The Nash Interview Part 2 here .... Jan 2002 interview here

This page will have interviews from both the fan site & links to external sources.

Recent interview by David Burga for Utter Music.com here :

A transcript of this interview is available here as a download : (MS Word Format)

This goes into more depth than the Utter Music edited version. Part 2 of the David Burga interview here.

Thanks to David Burga.

May 20th 2000 - interview by Steve Gregory

Early days

Q.What is your musical background and at what age did you learn to play the violin and mandolin ?.

A.Trained on classical violin age 8 to 18. Self-taught on mandolin age 16 (same tuning as violin)

Q.Where/when did you first perform as a rock band/artist ?

A.1975 The Roxy Theatre performing live to the silent film "Un Chien Andalou"

Q.What was the first commercially available material featuring yourself (either solo or as part of a group).

A.FM's first LP "Black Noise" came out in 1978 at the same time I released my first EP "Bedside Companion"

What bands/artists influenced you as a teenager ?

My teen years were in the Sixties so there was very little electronic music, but the groups I enjoyed were The

Who,The Kinks, Cream, Hendrix, Soft Machine. The real influences came in the Seventies; Kraut Rock,

Hawkwind, The Silver Apples, Moondog, Syrinx, Roxy Music, Eno, Fripp, etc.

What bands did you work with before FM (as Nash The Slash) ?

None.

Nash the Slash

Q.Most fans know that 'Nash' was a character in a 1920's Laurel and Hardy film, but why did you decide

to create 'Nash the Slash' the recording artist and musician ?

A.It was a great stage name and I already was a musician.

What was the reaction of your friends at the time, when you decided to perform as 'Nash the Slash' ?

"Nash The Slash" performed live without bandages for the first 4 years.

My friends just thought it was a cool stage name.

How do you manage to keep cool on stage when dressed as Nash ?, and have you ever collapsed with heat

exhaustion due to the bandages ?

The bandages are not a mask. They are wrapped on every night and discarded.

I spend about $600 a year on bandages. They are wrapped on in a special way. They are soaked in cold

water to better layer them as well as keep me cool for the first 20 minutes. They are removed between sets.

The hottest gig I have ever done was at a pavillion in the summer of 1983.

The building had no air-conditioning, and by showtime there were 500 people in a room that was estimated

at the time to be over 35 C.I drank two gallons of water and lost 4 pounds during the performance.

When FM started to take off, what was the reaction of the fans to Nash ?

I had already left the group when FM began to "take off". In the early days with FM, I never wore the bandages.

Is it common knowledge in music circles in Canada/Toronto as to your real indentity ?

It is a well-kept secret.

Do you know in which european country 'Children' sold the most copies ?

The UK for sure.(ps..Are you guys Europeans yet? :)

In 1981 you appear on Gary Numans album 'Dance', do you appear on any other artists/bands records,

(if yes please list the titles for collectors)

Some I don't remember the titles. I played on a Ken Lockie single.

I recorded in Canada with "Drastic Measures" 1979 and The Spiney Anteaters 1998

Were you 'pushed into a corner' to record/release 'Novel Romance' ?,or were you happy with it ?

I was pushed. How can you tell?!!? - Virgin wanted another song that wasn't on the LP "children"

and I had nothing prepared. I don't write quickly or without intent but it was great fun working with Bill Nelson.

'American Bandages' is certainly one of my favourite LP's of all time - are you happy with it and how

was it received in the US and Canada ?

American Bandages was a fun project. I had the idea to do an 'American Cover LP' for many years.

It was the producer's idea to involve Cam and Martin from FM. Ironically, due to bad management and a

worse record deal, the LP was never released in the USA.

Go figure. It is to this day a cult album in America.

You have worked with FM on and off many times over the years - is there a story to tell here ?

After we collaborated on American Bandages, it was an agent's idea that we should re-group. The agent said

he could make us a lot of money. We did, but I spent 4 more years NOT DOING Nash the Slash.

Bad artistic decision.

FM's music and the music of Nash the Slash is very different, were there many disagreements between you

and Cameron Hawkins over the years regading the music style and content?

