Interview:
1. Thank you for taking your time to talk about your band, Plan 9! How did you first get interested in music?
ELVIS PRESLEY
2. Were you in any bands before forming Plan 9? Any releases from then perhaps?
Any releases from then perhaps? Eric played bass in a great 3 piece band with the now well known luthier Julius Borges, also of Newport Rhode Island. The rest of us were virgins. The Crippled Pig did not record.
3. When was Plan 9 born and why the name Plan 9?
Plan 9 is actually a really bad movie, you may have seen. it's called Plan 9 From outer Space, by Ed Wood. It features an odd mix of characters...when we took the name, noone really knew about that movie, and we were an odd mix.
4. How do you remember some of the early sessions you had?
I recall some fearless shows...in New York, a battle of the garage bands with the Chesterfield Kings, Slickee Boys, Smithereens, Zantees, Unknowns, Fleshtones, Fuzztones and later the Mad Violets.
5. Frustration is your first LP from 1982. Would you like to share some memories about it?
the song was written by William Hay (go away, black bear, go away) and Greg Shaw thought it would make a good extended side. He was right. The maze, incidently, has no solution, hence frustration.
6. Next year you released Dealing With the Dead. The album is really amazing! All the songs are original except great version of Human Beinz song.
Yah, Keep On Pushin'..Mike Ripa sang...he played a Burns Bison and kept a lit cigarette in the headstock, always. That album was scary to produce, and we were at Trod Nossell for a while with it. We kept recording songs we had been working n for about a year or maybe two. There were many tracks to mix and some of them ended up going to Europe for Patrick Mathe's New Rose label. Then we combined everything and rereleased all of those tracks together. Rick Sloane did some new artwork for the Criswell Predicts reissue.
I would like if you could share some of the strongest memories you have from producing and recording this LP?
Producing and recording this LP? I really liked recording the poetry with John DeVault..memories of annoyance and delight, not lost but neutralized..with the outdoor sounds of crickets.
How many copies were made?
Midnight Records once said 50,000 copies were pressed. The first pressing was printed with a comic book and day-glo cover which illuminates under black light.
The cover artwork is so catchy and I really like this kind of stuff. Would you like to tell me more about it?
Well, you could ask Rick Sloane about his wacky world and the fantasy creatures that oocupy his thoughts, but unfortunately he passed on a few years ago. We met him in Albuquerque New Mexico, en route to LA on our first tour. Rick had made up a show poster and it featured us with The Crawling Walls. We grabbed at the chance to have him illustrate our DWD cover. The music had already been recorded and we gave him a tape.
7. After Dealing With the Dead you released several albums like Keep Your Cool and Read the Rules, Live - I've Just Killed a Man I Don't Want to See Any Meat, Sea Hunt and Ham and Sam Jammin'. Would you like to tell me something about this releases?
The Live LP you mention was recorded at a number of East Coast venues, and then edited together. We owed Midnight an LP, as a contractual obligation..so that allowed us to move along. We wanted to work with the Enigma people. We released 3 LPs and and an EP with them in 4 years. We loved working in San Marcos Texas at The Fire Station, owned by Doug Sahm. Those Sea Hunt sessions took about 3 weeks, and we had these caterpillars take up residency on our truck, sorta like Body Snatchers. Keep Your Cool was recorded at Trod Nossell. We love the Street Of Painted Lips jam on that LP.
8. How was touring going? Any crazy stories you would like to share with me?
We toured for 10 years. There are some archived things up on our website you can check out...www.plan9ri.com We got a great look at the Aurora Borealis on the western plains of Canada, drank Cuban coffee with Klaus Flouride, shared the stage with some amazing bands..and made a lot of friends.
Where was ' I've Just Killed a Man I Don't Want to See Any Meat ' recorded?
Rat (Boston MA) Grotto (New Haven CT) Living Room (Providence RI)
9. I always liked that dark zombie atmosphere you combinated with psychedelic sounds. How did you get this kind of sound out?
Layers and layers of guitars, vox organ and reverb.
10. What happened in the 90's for you?
Recorded Pleasure Farm, bought a house..
11. You are still active, right? Your latest release is called Things I Do.
Right..
The trance-e-delic CD's are all pretty interesting...there are 6 of them including Things I Do, and one was released with a film Blue Movie, Sour Tongue Readings (No Spitting) 9 Mens Misery The Gathering and Cowtown.
What are some of your future plans?
A Tonic Of Puffer Fish, 17 sides recorded by Frank Villani and mixed w Vic Steffens at Horizon Music Group , New Haven CT available on our website soon on both vinyl and disc.
12. If we go back a bit. Since I'm a huge underground psych fan, I would like to ask what are some of the less known psych albums that you love?
The bands that influenced us early on are no longer considered lesser known...but the early Texas punk records are favorites still, and certain west coast bands Tripsichord, Mad River, Love, Spirit..and NW favorites the Sonics, hippie commune records...MC5, Litter of and of course The Painted Ship..
13. Thanks a lot for your time and effort! Would you like to add something else, perhaps?
The Cosmic Ray Deflection Society of North America is no longer active. I doubt it survived Katrina, but if anyone out there knows about the Hat, it belongs to Also Aswell, and always comes first.
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Love Debs, she is so sexydelic and Stumpo and the boyZ really knew how to play psych music to the core !!!!
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