Interview with Tom Shear was done in 2005.
:: Please introduce yourself for our readers. Where are you from? How old are you? How important A23 to you and what does it mean to you?
I'm Tom Shear, I'm 33 years old and I live in Seattle, WA. A23 is very important to me and has been for something like 13 years now. I'd say really that just music in general is really important to me. It's not only a lot of fun to do, but it's a really valuable way to blow off steam and deal with the negative aspects of my life.
:: Do you have any musical education?
No, I'm self-taught.
:: Frankly, I was surprised when I have found that A23 is American band and you are from Seattle. A23 does not sound like an American music... I have a small experience of living in the States, and, in fact, it tells me that electro/ ebm/ industrial music is not really popular on American shores... or at least it wasn't popular 6-7 years ago. Am I wrong? Is there any demand for your music in USA?
We sell almost exactly the same amount of albums in the US as we do in Europe, actually. But the EBM thing is very popular here and has been for many years... Longer ago, like in the early 90's, American audiences seemed to gravitate more to the guitar-based coldwave/induistrial rock stuff, but the popularity of that stuff kind of dried up and electro/ebm/industrial is very popular here now. Nothing like it was back in the old Wax Trax days, but popular nonetheless.
:: I'm surprised. I lived in the Sates in Vermont and Louisiana for a year and it was hard time for me - I couldn't find any good music at all. It was really hard to find even popular music like techno or house; I'm not talking about metal or industrial. At the same time NIN was everywhere :) So, may be I was in bad place at the bad time? Is there any difference in musical tastes among states or even cities?
It's definitely true that it can be hard to find these releases in retail stores, but hell, I grew up in New Hampshire and managed to find a cool record store that carried all the old Wax Trax stuff, Coil, early Human League, Fad Gadget, etc., so they exist. This just isn't a very popular style of music, so obviously it is going to be a bit tougher to come by than, say, a U2 album. But with all of the online retailers (including the Assemblage 23 Online Store run off my site), iTunes, and other options these days, there are plenty of other options aside from just your local record store. Different cities have some variations on the styles they favor... some cities might be more geared towards noisy stuff, while others might be harsh electro, while still another might be more towards synth-pop stuff. But you hear a lot of the same sort of club 'staples' no matter here you go.
:: I've heard that the last A23' CD was in Top 5 and even #1 in various European alternative charts. What do you think about your last release? Was you surprised by its popularity?
I am always very grateful when people like my stuff. I felt very good about this album and it's singles (which are done like mini-albums) when I finished it... A lot of work went into this album and it was nice to be finished and to be able to step back and look at the big picture.
:: Unlike many bands that play hard dance music A23 has very romantic or even sentimental lyrics... no death, violence and war... I really touched by songs like 'Let me be your Armor' or 'Let the Wind Erase Me'. How personal your lyrics? Do you consider yourself a romantic person?
My lyrics are very personal and basically just come out of my day to day life. I think there is an optimistic bent to a lot of the lyrics, but I am not sure I would say they are romantic. "Let Me Be Your Armor" most especially is NOT romantic... listen to the final verse's lyrics... the song is about control and domineering in a relationship.
:: Yeh, I agree that it's in some way about domination. But... Here in Belarus, Russia and many other states with Slavic population women are extremely different from American ones. We all are really conservative. Feministic ideas are popular only in cities among really small and in most cases 'screwed-up' circles of people, so majority of Slavic women is looking for a man who could save them from cruelties of surrounding world even if they would pay for that with their career or 'freedom'... I mean 'normal' women are looking for a good family not for a rights or careers. In villages people used to say that if a husband beats you it means he loves you :) Well, it was pretty long time ago, but still we are not into all that Court-TV madness when children suit their parents and wives suite their husbands at any reason. So, for this part of the world "Let Me Be Your Armor" is pretty romantic still :) What do you think about feminism? Do you consider yourself a romantic person?
