Lawrence Livermore founded and was the first president of the punk rock record label Lookout ! Records. Although spending much of his life in the US, Larry now lives in London and has recently started a blog ! You can read of his daily happenings here. For even more writing by Larry, there’s always Lookout Magazine, which he edited and largely wrote from the mid-80s until 1995. In the summer of 2002, I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with the man himself. The interview was intended to be published on a site I was creating about his first band, The Lookouts (which also featured Tre Cool, soon to be drummer in Green Day). Although that site never got off the ground, I thought it might be nice to post it here – finally giving it a home ! By the way, for those of you who don’t know, Gilman Street is punk venue in Berkeley, California, where many punk bands started playing at the beginning of their careers.
Anyway, without further procrastination, here is said interview :
Me : What was the atmosphere at Gilman like ?
Larry : In the early days it was kind of like being at someone’s house whose parents were away for the weekend, only the parents never came back and we got to do everything our own way. It had that real kind of close friends / family feel to it, and unlike most punk clubs at that time, there was a lot of laughter and silliness and playing around. For example, sometimes when angry hardcore bands would play, the Gilman kids would get out in the pit and play leapfrog or other silly games, or make funny faces at the band. It was kind of about breaking down all the old stereotypes about punk and creating something new.
Me : How frequently did the Lookouts play at Gilman Street ?
Larry : You know, I’ve lost track. Maybe 5-10 times the first years (1987-88). Then we broke up for a while, and when we got back together, we probably played another 3 or 4 times.
Me : How did Lookout! Records evolve from the Lookouts first record ?
Larry : Well, at first Lookout Records was only going to exist to put out the Lookouts record (this was before Gilman started). Then, once Gilman got going, there were all these great bands who deserved to have records, and I’d already learned about how to make records from doing the Lookouts record. So the rest seemed obvious.
Me : The Lookouts played at Operation Ivy’s last show. What was the atmosphere like and was the Lookouts set enjoyed by the crowd ?
Larry : It was the biggest, most crowded and intense show I’d every played at, by far. So many people crammed into Gilman that it was impossible to move, and I was so scared going on stage in front of all those people that I remember almost nothing after I hit the first chord on the guitar. I remember looking at all those faces ; it almost seemed like they were piled up on top of each other, all the way to the ceiling, and I could see thousands of eyes just staring at me. Then when I hit that first chord, it was like they all went flying every which way, as if it were a pool table and I had just fired a cue ball into the middle of it. The next thing I remember is going off stage because it was time for Op Ivy to play. I think we played pretty well, but I have no way of knowing for sure. I read some reviews afterward that said we were really good, so maybe we were.
Me : How did the Lookouts begin ?
Larry : I had been trying to have a band for years and never getting anywhere, and everybody I played with kept quitting or moving away or not being good enough. Finally, there I was stuck on top of this mountain in the middle of nowhere and I just asked these two young kids (14 and 12) who lived nearby and who had never played music before if they wanted to try playing in a punk rock band. They were like, “What’s punk rock ?” So I showed them, and what do you know ? It worked.
Me : How does it feel to have signed so many great bands ?
Larry : Um … Well, it feels like a lot of things. Maybe I was just lucky. Maybe I was smart. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time. It’s all in the past now. I’m glad I was able to help some talented musicians get their start.
Me : At what time did you stop working for Lookout ! Records ?
Larry : April 1, 1997.
Me : When did Lookout ! magazine start ?
Larry : October 1984
Me : How did you get into punk music ?
Larry : First off, I grew up in Detroit around the time of the Stooges and MC5, who were kind of the forerunners of punk. And I was always interested in DIY and indie stuff, and in new stuff. So when bands started doing punk gigs in San Francisco in 1976 and 77, I was there.
Me : Who formed the Lookouts ?
Larry : Well, as you have already read, I pretty much have to take the blame for that one.
Me : Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
Larry : You’re welcome !
Source – http://walsgrave.org/blog/?p=35