The Detroit music scene continues to be a major contributor to up and coming music. Thanks to Computer Perfection, from nearby Ferndale, the scene is thriving. What started out as a side project of Pas/Cal members has turned into a full time push with its debut, We Wish You Well on Your Way to Hell, released on the great label Le Grand Magistery. It’s a potpourri of 60s and techno blips that’s making top ten lists around the world. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with the band, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
How did the name of the band come about?
BEM: Who knows... it's probably a pretty interesting story, but I don't know.
BURGUNDY: To me our moniker is kind of like Led Zeppelin: us taking the piss out of ourselves. Our ramshackle, jerry-rigged songs are about as far from "computer perfection'' as one can get.
MONIQUE: Because of the vast scope of our band members interdisciplinary scientific study - including but not limited to reproductive behavior of the ergot, predation or the California vole and bioenergetics and information architecture - we decided that we could behave and respond in opposition to our blemished and flawed passed experiences and catalog our collective perfection using punch cards from the first wave of the Univac Computer. We have since moved forward to using floppy disks.
GENE: It’s certainly not a commentary on the notion that everything in this life can (should?) be improved or affected with technology. We embrace the organic quality of our musicianship, the ebb and flow of whatever comes from our mouths, hands, feet… teaming it with synthesized or even perverted natural sounds. And then, I don’t know… there’s something so nice about not pressing out all the wrinkles, though we have the power to.
LTD: Pear Brandy.
What musical training do you have?
BEM: I played piano and violin in elementary school. I know how to do the acorn whistle. Aw let's face it... I can't play a damn thing.
BURGUNDY: Pretty completely self-taught, though I would love to have classical piano training. One day.
MONIQUE: Personally, I began my musical journey as a soprano for the St. Joseph Catholic Church Choir. I also played drums for the Detroit garage band, Gore Gore Girls.
GENE: I got high with a lot of dudes that read Guitar Player, Guitar World, Jam Rag and the like. My seminal learning; however, included hours spent with my parents’ record collection: Beatles, Zeppelin, John Denver, Stones, Jim Croce, Simon & Garfunkel. A lot of late 70s/early 80s country pop, too; owing to my time spent in central Kentucky.
LTD: All kinds, from taking private lessons to teaching private lessons. I've learned from church music directors, marching band camps, jazz ensembles and my grandfather's record collection. The best training I have received though has come from a dragon. It is because he has always taught with love.
What is your full time job?
BEM: I stare at a computer and put together recipe magazines for national grocery store chains. Someone's gotta do it.
BURGUNDY: I live off the legendary Burgundy fortune.
MONIQUE: I am an artist, professional poker player and percussionist for the First Baptist Church of Hamtramck Choir.
GENE: I design buildings. Recently I worked on a pair of residential towers in Vegas, where I spent a year checking the locations of plumbing sleeves in concrete slabs. But I also wrote tons of lyrics at the same time, so who knows where those fricking toilets ended up.
LTD: I am currently working in the health and safety department of a nuclear power plant as an industrial hygiene consultant.
What comes first, the music or the lyrics when writing new material?
BEM: I believe a lot of the music came before the lyrics, but that don't mean nothin'.
BURGUNDY: Either can come first. I think we work pretty much the same way: a vat of lyrics slowly accrued over time is applied to a collection of music that has also slowly been fermenting in oak barrels.
MONIQUE: Depends on who writes the song. Burgie and Gene have done most of the writing so far. LTD wrote the bass line for "Domestic Amusement" based on his experience researching the effects of Toxic Black Mold in the work environment.
GENE: Yeah, exactly what Burgundy says. I usually have a set of lyrics with a melody in mind. When I try to mate them with a song or a structure, that’s where things always change. The music inevitably leads the words down a different path, twisting and bending them to its will. But in "Silence Is a Shadow’s Dream," the piano line hummed out syllables to me. So the refrain, "Summer’s gone and autumn’s come," arrived via automatic writing, really.
LTD: It is always the music considering I have not written a single word for any Computer Perfection song. That said, each song develops in a different manner and I don't think we have a process set in stone. Sometimes we start with a melody, sometimes a beat, sometimes a story.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
BEM: First and foremost I have to say my band mates inspire me. They are all really driven and super-creative while holding down full-time jobs. I think that is pretty awesome – sometimes. Musically, no one in particular, I am inspired when a song really "gets me." Now that I think of it...Lee Hazelwood, Dusty Springfield – I love older music, because it's so new to me. Ahhhhh.
BURGUNDY: Hard to pick one. It's a battle amongst David Byrne, Brian Eno, John Lennon, David Bowie & Prince.
MONIQUE: People say I look like Zoe Cassavetes.
GENE: I like Andrei Tarkovsky, John Lennon, Tolkien, Bem’s cooking.
LTD: Michelle Marie.
What is your band’s favorite live performance and why?
