Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks perform in The Current studio
by Mary Lucia
June 01, 2018
Having released their latest album, Sparkle Hard, on May 18, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are in town to play a sold-out show at the Turf Club in St. Paul. Before the show, Malkmus and company stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Mary Lucia.
Interview Highlights
Do you remember your first time playing in the Twin Cities?
Stephen Malkmus: "I'm imaging Pavement at this club that was in Uptown or something like that, crazy people there. Really weird people. A lot of drunk people."
Does the best music comes as a reaction to something else?
Malkmus: "Not really. I mean, usually it's coming from inspiration with your friends or something's happening. Yeah, punk rock, I assume people thought of it as 'We're tired of all this extensive solos and it's all BS and we don't want that anymore!' That's true, but it was also positive, in that it was 'We just want to be ourselves and we like this new fashion.'"
What do you think of this idea that when it comes to making rock music, "Anyone can do it?"
Malkmus: "Anyone can do it, but it takes a lot of determination."
Joanna Bolme: "I think it's good if not that many people try to do it. Yes, you can do it, you can record yourself, you can put your own records out, but there is an element of it being challenging and needing to really, really feel passionate and stick it out no matter what, that if it's so easy, then a lot of crappy stuff comes out."
Malkmus: "The people that really dig [making music], you find over time, they're still finding a way to do it. Perhaps not as a number-one form of employment, but I'm sure in Minneapolis it's similar to where we live [Portland], there's just tons of people that are playing because they're still jamming."
Use the audio player above to listen to the complete in-studio session.
Songs Performed
"Solid Silk"
"Middle America"
"Refute"
All songs from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' 2018 album, Sparkle Hard, available on Matador Records.
Hosted by Mary Lucia
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
External Link
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - official site
