Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/10148
LIVEMAGS.NET MAY>>10 25 Live: First, I want to say congrats on everything you and the band have accomplished. You've had a great career thus far. Your name sounds very exotic. Is that your birth name or is it a surname? Exene: "No, my real name is Christine Cervenka" Live: How did your early life and upbringing influence the way you approached making music? Exene: "Well, I listened to the radio a lot—in the 60's the radio was pretty interesting so I guess it did that way." Live: In addition to music you've also done spoken word and hosted a solo exhibition at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Do you separate your art and your music or is it one creative flow of ideas? Exene: "It is a little different. I've done a lot of art shows actually. The thing is, art is a little bit less emotional. It's more Zen like. You're just setting things together that you think go together—your mind can just kind of concentrate on that. When you're writing a song, you're dealing with raw emotions and feelings. It's a little heavier." Live: X as a band grew up in the underground music scene in L.A. and that was assembled into a movie called "The Unheard Music". Tell us a little bit about that project. Exene: "It was a long time ago when we made that movie, but I still like it. I think they did a good job. They harassed us for two or three years with cameras to get it, but I forgive them. It's more accurate than the decline as far as how X really was." Live: X is going to be playing at this year's "Ink n Iron Festival". As a punk band in the L.A. scene, were you automatically a part of the tattoo and car culture that accompanied it? Exene: "Actually we started it. I got my first tattoo in 1980 so we weren't really part of the tattoo/car culture because it wasn't really in existence yet." Live: X has 13 total albums including an "X-mas" album. For someone who might not be familiar with the music how would you describe your sound? Exene: "I wouldn't describe X's sound. I don't think it can be described. It's part of the punk scene when the punk scene was very eclectic and there were a lot of different types of band like The Plugs and the Germs and X, and the Blasters—we're all punk bands. So it's kind of routine American music mixed in with the Ramones kind of stuff I guess, but it's pretty singular." Live: In addition to X you also have a solo album out entitled "Somewhere Gone". What can you tell us about that album and how it was putting it together? Exene: "That one was interesting. I recorded it in Missouri when I was living there for a while. It's mostly love songs and there's a lot of strings and piano and really pretty vocals on it. It's a little different from the X stuff or the Knitters stuff to say the least. I did some solo records in the early 90's that were folk records so it's kind of a folk record like those two. If people are familiar with that, that's what it sounds like." Live: After a long time of not feeling 100% you were diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Tell us about the Sweet Relief Fund and why it's so important to you personally. Exene: "Sweet Relief is important to people because it helps people that don't have insurance or have medical bills they can't pay. It's a really good organization that X has been supporting for a really long time." Live: I noticed on your website that X has a facebook page, MySpace and twitter account. How do you think social networking affects musicians now and how is this different from when you started? Exene: "I don't know that I have a twitter account. If I do, it's news to me. The facebook is something that bloodshot (records) put up. I don't really manage or have anything to do with it. MySpace I go on because people can write to me and I've met some interesting people there. I think it gets the word out that you're coming to town and in that way it's good, but it just replaces the old ways of doing that, which was college radio and networking word of mouth. It's kind of the same thing. It's just a little bit more expanded out where more people can actually get the information. But I think what's done a really good job is being able to find music online because a lot of the record stores have gone under, so a lot of people get their music from ITunes and EBay and stuff like that and it's made us, in my experience, more well known." Live: You were recently at Las Vegas' Beauty Bar as part of your solo tour. Are there any upcoming events or shows we should know about? Exene: "Well I'm doing a tour of the West Coast of the United States right now, doing only independent record stores so I'm playing for free to anyone that wants to come see me for about 3 weeks. I'm in the middle of that right now, just about halfway through it. That's been a really big tour for me. Then we have the INK-N-IRON on June 12th at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Live: "Yeah, we're looking forward to that one." Exene: "Yeah, that's going to be awesome." Live: I just wanted to say congratulations again on everything. What can we look forward to from you in the near future? Exene: "Well, I'm going to have another record out this year, at the end of the year, and that's again going to be another folk record. I don't know what else is going to go on. The Knitters are playing some shows in the Midwest. We'll see what happens— what comes up during the rest of the year, but right now the main thing is the INK-N-IRON on June 12th."