R O C K I S T

<continued>

ROCKist: What led you to start Actionslacks?

TIM: The band I was in previously wasn't "rock" enough for me. I was playing with a drummer who, though he was technically great, didn't have a very deep appreciation for the more visceral bands I was listening to, like the Replacements, Hsker D, the Who and the Minutemen. Plus we got along terribly, and finally decided to end it. The bass player, Mark Wijsen and I, started looking for a new drummer.

Playing with Marty was a revelation. Here was a rock drummer that had chops, but who played to the song, and who understood a gut-level approach to rock music. I think the first song we wrote as a band was "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.", which is on our first record, Too Bright, Just Right, Goodnight. I was euphoric to finally be in a band that was making the music I heard in my head.

ROCKist: Is Too Bright Just Right Good Night still available?

TIM: Yep. It's available on CD and vinyl via our website, http://www.slacksaction.com.

ROCKist: Why the switch from Arena Rock (who put out One Word) to Self Starter for the new record?

We sent the mixes of what would become The Scene's Out of Sight to our friend Greg Glover, who runs Arena Rock. He dug them, but had already committed to putting out several other records at that time. So we started looking for another label. Our friend Craig Finn, of the late, great Lifter Puller [an amazing band from MN that was criminally under-appreciated- ed.], suggested we send some music to Chris Newmyer at The Self-Starter Foundation. We did, and Chris liked it. The rest is history. We couldn't be happier with Self-Starter. Chris is an absolute champ and has bent over backward to promote the record.

ROCKist: You just moved to L.A., right? How's that treating you?

I'm originally from Long Beach, which is 30 miles south of L.A., so I knew what I was getting myself into. So far, so good. The weather is pretty much perfect all the time, and the people are cooler than I thought. I think I could stay here for a while. I still think that San Francisco is probably where my soon-to-be-wife and I will settle [Congrats! - ed.]. Northern California is gorgeous, and the attitudes there are considerably more liberal than the rest of the country. I like that.

ROCKist: You had a message on your website about regret, urging people to motivate and do something, to lead an interesting life. How important is this to you?

TIM: Good question. It's very important. My thing is that I don't ever want to regret not doing something. I routinely envision myself sitting in a rest home when I'm 80 years old. And I try to imagine what I'll be thinking about my life at that point. It's my belief that I'll be happy that I spent my youth on the things I was most passionate about -- writing about music, writing songs, recording them, touring the country/world playing them for people. This may sound incredibly cheesy, but when we're on stage in front of a bunch of people, I feel incredibly alive. If given the choice of working a crappy day job and making 5 times what I make now, or being able to walk on stage and experience that adrenaline rush on a nightly basis, I know which one I'd choose. I guess I've already chosen.

ROCKist: Apart from Actionslacks, what are you doing about it?

TIM: I'm not sitting in an office, day-in, day-out. I'm trying to figure out how to make a living doing what I love to do, outside of the "typical day-job" paradigm, and it's slowly happening. And this might sound weird, but I started a mens' club in San Francisco. It's not a bunch of high-fiving frat boys. It's just a group of guys (many of whom are musicians) that gets together once a month to do stuff, like go bowling, go to Vegas, etc. I firmly believe that it's ultimately the people in your life that make the difference. I started this club because I realized I was losing touch with a lot of people that meant something to me. We see each other regularly now and it's invaluable. I don't know if I'm just weird this way, but I'm always acutely aware of being alive and just appreciating the fact that my heart's beating and that I'm breathing. Because it can be taken away from you in an instant. September 11th reminded us of that.

ROCKist: One of my favorite songs on The Scene's Out of Sight is "The Sun in St.Tropez." Is that addressed to anyone in particular?

TIM: That song was written from the vantage of a kid who's been kicked around. There was no defining incident in my life, but I had my fair share of vendettas in high school.

ROCKist: Were you bullied in high school? Do you have feverish high school revenge fantasies?

TIM: No, nothing that intense. But there were certain people that I would have loved to kick in the crotch. ROCKist: Tell me about the experience of working with J. Robbins on the last record.

TIM: Personally, it was by far the best experience I've ever had in the studio. J. is a huge inspiration to both Marty and I (Doug and Ross weren't around during our time working with J. on the last record, but they're excited to work him on the next record). To be able to sit with him in a studio for two weeks, just one-on-one, was an amazing experience. I think one of the reasons why we worked so well together is that we share certain opinions about things, like the supreme importance of The Song and The Melody. J. has an incredible sense of melody, as proven by his recorded output. He contributed some great performances, on vocals, keyboards and guitar. Working with him was a definite learning experience; he's had so much experience both live and i the studio. I think the next time around will be even better.