Cam and I rarely agreed on musical direction. The strongest influences on FM music came from my exposure

to European electronic music. Cam was into The Beach Boys.

Now a difficult one - which album or individual track ranks as your personal favourite and why ?

(excluding film soundtracks)

Right now I am re-mastering 'Decomposing' and 'Normal'. I am amazed that I wrote this stuff over 15 years

ago. Every time an artist revisits their recorded past, there can be embarrasments and new discoveries. I can

only express satisfaction with my whole recorded output.

Please tell me more about your film scoring work, and have you, or are you, working on behalf of a

foundation or film commission ?

I presume you are referring to the silent films. The commercial film scores have all been commissioned.

The silent films are my own time, money and love.

Why did you leave it until 1999 to return with a new solo album ?

1983- American Bandages, 1984-1989 - FM, 1990-1997 - film scores.

All these years I was compiling material. Some tracks on 'Thrash' are over 10 years  old.

Technology

I have been impressed over the years at the weird and wonderful sounds you have achieved, and further turn

into music - what effects have been used to create these effects ?

I should compile a list of gear for you and the years when I used them.

This is a very detailed question. Remind me to do this for you at another time.

You mention elsewhere that you do not use sequencers,samplers and PC's for music

composition - have you tried out the technology (i.e Cubase, Acid, Rebirth etc) ?

I haven't got time to learn a whole new approach to composing. I get by with very simple tools.

When I say I don't use sequencers, I really mean I don't own a dedicated sequencer. However, sequence-like

riffs can be created by feeding a midi signal from the Alesis drum machine to a Roland D50 kbd.

A sequencer was used on such tunes as 'Born to be Wild'. On 'Children', I had a Crumar Multiman that was a

set of bass pedals with a built-in drum machine and bass sequences plus chords, either in rhythm mode or

drone. This crazy machine was made in Italy for your typical mom and pop wedding duo. I called it my

'Poppa-chichi' machine from the sound of the drum machine. By the time I got through adding echo,fuzz and

octavider (yes,sub-octave effects on bass pedals!) I could create entire live pieces with this device. 'Wolf' is a

totally live example of the Crumar. So is 'In A Glass Eye' and 'Danger Zone'. There are others on the LP

'Normal'.

Will you be embracing any new technology in the near future as far as your music is concerned ?

There are many tricks I used with my tape recorders. One example is the drum sound on 'Swing-shift'.

It is an Roland rhythm 55 drum machine. It was played at double the intended tempo and recorded onto the

reel-to-reel at 15ips. When played back at 71/2 ips, the drums were now at the right tempo but

VERY HEAVY!!! This trick Iused with other drum machines (Womble). I am the proud owner of the first drum

machine Roland ever made.

I bought my Rhythm 55 in 1976 and I still use it to this day. It is the drum sound in Dead Man's Curve and

Dopes on the Water. I could write a book on early drum machines. When you are very familiar with the tools at

hand, you can do anything. The modern computer hardware involves a steep learning curve for me, and I think

I get interesting results by being creative in other ways. I can see myself using hardisk storage. DAT tapes

and machines are not very reliable. Today, we need more back-ups to avoid loss or damage. I never had

these problems with analog tapes or machines.

The Future

What does the short term future hold for you ?

Promoting the live performances of the silent film 'NOSFERATU'

Are you working on any new material intended for commercial release ?

I have 3 back-catalog CD's ready plus a CD of all-new instrumentals. I would also like to release the 3 silent

film scores I've done. At the present time I have over 6 hours of live music for immediate performance.

Are you happy with the way things are going for you at present ?

Today was kinda shitty. I sprained my right index finger while doing somegardening. Lucky it wasn't my left

hand (fingering you know)

Thanks Nash for taking the time to answer the above questions. If there is any other relevant info you wish to

add please do. I will probably think of lots of other questions after I havesent this email !!!.

This has been very time consuming, but eventually we'll have all the answers, or maybe this is some kind of

Greek tragedy where you and I never get to the end of it? I hope we're off to a good start.

Nash