Michael
W. Dean
nov 2003 -
email interview by SEB WOOd
Hello,
how are you ?? can you introduce yourself ??
I
am Michael W. Dean. I live in America but it's an accident of birth. I don't
have any alignment to any place. I live on the road when I'm not home preparing
for more travel and visiting my cat.
I
do a lot of stuff…art, music, film, write books, paint, and pet girls and a
few boys. I live in Los Angeles, though I'm writing this from Houston, Texas,
and I just returned from a tour of Europe with DIY or DIE. I'm here in Texas to
teach a filmmaking class.
DIY
or DIE was originally released on VHS and is now re-released on DVD. Correct me
if I’m wrong… What are the differences between the VHS and the DVD ??
DVD
has extra material, an hour of interviews and stuff that weren't on the VHS. It
has updated credits, and a nice cover. And we corrected an issue with the first
pressing of VHS (the ones with blank white covers) where there were a few visual
glitches in the movie.
All
totaled, between DVD and VHS, the film has sold about 5000 copies. I have no
idea how many people have burned a DVD, but I know they exist, I've seen them.
The
DVD also has an interview with Steve Albini which is not on the VHS, even though
some VHS sleeves mistakenly say there is. That's because I used the same
template and forgot. So to make amends to "da kids", I put the Albini
interview for free download on www.diyordie.org
in case anyone bought the VHS by
mistake for that single reason. I don't want anyone feeling ripped off because I
hate that feeling myself.
What
happened since the first release ?? Has the film been broadcast ??
Yes,
it's been shown on cable TV in a lot of cities in America. The dates and places
are all archived on the Website. (Well, the ones I know about.) I let pretty
much anyone show it free. And they contact me, I don't usually have to contact
them. This film has taken on a life of its own. I'm honored. That's very cool,
especially for a first film.
Touring
to show a film as you do is quite unconventional because unlike other
documentary filmmakers your tour is not passing by theatres but by places
epitomizing DIY spirit. Do you think directors will tour more the way you do ??
I
think we are pioneers. Me and Scott Beiben of the Lost Film Fest are, to my
knowledge, the first Americans touring Europe with our digital films. I think in
a year, due to us paving the way, and also because of my book, "$30 Film
School" which tells how to do it, I think a lot of people will be doing it.
There's another person doing one now too, the woman who made "Catching
Out."
But
it ain't no thang. I think if we hadn't, someone else would have. I think we
just jumped in and helped make it easy. In the same way that some of the
musicians in DIY or DIE made it easy for a punk band to tour by doing it
themselves back when it wasn't so easy.
I
think in two years, you're going to see more movies touring than bands. It will
be the new thing. Mark my whiny little words.
All
the people who hosted me on the European tour were amazed at how nice it was
compared to having a band to feed, house, etc. (And I'm more low maintenance
than a band. I'm mellow, smart, make good conversation, don't drink and even do
dishes!)
Michael
Moore did a promotional tour and took advantage of it to make The Big One. What
do you think of him ??
He
is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker. I love his spirit. Though I do think
that his movies, while coming from a great place, lack organization. I mean, in
"Columbine", I was TOTALLY on his side, but I lost track of what he
was trying to say. And making fun of Mister Moses at the end just seemed cheap.
Moore was just picking on a sick, confused old man. And it was also a weaker
ending point than some other places in the movie he could have ended with
instead. I think Moore needs to work more proactively with a better editor.
Also,
he pulls some cheap shots that utilize the exact heart-tugging devices that he
lambastes the mainstream media for. But overall, he rocks.
The
Big One is funny to me, because I thought about it several times on this trip.
This trip was a combination of the DIY or DIE movie, and me playing music, and
promo for my book. I did all three at most stops. And I kept thinking of Michael
Moore being driven in a van to speak to 500 college students and staying in
cheap hotels and he says stuff like, "This must be the most low-budget
promotional tour EVER." I thought about that several times while I was
talking about my book to 40 homeless squatters in Belgium, and literally running to spend my last money to catch a train, to go to France to
present it again and then sleep on the dusty floor in yet another freezing
squat.
And
I had the time of my life. And now I'm in a warm house in Houston, wishing I was
back freezing in Europe.
And
have you filmed parts of your trip to make another documentary on DIY places or
DIY through Europe… ??
