Secret Agent: ...experiencing technical difficulties... but we're hanging out with the guys, and...

[Ten seconds of complete silence.]

Jai Young [feebly]: Hello?

Matt [quietly]: Hey. Hi there. WHOA! Hey!! What the hell are you doing?

[Another minute of technical difficulties.]

SA: Job, from San Francisco, down with us this evening. So who's in the band? Who's here tonight?

Mark: Mark Schifferli on... the instruments that the other guys play.

Matt: Um, then there's me... on the instruments that none of us play.

JY: And then there's me on... guitar and keyboards.

SA: So we got me, me, and me. Down with us tonight. How long have you guys been around?

Matt: Well, about 27, 28 years. As a band we've been together though about like three...

Mark: Three years, yeah.

Matt: Three years I think is the right number.

SA: How did you meet up with individuals who wanted to do something different, something...? You know, you guys aren't the standard, uh, San Francisco-type band...

JY: Yeah, we met through the personals. This is Jai Young talking, by the way. And was it... "Women Seeking Guitarist"? Or...?

Matt: Something like that, yeah. [Pauses.] I'd also like to make clear that I'm from Oakland. [Mark cracks up.] Just to stake a little Oakland pride...

JY: That's Matt Lebofsky talking.

Matt: Yeah, that's me... So, I mean, we are a San Francisco band just because two-thirds of us do live in San Francisco. Not just live in San Francisco, but right by the rehearsal space where we all practice, so... I'm sort of the odd man out, but whatever.

Mark: Yeah, as if that's all in fleh [unintelligible].

SA [somewhat dryly]: Well, that just adds character to the band... to have somebody to commute over. Uh, you guys played any shows lately?

Matt: Well... uh... Uh, actually, I shouldn't field this question because I wasn't... We did play a show, but as a hemi-Job, not as a complete Job. I [don't] think I should field this question.

Mark: Basically Matt had to go on tour with his other band, Mumble & Peg... which is a very good band and you should all buy their CD.

Matt: Thanks.

Mark: But yeah, we had a show, and since Matt couldn't make it, we invited another unnamed guest to play with us, and it was a very rewarding experience, hopefully for everyone involved, except for... perhaps a bit too much feedback on my part... But I really enjoyed it, so... Jai Young, do you have anything you want to add?

JY: Yeah, his name's Trey and he's one of the most brilliant musicians of the 20th century. He plays in a band called Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs Trio, uh...

Matt: Nottinghead Turd?

JY: Yeah...

Mark: Faxed Head.

JY: Faxed Head. And... Scourge.

Matt: Yeah, I was kind of bummed I couldn't make that show...

SA: Yeah, but sounds like everybody else was pretty psyched that you weren't there.

Mark: We were SMOKIN' !!!

Matt: Meanwhile I was playing in Eugene to nobody.

SA: Again, you know, it's one of those character-building experiences. So, any shows coming up? Where can people come and check you out live?

Mark: Much as we would love to plug a show coming up, we don't have any scheduled right now, so...

Matt: It's a bad season, the holiday season and all, you know.

Mark: Yeah, so... If anyone has any gigs they'd like to book us for, please give us a call.

SA: Yeah, how can people get in touch with you if they wanna?

JY: Let's see, we could do it through the Web page for our... There's this record company that put out a CD for us, and their name is Feast or Famine, and... I think they're on the Web at like www.feastorfamine.com - like no spaces...

SA: That's right.

JY: And there's a link to some Job home page and you can look at that and check out, you know... God, all this Web shit. Can you say "shit" on the radio?

Matt: No.

Mark: You just did.

Matt: Nice!

[Everybody laughs.]

SA: That's it. Forget it. We're not talking to you guys any more. So tell us about this CD. How did you guys get hooked up with Feast or Famine?

Matt: Well, I don't know, it was kinda weird, because we did a couple tapes for them already. They kinda just distribute like noise stuff around the Bay Area, and they were totally... Well, I was working on a third tape... like we took turns, like... Jai Young worked on the first tape, Mark worked on the second, and me, Matt, I started working on the third, and what we planned to put as a third cassette, I think they really liked as... You know, since there was like forty minutes of music, they figured, "Hey, let's just put forth the extra like 800 bucks to print it as 1,000 CDs, so... They were, you know, they were really into it. So... And yeah, I think they're happy with it. I mean, we haven't gotten wide distribution yet, but pretty soon...