I'm not as romantic as I used to be... Years of screwed up relationships will cure you of romanticism fairly quickly. But I am, I think, a very generous and thoughtful person when it comes to relationships... at least I am now. As for feminism... there are bits of it I agree with, and bits I don't. For example, I think it is inexcusable for a man to beat a woman. I think it's terrible that an equally qualified woman might get paid less than a man in the same position. But, I also think that its a myth to pretend men and women are equal on all levels. Some things men are just naturally better at, and some things women excel at. And these different strengths and weaknesses are not really a case of being 'equal'... it's just that men and women excel at different things. We are physically very different... we think differently... we have different 'drives' within us. The longer we deny these differences, the longer it will take before men and women can coexist on more equal footing.
:: It seems you like to release MCDs. Is it good for promotion and marketing, or there is another 'non-commercial' reason?
MCDs really serve no other purpose outside of promotion. Single sales are down all throughout the music industry, and since industrial styled stuff doesn't sell much in the first place, there are very few singles sales for this kind of music any more. However, I tried to make the singles for Let the Wind Erase Me and Ground something more than just a single, so that people might enjoy it as a release in its own right. So we put two unreleased songs on each on, and instead of just having remixes, recorded entirely different versions of the title song.
:: Lets come back to your lyrics. I read texts and I notice that even if I'm not a native English speaker I enjoy some of them a lot. Your lyrics are pretty different from regular ones among bands of the scene. Do you consider yourself a poet?
Not really... Most people I have met who refer to themselves as poets are pretentious idiots, so I am not sure I really want to be associated with that crowd. haha But poetry is of course an influence on my writing... I am glad if people see them as being more than simply lyrics, but I am only trying to write the best lyrics I can... I don't have any illusions about them being anything more significant than that.
:: There is a belief, that a creative person, a musician, a poet, needs to suffer. Great works are maid in pains and happy people can't make real Art. Do you agree with this belief? What tells your personal experience?
I don't know that suffering is absolutely necessary to create great art, but I do think it can help. If for no other reason, it puts an emotional focus on your work, and that focus can really give someone something they can personally relate to. I think great art, in whatever form, is something that creates an emotional response in the viewer/listener/reader.
:: What do you consider you main achievements as ASSEMBLAGE 23 so far? Do you have any regrets?
Frankly, I don't really think of A23 in terms of achievements. I am really happy and honored that I've managed to get as far as I have doing what I love, and that is something I never expected to achieve. But I also know it won't last forever, so I just try to enjoy it while I can. As for regrets... I don't really have any. Many times, the bad experiences teach you far more valuable lessons than the good ones.
:: I know that you are working as a producer as well. How different producing from a being a musician? What is harder for you?
Actually, it is a lot easier for me. For one thing, there really isn't any writing involved, so that alone takes off a lot of pressure. Plus, you don't have the preconceived ideas you might have about your own music to start with... it's someone else's creation. So in many ways, producing stuff is kind of relaxing for me.
:: Actually, I would like to ask you about 'producing'. As I understand it, a producer tells people what they should do if they want to sell their music well. So, this guy just tells to a band what should be changed in music, image, texts and so on. In the end the final music is pretty different from 'original' work of musicians. It's 'improved' for sales. Am I right? Does this mean that the real Art, an authentic self-expression does not need any producers?
Hmm... not really. Production is generally meant just to help a band focus their sound and to make the record sound the best it possibly can. When you are an artist, it can sometimes be difficult to listen to your own material objectively and to know what areas you need to focus on to make your music stronger. So a producer acts as an outside pair of ears who can help the band steer in the (hopefully) right direction, provide advice, etc. . So the band has created everything themselves, you're just trying to help them make that creation the best it can be.
Sure, you hope that something you produce will sell well and help out the band, but the focus is really more on making an album sound good. So in my case, this means applying effects, possibly rearranging the structure of the song so it flows better, replacing sounds, doing a little programming here and there, and mixing the end result.
:: I recall one of your albums has an acoustic version of Ground, and I should admit that I like it a lot. You could write a really interesting 'un-plugged' album. How much technology influences you music? How much quality of your music depends on progression of equipment? Does it influence your creativity somehow?