I'm
done chronicling the DIY ethic. Let someone else do it. It's a good subject, but
I'm sick of the same questions. I am honored to be able to be asked them, and to
travel, but it's like being in a band playing the same hits.
And
this time I intentionally didn't bring a video camera. There are some
video bits of the US tour on the DVD, but I didn't want to have to
"work" every minute of this European tour. And I was ALONE this time.
Michael Moore hired a crew.
I
did bring a digital still camera, and uploaded reports from on the road. It was
really fun. I was less a filmmaker at work and more a tourist having fun. These
photos are all archived here:
http://www.kittyfeet.com/europix.htm
Can
you explain how your tour has been organized ??
Almost
all by me, all by e-mail. I had a little help with a few shows in the UK from
Lee, the guy who books the Dischord bands in Manchester. And my friend Tobi in
Nurenberg gave me a lot of contacts in Germany, and also drove me for six days.
The rest of the time I was on the train.
It
took a lot of work, discipline and vigilance to book and maintain this tour. I
brought a laptop and was on the Internet about an hour a day even on the road.
At home it's more like four hours of booking a day for two months.
What
is the oddest place in which you screened DIY or die ?? I guess you must have
experienced some strange moments during DIY tours, right ?
I
was invited to show it at the Los Angeles at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
It's a very high-brow place. It was cool because it was not "preaching to
the choir" like it sometimes is in punk clubs. At the MOCA, it was showing
it to people who had no idea that this stuff exists. It's fine to show my film
to Fugazi fans, but they aren't gonna get any new information, only confirm what
they already know.
Touring
in places epitomizing DIY spirit enables you to play songs. Do you consider
recording and releasing these songs ??
They're
mostly all already on my Website at :
http://www.kittyfeet.com/mp3.htm
I
wouldn't mind putting them out on a CD if someone wanted to do it, but it's not
a priority. I would do it probably if approached, but I'm too busy to solicit
someone to do it.
Someone
on this tour did offer to put out my old version of "Long Black Veil"
on a Johnny Cash tribute compilation. That's my band Baby Opaque, with Ian
MacKaye singing backup. It's a label called Scene Police in Germany.
Here's
that song if you want it:
http://www.kittyfeet.com/stuff/Cash.mp3
When
you showed your film, I talked with someone who was disturbed by the copyright
logo at the end of your film. I told him that you encourage people to burn your
DVD and that you have to respect other's work…because if you don’t buy their
art, they won’t be able to do some more…Someone in your film explained that
everything should have a price so that people could apprehend it as valuable.
It’s basically the current interesting debate about downloading albums by
unsigned bands. Your opinion about all this seems ambiguous so what do you think
about the copy left movement and about Peer to Peer programs such as Napster,
Audiogalaxy, Soulseek…
I
allow people to give the film away for non-commercial use. Putting the copyright
symbol at the end allows me to take action if anyone sells copies of the film.
Anyone who doesn't understand that doesn't understand copyrights, or reality, or
anything. They are probably a spoiled kid who lives with mommy and daddy and
doesn't have to pay rent. Or someone who lives without heat and eats out of a
dumpster. I do neither.
I
love punk rock, but it sure has produced a lot of idiots who have their heads up
their asses.
Some
things I do are DIY, some are not. And anyone who tries to block my ability to
do anything I want to do is going to encounter a lot of resistance.
I
don't agree with everyone in the film about everything. Some even contradict
others. I put a few opposing views in, especially in the file sharing issue.
(And the Steve Albini interview on the extras, which we did after the movie was
done, contradicts EVERYONE in the film who says to quit your day job and just do
art, which is most of them. Albini says, "Keep your day job so you can
never have to compromise your art", which I think is a great idea. I'm now
an amateur musician, I used to be a pro, I'm having more fun singing now that I
make my living writing books).
But
overall, I am mostly pro-file sharing. Though I had an interesting experience on
this tour: Someone in France asked me "May I put your whole film on the
Internet for download please?". I thought for about 15 seconds and said
"Yes, as long as you do a good looking encode". Then I thought and
smiled and asked, "What would you do if I'd said 'no'?" He said,
"I would put it on the Internet anyway".
