Chords for B-52's - Interview Toronto 1979 - 1992

I'm curious about your music.
In that way that, you know, like_ _ _
[Gb] _ _ [C] What do you mean about doing it?
You mean about performing for people?
Yeah, about doing our own [Ab] stuff.
_ _ And how do you write your songs?
We all write.
We all [Abm] contribute.
I mean, do you all like sit around together and_
It's sort of a jam session.
Yeah, [Gb] big jam, 79.
[F] _
_ [Eb] Yeah, have you always been into music?
I mean, were you like, you know, kids that went to piano lessons and stuff?
I _ _ [G] played the radio.
[Db] We played, yeah, we all played the radio.
What does your_
[Gb] _
_ _ What does your mother think about this?
I mean, didn't she expect you to turn into a classical pianist?
I mean, you're_
No, no, she didn't [B]
expect anything.
She's real glad.
She's going to the record [F] store and [B] _ _ _ calling the stations.
I know, it's not funny.
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
[Eb] _ [A] I'm so sorry the radio station didn't [Eb] make sure the records were to have it.
[Gb] Because they really like it or they really love it? _ _ _ _
_ [A] Yeah, _ [Gb] they _ _
[Eb] _ _ [B] love _ _ _ [A] _
you.
[Ebm] _ _ [Gb] It _ [Eb] _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [Eb] _ [F] all began in 1977 in Athens, Georgia.
We were just hanging out in Athens, you know.
[Ab] One night we decided to, well, there's nothing to do.
Let's go to a [B] Chinese restaurant where they have [C] these wonderful volcano drinks.
[E] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ After that, we were inspired.
_ [Db] So, from then on, that's when we started rehearsing and come up with these_
Our first song, [Gb] I think, was Killer Bees, which never got recorded.
But it [N] got things moving. _ _
I had a couple of parties, but there was really no clubs in Athens.
So, friends of ours in Atlanta, in a group called The Fans, went to Max's Kansas City.
So, we said, we'll go along with you and bring a tape.
So, we brought a tape and Max's said, sure, come on up.
So, we went up in December of 77, did our set for 17 people.
It was about 30 minutes long.
After that, we thought, well, this is it.
We did it.
We played Max's.
So, we can go home now.
And then Danny said, wait, let me see if they want you to come back.
We were already in our station wagon.
And I said, sure, come on back.
And so, we did.
Then, [A] back in Athens, Danny Beard decided to put out_
Offered to put out our first independent single, which was Rock Lobster.
So, he was stuffing [Bb] the record by hand and sending it out [Ab] and going to New York.
[A] And we started coming up to New York and playing clubs, like the Mud Club and Haraz.
And [E] one night at Haraz, we started noticing the lines, [F] and longer and longer,
as we looked out the window, and [Ab] we realized, we've [Dbm] made it!
The line is all the [B] way around the block, and then we got a record contract.
And [F] then we made our first record, down [C] in the Bahamas.
And we toured for [E] about eight months.
We went to Australia, we went to Japan.
And [Ab] then we recorded our second album, which was Wild Planet.
_ [G] We recorded that with Rhett [Ab]
Davies.
_ _ [Eb] _ _ [Gb] _ [G] We went touring.
We went touring, that's what we did.
[Eb] We gave it a go.
Then we toured again.
[Abm] _ Whammy!
_ [Db] _ _
_ _ _ _ Didn't really think we were going to continue.
We didn't feel like there was any way we could, because he was so important to [F] the band.
So important.
[E] We made a conscious decision not to tour.
Yeah.
We decided no tour for this album.
_ [N] Or bouncing off the sound like that.
Although there was a lot of pressure to _ support the album.
I mean, generally, we just felt like we couldn't do it.
_ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ Except for Rob.
_ What came down.
The band helped.
[G] Going back, [Gb] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ we're really [Gb] proud of them.
One of the [Eb] things that has impressed me about the B-52s is [N] that
you care about animal rights, you care about persons with AIDS,
you care about the environment, and yet you've managed to escape.
_ You've still maintained a sense of optimism, and you still like to party.
We are a party band, but I've noticed too that [B] when_
You're a [F] political party band.
_ [Abm] I've noticed when I'm [G] at my lowest, _ [Gb] _ I get very aware of the suffering around me.
[G] _ You're very [Ab] happy, and then all of a sudden there's kind of a sadness. _
_ _ [F] You know, that kind of summarizes, I think, [Ebm] B-52s, what we're about.
We [Ab] like to have fun.
I think it's a birthright, everyone's birthright to have [F] fun and enjoy their life.
[Eb] But [Abm] you can't [Fm] ignore the things that are going on [E] around _ [Gb] you.
And to go out, you just have to get [G] involved.
I think that's something that we felt [N] we needed to do