Ben Blackwell: A Lifetime Worth of Self-Pity, Self-Deprecation and Self-Immolation
GLONO’s Cub reporter Nathan Walker interviews Ben Blackwell, drummer for Detroit’s Dirt Bombs, and gets an earful. Everything from vegan promoters to gear-head homos to the media’s obsession with the Detroit “scene” comes under fire from this ornery cuss. Poor Nate hasn’t been the same since.
Read the full interview.
The Glorious Noise Interview with the Dirtbombs
April 2002
I had a chance to ask a few questions of Ben Blackwell, a drummer in one my
favorite bands, the
title="The Dirtbombs Official Homepage">Dirtbombs
about a few things that are going on with the
band. They’ve been getting a lot of attention overseas and their last
album, Ultraglide In Black, is the best pure rock and roll album I’ve heard
in a long time. Ben is also involved in
title="Italy Records">Italy Records
45s of a ton of bands that have something good going on over in Detroit.
GLONO: First, can you tell us about the philosophy of the band? How did you decide
on a two drum – two bass lineup? For people who haven’t heard of the
Dirtbombs, give ‘em a clue of what’s going on.
BEN: The Dirtbombs philosophy can be best summed up with a quote from
Socrates: “I drank WHAT?” The two drum, two bass, sousaphone-less line-up
came to Mick, our creator, in a dream. John Lennon was sitting on a flaming
pig and said, “You will have two basses, two drums, and no sousaphones.”
What’s “goin’ on” with the Dirtbombs is a lifetime worth of self-pity,
self-deprecation, and self-immolation.
GLONO:
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a record of all covers ever sound so great!
What made you guys decide to scrap almost all of your original material on
Ultraglide In Black?
BEN:
Ultraglide in Black was originally supposed to be an album filled with
sitar versions of garage classics like “Louie, Louie” and “Gloria.”
Somewhere along the line we got bored and decided to record a live album of
old soul songs. We never recorded the live album, and eventually we
realized we should probably get off our asses and just do the album.
GLONO:
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Were you shocked by all of the wonderful reviews the album is getting? I
received a mailing list from Matador Records where one person put in the top
ten for the year.
BEN:
Reviews schmeviews…the only reason the guy from Matador put in on his
top ten list is because he’s an old friend of Pat, the other drummer in
the band.
GLONO:
Tell us about your gear. How do you guys get that vintage sound; do you
have a philosophy about gear or sounds?
BEN:
Talking about gear is for homos. We play what we can afford. Needless
to say, we play shitty instruments.
GLONO:
With the attention garage rock is getting there’s a real possibility it
could get watered down, so let’s set the record straight: What is garage
rock and do you classify the Dirtbombs as such?
BEN:
Garage rock is an outdated term that should be forgotten by every
journalist out there. The Dirtbombs strictly adhere to the New Romantic
genre when it comes to describing our sound.
GLONO:
Could the attention Detroit’s getting eventually lead to better or worse
things for the scene and the city?
BEN:
Seriously, if i get another question from someone asking about the
Detroit scene… People spend too much time trying to pick at it, define it
and classify it, they totally kill any vibe that might have been going on.
Just let it be.
GLONO:
You’ve toured Europe. How did you set that up? How does a band without
affiliation with big labels or agents book a European tour?
BEN:
Booking agents came to us…offering us their fatted calves and
beautiful daughters, and in the end, we went with some dumbass in the Netherlands who
told all the promoters that the Dirtbombs, the biggest bunch of red meat
freaks you will ever meet in the rock and roll business, were vegan. We
dropped him like like a pile of soiled toilet paper into our
vegan-cum-diarhhea soaked toilet bowls.
GLONO:
There have been garage rock festivals and showcases in Europe for some time,
is touring Europe different from touring the states, as far as crowds are
concerned?
BEN:
Crowds in Europe are fine. The girls don’t seem to be as much into
making out with band members, if at all.
GLONO:
Tell us about the Dirtbombs Singles club.
BEN:
The Dirtbombs Singles Club is most-likely not going to happen. People
just don’t care about us. We’ll be sending out apologies shortly. But if
it would’ve happened, it could’ve been the stupidest thing to ever happen in
the history of music.
GLONO:
You’re also affiliated with Italy Records; how’s that going? Do you see it
growing in the future, and if so, are you actively seeking new bands?