BURGUNDY: I really enjoyed playing the Cranbrook Student Lounge. It was a nice atmosphere & cool kids. I'd like to do more shows like that.
BEM: I would have to agree with Burgasta, I loved the Cranbrook show. Pretty unique experience for us. It was like performing on Happy Days or in the Dead Poets Society or something.
MONIQUE: The Crofoot with Her Space Holiday. I didn't make any mistakes that night. The crowd stood at the stage.
GENE: Ditto on The Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan. It was an enthusiastic group of kids – they got there early and camped on their spot on the floor. I remember doing the same at St. Andrew’s Hall when I first started going to shows… you didn’t care about getting drinks, sitting at the bar. You want your place close to the stage, and later you want a T-shirt. So they were into it from the first chord. It was fun… we were loud, they were louder. One guy came on stage and just took over on tambourine during "Sweetie Pie."
LTD: The next show is gonna be great.
What is one LP, CD, or song that every human being should hear? (Please give the artist as well.)
BEM: LP – I gotta sweet spot in my heart for Roger Miller's Greatest Hits. (Whatever. Sue me.) Song – "Your Sweet Love" by Lee Hazelwood (song gets me every time).
BURGUNDY: I want to pick something super obscure & make myself seem really cool, but I have to say something by The Beatles. Maybe the White Album? That's got a pretty good range, something for everyone. Or Roberto Cacciapaglia's Ann Steele album because it's criminally unknown. See, I am cool, after all!
MONIQUE: Music for Airports by Brian Eno would be number 2. I'll fill the number one slot with ELO's Out of the Blue. "Wild West Hero" made Paul McCartney jealous. What else do you need to know?
GENE: I can listen to "Too Many People," track one from Paul McCartney’s RAM, every day. It’s casually observational and perfectly weird.
LTD: "I am a Viking" by Yngvie Malmsteen.
If you could live anywhere (or during any time period) in the world, where/when would it be?
BEM: At the moment, I'm thinking Paris in the 40s. Ask me again tomorrow.
BURGUNDY: The final half-hour of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
MONIQUE: A crew member on the Apollo 8 December, 1968 when the photo, "Earthrise" was taken.
GENE: I’d live in Masha’s birch tree house from Ivan’s Childhood. But I’d be concerned about spiders.
LTD: That first day, I wouldn't know where I was, it would be the first day. Or tomorrow in Hamtramck.
Tell me about the last time you laughed out loud.
BEM: When LTD is the squid and Trevor is the dolphin. Do we have a YouTube link? Guys?
BURGUNDY: I laughed at Monique as she challenged me to a pizza-eating contest.
MONIQUE: When I beat Burgie in the pizza-eating contest.
GENE: Little Tommy was doing this likeness of a squid in the front yard. Kinda puckering up, moving quickly backwards and flailing his arms in a watery way. Then Trevor (Monique’s boyfriend, guitarist in Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship – another LTD musical endeavor) did his dolphin impression. LTD tried to do it too and threw his back out. They’re big on aquatic imitations I guess. I’m pretty sure the neighbors think I run some sort of shelter for the maladjusted.
LTD: You had to be there.
What is your stance on technology and music?
BEM: I love Cher's, do you "Believe" in love!
BURGUNDY: I'm the synth man, so I'm all for the integration of technology & music. Listen to Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene or Giorgio Moroder's E=MC² & tell me it isn't a fantastic marriage. The lovely thing is that cheap technology - computers, software, et cetera - has made recording an album possible for the likes of us. We never could have pulled it off otherwise.
MONIQUE: Floppy disks have enough storage space for me. I don't even like using a tuning pedal, but Gene makes me.
GENE: The fact that we sampled a Texas Instruments Speak & Math on two tracks just reminded me to revise to the spreadsheet we are assembling, tentatively titled "Non-Instruments and Methods for Musical Application." And if she doesn’t use the tuning pedal, all of our songs end up in a Hungarian minor scale.
LTD: Have you seen the Mandala 2.0?
When you tell others (who haven’t heard your music) about your music, how do you describe it? What type, genre, etc.?
BEM: Poppy, psych-y, rock-y, tchotch-y.
BURGUNDY: I always try to leave that up to others. Describing one's band tends to be terribly frustrating, I've discovered, so I just quote things I've read about us.
MONIQUE: MySpace has everything you need to know to answer this question.
GENE: It’s loud and quiet, brainy and brawny where it needs to be. References – I don’t even try.
LTD: I usually just say "you'd like it."
I’ve got to ask this, where did the CD title come from and to whom does it apply to?
BEM: I didn't vote for this title, but I think it’s fun to keep guessing what it applies to.
BURGUNDY: Not sure where it came from, but I've always kind of seen it as applying to the world. Perhaps it is a message to a world gone mad. You know, "Hell in a hand-basket."
MONIQUE: Ask Burgie. He's the angry one.
