(Lizard McGee, various - Photography by Allan Foster. To see more of Allan's work, visit his flickr.)
I don't know what Samoan Gangster Rap sounds like but Lizard McGee does.
I'm not sure if paste is better than wax on a size 12 Windsor but Lizard knows with certainty.
And I've never had a hit single make the CD101 Top 101, let alone the #15 spot.
Lizard, however enjoyed that success in 2007 with "Used Kids" off Earwig's third LP, Center Of The Earth.
Earwig are one of the original Columbus indie acts who grabbed the attention of A&R reps and the ponytail mafia back in the nineties when C-Bus was being hyped as the next Seattle.
Above that though, they're a really kick-ass alt/indie power-pop trio who are about to release their long-awaited follow-up to 2007's Center Of The Earth.
If the early acoustic demos (available for free download at nightcusser.blogspot.com) are even the slightest indicator of the upcoming audio joy we're all going to experience from McGee and company in 2010, then recovery or not, fans of good music everywhere are going to have a much better year.
Recently, I sat down with Lizard [at our respective computers at different times] and chatted [emailed back and forth between the course of a month] about working weird jobs, the D.I.Y. ethic, the transparency boom and why a little mystery is never a bad thing.
Casey Bowers:
To me, this was the decade of transparency.
Technology and The Social Web blurred all the lines. Between fan & friend, artist & promoter, artist & distributor, blogger and journalist, etc.
As both a fan and artist, how do you see this impacting the landscape of the music business?
Lizard McGee:
The landscape has changed in the music business (and everywhere else). I’m very comfortable with and excited about the idea of being able to directly connect with your favorite artist/band or for Earwig fans to be able to connect directly with me. In all honesty, I do like my rock stars to be enigmatic. I like some mystery and magic. But, as a fan and as an artist, I also like the ability to reach out through the Internet and correspond with someone personally. It could be a college student in Seattle that has a hair-brained idea about booking my band, or the music buyer for an indie record store.
CB:
Is there room for both mystery and transparency in music right now? Is the concept of the rock star still viable?
LM:
To me, Rock Stars can be like super heroes.
I enjoy the larger than life aspect of many artists. I think that there are some artists that have toed that line well, direct connection with some mystery still. People like Trent Reznor and Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls). They’ve really used the new technology (Twitter for example) in a great way to help extend their persona and make new fans without losing what made them special in the first place. That can be tough.
CB:
I guess I keep thinking about it in terms of John Lennon's 'Gimme Some Truth.'
LM:
I do feel a bond to the values John Lennon puts forth in songs like 'Gimme Some Truth.'
I hear it as a call to action, a rallying cry against fake corporate/government bullshit. With the technology and music business today that translates into a desire to be real for people.
I can do that now, I can make myself available in real time. I want to reach a large group of people/fans, but I want to do so as a real person.
Not a cartoon. I want to know them and I hope that they want to know me/Earwig.
CB:
You're of course on Twitter (@earwigtheband). You blog (see above), you're finishing up recording the new album and you're tackling about everything else band-related by yourself.
Is that out of necessity or desire?
LM:
Early on, I was exposed to the D.I.Y. ethic. If you want something done, do it yourself. That basic idea has driven and informed all of the major decisions in my life from getting married and having kids to being in a band and starting a record label.Even before the technological wave of the new century and all of the changes in the music business that it necessitated, I was already doing everything myself and being completely transparent in the process. It just seemed the natural way to go, not having a publicist, or label to serve as a middle party to the things I needed to accomplish, I just found out how to do them and did them myself. With Earwig, I deal directly with everyone. Record pressing plants, fan-zines and major magazines, college and commercial radio, everything. Again, for better or worse, I end up wearing all of those hats.
CB:
Speaking of, you've worn a lot of interesting hats in your life to support the life of Earwig.
LM:
Yeah, I’ve never held a 9-5 day job for any length of time. I’m usually working on projects that I’ve created and then supporting that income with what interesting outside work I can find. By chance I was asked to manage the shoe-shine stand at the Columbus Airport and from there turned that into my own traveling shoe-shine business in the offices of downtown Columbus. I used the money I made from those stock brokers, business realtors and politicians to put myself through school, earning a degree in audio engineering. During this same time I was starting up Earwig and LFM records. Aside from my family, these two endeavors define who I am and what I do.
CB:
All these past jobs, ventures and adventures have no doubt influenced your songwriting, financed your recording/touring and overall, impacted your life significantly. Can you share a bit of that or give an example of working towards studio time, extending the tour, etc.?
LM:
Well, in 1999, I moved to California to be closer to the music industry hub and to work on developing my industry connections and make some damn money. I cold called a recording studio out of the phone book and luckily got a job. The studio was quaint to say the least. It was designed to look like a medieval dungeon, with dark décor, axes and swords hung on the walls and faux “castle bricks” protruding from a few corners and walls. The “castle bricks” were actually not made from real bricks and in places were broken off to reveal the painted Styrofoam. Cheesy. But the studio had a steady client base of Samoan gangster rappers and I made enough money to finance a wide release of Earwig’s 2nd album. I was making headway and after getting a few requests for shows, decided to organize a solo tour of the West Coast to promote the album. The only thing was that before the tour, I needed to come up with the extra cash to buy an acoustic guitar (the one I owned was VERY beat up). After a quick glance at the papers, I saw that the Winchester Mystery House was hiring tour guides. www.winchestermysteryhouse.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House
Being a long time fan of the paranormal, this was right up my alley. It was a blast to have a job at an actual haunted house and learn all about it’s history, séances, ghosts, secret passages and stairways that lead to nowhere. It also helped me buy the guitar and finance the West Coast tour.
CB:
Wow. That's a pretty amazing story.
I know it's too soon to talk about tour plans but will Earwig be playing a show in Columbus soon?
LM:
This Saturday, Feb 13 @ The Basement.
CB:
Thanks Lizard.
LM:
My pleasure.
Lizard McGee's Many Job Titles
Cab driver, Recording Studio Engineer, Construction Worker on a secret military base, Apprentice to a Master Stone Mason at a Civil War cemetery in Virginia, Tour Guide at a real haunted mansion (Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA), Certified EMT, Textbook Clerk at the college bookstore in Athens, OH. Airport Overnight Freight Delivery Loader, Carpenter at the Carpenter Inn in Carpenter, Ohio Recording Studio Co-Owner, Shoe-Shine Stand Manager (then owner) Industrial Cleaner.,Video Store Clerk, Home Security Systems Door to Door Salesman, Telemarketer, Waiter, Sound man for an Elvis impersonator
"But one of the weirdest jobs, and a job I still have, is working for the School of Osteopathic Medicine at O.U. as a Simulated Patient. I work in the training program for student doctors, feigning illnesses and various other scenarios that can involve anything from blindness to dementia (my favorite)."
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