BEN:
Italy Records gets demos all the time, they’re good for a laugh and to
play frisbee with. We’re a bunch of lazy degenerates over there, so not
much gets done. Unless you count going to Subway for an Italian BMT sandwich.
GLONO:
Does
title="Freddy and the Four-Gone Conclusions">Freddy Fortune
still sport that crazy Brian Jones/Davey Jones haircut?
BEN:
Freddy Fortune’s hair is as awesome as ever. Did you know he used to be
the president of the Michigan-area Monkees fan club?
GLONO:
What’s your all-time favorite Dirtbombs
track?
BEN:
Hands down the best Dirtbombs track is “Brucia I Cavi.” If you haven’t
heard it, do yourself a favor and purchase what many consider to be the
greatest rock and roll recording of the century.
GLONO:
Last one: how can I be the first kid on my block with a Dirtbombs t-shirt?
BEN:
Goto Kmart. Buy a three pack of Hanes plain white t-shirts (your size
of choice) and a Sharpie in your favorite color. Open the package, write
“the Dirtbombs suck ass” on one of the t-shirts with the aforementioned
Sharpie and throw the other two shirts away.
What did you think of this interview? Let us know!
sab
3584 days ago
Why do people in bands think being “clever” when being interviewed actually is?
d. phillips
3584 days ago
Sab, could you re-post that question in English? I have no idea what the hell that means.
dag
3584 days ago
this kid is a homo. he still lives with his mom and i heard he’s actually fellated jack white in front of a bunch of eager on-lookers. fuck this shit…listen to the sights instead.
Proptronics
3584 days ago
ouch. . . why don’t you write a little article on the sights then? show us how fucking cool you are!
sab
3583 days ago
Why do people in bands think being “clever” in an interview actually is clever?Does that make more sense?
d. phillips
3583 days ago
Oh yes, that’s better.
Proptronics
3583 days ago
Sab, Ben read the interview and he shot me a note saying that he hoped I hadn’t taken them too personally. His intentions were to do something a little different for us because they’ve been giving a ton of straightforward interviews recently.
Scotty5000
3583 days ago
Don’t worry, Prop. I got your back. All these guys care about is top 40 and Alanus’s new release. Now you gotta interview The Mooney Suzuki!
eddie
3583 days ago
hey people, im in the sights. interview me man! haha
Proptronics
3583 days ago
Well, seriously, what are the Sights all about? I’ve never heard of them.
garage66
3582 days ago
Sounds like typical Ben to me,never a straight answer,but he actually has a vast knowledge more so than a whole lot of kids his age that I would rather hear about.Yeh ,the clever part is that he didn’t get an interview-if he had answered the questions honestly,you would all think he was a rich kid Detroit wannabe.
Proptronics
3580 days ago
Scotty, thanks! I just picked up the new Mooney Suzuki. Have you heard it? It’s alright, maybe I’m just getting tired of hearing that same sound. It seems like half the cds I’ve been listening to lately come out of Ghetto Recorders with Jim Diamond working on it. It’s all good stuff but the sound is getting too similar.
madness
3580 days ago
I agree with ya on that cd, Prop, along with the whole garage revival scene. But ya just gotta see The Mooney Suzuki live!
Proptronics
3580 days ago
Oh yeah, that’s how I first heard of them. They opened up for the Donnas last year and blew me away. In fact, they made the Donnas seem a little boring.
mike
3555 days ago
i went to school with ben. notre dame in harper woods michigan. he was a prick then and a prick now. the only reason he is getting any attention is cause he jack white’s nephew and no iam not bullshitting
Legendary DRH
3536 days ago
He’s a rather negative fella, isnt he. cheer up you misery, you’ve had your one chance in europe and we wont be having you back. gimme Built To Spill anyday
jeroen
3535 days ago
oh yes we WILL have them back. the dirtbombs rocked belgium.
john rogers
3490 days ago
thanks god for the dirtbombs. along with bands like the hives, the parkinsons, the flaming lips etc.. they’re giving me something to get excited about again afetr the dire state of guitar music at the end of the 90′s. great interview, keep em coming.
megan
3158 days ago
I think y’all are crazy, this interview was great! Amusing, informative (as to Ben’s sense of humor) and above all else, not identical to every article out there.