This
pissed me off, and we talked about it for an hour. And it brought up a lot of
issues with me. Because I would take anything of someone else's down if asked to
by the artist, and would NEVER put it up if they told me not to. But then I
realized that that is exactly what Metallica was doing, asking people to take
their stuff down (even though they did it in a shitty way). And I was like,
"Fuck them, they can't tell me what to do".
I
like the singer in Tool's attitude. He says, "My music is not yours to give
away". I think there's no way to enforce that, but I like that he says it.
But then again, I've downloaded his music. (And further, I didn't like it!)
I
think the answer to "Is file sharing OK in every case?" is not a
simple yes or no. It's such a new issue, I am not completely sure how I feel,
even though I do it.
I
just wish more people would release DVDs without copy protection. And just for
the record, the publicity generated by me doing that actually made me money.
This was not my goal, but it did work out that way. I sold more copies AND
people got them free. I like that. I think there should be more business models,
in all industries, that combine selling with giving.
Also,
I worked REALLY hard getting subtitles done. You show me another un-funded
no-budget indie DVD that has really good subtitles in five languages. This thing
was a labor of extreme love and loving act of extreme labor. So that guy who
didn't like the fact that I copyrighted the film can rim me gently, all night
long.
He
probably wouldn't like the fact that I made money on this tour. Punk artists are
supposed to starve. I made $1200 on this trip. But that works out to about $25 a
day for an insane amount of work and travel and crappy conditions, not counting
the time I spent booking it. And I would like to see what he's done
artistically. I doubt he's done anything of the magnitude of hours of work into
a single project that I have. And I've done dozens of projects (film, records
and books) this complex.
Photo
by Michael Dean
Cat
in France, with 700 Euros of tour money.
Give
that dood my e-mail and have him drop me a line.
(SWd: I don't know the guy whom I spoke with about copyright and copy-left. I had not even seen him once before... Anyway, he was just playing the smart guy because he thought I knew the foxy girl who was sitting next to me...)
Also,
copyright protects the film from being used in derivative works out of context.
Copyright can be used to protect the integrity of the film, not just the money
aspect. Without a copyright, some liquor company could slap their logo at the
end of it and broadcast it. I don't want that to happen, and I doubt that guy
does either.
Back
to the Steve Albini thing, filmmaking is not my job, it's my hobby (though I try
to do everything as well as I can, and work harder at even my hobbies than most
Americans do at their job). And my film only cost $5000 US to make, so you
aren't taking bread out of my kid's mouth by making one copy. Ya know?
In my opinion, DIY or DIE is more about having an alternative lifestyle and convincing people to join than helping them out. It focuses on the why, much more than the how. The VHS headline was ‘how to survive as an independent artist’, which implies to deal with how to survive. The film concentrates on why doing it. Is it really what you wanted to do in the first place ?
This
question is oddly worded, and I'm not sure what you're asking. I sure don't
think DIY is a club and I'm not out to recruit anyone. I'm just showing
something that's important to me.
Are
you saying, "The film should have been called "D.I.Y. or DIE: WHY to Survive as an Independent Artist"?
If
so, several people have said that. That's one reason why I made "$30 Film
School". It's more HOW. The book (and the CD-ROM that comes with it) and
the movie go together. The book actually references the movie a lot for examples
too.
I
just finished writing another 520-page book called "$30 Music School",
which will be out in January 2004 by the same publisher. And I've been writing
"$30 Writing School" on the trains in Europe. When they're all out in
the world, I'm gonna move on to something else. But these three books (and the
three CDs that come with) and the movie, about a hundred bucks total, taken as a
whole, are pretty much a complete course in making and promoting ALL art in a
way that you can't get in school. I take them all together as a unit, though
they definitely each work well individually.
Why
did you choose to take into account famous indie icons (Lydia Lunch, Ian McKaye,
Steve Albini, Richard Kern) and lesser-known people (Madigan Shive, JG
Thirlwell) and to put them at equal footing ?? Is it to show that everyone’s
able to do it, be they famous or broke ??
Yup.
And to show that fame ain't the goal. It's the byproduct. I wanted also to show
people based on how cool their mind was, not on how many records they sell or
whatever. A few people in the film have never sold ANYTHING or even shown it
outside their apartments.
You
played in the band Bomb which was
signed to Warner. You said that being signed to a major killed your band. Could
you elaborate on that please??
