Kicking Giant

No fancy intro here 'cause the man who interviewed Kicking Giant took off to New Orleans right before this issue went to press. Suffice it to say that the duo came through town in May with Versus and gave Local 506 one of the best shows it's had all ye ar.

Kicking Giant have released a bunch of cassettes, a full-length CD, Halo (Spartadisc), and a 7" (K). They've also appeared on all sorts on indie rock compilations - Kill Rock Stars (KRS), International Pop Underground Live (K), Throw (Yoyo) - several o f which came out of the Olympia, Wash., area where the band now resides.

Kicking Giant is Rachel Carns (drums and vocals) and Tae Won Yu (guitar and vocals).

Yes, they rock.

Interview by Charlie Speight

R = Rachel Carns (drums/vox)

T = Taw Won Yu (guit/vox)

Let's clarify the important things. There's a rumor going around Chapel Hill that you're the Sleepyhead drummer.

R No, I'm not. Although we're both named Rachel Marie, she spells it differently.

Have you ever met her?

R Yeah, she's really really great.

Speaking of drumming, how did you start with the stand-up drumming technique?

R I guess it sort of just happened in dicking around in Tai's apartment.

And where was this?

T New York, East Village.

So both of you are originally from New York?

T We found ourselves in New York in 1989. We went to school together but obviously were from different places. We moved separately to Olympia, Washington in 1992. At that point I really needed a change in my life.

What was wrong with New York?

T It's not really New York, it's not the place. It's like someone at tonight's show pointed out. This guy Todd (Morman) was really into dancing. He actually reminded me of myself in New York and in many large cities at clubs. People's sensitivity to the pure form of music coming out is pretty low.

R Or to basically any sort of stimulation because there's so much to consume. When you walk down the street everything's vying for your attention. And when you go see a show, it's not that big of a deal.

T In cities, I know from experience that I insulate myself as I walk down the street. So that sensibility follows through in the clubs and as a musician playing. I wanted a change from that scene.

Has Olympia been the change you were looking for?

T Yeah, but what's more important is having an environment to work in. It's not really the place. We could have been somewhere else and I'm sure different things could have happened and it could have been equally challenging.

What happened to the band between the time you were both in New York and you were both in Olympia?

T I moved first in February of 1992. Kicking Giant still existed while we were apart. We don't follow any sort of regiment about what a band is supposed to be because we're very close friends. Rachel actually moved to DC.

What did DC do for you?

R Well, I moved there for a couple months and I played with Slant 6 for a while and we went on tour. I decided to move to Olympia, even though playing with Slant 6 was really great. Living in DC was really hard.

It seems like what you're doing now with Kicking Giant and what Slant 6 is doing is two separate directions.

R Yeah, they got a new drummer.

How does being good friends affect writing songs and creating what Kicking Giant is about?

T We're both creative and productive separately so we just bring that energy to it. The best part about being friends and having a very long relationship together is that we've developed a sort of telepathy when we play. We don't really write son gs. We just play and create them out of that energy between us. That's why none of our songs sound the same.

In the indie rock world, are you striving for a particular level of success?

T Oh, I don't even subscribe to being an indie rock band. I'm not interested in what other bands are doing. I just like music in general.

R Indie rock is just something that's been created by the media to quantify a genre of something people are doing in some kind of collective unconsciousness. It has nothing to do with what really goes on in people's souls.

Obviously touring can be a difficult thing. What makes you want to do it?

T It's the old cliche. We get to play every single day. That's all we have to do. We have to wake up and keep ourselves sane until we play again. Last night I was very tired in DC. It was a good show and it was very challenging, but we had to dig it out to get any real energy out. Tonight I was really prepared and it was really magical. That's all there needs to be for now.

R Not only that but every day there's a complete change of scene. Just the air here in Chapel Hill is really balmy and dense which is different from DC and really different from New York the day before. Tomorrow we're going to Atlanta.