TIM: Were you a big Jawbox fan? What do you think of the new Burning Airlines stuff?

TIM: Marty and I are both massive Jawbox fans. In a perfect world that band would have been huge. As for Burning Airlines, I have been quite literally obsessed with their new record for the last 3 months. I think J. is functioning on a lyrical and melodic level that is far above most of his peers. Where he gets melodies like the ones on "Pacific 321" or "Morricone Dancehall" I have no idea. It's a rare talent, and he's got it in spades. The opportunity to tour with Burning Airlines for two weeks recently was amazing. Seeing them night after night was very humbling, but very inspiring, as well. Plus, J. is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. We value his friendship and support.

ROCKist: What was it like working with J. in the studio? How much input did he have on how the record turned out?

TIM: A lot. It was understood that we were calling the shots, but as I've said, we share a lot of the same opinions about stuff with J. So it was a very collaborative effort. It was also REALLY fun. When you're on the same wavelength with someone like that, you're free to totally immerse yourself in the music, and dispense with formalities. We clicked with J. immediately and welcomed him as a 5th member of the band during the time we spent together. Luckily, he accepted our invitation wholeheartedly. J.'s told us that he's a big fan of our band, and I think it must be true, because the amount of work he did on our record was far beyond what I would ever expect anyone to do. He took the reels back to D.C. with him and laid down keyboard and guitar parts on his own dime. Then he did some re-mixes that are amazing (look for these to see the light of day soon). He was just totally dedicated to the project. That's not something we'll ever take for granted. The whole experience was amazing, start to finish.

ROCKist: You're did a week with B.A. and Rival Schools this Fall. Are you a bigger fan of Gorilla Biscuits or Quicksand?

TIM: To tell you the truth, I was never a big fan of either of those bands. Our interest in being on that tour was purely centered on Burning Airlines. I really enjoyed Rival Schools' sets, but in my opinion there are few bands in the world at this point that can touch the 'Airlines.

ROCKist: What's next on the plate for ze Actionslacks?

TIM: We're currently hunkered down in our practice space working on the songs for the next record, which J. will produce in February or March of next year. It's a bit difficult with me living in L.A. and the rest of the band in San Francisco, but we've found that it kind of keeps things fresh. One thing that we really want to avoid this time around is flogging the next album's songs over and over, to the point where we lose enthusiasm for them. We experienced a touch of that with the last record, due to the long lag time between albums, and I think it's detrimental. This time around, we'll be in the studio with a batch of songs that's still relatively new. We like the idea of keeping things fresh and malleable.

Other than that, there'll hopefully be an EP of unreleased tracks from the "Scene" sessions that'll come out in early 2002. After that, we'll record the next album, and then hit the road to promote it.

Oh, yeah, look for three of our songs to be featured in the NBC cartoon All About Us in October. Yes, I'm serious..

