You'd think he was pimping a new CD or something...
Q A With Wilco's Jeff Tweedy
Aidin Vaziri
Sunday, March 14, 1999
©1999 San Francisco Chronicle
URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/14/PK98714.DTL
It's the morning after the Grammy Awards, and Jeff Tweedy, the soft-spoken front man
for Wilco, is recovering in his Los Angeles hotel room. He is not exactly the type you
would expect to find frequenting industry affairs; last night was the exception. Wilco
was contending for the best contemporary folk album prize for its critically acclaimed
collaboration with Billy Bragg on last year's ``Mermaid Avenue,'' an interpretation of
lost Woody Guthrie songs. The prize went to Lucinda Williams, but Tweedy, 31, is still
marveling at the recognition. As a former member of the acclaimed roots-rock band
Uncle Tupelo, the singer-songwriter has been on the brink of success for so long he
almost forgot the potential was still there. Wilco's latest album, ``Summer Teeth,'' a
dark and emotional epic, may change all that. It is already being heralded in some
circles as a clincher for album of the year.
Q: Are you mad you didn't win the Grammy?
A: No. We were pretty much expecting to lose. The thought crossed my mind that it
would be pretty terrifying to make a speech. Whenever you're up for anything, part of
you wants to win, but we pretty much knew from the moment the category was announced
that Lucinda Williams was going to win.
Q: Pretend that you did win and you're at the podium right now. Let's hear your
speech.
A: No, thanks. I escaped that -- why would you make me do it?
Q: Just preparing you for next year when ``Summer Teeth'' sweeps. What prompted such a
vulnerable record?
A: I think lyrically, ``Being There'' was the same. Musically, we are very
self-confident, but I don't know many people that maintain a self-assured mind-set all
the time. They're just songs. I don't psychoanalyze them that much. Just because
they're first-person doesn't mean there's any grand scheme behind them. I guess it
takes a certain amount of self-assuredness to be vulnerable, but I don't know if that
was the goal.
Q: You illustrate a lot of your songs with violence. What would it take for you to
become violent in real life?
A: Probably someone in the service industry. Maybe if someone was trying to hurt my
son? I don't know. I don't like to think about violence, but just because I don't
think about it doesn't mean that it's not in me. I'm sure those lines are going to be
misunderstood. You can't expect anything that you write to be read in the right way,
but I don't think that should inhibit you. They're not really violent to me. They're
more about passion.
Q: Do you ever beat the other band members on the head with your guitar?
A: Not on purpose. Actually, we get along pretty well.
Q: Does this record accurately depict you as a downhearted person?
A: Ideally, the record starts in one place and ends somewhere more hopeful. I don't
think it has an overall mood. We just wanted to make a record that was interesting to
listen to from song to song. Maybe something you could listen to in its entirety. As
an overall feeling or mood to the record, I can't say. People either tell me it's
happier or really sad. I think it's good that it's open-ended.
Q: Is Wilco on the VH1 track of success, excess and tragedy?
A: Well, we have to get to the first one first. Maybe we did it the other way around.
I don't know. I barely know what you're talking about.
Q: Are you going to freak out if this album becomes successful?
A: The potential is always there. Every time you put out a record you have some high
hopes that it will do good, not necessarily sales-wise, but that it will be received
well. It's a pretty vague thing. I'm not any more apprehensive about success than I
would be failure. I don't know exactly what would define it for me. I feel satisfied
creatively. As long I have an outlet for creativity and to make records, that's about
all I could hope for. If it became some huge record, then that's just what I'll have
to deal with. That's just the next challenge. Maybe I've been in training. I've had
the experience. The carrot has been dangled in front of my face for a long time, not
just with Wilco but Uncle Tupelo. I'm used to it being there, and I'm used to it
disappearing.
Q: Are people still mad Uncle Tupelo broke up?
A: I don't know if they're mad. A lot of people ask if we're going to get back
together or if I'm still in contact with Jay Farrar. I'll say this, though. It's a lot
easier to deal with now than it was five years ago.
Q: Do you fall asleep when you listen to your former band mate's new group, Son Volt?
A: Only at their shows.
Q: Who do you think gets more girls?
A: That is the important question, and I don't really know. I'd have to say that we
do. We're a lot cuter and that's all that matters. Let's
