"I can honestly say that the Basque food is some of my favorite in the world"El bueno de Steve Wynn, antaño miembro de Dream Syndicate (habrá que recordarlo por enésima vez), se encuentra en España (Madrid, Gijón, Vigo, Bilbao, Zaragoza) presentando Crossing Dragon Bridge, un disco grabado en Ljubliana (Eslovenia) junto a Chris Eckmann (Walkabouts). El inefable OSCAR CUBILLO le pilló con ganas de hablar hace dos semanas, en su apartamento, en un gélido Manhattan cubierto por un bello manto de nieve.
Que qué tipo de ciudad es Ljubljana.
Actually, Oscar, it reminded me a lot of Prague and also Vienna. It’s a beautiful, stately old European city that has been largely untouched by Western businesses and corporations. No Burger King, no Starbucks. You walk around the city and feel that it could be the 21st Century or the 19th Century. And you can feel the music coming from everywhere even when it’s quiet. Ha ha—maybe they should hire me as the head of their tourist board!
Que por qué Chris Eckman vive allí.
Your first guess would be the right one. He fell in love with a Slovenian woman and now they are married. Whenever I meet an American who lives in another country I ask “love, work or adventure?”. Usually it’s the first one.
Que si ves muchas difencias entre Europa y USA.
Oh, Oscar, how can I answer such a broad question as that. I bet you can find big differences in Bilbao from one neighborhood to the next. I just hope there is a difference between the USA of the last 8 years and the years ahead. That would be enough for me.
But one generalization I will make is that the further South, the better the food. I look forward to Spain (and Italy and Greece) just for the meals. And I can honestly say that the Basque food is some of my favorite in the world. We just had a vacation in San Sebastian and I was in Food Heaven. Ah, it always comes down to food.
Que qué opinas del comunismo, ligado al viejo régimen esloveno.
Unfortunately, most political groups (as well as organized religions) are based on very noble ideas but also very quickly exploited by individuals for their own advancement. The more absolute and unyielding the rules, the easier it is to corrupt from the inside. I do think there are many great ideas in socialism and I’m glad to see my country embracing some of them these days. Anyway, it seems that Slovenia had a very “soft” Communism and the people I met don’t have such bad memories of life under Tito.
Que si votaste a Obama, y qué tal que cae Bush.
Bush has done all he can to destroy my country and I think it’s a good testimony to the US that we still have a future. I did vote for Obama and I think he’ll be a great president.
Que cuál es tu bebida favorita, porque en en Ljubljana bebías pintas de Union Beer.
I like whiskey. Bourbon whiskey. But I also drink whatever is local when I am there. And when I’m in Spain I just love a good shot of orujo.
Que si fumas. Never.
Que si tomas drogas.
I’ve taken nearly all of them, been enlightened by all the ones I’ve taken and am smart enough to know that my drug taking days are behind me. Sadly, John Entwistle (amont others) gives a good cautionary tale about the dangers of putting a young man’s drug in an older man’s body.
Que qué nos cuentas de Crossing Dragon Bridge, un disco más delicado e íntimo, y menos eléctrico que los anteriores.
Yes, that was the intention. And it’s why I made it as a solo album where I played most of the instruments. At this point it felt more daring, more “punk rock” to turn down the volume, slow down the speed and let more of myself into the music and lyrics.
Que de qué van tus canciones.
All the big things. Love, death, sex, marriage, getting older, home, fear, lust, staying home and moving on.
Que cómo son los conciertos de esta gira.
I took this band across Europe last Fall and the shows felt like an expansion of the sound on Crossing Dragon Bridge. Big, elegant, exciting. It’s what I would expect to hear when a rock band takes on a record like this. It was also fun to filter some of my older material through this new sound. We are playing songs from my very first albums all the way to my latest.
Estos días también tocan por Bilbao y alrededores una serie de artistas de los que molaría saber tu opinión. Qué nos cuentas de Howe Gelb, de Giant Sand.
Howe changed my career and life back in 1991 when he showed me that it was possible to change your way of touring and your way of recording so that you can do this for your entire life. He has managed to exclude the ugliness of the music business and create his own universe and that’s something I try to do as well. Oh, and he’s an amazing guitarist and a very nice guy
Qué hay de Chuck Prophet.
Ah, Billy the Kid. I rememeber when he was a young pup, all cocky and bullying his way into Green On Red. I thought it was a bad idea at the time. I liked the way the band sounded with only Dan on guitar. And then I heard Chuck play. He knocked me out! The kid can play. It’s one of the few cases where I like a songwriter but wish he would play more solos. And he’s a walking encyclopedia of music history
Qué nos cuentas de The Rubinoos.
I can’t believe they’re still going. That’s great. I used to see them play all the time when I was a college student in Davis, California. Their sweet bubble gum pop was almost radical back in 1977. It wasn’t bloated stadium rock and it wasn’t angry punk rock. Sometimes it seemed those were your only 2 choices at the time
Qué tienes que decir de The Muffs.
Can’t say much about them. But I did see them once in a small club in Minneapolis. And I’m always happy to hear about any band that outlives their first records. Good for them.
I hear that Chris Brokaw will be in town the same week as well. I think we need to get in one big club and have a monster rock orchestra. I’ll bring my baton.
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