Lawrence Livermore
Interview for the Im Like Yeah zine 3/09/99
With Lawrence Livermore (LL)...ex-owner of Lookout Records and member of the Lookout's
Interview by Brad (ILY)
Imlikeyeah:Interested in doing the interview now?
LL:: I suppose I could
Imlikeyeah:: great...
LL:: provided it's not past your bedtime...
Imlikeyeah:: hahaha
LL:: well, just thought I'd ask...
LL:: or maybe you wanted to go out and play in the snow...
LL:: are you in ypsilanti?
Imlikeyeah:: yeah
LL:: lovely old town, isn't it...?
LL:: har har
Imlikeyeah:: the most beautiful place on earth
Imlikeyeah:: "The first record you released for Lookout Records was for your own band the Lookouts. When you released that first record did you have any plans to make it a full fledged label, or was it just to release your own stuff?"
LL:: When I released the Lookouts record, I didn't have any particular intention of doing other records. I hadn't really thought about it one way or the other.
Imlikeyeah:: So it just sort of happened?
LL:: Well, it was later in the year when I realized all these great bands were playing regularly at Gilman Street, and that they were better than most of what I was hearing on the radio or seeing at clubs, so I thought, "Well, most of the records suck these days, so I'll make some of my own."
Imlikeyeah:: that makes sense
Imlikeyeah::For those who don't know, The Lookouts were you, Tre Cool and Kain...do you still talk to those guys?
LL:: Kain lives up on the North Coast, so I don't see him too often. In fact I've talked to his mother more recently than I have him. Tre, I see every so often, usually when he's with Green Day. I stopped by his mom and dad's restaurant today, though.
Imlikeyeah:: Is there ever a chance of you playing together again or are those days over for you?
LL:: Well, we've talked about it every now and then. Usually it's me and Tre who talk about it, but Kain has told Tre he'd be into it. It's more a question of the three of us ever being in the same place at the same time.
Imlikeyeah:: That would be amazing, I could see a Lookouts co-headlining tour with Green Day!
LL:: Amazingly hilarious, I would think
Imlikeyeah:: I think amazing would be an understatement! Your music was really good. My "Spy Rock Road" cassette is one of my prized possessions
LL:: Thank you very much.
imlikeyeah: Speaking of Spy Rock Road..."Life Behind Bar's"...is that about a certain place, maybe Detroit?
LL:: No, it's actually about Oakland. Jesse from Operation Ivy and some other people were living in a house in a very bad part of Oakland, and the song was inspired by going to visit them.
imlikeyeah: On the song Mendocino Homeland, is that Tre with those cartoonish hi pitched background singing? That stuff was funny
imlikeyeah: I mean "high" pitched
LL:: Yes, I believe that was Tre doing the backups on Mendocino Homeland. I don't think I sang on that one.
LL:: Have you ever heard him singing "Outside" on "The Thing That Ate Floyd" compilation? He was only 14 then. Or "The Mushroom Is Exploding" from our demo tape when he was 12 and still a soprano?
imlikeyeah: So why did you guys break up?
LL:: We didn't so much break up as drift apart. I was living at Spy Rock, Tre had moved to Berkeley, and Kain was in Germany.
imlikeyeah: Speaking of those old songs...About 2 years ago I started a mad search for the "One Planet, One People" LP...is there anywhere in the world that someone could find a copy, or have a tape copy made ? (hint hint).
LL:: I think there are still a few copies of that floating around. I have heard of people paying $35 for it, but I have also heard of people getting it for 35 cents in bargain bins. It's not very good. Not much like Spy Rock Road.
imlikeyeah: Even so...thats something to have
LL:: I would personally find the demo tape more interesting.
Imlikeyeah:: The 3 Lookouts albums that I own are very good...I hardly see how you could have been the laughing stock of the scene.
LL:: Well, thank you! It's a shame there couldn't have been more people like you around at the time!
Imlikeyeah::Actually...while i was searching for the "One Planet One People" album I e-mailed someone at Lookout and they said there were plans to possibly re-release all the Lookouts material on a cd...do you know if that's still going to happen?
