RTH: Prior to The Dream Syndicate you were in at least two bands, The Suspects and 15 Minutes. Are there any recordings out there of these bands?
SW: Each band (well, 15 Minutes was just me, for the most part) had a single. Good luck finding them!
[ed: found one, above, I think]
RTH: When I search Wikipedia for “Steve Wynn” it takes me here first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wynn. How do you feel about that? There’s actually a huge discography on your page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wynn_(songwriter) that is a testament to your ongoing creativity and fan support.
SW: Nothing to say about that other dude aside from I can’t think of many people who are more different in every way from me. But I’m very proud that I’ve lasted this long, made so many records that I’m proud of and that so many people have come along for the ride. Really, it’s all way beyond anything I could have imagined when I was 21 and finished mixing The Days of Wine and Roses at 8:00 am, just in time to drive back and start my shift at the record store (Rhino!) where I worked.
RTH: I could ask loads more but The Dodgers are now tied in the bottom of the 5th and they need my full rooting support. I hope to catch you live when you’re in the L.A. Area again. Is Club Lingerie still around? I think I saw you there circa Dazzling Display.
SW: The Club Lingerie is long gone but you can see Amoeba Records from where it once stood…
…the same way you can see the former site of CBGBs from where we’re going to play tonight–the Bowery Electric–in NYC. I’ve enjoyed our chat. And I hope everyone will come out to the show on Saturday.
You can go here, http://northstarbar.com to more info and buy tickets.
Also, you can check out all about Steve and buy his stuff on his website here http://www.stevewynn.net.
And his Facebook page is here http://www.facebook.com/stevewynn. Be polite! You’re representin’.
Hey, both of you guys are funny! Cool inner-view. Townsman kcills better pick up on this — he and I used to cover “Days Of Wine and Roses” in our college band!
Nice work!
Excellent! Love “Trial Separation Blues”
I really enjoyed this — thanks!
Mod and Sammy brought the Surf AND the Turf this morning with those 2 interviews. Very cool stuff.
I’ve always thought the Fleshtones shared the same issue with NRBQ. They both put on high energy entertaining party rock shows with a lot of humor and excitement. Their records just don’t explode off the grooves the same way the live shows do. Still, the live shows are well worth seeing.
I don’t know much about The Dream Syndicate other than the name, but after this excellent interview, I’ll listen up! Thanks gents, this was a very enjoyable read (and listen).
Totally agree: This is an excellent interview, and I will also listen-up to music that will be “new” to me! Thanks for leading us down a new path.
I really love …tick…tick…tick and I really love even more The Dream Syndicate’s Complete Live at Raji’s. That might be one of the best live albums ever recorded. It’s just a blistering album.
Nice! I basically burned a hole through the Dream Syndicate’s first album and they put on an excellent show back then. Later albums fell off a bit for me by comparison to that one bolt of lightening.
Also love the Jim Jarmusch thing!
There’s a pretty big leap from Days of Wind and Roses to their last, Ghost Stories which I also like a lot. To me Ghost Stories was growth step away from Steve’s first solo albums which are amazing. I can totally see how many people would love the first but not the rest. I though was on for the ride and still dig the stuff he’s putting out these days.
Wynn definitely earns RTH Good Egg status. I think Days of Wine & Roses is a perfect album, but I really didn’t like the follow-up, so I never kept up much after that. I did get Here Come the Miracles, and it’s as good as everyone says. This interview should inspire some further explanation.