They
give bands a lot of false hopes. And when you have those hopes, you go from just
making cool music because it's fun, to having to meet those goals and hopes. And
expectations are appointments with resentments.
And
also you comodify your art: It becomes a product and if you don't "move
enough product", that system brands you as a "failure" and
"drops" you, which is what happened. And we were REALLY fucking good.
The
music is here if you wanna check it out:
http://www.kittyfeet.com/bomb.htm
Your
film deals with the need that we have to ‘create and make that creation
meaningful’ (as someone puts it in the film) and to take care of it instead of
waiting for someone to take it in charge, someone who will pay for it. I’m not
trying to undermine your work here but don’t you think that someone signed to
a big record company doesn’t have this longing to create, to compose ?? I
think you can’t just lose it (eg: Sonic Youth, Lou Barlow, Nirvana…).
Absolutely.
Some of my favorite records are on major labels. Everything from Pink Floyd to
Black Sabbath to Jane's Addiction to whatever….probably more music I like is
on majors than not. I dunno, maybe it's half and half. I don't hate majors, I
just want to show an alternative.
I
don't take sides and not everything is black and white in my world. My new book
series is not on a DIY company, it's with a rather large educational publisher.
And I'll say this: They pay when they say they will. Whereas there are
independent distributors who STILL owe me money for my self-published novel, and
even for Bomb records we put out ourselves fifteen years ago. And faux indie
magazine "Thrasher" still hasn't paid Bomb the hundred dollars they
owe us for being on a compilation. And we're not the only band they screwed. I
think they're dishonest. I asked them for the money, they never returned my
calls.
I
know people who've ordered records from different indie labels and still haven't
received them a year later. And it's not that the people running the labels are
dishonest, it's usually that they take on too much stuff to do.
I
love the idea of indie business done for the sake of art rather than money, I'd
just like to see them all follow through. And sometimes they come off as
hypocrites. The louder you are at being anti-capitalist, the more you have to be
on top of your own business ventures or it drowns the message.
(For
what it's worth, I ALWAYS ship orders the day I get them. But then again, I'm an
anal retentive.)
And
I'm in Texas doing this interview by candle light on my battery powered laptop
in my friend's house with the power cut off. His flaky anti-capitalist anarchist
artist roommate forgot to pay the bill. FUCK! People should keep their shit
together. It's hard to advance or overthrow ANYTHING when you can't wipe your
own ass.
But
I'm set, I'm ready, I'm powered up and ready to go. I'm still working. I live to
work. Bring it on: I'm ready.
Ian
MacKaye managed to remain independent and release great music with Dischord but
some people would tell you that they respect Dischord very much but that they no
longer embody DIY for them, which is not my opinion. What would you say to these
people apart from the fact that they started DIY ??
I
don't think Dischord invented DIY, but I think they did put it on the map, the
same way Ford didn’t invent the car, but he put one in every barn in America.
I
think Dischord is still more DIY than ever, and these pundits and wags of which
you speak are darned wrong. I deal with them, buy from them, sell through them,
and have been to their office recently.
My
only complaint about Dischord is I don't personally love all the bands they put
out these days, whereas I used to love ALL of them. But that's just a matter of
opinion.
I'll
say this for Dischord: They send people the shit they order, promptly. But then
again the same can be said of Microsoft or Atlantic Records. Big companies often
have their shit together more than the little anti-corporate indie-as-fuck
labels. But Dischord have walked their talk, forever. And I've watched them
forever. They run a tight ship.
As
for music, I don't usually have an affinity to all the output on ANY label. Just
like I don't usually love a given director. Fight Club is my favorite all-time
movie, but the Fincher-directed "Alien" put me to sleep. And Panic
Room had a cool look and feel, but the story was just a rip off on the old
sixties flick, "Wait Until Dark".
I
like it very much when someone says in the film "I hate people who say ‘I
used to like to draw but I don’t do it no more ’cos there's no money in
it'". At the end, Ian MacKaye explains that he likes to play the piano but
if he’d have to do a piano competition he would probably end up being the last
one. The point being to just do what you feel you need and don’t take into
account critics when they are mean-spirited. Could we sum up the film’s
message this way: "Don’t become resigned and don’t end up living your
life like a ghost??"
Maybe.