Mark: You can find the CD at Amoeba Records in Berkeley.

Matt: All the usual local music holders in the San Francisco city area should have it as well.

JY: But yeah, for now I think you can just order it straight from the label, just... I mean, everyone's got a computer now - right?

SA [humoring Jai Young]: That's right.

[Everybody cracks up.]

Matt [to Jai Young]: That's such a bogus thing to say!

SA: Um, so we already know that Matt's in another band. Anybody else have any side projects going on?

JY: Um, okay, this is Jai Young, and I have a few other identities. I'm also known as DJ Space Loop and I do like some, you know, "techno" -- kind of, just isolationist, fucked up... Actually whatever I wanna do...

[Everybody cracks up.]

JY: Oh, sorry.

Mark: Jeez! Watch the language! Gosh! Dang! Gee willickers, man!

JY: I do a one-man project, I guess you could call it noise, but... It's called Vegetarian, and it's totally, like, self-indulgent. Uh, let's see, what else. I just played on a recording that's produced by Ron K. of the San Franisco [thrash-jazz] band Fracture and Radical House Records and... The record's actually coming out on John Zorn's label Tzadik, and it's gonna be called Bible Launcher II, and it's really good like hesher dub, metal, something... And uh, let's see, what else...

SA: Hesher dub metal?

JY: ...and I play in a band called Flywheel. And that's more like classic rock. Mark?

Mark: And I'm in a... I play in the San Francisco improv scene, which is a word that Matt and Jai Young both do not like to use...

Matt: "Improv," not "San Francisco."

Mark: Yeah... Well, Matt doesn't like San Francisco. But he's from Oakland. I play in the Myles Boisen Guitar Trio, which has a gig coming up in December, so you can look for that in the free weeklies in the Bay Area, and that's an experimental guitar thing, it's... I like it. Also there's a Myles Boisen Guitar Orchestra which I play in, and that's gonna have a show in, I think February. Then there's a quintent that's going by the name of Anxious Taper Hogs that is two guitarists, me, and two saxophonists, and that's another improv, kind of free jazz thing. And we've got a gig coming up at the Luggage Store in San Francisco, November 21st, the Monday before Thanksgiving. So if you're not buying a turkey, please come out and check us out.

Matt [reading hand signs]: Oh... Uh... Jai Young insisted that I add my other projects...

Mark: Well, I've got a project that's...

Matt: Oh, oh, oh! Mark, oh, I'm sorry. Here I am, leeching... Oh, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leech off Mark's...

SA: Cutting in on someone else's...

Mark: The Apes of God.

Matt: Oh! The Apes of God, of course!

Mark: Yeah.

Matt: They rock, by the way...

JY: It's Mike Jacobs' favorite band...

Mark: Yeah, exactly. The Apes of God, uh...

JY: ...next to Slint.

[Matt cracks up.]

Mark: And the Apes of God basically... we are four musicians backing up Gilbert Marhoefer, a local poet. The musicians include John Hanes, who used to play with Romeo Void and also the Stench Brothers, I think...

JY: Engorged with Blood...

Mark: And he leads Engorged with Blood, which is a local rawk band. Jason Gibbs, who is a local composer, and Myles Boisen again, who was with the Splatter Trio and stuff like that.

Matt [after long pause, to Mark]: Are you done?

[Hootin' and hollerin'.]

Mark: "Thank you!"

Matt: I just want to mention that, even though we don't have any shows coming up, you can probably catch us, if you look at the free weeklies, as Mark and Jai Young say... Oh yeah...

SA: You guys just had an article come out today...

Matt [completely talking through Secret Agent]: ...there's a noise fold-out or something like that, which Jai Young...

SA: I heard that came out today...

Matt: Uh, no. Anyway, you should look for us in there, and you can garner more information about us. Anyway, we might like frequent the improv special places, like Beanbender's in Berkeley, or maybe we'll eventually play Venue 9... I don't know. But something like that.

SA: But you're gonna play at an "improv" place?

Matt: Hmm?

SA: You're gonna play at an "improv" place?

Matt: Yeah...

SA: If two-thirds of you are against the use of the word "improv," how can you justify...

JY: Well, we'll take any gig we can get. We're really just desperate whores.

Matt: We've played the Stork Club twice...

Mark: We're willing to play jazz-fusion if necessary.

