Mojo - The Music Magazine

Gibby Haynes previews July’s UK dates with MOJO’s Manish Agarwal…

NEXT MONTH SEES THE classic line-up of Texan psychedelic post-punk provocateurs the Butthole Surfers hitting the road for a series of shows in the US and Europe. For the first time since 1989, singer and ad hoc performance artist Gibby Haynes - whose onstage antics used to include cross-dressing, arson and wild dalliances with the band’s naked dancer Kathleen Lynch aka Ta-Da The Shit Lady (now sadly retired) - will be joined by dual drummers King Coffey and Teresa Nervosa plus bassist Jeff Pinkus. At the time of writing, it seems that guitarist Paul Leary - arguably gutter-rock’s answer to Jimi Hendrix - is only available for the American dates. However, the 21st Century Buttholes are set to be bolstered by around 20 players from the Paul Green School Of Rock, the teenage musicians who inspired Richard Linklater’s much-loved family film. MOJO’s own Manish Agarwal called Haynes at his home in Brooklyn to learn more about what promises to be one of 2008’s less predictable reunion tours...

MOJO: Hello Gibby, how are you?
Gibby Haynes: I’m alright! So what’s going on?

We have a few questions about the Butthole Surfers tour. Is it fair to call it a reunion?
No, it’s actually a warm-up to the full reunion next year. We’re playing with a bunch of other people this time.

That would be the Paul Green School Of Rock. How did you meet them?
I played a bunch of gigs with them a while back on the East Coast. I met them through Dave and Claude from Ween. Those guys teach at the School Of Rock.

What attracted you to having the kids onstage?
They’re fucking good! And they’re cheap. Plus it just warms the little cockles of your little fucking heart. See, I don’t have children. Jeff, our bass player, is the only one in the band with a kid, so he probably thinks it’s a drag. But I find it kinda novel.

Is it true that Paul Leary won’t be appearing on this side of the Atlantic?
I don’t think so. He really wants to, but some shit came up and the tour was already planned. I’m sure Paul will play with us in Europe soon. But the kids are badass! We need 22 of them to take his place. To encompass his personalities.

What do the youngsters’ parents think about all this?
Well, at the earlier shows I played with them I said some very provocative things which I do not wish to relive. Mindbendingly inappropriate. The kids loved it. It’s all about the kids, man! My obligation is to them, not their parents. I was privy to an email from the parents after the last set of performances, which said: “How much more inappropriate behaviour are we to expect from Gibby?” I promised to do nothing out of character.

What material have you been rehearsing?
The show’s geared towards the older stuff. Though there are a few newer things in there. [Sarcastically] I love those bands who do the reunion shows and only play the record they recorded last week. You know, I don’t think Lynyrd Skynyrd play Freebird anymore.

Are you still using the Gibbytronix FX rack on your voice?
Yes. I require a crutch. Absolutely, it’s an instrument. I’ll be pitch-shifting and looking to expand my electronic presence on stage. I’m researching that right now.

Apart from the music, what can we expect performance-wise?
I will do my best to be entertaining. Maybe I’ll use a chair. Or a ’kerchief. Or a feather. It’s kind of uncool to start fires onstage in the United States now. I’m not going to say I’m never going to light a cymbal on fire again. But maybe not with 20 kids hanging around.

Do you enjoy going on the road?
It’s fun to play, but touring is a drag. If we made just a little bit more money it’d be worth dealing with. But it’s funny, I have friends who are in huge bands - I’m not going to name them - who have their own cooks and even someone to do up their belts before they go onstage! And still they fucking hate touring.

How do you fill your days when you’re not playing shows?
I work with a local artist called Dustin Yellin, who makes volumetric paintings suspended in resin. Picture that, yo. I paint, I make crazy laptop music. I’m also a DJ. I play ’60s psychedelic, ’70s funk, dub - some current bands too, like the Black Dice.

Do you ever feel that Butthole Surfers never got the recognition they deserved?
No. I think we got too much credit for the future.

You were one of the groups that helped establish the US indie underground in the ’80s. Which other bands from that period do you remember fondly?
Oh, you know: The Dicks, Scratch Acid, Big Boys, Flipper, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Meat Puppets... The Fall.

The Fall?
Yeah, we didn’t tour with them but one time I stayed up all night long with Mark E Smith, telling racist jokes to each other.

Who had the best jokes?
Oh, I did! Mark was so lame, he wouldn’t even use the racial slur. He would say [attempts Mancunian accent]: “Alright. This black fella walks into a bar...”

So tell us a good racist joke.
No fuckin’ way! I just can’t do it. Ah, let’s see. Why did the white guy cross the road?

I don’t know.
Because there was a racist joke on the other side.

The UK leg of the Butthole Surfers summer tour runs, on and off, from July 04-26.

July 18 / Bristol Academy
July 19 / Manchester Academy 2 [0871 231 0842 / www.manchesteracademy.net www.seetickets.com]
July 20 / Glasgow ABC1 [0844 847 2363 / www.abcglasgow.com www.ticketweb.co.uk]
July 22 / Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall [0871 231 0842 www.wolvescivic.co.uk www.seetickets.com]
July 23 / Nottingham Rock City
July 24 / Dublin Vicar Street
July 26 / London Kentish Town Forum [0844 847 2405 / www.kentishtownforum.com www.seetickets.com]

More information here: www.buttholesurfers.com