you feel is solidly romantic yet gets little credit for being so?

bill: I’m not sure about credit, as I don’t always keep track of public perception of things but—van morrison is quite the romantic scamp, I think. and I don’t feel like I’ve heard people talking about that.

records bill can’t live without
> steely dan, aja
> various artists, keep the pressure down
> barrington levy, run come ya
> television, marquee moon
> marvin gaye, “what’s going on”

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chickfactor 17!

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chickfactor 17 features interviews with grass widow, bill callahan, black tambourine, caitlin moran, fence records / king creosote, frankie rose, joe boyd, joe pernice, liam hayes / plush, maira kalman, rachel blumberg, sharon van etten and tae won yu; a jukebox jury with the corin tucker band; lots of silly polls and expertly written music and book reviews. click here to mail order a copy or pick one up at these prestigious establishments….

stores selling chickfactor 17:
Other Music (NYC)
Beacon Sound (Portland OR)
Powell’s (Portland OR)
What Cheer? (Providence RI)
Needles & Pens (SF)
End of an Ear (Austin)
Quimbys (Chicago)
Atomic Books (Baltimore)
Skylight Books (Los Angeles)
Criminal Records (Atlanta)
Grimey’s (Nashville)
Landlocked (Bloomington IN)
Monorail (Glasgow, Scotland)
The Telegraph (New London, CT)
Sonic Boom (Seattle)

• Are you a book or record store that wants to sell chickfactor? Send us a message here.

• We also have a new Etsy store where you can buy a bundle of back issues, letter-press coasters from half pint press, lovely posters by tae won yu, chickfactor mixtapes and (soon) limited-edition prints and vintage clothing.

• Follow us on this thing or that thing.

chickfactor 17!

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chickfactor had a pretty stellar 2012! We set up 12 events, 11 of them were pretty stellar live shows and/or sold-out festivals. Gail published her first photo book, had a photo show in Portland, and we published our 17th issue on paper, featuring Grass Widow, Sharon Van Etten, Bill Callahan, Black Tambourine, Caitlin Moran, Corin Tucker Band, Fence Records, Frankie Rose, Joe Boyd, Joe Pernice, King Creosote, Liam Hayes / Plush, Maira Kalman, Rachel Blumberg, Tae Won Yu; tons of silly polls & smart, funny reviews! Bonne 2013!

Stores selling chickfactor 17:
Other Music (NYC)
Beacon Sound (Portland OR)
Reading Frenzy (Portland OR)
Powells (Portland OR)
What Cheer? (Providence RI)
Needles & Pens (SF)
End of an Ear (Austin)
Quimbys (Chicago)
Atomic Books (Baltimore)
Skylight Books (Los Angeles)
Criminal Records (Atlanta)
Grimey’s (Nashville)
Landlocked (Bloomington IN)

We will also be sending some to Monorail in Glasgow very soon.

And you can always buy it here in our shop. We also have a few posters and coasters left from the London & Brooklyn shows.

Stores interested in selling it can send me a message on effbk or email me.

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order the new issue!

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this is chickfactor 17, which you can order here.

inside the new issue is some pretty great content!

  • an interview with hannah and lillian from the mighty grass widow
  • an interview with the awesome joe pernice (pernice brothers, chappaquiddick skyline, new mendicants, scud mountain boys)
  • bushwick pop powerhouse frankie rose grants us an interview
  • dawn sutter madell interviews the lovely, constantly touring sharon van etten
  • gaylord fields (wfmu) chats with the super-influential music fan joe boyd
  • lisa siegel (mad scene) chats with kenny anderson, one of the forces behind fife’s fence records & king creosote
  • black tambourine tells all (even if we’ve already interviewed a few of them in these pages before)
  • liam hayes and plush gives us a brief but illuminating interview — he has recorded two new LPs and is doing the soundtrack for a new roman coppola film
  • gail interviews the talented drummer / artist rachel blumberg (m ward, arch cape, decemberists, michael hurley, etc)
  • a jukebox jury with the amazing corin tucker band
  • gail and connie try to uncover the mysterious bill callahan
  • gail and peter momtchiloff have a lengthy chat about art with the creative powerhouse tae won yu
  • lisa levy talks to uk cultural critic / punk-rock feminist caitlin moran
  • daniel handler conducts an interview with his friend/collaborator maira kalman + travel tips
  • lots of silly polls and tons of reviews! a new chickfactor cocktail recipe by dan searing!

edited by gail o’hara, the issue’s art director is gregg einhorn and our amazing writers and contributors for CF17 are: daniel handler, sukhdev sandhu, gaylord fields, dawn sutter madell, lydia vanderloo, alistair fitchett, bryce edwards, connie lovatt, dan searing, erica braverman, isaac bess, janice headley, jennifer o’connor, kendall meade, kurt reighley, lisa levy, lisa siegel, liz clayton, michael white, peter momtchiloff, pete paphides, rebecca braverman, robert mctaggart, robin davies, tae won yu, tim hopkins and wayne davidson.

news!!

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we will publish a new paper issue this fall, our first printed one in a decade. now would be the time to send us some records (vinyl 7″s especially) to review. email me for ad rates.

my Portland, OR, photo show chickfactor nw is on display at Reading Frenzy thru July 1, please go! There is a small # of photo books for sale there, and soon I will be posting where to order more.

London shows will be Nov 17 & 18. Still sorting out the line-ups!