NEGATIVLAND INTERVIEW - JULY 5, 1990

On July 5, 1990, I was extraordinarily fortunate to not only see Negativland at The Knitting Factory in New York City, but to interview a number of their members after the show. It was more of an ongoing conversation than an interview, with Mark Hosler dancing around the room with various noisemakers. You simply could not get more Negativland than this. We talked about all kinds of things from why there's no "e" in Negativland" to the fake press release the band issued and how their record company handled that. We discussed the various talents and quirks of members of the band (how Don collects audio and Weatherman never tours) and shared stories about radio, which it turned out we all had a great passion for. In fact, members of Negativland had been involved for years with a show called "Over the Edge" on KPFA in Berkeley, California. I filled them in on some of what the hacker world was up to and we theorized about where "Twin Peaks" was after its first season. We literally talked until the venue threw us all out. One of the best interviews I've been a part of and some of the most interesting people I'd ever met.