Murph interview Rockus.com.au Feb ’06

[AGAP]

Nothing new, except Murph says they have one new song finished

rockus.com.au

Ahead of Dinosaur Jr.’s first tour to Australia with all original members, an interview between our good selves and drummer Patrick ‘Murph’ Murphy was sorted. With guitars and bass still playing in the background, Murph greeted and informed us that the band had just finished the first track for a forthcoming brand-spanking new Dinosaur Jr. album. You know… we do have it on mini-disc… even if it is only lingering sounds in the background. A prized possession, as Dinosaur Jr. are THE seminal indie/alt rock band who has influenced just about every indie/alt rock band of the past 15 odd years and beyond.
What was the catalyst that brought Dinosaur Jr. back together after so many years apart?

You know Jay (Mascis, guitar/vocals) has been working with this new management company in the last year, and they kind of proposed it and are able to get just really cool gigs. They just gave him offers he couldn’t refuse and it was also a combination of time heals old wounds. I think he was just ready to reconnect with Lou (Bass) and I. So it was those two factors combined that made it happen.

It’s probably something you would have never thought of a few years ago, that you would get back together?

Yeah, I don’t think any of us (would have). I personally really never thought this would happen. I just didn’t.

Because too much shit had happened?

It’s kinda like being married to somebody and you get divorced and somebody asks you ‘Are you ever going to get remarried?’ – what do you say? You are going to be like ‘I don’t think so. I was married for ten years to that person, why would I remarry them?’ I mean, it happens but it’s rare. That a couple after ten years of divorce would be ‘Well honey, I guess we have a new spark going, let’s try again’ It’s very rare and that’s pretty much how it was, how it felt.

So is this a one off? A single world reunion tour or are there plans for you to record again?

Well, we are actually in the process of recording now, man. We’re at Jay’s house now, we actually cut our first track today.

Does the sound harken back to the old Dinosaur Jr. or has the experience and the years evolved a little more?

Yeah, it’s definitely the new and improved Dinosaur Jr.

How does it feel playing with these two now these days? After the non speaking, etc.

It’s like the band of brothers. Like, now things are no longer uncomfortable, we can work together, the friction is very minimal.

So the dynamic has changed from what it was?

Dynamics in terms of us personally have changed, musically no. Musically we are still on target.

Obviously it is not your first time to Australia…

No, I was there with Dino in ’97, ’98. I was there with the Lemonheads, we did the Big Day Out.

OK, yeah we just had that here.
Oh Yeah, who was the headliner?

The Stooges and The White Stripes pretty much shared the headline
Did you get to see them?
Yeah, totally. The Stooges blew me away.

And how were the White Stripes? Were they good? Were there three stages?

Two main stages and others scattered around the site. So I shot away and caught the end of the Mars Volta.

Oh yeah, we did in Japan, we did Fuji Rock and I got to see Mars Volta for the first time, they were amazing. They were really, really amazing.
Well, we only caught the end of an hour and a half long set of the Mars Volta and it lost its context, coming from The Stooges to that…
Yeah well, they are two different animals. There’s really no comparing those two bands.

So getting back to Dinosaur Jr., we will expect to hear most tracks from the first three albums? What should we expect?

Yeah, it’s punk, it’s really high energy, the gigs, the energy… are still very 1987.

Have you re-worked anything or is it all exactly the same?

I mean, it’s reworked but you wouldn’t probably notice and it’s more just like, you know, just, making things, you know, working the quirks out. We are just better players and it’s just better. We just know how to play better and things just come out better.

MARC ENGLISH

[Author]

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