If you're really into vinyl you should go to this great record store called Wax'n'facts.

T That's funny but we don't like records. People always ask me about music and I tell them that I don't buy records, I don't listen to other music. I'm into what my friends are doing as humans but I'm not a record collector. I've given that up lo ng ago and I feel better for it.

R I never owned a record player. I listened to the radio, you know, the static between stations.

Even though you don't follow the indie scene, your shirt kind of fits in with a prevalent theme relating music to adolescence.

T It's a selling tool. People are attracted to simple imagery so they buy things. When I made that I was working as a designer. If it could possibly represent an aspect of our bands it's only one of 1,000 things it could be representing. People j ust want to attach our music and our personalities with some pre-determined assumption about naivety and childhood. Actually it's a reference to Columbia-Japan's kids label. Columbia is putting out these kids songs in Japan and they have a similar logo. I t's just a logo, it's attractive, it's black and white, and it's easy to red. I was really just interested in referencing skateboard wear.

R Those are associations that came about long before the logo was even created. It's kind of unfortunate in that way.

Does your enjoyment of simplicity play into your music? Do you make your music that way?

T I guess when I started the band, I was very interested in using what was only necessary. I love the sound of just a snare drum and a guitar. That's all I wanted in my life. That's like our initial interest and we have so may beyond that . . . I see myself and our music in the relation to every other kind of music that was made. It's very unfortunate that people see the surface areas of us just being two-pieces or non-bass player or being related to other bands like Beat Happening or Some Velvet Sidewalk. We just make music, all these other things are irrelevant.

R That's a symptom of rock criticism, when people write they feel like they have to have some sense of history or knowledge. Like having a set of references built up in their head makes them feel smart.

Someone wanted me to ask you what the deal is with no-bass-player bands in Olympia.

R Nothing! There are bands that just have drums and bass like Heavens to Betsy!

T I think it's really healthy that people break away from traditions and expectations of something as superficial as instrumentation. You listen to stuff but you don't know how it's made. The instruments used shouldn't be the basis of what makes good music. We just do what we do.

How did this tour with Versus get started?

T I've been friends with Richard and an admirer of his first band, Flower, when they were playing in New York three or four years ago. I feel that in 1994, what we lack, they have and they lack what we have so when you see both of us you get the whole 360 of what's going on.

How intense is this tour?

T Well, it's two weeks long and I would say tonight was incredibly intense.

R Tonight was our best show.

What made the show for you? Was it the crowd?

T I don't think it was necessarily the crowd. We were in good health. . .

Does the experience of seeing music live add to the pleasure you derive from other music?

R The live experience is totally different. It's sensual. It's completely environmental and so much about being there. Listening to a tape or a record is like a documentary.

T I think tape or an album can have a life of its own that's separate. I feel like we make records with that in mind. People shouldn't carry the expectation from our record to our live sound and vice versa, cause they're obvioulsy two different t hings.

Someone else suggested as a joke that I should start out by asking you, Rachel, if your brother taught you how to play drums.

R You know, that's a really interesting questiion just because I had a brother but he died when I was seven years old and he was four. Over the years I've had these rather sporadic communications with his ghost, believe it or not. Whether that ha s anything to do with my drumming or not, it's a pretty interesting question considering everything we've talked about. So, yeah, sure, my brother taught me how to play drums.

(Everyone starts talking about UFO's and Hard Copy)

Thanks a lot for the time, guys. And for a great show!

T Yeah, I really am glad we played here. It felt like our tour was really beginning.***? We'll have a new album on K in September called Alien ID.

So you're pretty happy with K?

T Yeah, it's good for now.

Do you think it'll ever be possible for you to earn a living with your music?

T Oh yeah, I plan to make it a future thing. It's definitely important to be paid in full for the work you do. And it is work.

Go to the next article: Crayon - Interview by Carrie McLaren

Go to the Stay Free!#8 Table of Contents