AUTOarchives | AUTO6 | doug harrison

"Friday, February 13, 1998...this is an interview... Hello Ian. This is DOUG HARRISON. This is your interview.

Question one: begin by giving your life story so far, especially as it pertains to music...

I was born in a crossfire hurricane...actually I was born during a tornado. In a little town in Southern Ohio called Sciotoville in 1972. Moved to Virginia in 1980, where I now live. I started messing with the tape recorder and piano at the age of four. It was a portable reel-to-reel and most of those tapes still exist. At age 8 I picked up, then quickly put back down, the guitar, until age 13. That guitar I kept for nine years. It was the sole acoustic guitar on all my legendary songs such as "Like A Virgin," "Pink Houses," "Touch Me I'm Sick," and all the rest. That was in 92 and 93, at the time of my first experience with the four-track. That four-track recorded all those songs. All the tapes of a short-lived band called BUTT DRAGON, in which I played guitar and sang two songs PLUS some noize I recorded over the dismal, awful winter of 1993 and 1994. By then I was completely burned out on playing any kind of music, so I let that four-track go to FUNERAL GIRL. I didn't do anything musically for the next year, half of which I spent confined as a human guinea pig in a dungeonesque hospital, which is really another story in itself. I'll just say that it changed me in some way. It paid good money though and I could afford to get back into four-tracking. I made more noise until I again became burned out and let it go to another friend. That was six months ago. Since then I have been playing guitar."

"Question two: describe your latest release and how/where/when/with whom it was recorded...
It's called COMPANY VS SOLITUDE and I recorded it all on a laptop computer using the built-in condenser mic, with the exception of an acoustic guitar harmonics track, and guitar licks judiciously cut in, the tape is... noise. COMPANY VS SOLITUDE is a set of ideas quickly seized, acted upon and discarded... I guess you'd call that 'spontaneity.' It's a neat little tape..."

"Next question: are my releases distributed? How can people can acquire them?
People can get them directly from me by sending a trade or a few dollars."

"How actively do I trade tapes with other artists?
Sometimes, based on a review or article, I'll send a tape to someone asking for trade. And about 2 times out of 3 it will be reciprocated."

"Next question: do I perform my music live?
...I have performed a few songs live for a handful of people. I play for those who only... I play only for those who truly listen."

"What kind of recording setup do I have?
Well, right now I have just a microphone and a regular cassette deck, but I prefer a four-track with some kind of general purpose effects box for reverb, delay etc."

"What are my goals for my music?
...[long pause]... Ellipsis..."

"Do you approach writing songs differently than experimental pieces?
I generally approach songs and experimental pieces in an intuitive manner. The experiments are noise, made for the effect of sound, whereas with a song, I have something to say. The experiments, or noise, are made for the effect of sound. Whereas in a song I have something to say."

"When did I start writing my zine and when will there be another issue?
I thought my zine was pretensious, so I probably won't do another one, but who knows."

[Yawns.]

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