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ACTIONSLACKS INTERVIEW (ROCKist 003 -- November 2001) A couple months ago I went to see The Lapse and luckily arrived early enough to see the hilariously-named Actionslacks. I didn't know anything about them, but I became an instant fan. Singer Tim Scanlin's no-frills vocals and strikingly intelligent lyrics made them an instant new fame. I talked to Tim after the show and he mentioned that he used to do a zine called SnackCake!, which I had loved. He graciously gave me a copy of their most recent record, The Scene's Out of Sight. It's an really thoughtful record and I admire their lack of fear in incorporating pop sounds into their rock songs. They're not re-inventing the wheelthey're just polishing it a bit. Tim and I conducted this interview over email this Summer and Fall. -Kevin S. Hoskins ROCKist: Let's start out talking about SnackCake. How long did you do SnackCake for? How many issues? TIM: I founded SnackCake! at the end of 1994 and pretty much closed up shop on the print version mid-1998. I think we probably put out about 15 issues total. It was essentially a quarterly mag, because so much work went into each issue. ROCKist: How did it start? TIM: I started the magazine because no one was writing about my favorite bands. If you want something done, do it yourself. ROCKist: What was the most rewarding aspect of putting out your own zine? TIM: In addition to all of the amazing musicians, publicists, label people, writers and photographers that I met, I'd say the most rewarding thing was being able to spread the word about phenomenal bands that were, for some reason, being largely overlooked by the more mainstream music press. I'd like to think that we made a difference in terms of the number of people that were exposed to certain artists. With some bands, like Acetone, Barkmarket and You Am I, I'm certain that we made a substantial impact in that regard. I was completely evangelical about certain bands. Still am. ROCKist: The most daunting? TIM: Finding the money to pay for each issue. It's a pretty daunting task trying to raise the money to print thousands of copies of an 80-page magazine. There's an art to selling ads. It's sink or swim; you either master it or you're done. I used to hate asking people for money. The worst part about publishing, by far. ROCKist: Who was the most interesting person that you got to talk to? TIM: There were a lot of incredible interactions with musicians that mean/meant a lot to me, but two interviews in particular come to mind. The first was an interview I did with one of my all time heroes, Bill Janovitz from Buffalo Tom. He was doing a solo acoustic show at a church in San Francisco. I picked him up that afternoon and we went to a small Mediterranean restaurant and talked for about two hours. The other interview was the first time I spoke with John Doe of X. I place X's first four albums on the same level as Mozart and John Coltrane. They're pure genius. So to have an informal conversation with Doe for 45 minutes was one of the highlights of my journalistic career. I've since met him numerous times, but I'm still blown away every time. Probably the biggest thrill I've gotten in a journalist capacity was interviewing Matt Johnson of The The, who has been and remains a huge influence on me. ROCKist: Why did you decide not to do anymore print issues? TIM: For one person, the logistics of financing, editing, laying-out and publishing a quality 80-page magazine are insane. In addition to the magazine, I was also trying to play and tour in a rock band, have a relationship, and work a day job. The last straw was when a blood vessel burst in my left eye while I was laying out the final issue. It's painless, but you look like a freak for about two weeks. It's brought on my stress and lack of sleep. Basically, it became clear that if I continued doing the magazine it would have a very bad impact on two things that were more important to me: my relationship with my girlfriend and my band. So I stopped. ROCKist: You're an editor and writer for other venues now? Want to tell me about that? TIM: Since the print version of SnackCake! folded, I've been writing and editing in both a freelance and day-job capacity for a variety of different outlets. Immediately after ending SnackCake! I took a job as an editor for Sonicnet.com, the music news arm of MTV Networks' online division. Sonicnet.com was run by Michael Goldberg, who was an editor at Rolling Stone for 10 years, and our managing editor was a total pitbull that demanded excellence on everything. The opportunity to work with that caliber of journalist was attractive to me, so I went for it. One major issue, however, was that the brass at Sonicnet forbade their employees to write for other outlets, a policy that still makes no sense to me. So I used a pseudonym, Lloyd Langworthy (my maternal grandfather's name), for most of the freelancing I did during this time, for outlets like Raygun, CMJ, Seattle Weekly and SF Weekly. Sonicnet.com laid off 90% of its editorial department in late1999, just in time for me to divert all of my attention to promoting and touring behind our most recent record. The timing was perfect. My freelancing has tapered off in the last year. Frankly, I'm tired of writing about music. I feel like I've said everything I ever wanted to say. The position of the pop music journalist has always been tenuous at best. In fact, I have a problem with any kind of art criticism, which dates back to my days as an Art History major at UC Berkeley. Essentially, I don't buy the notion that individuals need to have art interpreted for them. Art is a personal experience. I see the critic's role as being strictly informational -- the process used to make the art, the artist's direct inspirations or antecedents, etc. But deciding about the art's merits or lack thereof -- that's the job of each individual viewer/listener. ROCKist: I read in your Inkblot article that you were a big metal fan in junior high? Are there any records from that time that you still listen to? TIM: I still