[Matt continues to babble.]

SA: "WILL PLAY JAZZ FUSION FOR MONEY."

Matt [still quacking]: ...so look for us there MAYBE.

JY: Okay, and there's one more thing I do wanna plug - Job isn't involved in it, but... [sarcastically] You know we are considered part of the "San Francisco noise scene"... And one very stable pillar in that scene is Scot Jenerik, and he's... They're having a benefit for 23Five Incorporated. And that's coming up on November 8th, and that's gonna be at the Lab in SF at 2498 16th Street, and... Actually, you'll probably find me behind the board, 'cause I'm gonna be doing live sound for that. So, uh...

Mark: What time is that show?

JY: Uh, November... 8th? It's this Saturday. And it's gonna have people like Thomas Dimuzio, Kal Seemen, Kurt Weitzmann, Misty Neal, Larnie Fox, Craig Baldwin's gonna do some visual stuff... and Scott Arford is gonna be doing some visuals... And, yeah... whole bunch of other people, I don't remember them right now.

Matt: I think that's about it, actually.

SA: That's quite a list! You guys have obviously a lot of varied influences and backgrounds. Anything, I mean, it kinda shows in your music... I... think... too... There's all kinds of stuff in there, all over the place. You guys have anything in particular, influences or things you draw from?

Matt [proudly]: We're all really big fans of Yes. Actually, I'm just kidding.

Mark: No, you're not. Own it, baby! Own it!

Matt: Okay, I'll own it.

JY: Relayer, Close to the Edge...

Matt: Relayer ROCKS!

Mark: King Crimson...

Matt [about Relayer]: It's the best album ever created.

Mark: I... you know... Uh... Close to the Edge.

Matt: Yeah, Close to the Edge is a very close second. Many nights in high school, I would listen to Relayer ALL the way through, like five days in a row. It was great.

JY: And aside from that, like our three tastes pretty much diverge completely...

Matt: Yeah.

JY: ...I think my favorite bands are like these kinds of... like... I don't know, like droning "post-rock" bands, like Fushitsusha and Main and...

Mark: Was there not a cuss word in there?

JY: Yeah, a Japanese cuss word.

SA: No, that's... You know, I mean, it's a name... It's like news reporting.

Matt: I guess my influences sort of range from... Yeah, I have a lot of influences... a lot of overlap between Mark and Jai Young, but I guess I'm sort of a fan of... I can't give up those prog-rock leanings that I have had...

Mark: No you can't!

Matt: ...I can't. And Mark constantly gets on my case becasue of that. But that's totally fair, because I really gotta stop like this blind faith worship of prog-rock bands that everybody seems to have...

[While Matt is talking, Mark is doing a human beatbox version of a Matt Lebofsky 13/8 riff, which all others interpret as a drum'n'bass breakbeat.]

Matt: ...Oh! We all kinda like Squarepusher, too. I think that's what Mark's sort of alluding to there with his amazing vocal technique... But, yeah... you can find me listening to lots of... really bad music at any given time, so... That's all I have to say.

Mark: I... and I've probably listened to more jazz than the other two... That would be my big thing.

Matt: Yes...

JY: Bullshit.

[Everybody spazzes out.]

Mark: Jai YOUNG!!! JEEZ LOUIZE!!!!!!! Man!! Gosh.

Matt: Uh, man... The red button is getting a workout to-night!

SA: That's right.

Mark: Anyway. Uh, yeah, more free jazz, and uh... You know, I don't wanna go into the name thing because I don't consider myself an authority on any of the bands that I like to listen to occasionally. So... the vague free jazz, modern classical stuff, and every now and then some contemporary pop, or... I don't know what else...

Matt: Thomas Dolby.

SA: Well, we wanna thank you guys for coming down. Appreciate it. It was great. And hopefully we didn't butcher the sound too bad on our engineering... on my part... So... but I do wanna thank Chris and Bob, our engineers, for helpin' us out tonight, and... [Applause.] A great job. So thanks a lot. And be sure to check out Job's new CD, out on Feast or Famine. Check 'em out on the Web.

JY: It's called Party at Ilan's, by the way, named after a good friend of ours.

SA: Yeah... www.feastorfamine.com... Check 'em out. We're gonna go out with a track off the CD, and uh... Number 9, which is, "Balactic Goes to War." So...

JY: "Baltic."