"John Kimbrough (Walt Mink) - Interview"
This is an amazing band. The sound beaten out of this three person group, consisting of a Jimi Hendrix-loving guitarist, a female bassist who was mostly a beginner in music, and a drummer who is a resident of Mexico, is unbelievably groovy, and yet, not heavy at all, and despite being extremely technically competent, the sound they aim to provide is of a lo-fi and neighborly quality. This is a band that makes you wonder how anyone could produce a sound like that. We asked guitarist/vocalist John Kimbrough, who has a voice that is pure and without attitude, and exudes a sense of post-Orutana [?] normalness.
Q. For the name of this band, I heard that you took the name from a psychology professor you had when you guys were students in Minneapolis. So at the time, were you so sensitive & fragile that you actually wanted to study psychology?
John: Ha ha ha, there's not one time where I actually studied like a serious student (laughs). It's a gag. Back then, for us, our music was everything. We were playing gigs and when you said 'Walt Mink', the name was referring to us not him.
Q. When I say Minneapolis, I think of Prince as the famous person from there, but did a college scene exist back then?
John: No, not really. The bassist, Candice, and I are originally from New York, and our current drummer, Orestes, is Mexican, so we were all foreigners to begin with, but, there [in Minneapolis] it was mostly just groups of old friends getting together to play music together. So it was like the three of us suddenly appeared out of nowhere (laughs).
Q. In your guys' sound, there isn't any of that wet, what they presently call "grunge", sound -- is there?
John: No, I don't think so. This so-called grunge sound has been put up on a pedestal, and individualistic music that's artistic and full of expression has come to be respected, but for me, personally, it's old American hardcore punk that I've always listened to, so ... (laughs), even though it expresses the same frustrations, it may not be as gritty. Rather, you just say something once and then you feel like you're past it (laughs).
Q. You are also often compared to Zeppelin.
John: Yeah, that makes me feel good. I don't think the comparison is off-base (laughs).
Q. What is something you have that they [Zeppelin] don't have?
John: Woah, that's a tough one (laughs). Let's see.... Well, I guess since I'd been listening to punk, so the fact that I've become concise, I guess. Also, the one thing about Zeppelin that turned me off was all those lyrics about fairies and myths that didn't make any sense (laughs). Because, for me, I like music that has a personal air to it.... about things that occur in our everyday lives, the stupid things that we think, stuff like that. Oh, and to add something else, I don't sing like Robert Plant (laughs).
Q. When I listen to your record, I feel a remarkable playability in your music, but would you hate -- for example -- to make a record that is not at all technical and also sounds very easy?
John: No no, actually I love to do that (laughs). To the point where 'Guided By Voices' is my favorite one. Oh, but, personally, as a guitarist, it's only Jimi Hendrix for me (laughs). We originally started as a lo-fi band. We did a lot of 4-tracks. When we had a chance to make a record, we had grown so used to the 4-track sound that we got really excited by the fact that we could capture good sound. However, I think what we're writing now is a return to the more abrasive quality of our beginnings.
Q. You have the riffs and edge of Zeppelin, and yet, you're lo-fi (laughs). Hmm, is there a band that you feel has the same musical aim that you guys do?
John: Hmm, I guess The Flaming Lips.
Q. Ah, I see. Like, in that you use up a lot of music sheets.
John: The idea of it is pretty amazing. I think they have insane genius. But, the way they kind of do it like it's all junk is the way in which they're different from us (laughs). Hmm, and yet, I wonder. A band that pursues the same thing that we are about.... there really isn't one. Because I've never come across a band like ours since we first formed.
Q. Well, you guys sure are a unique seed (laughs). Speaking of which, looking at the back of your album jacket, it's exudes that lifestyle quality of, like, three people who live with each other. It's as if I heard some very groovy rock coming from the room next door, and when I took a peek inside, these very ordinary people were just having a meal (laughs).
John: (Laughs) Yeah, it's exactly like that. The idea behind that came from a friend who did the cover art for us, but originally, the plan was to make it like a 70's era Holly Nelson record, and -- as my friend wanted --- to wear a bathrobe and have a pipe in my mouth and stand staring blankly in the kitchen, but thatwas weird. Well, I guess what we have now is also weird.
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