think that "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden is a truly incredible song. It stands up to any scrutiny. "Round and Round" by Ratt is better than 95% of the music made in the '90s. And Van Halen (David Lee Roth era) is probably one of the best rock bands of all time. The level of talent in that band was awe inducing. There probably has never been a rock guitarist that had as much technique as Eddie Van Halen. I don't mean dexterity (though his chops were monster). I mean the ability to create a sound and an approach to the guitar that is completely yours. If you hear one note from those records, you know who it is. It's fun to mock Van Halen, and their image especially is worthy of it, but you cannot deny the insane talent and songwriting chops in that band. People will be listening to that stuff until the end of time. Ditto for AC/DC. "Back in Black" is so perfect that it could have been handed down to Angus Young by God Himself. And the coolest thing about that band is that they're probably 5 of richest rock musicians of all time, and their songs are part of our cultural identity, but no one would recognize them walking down the street. I love that. I heard Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" in the car the other day was totally dumbstruck at how good that song is, and it sounds better that everything recorded today. I can't imagine what it must've felt like for those guys the day they recorded that. ROCKist: I think it's interesting that you picked up a guitar after hearing REM...do you remember where you were/where you heard them? TIM: I think I was exposed to R.E.M. for the first time while watching MTV. I think the song was "Can't Get There From Here." Previous to hearing that band, I'd been immersed in heavy metal and the guitar wankery associated with it. When you're a 15 year-old kid listening to that stuff, it sounds totally unapproachable, from a guitar playing perspective. But when I bought R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction" and heard Pete Buck playing simple arpeggiated chords, I suddenly thought, "Hey, I can do that." ROCKist: My favorite band that resides in the "classic rock" lexicon is The Who. Is that still your's? What's your favorite Who record and song? TIM: The Who are, without a shred of doubt, my favorite rock band of all time. To me, Pete Townshend pre-1975 was the classic embodiment of what rock music was and should be. The guy was fiercely intelligent and witty, but when he took the stage he became this totally visceral person that lost himself in the volume and energy of what he was doing. I love that cerebral-vs.animal dichotomy, and no one embodied the two better than him. My favorite Who record is Who's Next. My favorite Who song is probably "Baba O'Reilly." That song says it all. End of story. I must give special mention to "Live At Leeds." I've long contended that on the nights that album was recorded the Who were best rock band there's ever been. <continued at top>	<continued> ROCKist: What led you to start Actionslacks? TIM: The band I was in previously wasn't "rock" enough for me. I was playing with a drummer who, though he was technically great, didn't have a very deep appreciation for the more visceral bands I was listening to, like the Replacements, Hsker D, the Who and the Minutemen. Plus we got along terribly, and finally decided to end it. The bass player, Mark Wijsen and I, started looking for a new drummer. Playing with Marty was a revelation. Here was a rock drummer that had chops, but who played to the song, and who understood a gut-level approach to rock music. I think the first song we wrote as a band was "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.", which is on our first record, Too Bright, Just Right, Goodnight. I was euphoric to finally be in a band that was making the music I heard in my head. ROCKist: Is Too Bright Just Right Good Night still available? TIM: Yep. It's available on CD and vinyl via our website, http://www.slacksaction.com. ROCKist: Why the switch from Arena Rock (who put out One Word) to Self Starter for the new record? We sent the mixes of what would become The Scene's Out of Sight to our friend Greg Glover, who runs Arena Rock. He dug them, but had already committed to putting out several other records at that time. So we started looking for another label. Our friend Craig Finn, of the late, great Lifter Puller [an amazing band from MN that was criminally under-appreciated- ed.], suggested we send some music to Chris Newmyer at The Self-Starter Foundation. We did, and Chris liked it. The rest is history. We couldn't be happier with Self-Starter. Chris is an absolute champ and has bent over backward to promote the record. ROCKist: You just moved to L.A., right? How's that treating you? I'm originally from Long Beach, which is 30 miles south of L.A., so I knew what I was getting myself into. So far, so good. The weather is pretty much perfect all the time, and the people are cooler than I thought. I think I could stay here for a while. I still think that San Francisco is probably where my soon-to-be-wife and I will settle [Congrats! - ed.]. Northern California is gorgeous, and the attitudes there are considerably more liberal than the rest of the country. I like that. ROCKist: You had a message on your website about regret, urging people to motivate and do something, to lead an interesting life. How important is this to you? TIM: Good question. It's very important. My thing is that I don't ever want to regret not doing something. I routinely envision myself sitting in a rest home when I'm 80 years old. And I try to imagine what I'll be thinking about my life at that point. It's my belief that I'll be happy that I spent my youth on the things I was most passionate about -- writing about music, writing songs, recording them, touring the country/world playing them for people. This may sound incredibly cheesy, but when we're on stage in front of a bunch of people, I feel incredibly alive. If given the choice of working a crappy day job and making 5 times what I make now, or being