Part 2 - December 10th 2000

I

This interview was conducted recently with Nash, and unravels more bandages, read on :

Q. How does Touring in 2000 compare to 1980 ?

A. Very little has changed.

Q. You have an unreleased instrumental track called 'Memories' that is quite shall we say, memorable . Will this

be released some day?

A. An instrumental of keyboards and drum machine. Very mellow. This piece is unreleased and was originally

written for the film score to Bruce McDonald's film Roadkill. It never appeared in the soundtrack.It will be

included on the CD 'Normal'.

Q. Where do you get your musical ideas ?

A.Melodies catch my ear. A classical riff can be turned into a heavy thrash if you know what to listen for.

Q.. What is your favorite live material ?

A. With three silent films under my belt, I now have over six hours of live material to choose from. It's hard to

pick favorites but whether I'm in a Thrash mood or a Bombardiers mood, I enjoy the moment.

Q.. How did you get to open for so many super-groups?

A. Most of my contacts were personal. Both Iggy Pop and Gary Numan asked me directly to join their tours. I

was friends with Gentle Giant and Human League so the both requested me for their Toronto dates. I must also

mention my good friend Gary Topp who has promoted shows in Toronto for over 20 years. From 1979 up to

1998, he booked me for The Stranglers, Pere Ubu, The Police Picnic, and even The Medaeval Baebes.

Q. Who's your favorite violin/mandolin player ?

A. There really isn't anyone out there playing what I play. There are great bluegrass fiddlers and mando players,

but no one I know has played both instruments in an electronic format.

Q. What is your favorite track from the FM album Black Noise and why ?

A. 'Dialing for Dharma' has always been one of my favorites because it's very spontaneous. The live feel comes

from the drums. Martin Deller played the drums to the sequencer AFTER we had recorded the bedtrack and the

solos. It's a testament to his remarkable sense of time and precision.

Q. What would your reaction be if someone did a DJ mix of your music ?

I love it when techno-freaks discover my sounds. The instrumentals are very flexible for a DJ to twist knobs to.

Q. Have you ever considered living somewhere other than Toronto ?

A.I have spent extended periods in the US and Britain but I prefer Toronto as home base.

Q. You performed on  one of the first electronic albums ever recorded, David Pritchard's 'Nocturnal Earthworm

Stew'. How did that connection come about and who else was involved ?

A. In the early 1970's in Toronto there was an experimental, late night DJ named David Pritchard. He worked for

the localpop/rock FM statio CHUM-FM, but late at night he had the freedom and creativity to play a very

eclectic range of music. He had an uncanny sense of putting classical and jazz with heavy metal or Frank Zappa

with The Bonzo Dog Doo Da Band. I met David while he was on the air at CHUM-FM, and we shared an interest

in the early world of electronic music. We were both interested in Syrinx,Walter Carlos, Bernard Kraus and other

early pioneers. David had purchased one of the first 'synths in a box' THE PUTNEY. A monotone noise generator

that came in a briefcase. It was very cool. David created the bedtracks for 'Nocturnal earthworm Stew' on THE

PUTNEY and also used a processed dobro and weird vocal effects. He then asked some friends to play along.

Martin Deller plays drums ( the future drummer for FM) and I play violin.It is an instrumental experimentation in

electronic music and found sounds. In 1972, we didn't use samplers, we just took what noise sounded

interesting and applied it to the composition. I particularly like the short-wave radio at the end of 'An Admission

of Guilt'. The album is soon to be available on CD. Incidently, I still see David on a regular basis and Children of

the Night CD was mastered at his studio.

Q. Is it true you helped the early career of the pop-dance hitmakers 'Blancmange'?

A. When I first arrived in the UK, I immediately joined the Gary Numan Tour. After that was over, I did some

London dates. My first club date in London ( I don't remember the club's name but I remember it looked like a

soup kitchen, yellow walls, no atmosphere, just a rectangle with a small stage at one end. The opening act

arrived by cab. Just two guys, Neil played bass and sang, while Steve programmed the drum machine and played

Eno-esque keyboards. They blew me away.They were funny, talented and totally unpretentious.It was also just

their second gig. At the end of the night, they gave me a copy of their first single and I cherish it to this day.

It is not like anything they went on to create. It is electronic noise and grooves that were way ahead of their

time. I love the back cover. Steve wrote the song titles in big letters on his bedroom wall and then threw his

cat in front of it and took the picture. According to English tradition, the opening act wasn't paid but was

expected to pay for the privilege of being on the same stage as the headline act. Quite an elitist jolt for a

musician from Canada. Blancmange had spent five pounds coming in the cab,they were going to spend five

pounds to get home, and they were expected to pay me to play?- I gave them the cab money, and the next

day I told Virgin that Blancmange were now my official opening act and I wanted them to get ten pounds per

gig plus cab fare. This was hardly a King's ransom, but I was bucking the system. The people at Virgin were

astounded at this request from a newcomer from the Colonies.I also told their A&R department to check out this

group. I had only 4 or 5 gigs in London from October to November in 1980, but Blancmange played most of them

and the people at Virgin took notice. They were signed in March 1981 and went on to a very sucessful career.

Q. What are your five favorite films ?

A. Un Chien Andalou, Holy Mountain, Tetsuo, Dawn of the Dead, Man on the Flying Trapeze

Q . DO you have 3 wishes for xmas, equipment or otherwise ?

A. Gold, frankensense and mirth

Q. What is your most recent CD purchase ?

A. Not purchase, but you brought me a copy of Gary Numan's latest CD 'PURE' and it's amazing. Favorite tracks

are Little Invitro, My Jesus and Walking with Shadows but the whole thing is so 'complete'. His best work ever.

Q .Do you have a message to the fans ?

A. As Toronto gets hit with our traditional Christmas Blizzard I hope everyone has a warm holiday with family

and friends.

Nash

I would like to thank Nash for taking the time to answer these questions - Steve Gregory.