GENE: Well it was either that or "Did I Ever Tell You Guys 'Bout the Baby Squirrel I Found In My Yard?" Yes, that was part of the original ballot. I propose that we use it for a Computer Perfection Robert Palmer remix album.
LTD: I don't know who wrote it down first, but when I saw it I thought it was perfect. It is important to be polite. It's a very positive thing to say. People on their way to hell, like Angus and his brother.
In the process of conducting this exclusive interview, there were some personnel changes. As usual, Dagger wanted the latest up-to-date information. Here's what the new members had to say…
Who are the new band members?
Stevers McFever - bass, Moog synthesizer
Aaron Quillen - drums
What musical backgrounds do you have?
STEVERS: I've played in too many bands to remember, some best left forgotten. It's been good to get back to playing bass, which is my original instrument dating back to middle school. When I'm not playing with Computer Perfection, I'm singing and playing guitar in Scarlet Oaks.
AARON: I was raised on artists like Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys and The Monkees until I decided to take command over my own musical journey in late elementary school, which is also when I basically taught myself how to play drums. I also played alto and tenor saxophone in concert and marching band from 6th grade through my senior year in high school. I was in my first rock band in 7th grade and had been in various bands that didn't really go anywhere until I began to get heavily involved in the local Detroit scene with my old band Lone Wolf and Cub and my other current band Natural Monuments. I also moonlighted in Ghostly International's Deastro for about six months in 2008.
What changes have you made as a new member?
STEVERS: You'd have to ask the band. I think we're sounding good.
AARON: We haven't started working on new material yet since I've joined the band, so I'm not sure exactly what kind of effect my drumming and insight will have on that. I am a different sort of drummer than LTD, so as of now, I simply offer my own interpretation on the album songs that we perform live.
What are your Computer Perfection highlights so far?
STEVERS: Playing 3 shows in New York. This is a really easy band to be on the road with. Nobody is too crazy and they pack a lot of snacks. They also let me operate the smoke machine and strobe light on stage.
AARON: Playing the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale, MI, where I drank mead for the first time, was a complete blast. We just played a show at Detroit's Northern Lights Lounge with some buddy bands, and that was a great time as well.
First piece of music you purchased?
STEVERS: It was probably something by Weird Al. The first real piece was the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Greatest Hits. That still stands up. I still have the tape! Does anyone have a tape player I can play it on?
What is your full time job?
AARON: Before the company went out of business in July, I was working in Ann Arbor as an administrative assistant for a third party in the automotive industry that processed paper work between independent parts manufacturers and distributors and automotive companies. Now I spend my days collecting unemployment, looking for jobs, stressing, walking some friends' dog, reading, listening to music, playing rock 'n' roll and watching football on Sundays.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
AARON: There is quite a list: my brother, my friends, both Keith Moon and John Bonham, Radiohead, late 90s emo-y indie rock like Braid and The Dismemberment Plan, the local Detroit bands Zoos of Berlin and Javelins, Tolkien, Rowling and Peyton Manning.
What is one LP, CD or song that every human being should hear?
AARON: If you haven't heard Radiohead's OK Computer, you were born under a rock. It is the best. As for songs, Talking Heads' "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)" and Daft Punk's "Digital Love."
If you could live anywhere (or during any time period) in the world, where/when would it be?
AARON: I'll keep this realistic. In spite of the economy and due to all the relationships I have developed, I couldn't imagine living anywhere but somewhere in Michigan. Preferably somewhere in the southeast. I'm a college town guy, so I'd like to end up in Ann Arbor again, but this time for the long haul. They have the best record stores there.
Tell me about the last time you laughed out loud.
AARON: It was just a few minutes ago while I was watching a rerun of Degrassi: The Next Generation. That show is so awful it is hilarious and very entertaining.
What is your stance on technology and music?
AARON: I'm still trying to figure that out. I love purchasing, owning and collecting the physical object that is a CD or LP. But, the MP3 and the internet really make promoting and releasing music so much easier, for good and bad.
When you tell others (who haven't heard your music) about your music, how do you describe it?
AARON: I simply describe Computer Perfection as a spacey pop/rock band with a slight futuristic twist on our sound.
GENE: I just want to add a footnote... playing with Aaron and Stevers has been such a breeze. These guys are so solid. But more importantly they're funny and kooky - and fit right in. We feel so lucky to have them as the new backbone of the band, and can't wait to write the next record together. I'm thinking about an EP to accompany the new album. Sort of a Side 3 or an Apple Jam. Some of the demos are already on our MySpace.
Well I hoped you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. If you're in the Detroit area or lucky enough to catch them in your part of the world, be sure to check Computer Perfection out. From what I've heard, I know I will be looking forward to their next visit to Chicago. They also have a great blog (www.computerperfectionists.com) that will keep you posted on upcoming tours and their cool video of "Able Archer."