If I had to encapsulate the film, I think it has two messages. I think one is
pretty much summed up in the last line in the movie proper, when Dana says,
"If no one ever knows who you are, at least you knew why YOU were."
And I think the other message is, "Don't compromise, and do what you love.
And maybe you'll make a living. But maybe not." Which leads directly back
to the Dana line.
In
Europe I encountered a lot of people (especially penniless squatters) who were
mad because they felt this person or that person in the film wasn't "True
DIY". These people telling me this are just scene police.
In
making this flick, I was just making a point, not writing a law. People ask me
to be the judge in these contests, even regarding people who aren't in my film,
and they want me to give my opinion about some band that "used to be cool
but sold out".
I
couldn't care less. And I think there's bigger problems in the world than which
rockers are selling sneakers.
Jeez.
Most of the people asking me this were nice kids, but I feel like telling them,
"Get a life."
Apart
from interviewing all these people, did you come up against great difficulties
doing this film ??
Dealing
with the 30 egos of the 30 artists and pleasing everyone was tough. And I picked
people, by design, who were less egotistical than average.
Why
did you choose to include J Mascis in your film ?? Was it recording what he did
back in the 80’s and home-recording ??
It
wasn't planned. I went to interview Mike Watt, and he was playing with Mascis
and Asheton, so I interviewed them too.
I
just like him, and think he put grunge (and thus indirectly, punk) on the map.
Without J, you wouldn't have had Kurt Cobain.
He
still records at home, by the way.
OK,
now comes our usual off-beat questionnaire:
“Was
you ever bit by a dead bee ??”
Nope.
I've heard it's possible though. But back when I did drugs, I shared a needle
with a guy who it turned out had AIDS. In 1986. I didn't get it. I'm
HIV-negative, and he's dead. Who knows how this stuff works?
The
guy was my friend Eddy Caranza, one of the two people (the other is my mother)
that the film is dedicated to at the beginning.
What’s
your favorite pick-up line ??
I
don’t use pickup lines. My favorite pickup line is when a girl I like picks ME
up.
My
favorite line for them to use, and this happens, is some variation of "Your
art has touched me in special places. You changed my life. Take me."
I
didn't hit on any girls on this tour. I was there to do a job, and I did it. I
kept to myself, slept alone. And I had the best six weeks of my life.
(Actually
I didn't always sleep alone: I slept with cats a few times. French cats, German
cats, Irish cats. Belgian cats. Dutch cats. British cats. I am fluent in all
variations of the cat tongue.)
What
freaks the hell out of you ??
When
I'm petting cats, and they're purring, but then they bite me.
What’s
that smell in the woods ??
You!
What’s
your favorite curse word ??
Horseshit.
Is
there a question you cannot help asking yourself ??
"How
can I EVER complain about anything when my life is sooooo cool?" (I
complain a lot).
Which
Hollywood star (dead or alive) would you most like to date ??
I
had a crush on a well-known actress, then I moved to Los Angeles and happened to
met her and we became friends, and now I'm glad we never dated. Since she's my
friend, I'm not gonna say her name.
Would
you prefer wearing a douche bag for a day or having tourette’s syndrome for a
day ??
Wearing
a douche bag? Or do you mean a colostomy bag?
I
love crazy questions, but yours are pretty fucking odd. Is it because you're
French? Lol……
Who
is the best Lee ??
The
dead one who was in the Crow.
Or
my friend Lee in Manchester, England.
What
question would you ask in this list ??
I
would ask one that's not on this list:
"What
kind of cat would you be and why?"
My
art assistant, Lydia Lam, made that up. I've been using it. Jonathan Richman
liked it. Joan Jett didn't. How was I to know her cat died that week? I felt
bad.
Not
a question, but here's a statement:
Show
"DIY or DIE" film, help cats, help you.
From
now on, anyone who wants to can do a showing of my film, "D.I.Y. or Die:
How to Survive as an Independent Artist" in their home town, and keep up to
half of the money for you or your organization to cover your time and expenses.
Don't
send the other half to me. DONATE IT TO YOUR LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER. If you don't
have a local animal shelter, donate it to the ASPCA. ( e-mail them at
donations@aspca.org )
Details:
http://www.kittyfeet.com/europe/helpCats.htm
To
join Michael W. Dean's e-mail list, send an email to kittyfeet69-subscribe@topica.com
/dec 1st 2003/