LL:: It is still a possibility, but it is a decision to be made by the big bosses at Lookout, something over which I no longer have any control.
imlikeyeah: Aside from the upcoming Dr. Frank solo album it seems like that could be the best thing Lookout has to offer these days
LL:: Well, there are many different opinions about many different bands. I'm not about to get in the middle of that one.
imlikeyeah: hahaha
imlikeyeah: i thought you might shy away from that ever so slightly
imlikeyeah: If I mention 1 particular band, would you comment?
LL:: Possibly.
imlikeyeah: Well...that latest comp featured more songs by the Donnas than anyone else...in my opinion, They SUCK
LL:: Well, I'm not qualified to comment. I've never heard any of the Donnas records.
imlikeyeah: Consider yourself lucky
LL:: They do have a lot of fans...
imlikeyeah: so I hear...I've yet to meet one though
imlikeyeah: Since you sold Lookout have you had much if any involvement with the label?
LL:: I see many of the bands or individual members of bands, and sometimes people from the label ask my opinion, or ask me to explain a particular way that I had things organized because it doesn't make sense to them, but that's about it.
Imlikeyeah::Have you noticed a lot of the older bands have been leaving Lookout, or is that just me?
LL:: There do seem to be a few, but at least part of that is a normal process. Bands move on, or at least feel they are moving on, that it's time to make a change, or to try something different.
imlikeyeah: I almost feel like i "have" to ask you this...Is there still a feud between you and Ben Weasel?
imlikeyeah: Or is that a thing of the past?
LL:: You'd really have to ask him. I have no idea what he's thinking these days.
imlikeyeah: Haha...I tried, I guess he's just not up for interviews...oh well
LL:: I don't communicate with him. People frequently try to get me to talk about him, or try to repeat things he's said to me, but I'm really not too interested.
imlikeyeah: i can't blame you
imlikeyeah: I wouldn't either
LL:: I've had many disagreements with people in bands. That's inevitable when you're working so closely together. But he betrayed a basic trust, and above all he accused me of dishonesty. I can forgive him for that, and I have. But I don't have any desire to renew a friendship with him.
imlikeyeah: So, now that your living out in England...how's life?
LL:: As for your question about my new life in England, I'd have to say that I'm still in a transitional period. A huge and vital part of my life ended, and while I expect that something even more exciting will ultimately replace it, I'm still a bit at loose ends right now.
imlikeyeah: Are you completely out of the music business now?
LL:: I have no connection with the music business now, except that - understandably - I socialize with a number of people who are involved in it.
imlikeyeah::Any plans for the future?
LL:: Oh, I'd like to do something interesting, and hopefully something important as well. I'd like to fall i love again, maybe a few more times. I'd like to be happy, and have lots of friends.
imlikeyeah: Fall in love again? Were you married?
LL:: No, I've never been married.
imlikeyeah: Well...I'm just about out question's, have any final words or questions for me?
LL:: I'm surprised you weren't more curious about my years in Detroit/Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor
imlikeyeah: we can do some of that!
LL:: There is sort of a connection, you know.
LL:: The first time I was really inspired about the power that music gives people to let themselves be heard was when I saw the Supremes at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in the mid 60s. It was the first time in my life (possibly the last, too) that I was proud to be from Detroit.
imlikeyeah: Aside from the Red Wings, I can't remember any proud connection to the city I have
imlikeyeah: In fact, you mentioned you hold the record for getting kicked out of EMU (the college i attend) 3 times...care to explain how?
LL: I don't know if it's actually a record, but I've never heard of anyone who beat it. First year I was caught drinking in the dorms (a very serious violation in those ancient times). Second year I was caught trying to burn down the Student Union. Third year, I just started taking a lot of drugs and flunked out.
imlikeyeah:Which dorm did you live in?
LL: I believe it was called Buell
Imlikeyeah: Buell...I walk by that one every day. Looks like a dump, but they all are.
LL: I never lived in a dorm again after that. Everyone hated me anyway, because I was a greaser, and I used to bring gangster kids over from downtown Ypsi.
