Altered Zones

By Andy French

MP3: Ty Segall: "Sunshine"

MP3: Ty Segall: "Standing At The Station"

Ty Segall has been a mainstay of the San Francisco music scene for years, beginning in the scrappy garage-punk outfit Epsilons and drumming for a while in Sic Alps before stepping out on his own. Last year, Ty released Melted, a heavy mix of crushing guitars and fuzz-rock that drew even jaded NYC crowds into fawning mosh pits. Last week, as Ty prepared to headline New York’s Mercury Lounge, I saw down with him over some garlic knots at a nearby Ray’s Pizza and talked about his new Goodbye Bread LP on Drag City, the San Francisco music scene, the fate of community radio, and comparisons to Jay Reatard.

AZ: I've heard that, song-wise, Goodbye Bread will a bit more tightly curated than Melted.

Ty: I was just thinking, “I don’t have to rush. I have nothing but time.” I recorded it with my buddy Eric [Bauer] in his basement, and he was really stressing that. I tend to rush, and all my other records have been like, “Just get it done, go go go go go!” With this one, we were like, “We’re gonna take six months, and not finish until it’s the best songs.” That gives you the opportunity to get really weird and experiment. I did that with Melted; I was trying a bunch of stuff on it that I’d never done before. But this is just like one step further, and I’m really happy with it. I think it’s the best one.

AZ: Would you say that you experimented a lot more in the studio?

Ty: It’s actually less experimental than Melted as far as noisiness is concerned. There are fewer effects, but we were just trying to get the best songs recorded the best way we could. In terms of song structure, I think it’s definitely a lot weirder, but there’s less echo and straight-up weirdness, like in-your-face weirdness; it’s more pulled back.

AZ: Was there a conscious decision to make something with that would be even more commercially appealing than Melted?

Ty: I don’t think “commercially appealing” is the word. I just wanted to make the best record I’d ever made. It’s higher fidelity, but it’s not what I’d call “hi-fi.” Definitely not commercial though.

AZ: Did you record the album with the whole band?

Ty: Actually, I recorded this one all on my own, which was weird because I had everybody in the band play on Melted, and a few other friends. I think I meant to get them in there, to record parts, but I was just too hyper-focused and it ended up just being me and Eric. I tend to write like that, to write while I’m recording.

AZ: You did a Syd Barrett cover for the KUSF rally in January and I wanted to talk about that a little because you seemed to be very active in the efforts to save the station. Would you say KUSF played a big role in your development as a musician?

Ty: Yeah. I think if they weren’t so nice to me I wouldn’t be doing this right now. They were the first radio station to play music I was into. Later on I was a DJ there. And there were a few people there who were just really supportive, who really said, “You’ve got to keep playing this stuff.” And they were definitely the biggest supporters of me early on, so I would do anything to help them. What the University of San Francisco is doing to that radio station is really messed up. Because I graduated from USF, and I feel ashamed because, of course, it’s about money. There have been a couple other instances with the administration at that school and they’ve all been about money which sucks. It’s going to be really hard for them to win, but it’s looking like there might be a chance. It’s really shitty though, because that’s the only radio station in San Francisco that plays local bands. It’s just such an important thing to so many people.

AZ: Do you think community radio still has a place in the Internet age?

Ty: Of course. KUSF was one of the most influential parts of our community, and a means for music heads to how they find out about shows and music and a culture that they might not have heard about otherwise. I don’t really tend to find out about new music on the Internet, but on KUSF I would always hear a lot of new music that I really liked. I really respected them for that.

AZ: Well, it seems that the underground music community in San Francisco is smaller and more insular than in most other major cities. You guys, Thee Oh Sees, Sonny Smith, Sic Alps and a few others bands seem to have carved out a scene of your own.

Ty: It’s just the most important thing to me. It’s like a family there. And it’s crazy, because I’ve lived in Southern California, and I grew up there. And I spent a lot of time hanging out at The Smell [in L.A.], and there’s nothing greater than that, but to live in a smaller place-- where you all write together, walk to each other’s houses and play on each other’s records-- is just a whole other sense of community. It’s one of the best parts about living in San Francisco, that sense of music and appreciation and family.

AZ: Speaking of Sic Alps, how was the transition from Goner, which released Melted, to Drag City?

Ty: I met Dan Kaye [of Drag City] a couple of years ago; he’d wanted to work with me and I was stoked, because I love Drag City and all the bands on that label. So I sent Drag City the new record when it was almost done, because it was a different-sounding record, and I felt like it would be a good fit. They were into it, which is just a huge honor. The change had nothing to do with Goner as a label. I love Goner; they’re like family, and I’ll always do stuff with those guys, but I like to have the ability to say,“This record sounds different,” and be able to release it in different places and just work with different people. But Drag City has a great legacy, to be able to say that you’re labelmates with Royal Trux, Mayo Thompson, Michael Yonkers... Forget it! That’s just amazing.

AZ: That label must be full of guys that you grew up listening to, and now you’re on the roster alongside them.

Ty: Yeah man: Scene Creamers. I went to see them when I was just 17. I was a little more into punk and garage when I was younger, but once I got into weirder stuff, the Drag City catalog was a mind-blower. But working with Goner’s been amazing too, working alongside The Carbonas and The Reatards and Oblivians and stuff. It’s like the two labels are the two sides of my brain.

AZ: You’ve been compared to Jay Reatard quite a bit in the past year or so; some people have even suggested that you’ve kind of stepped into the shoes that he left behind with your hooky blend of garage and visceral punk. Do you see yourself in that role at all?

Ty: Yeah, I mean it’s crazy, because people do say that and it’s an honor. But I don’t know; I don’t see it in myself. On a musical level, I don’t see the connection as much as others do, but I have a hard time looking at my work outside of my own subjective point of view. Bottom line: it’s just an insane compliment, because that dude and his bands have just been a major influence on me since I was a kid. It was just insane for me getting to meet him. We played with him at The Reatards reunion show in Memphis, and that was just one of those moments where you say to yourself, “This is real?”

AZ: Do you find that happening now? That you’re starting to play with people you only thought you would ever see three rows back from the stage?

Ty: Oh yeah. We got to play with The Dirtbombs. That was insane. I got to meet Mick Collins; I mean, talk about living legends. But honestly, I’m such a fan of some of the smaller bands we’ve played with that even meeting them has been amazing. I mean, I’ve been such a fan of local bands like Thee Oh Sees and Sic Alps that I’m just like a kid in a candy shop every time there’s a local show.

AZ: So, what comes next for you? Where are you headed after Goodbye Bread?

Ty: I don’t know man. The record’s all done, and I can’t not work on something, but nothing’s planned yet. You know what, I’m probably gonna go on vacation when I get back from this tour. I’ll go up and down the West Coast with my girlfriend, visit my parents, and maybe go surfing or something. That sounds nice.

Goodbye Bread is out June 21st on Drag City