able to walk on stage and experience that adrenaline rush on a nightly basis, I know which one I'd choose. I guess I've already chosen. ROCKist: Apart from Actionslacks, what are you doing about it? TIM: I'm not sitting in an office, day-in, day-out. I'm trying to figure out how to make a living doing what I love to do, outside of the "typical day-job" paradigm, and it's slowly happening. And this might sound weird, but I started a mens' club in San Francisco. It's not a bunch of high-fiving frat boys. It's just a group of guys (many of whom are musicians) that gets together once a month to do stuff, like go bowling, go to Vegas, etc. I firmly believe that it's ultimately the people in your life that make the difference. I started this club because I realized I was losing touch with a lot of people that meant something to me. We see each other regularly now and it's invaluable. I don't know if I'm just weird this way, but I'm always acutely aware of being alive and just appreciating the fact that my heart's beating and that I'm breathing. Because it can be taken away from you in an instant. September 11th reminded us of that. ROCKist: One of my favorite songs on The Scene's Out of Sight is "The Sun in St.Tropez." Is that addressed to anyone in particular? TIM: That song was written from the vantage of a kid who's been kicked around. There was no defining incident in my life, but I had my fair share of vendettas in high school. ROCKist: Were you bullied in high school? Do you have feverish high school revenge fantasies? TIM: No, nothing that intense. But there were certain people that I would have loved to kick in the crotch. ROCKist: Tell me about the experience of working with J. Robbins on the last record. TIM: Personally, it was by far the best experience I've ever had in the studio. J. is a huge inspiration to both Marty and I (Doug and Ross weren't around during our time working with J. on the last record, but they're excited to work him on the next record). To be able to sit with him in a studio for two weeks, just one-on-one, was an amazing experience. I think one of the reasons why we worked so well together is that we share certain opinions about things, like the supreme importance of The Song and The Melody. J. has an incredible sense of melody, as proven by his recorded output. He contributed some great performances, on vocals, keyboards and guitar. Working with him was a definite learning experience; he's had so much experience both live and i the studio. I think the next time around will be even better. TIM: Were you a big Jawbox fan? What do you think of the new Burning Airlines stuff? TIM: Marty and I are both massive Jawbox fans. In a perfect world that band would have been huge. As for Burning Airlines, I have been quite literally obsessed with their new record for the last 3 months. I think J. is functioning on a lyrical and melodic level that is far above most of his peers. Where he gets melodies like the ones on "Pacific 321" or "Morricone Dancehall" I have no idea. It's a rare talent, and he's got it in spades. The opportunity to tour with Burning Airlines for two weeks recently was amazing. Seeing them night after night was very humbling, but very inspiring, as well. Plus, J. is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. We value his friendship and support. ROCKist: What was it like working with J. in the studio? How much input did he have on how the record turned out? TIM: A lot. It was understood that we were calling the shots, but as I've said, we share a lot of the same opinions about stuff with J. So it was a very collaborative effort. It was also REALLY fun. When you're on the same wavelength with someone like that, you're free to totally immerse yourself in the music, and dispense with formalities. We clicked with J. immediately and welcomed him as a 5th member of the band during the time we spent together. Luckily, he accepted our invitation wholeheartedly. J.'s told us that he's a big fan of our band, and I think it must be true, because the amount of work he did on our record was far beyond what I would ever expect anyone to do. He took the reels back to D.C. with him and laid down keyboard and guitar parts on his own dime. Then he did some re-mixes that are amazing (look for these to see the light of day soon). He was just totally dedicated to the project. That's not something we'll ever take for granted. The whole experience was amazing, start to finish. ROCKist: You're did a week with B.A. and Rival Schools this Fall. Are you a bigger fan of Gorilla Biscuits or Quicksand? TIM: To tell you the truth, I was never a big fan of either of those bands. Our interest in being on that tour was purely centered on Burning Airlines. I really enjoyed Rival Schools' sets, but in my opinion there are few bands in the world at this point that can touch the 'Airlines. ROCKist: What's next on the plate for ze Actionslacks? TIM: We're currently hunkered down in our practice space working on the songs for the next record, which J. will produce in February or March of next year. It's a bit difficult with me living in L.A. and the rest of the band in San Francisco, but we've found that it kind of keeps things fresh. One thing that we really want to avoid this time around is flogging the next album's songs over and over, to the point where we lose enthusiasm for them. We experienced a touch of that with the last record, due to the long lag time between albums, and I think it's detrimental. This time around, we'll be in the studio with a batch of songs that's still relatively new. We like the idea of keeping things fresh and malleable. Other than that, there'll hopefully be an EP of unreleased tracks from the "Scene" sessions that'll come out in early 2002. After that, we'll record the next album, and then hit the road to promote it. Oh, yeah, look for three of our songs to be featured in the NBC cartoon All About Us in October. Yes, I'm serious..
Actionslacks Discography Too Bright Just Right Good Night (Skene!) One Word (New York's Arena Rock) The Scene's Out of Sight (Self-Starter Foundation)