Of course new technology and equipment can help you put out a slicker-sounding CD, but it doesn't replace what I feel are the basics of a good album. It's not going to write a great song for you... It's not going to write a lyric that will connect with a listener... It's not going to have soul on its own. So for me, the technology is just a means to an end. I think most A23 songs could be played on a guitar or piano and they'd work just the same. But I like the flexibility the electronics afford, and computer based sequencing and recording have undoubtedly made me a lot more efficient than I had been in the past.
:: Do you write your songs for pleasure of your listeners or you would like to influence them with your music? Change things? Lead them? Or you do not care about your listeners at all - your music is made for you only?
I wouldn't say that I don't care about my listeners at all, but at the same time, they are not the motivation behind how or why I write a song. I appreciate each and every one of my fans because they make it possible for me to make a living at this, but at the same time, I also know that no matter what you do, some people will like it, and others won't. You're always damned if you do, damned if you don't. So, knowing that you can't possibly make everyone happy, I think it is most important to make yourself happy. If I can finish and album and go back to listen to it and feel proud of what I've done, that is ultimately the most important thing. Having other people like it is just a bonus!
:: Today I was listening to a new album of NIN and it has shocked me. It sounds like the guy was made to record songs... I guess it's the typical story inside show-biz - you have a contract, so you just has to write music. What about you? Do you feel a pressure from labels, musical bosses and so on? What makes you to write new albums?
Both Accession and Metropolis treat me very well and are very cool about being 'hands off' when it comes to my music... they really give their artists free reign to do what they want to do. I am sure if I suddenly turned A23 into a reggae band, they might protest, but generally they are great labels to be with from an artistic standpoint. Really, there is very little pressure from the labels themselves. In fact, I would say I put a lot more pressure on myself than they do.
:: What kind of music do you listen for your own pleasure?
Really a little bit of everything. I don't really listen to EBM/industrial stuff anymore. But I listen to a lot of different styles of electronic music from drum n' bass to trip hop to progressive house to IDM.
:: It's common belief that a creative person (a musician, a poet, a painter) very sensitive to surrounding world and this sort of people feels a pressure from materialistic reality. The world we are living in is very cruel, your gift (music- and lyrics-writing) helps you to survive in it, or it's more like a damnation and you feel that 'ordinary' people live better/ easier than you?
Actually, I feel very lucky to have a creative outlet like music. I think a lot of people are forced to carry their frustrations, anger, or sadness around inside them, but I am lucky enough to be able to sort of exorcise those demons by writing music.
:: I continue my previous question. You write music, you write lyrics... I guess, sometimes they are pretty personal and through your songs you share those personal moments and even pains with totally alien people. Is it hard for you? Do you somehow censor yourself from exposing too much?
I do tend to use metaphors quite a bit, but this is less out of wanting to 'hide' something from the listener than it is just wanting to say something in a more interesting way. But really, it's not hard at all. I think most human beings have share a lot of the same experiences, so I don't feel like I am necessarily exposing anything that others haven't been through themselves.
:: How do you see an ultimate A23 album?
I will probably never achieve the 'ultimate' A23 album. I think what drives a lot of artists is trying to achieve some standard of perfection they have in their heads, but that is probably not attainable. So with each album, I get a little closer to being totally satisfied, but the more I learn, the higher that standard becomes, so it's always sort of just out of reach. If I ever come to that point where I've recorded an entire album that I am totally happy with, I'd probably stop doing music. After all, if there is nothing left to learn or strive for, what is the point?
:: My final question would be a bit tricky: let's imagine that world is about to end and you may choose only 5 albums that would be saved for future generations. You may choose any albums you value most - industrial, pop, classical, etc. What would you save for our grandchildren?
Ugh, I hate these kinds of questions because I can never narrow it down to just 5! I'll give it a try, though. In no particular order: 1.) Black Celebration by Depeche Mode, 2.) London Calling by THE CLASH, 3.) Security by Peter Gabriel, 4.) Dummy by PORTISHEAD, 5.) Computerworld by KRAFTWERK.
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