Overheard Backstage at Intonation 2006

Intonation Fest was a mind-blowing array of sounds and musical perspectives. I had the sweet luck of being on stage to move 80 lb. Fender Twins, Marshall Stacks, and big hunking Ampeg rigs for a couple of days. I also got to hear some pretty cool things:

"I tried to get Rhymefest to join me during my set, but his throat was hurting. That would have been the weirdest supergroup ever: Glenn Kotche on drums, Benmont Tench on keys, Rhymefest and me."

—Jon Brion after his mostly one-man musical juggling act. He WAS joined by Glenn Kotche and Benmont Tench - a power trio.

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"Aww man, I liked that piano"

—Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench, after Jon Brion reverse mule-kicked a miniature tack piano, causing it to collapse backwards taking two microphones and a synthesizer with it.

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"It's a fucking Squire!!!"

—Crowd member after he caught the guitar of Jimmy Hollywood of Chicago's favorite punk trainwrecks, the Tyrades. The guitar had already received an incredibly painful-looking bare-knuckle beating by its master before being jettisoned 30 feet above the crowd's heads. After making a miraculous catch the fan immediately turned, walked ten paces and tossed the bloodied guitar into a garbage barrel. Postscript: he went back and retrieved it.

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"Not bad, only a few bad notes."

—Bill Dolan, chicago post-rock guitar wiz.

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"There's Jon Brion. I want to go tell him that I think his version of Fiona Apple's record is way better. Do you think that would be cool, or maybe it's a sensitive subject?"

—The Swords bass player Bryan Richie shortly before letting loose an eardrum blistering set of medieval metal.

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"Why did Courtney Love feed Alpo to her baby...? Because it's what comes out of her breasts."

—Neil Hamburger.

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And finally, an embarrassing little exchange I had with Argentinean-Swede songwriter José González just before he began an amazing set of blissful finger-picked guitar and haunting melody:

José: "Hi, what's your name?"
Me: "My name's Matt. What's your name?"
José: "José." ---what I heard: "wudj'you say?"
Me: "Sorry, I said, what's your name?"
José: "José." ---But, again, what I heard: "wudj'you say?"
Me: (very deliberately, thinking this guy must not know English so good...) "WHAT. IS. YOUR. NAME?"
José: "My name is HOE ZAY."
Me: "...Oh...umm...yeah. José González, right? You're gonna be playing next, huh?"
José: "Yeah"
Me: "Cool."

When he's not being a volunteer roadie, Matt Schwarz writes songs and scores soundtracks and records them in his bungalow basement studio with his band Quasar Wut-Wut, who released their psychedelic masterpiece, Taro Sound, on Glorious Noise Records in 2004 and are currently recording their follow-up.