Imlikeyeah: The campus has really changed I'm sure...I get some odd looks being a normal white kid wearing a coat with a couple patches on it...
Imlikeyeah: If you're not wearing gang attire your out of place
LL: Oh, it certainly has changed. I visit it every few years, just to relive old memories. I also wander the streets of Ypsi, looking at all the different places I lived and remembering all the trouble I got in.
Imlikeyeah: I haven't done to much wandering...not since my old band played "Cross St. Station" (if you remember that) and we were approached by a couple crackheads begging, and I mean begging for our money...I think Ypsi may be worse than the actual city of Detroit
LL: Well, Ypsi was a lot quieter and tamer in those days. The only gangsters were these low-life thugs (that I naturally made friends with) who hung out at the old pool hall on Huron Street and did burglaries and things. They all got sent to prison, and I luckily escaped. In those days, also, Ypsi was still quite segregated. Black people rarely ventured across Michigan Avenue.
imlikeyeah: Hahaha...thats VERY hard to imagine...the area seems to be predominately black now
LL: It was a very southern city, with race relations to match. Apart from the University, the great majority of townspeople were from the South. When I got kicked out of EMU the first time and went to work in the Motor Wheel factory, I was the only Northern boy there
imlikeyeah: Do you still have family in the area?
LL: My parents just recently moved to California. They were in Downriver Detroit till then.
Imlikeyeah: Have you been to downtown Detroit lately?
LL: Yes, last year, I think. It's not quite as bad as it was a few years earlier. But still a nightmare. Can you believe that when I was 9 years old I used to go down there by myself on the bus for my piano lessons?
imlikeyeah: I believe it, my dad is always telling me stuff like that...or how he used to take the city bus down to CASS TEC
LL: It was full of stores and people, and even seemed exciting.
imlikeyeah: It's hard to believe what it's become...but it has been noticeably better lately
LL: My little brother used to live down there when it was still quite bad.
LL: But he gave up and moved to California like the rest of the family.
imlikeyeah: Hell...I've noticed in the past 4 years since I've been going downtown for shows that it has been getting "safer"...and i use that term ever so delicately
LL: Well, I'm still not quite ready to move back there.
imlikeyeah: In the past you would have 5 homeless people begging for money as you walked from your car to the club...I can't remember the last time I was asked for any money down there
LL: Maybe they all starved to death?
imlikeyeah: Hahaha...that's a definite possibility
LL: Ooh, that sounds mean of me, nonetheless...Actually, I think they all moved to downtown Berkeley.
imlikeyeah: How do you suppose they managed to get there?
imlikeyeah: Dont answer that
imlikeyeah:: I've got the answer
imlikeyeah:: "The Detroit People Mover"
imlikeyeah:: I've been told people would ride that death trap for fun back in the day
LL:: I wouldn't be surprised if the Berkeley City Council bused them in to show how warm and humane they were.. HA HA HA !!! I never saw anybody actually ride that thing. I always suspected that if you got on it, it dumped you into some giant incinerator somewhere.
imlikeyeah:: I got on it once at the auto show...you get a beautiful view of all the old burnt out buildings down there
LL:: I was there for the riots in 1967 when they burned most of them.
imlikeyeah:: So was my dad...but then came that whole "white flight" deal
LL:: Yeah, but I mean I was down on 12th Street in the middle of it. My friend Darrell and I were up for an adventure, and we got one.
imlikeyeah:: I could imagine
LL:: We were the only white people for several miles around.
imlikeyeah:: hahaha...how old were you during that?
LL:: Um, 19.
imlikeyeah::What do you think of the big casino plans for Detroit?
LL:: I don't know about it, to be honest. I can't imagine basing an economy on a casino, but then Las Vegas seems to have done all right. Somehow, though, I seem to detect a qualitative difference between Detroit and Las Vegas.
imlikeyeah:: yeah...you could say there's a slight difference between the 2 cities
imlikeyeah:: How bout the new Tiger Stadium?
imlikeyeah:: or are you indifferent on the whole Detroit sports subject?
LL:: I was quite fond of the old Briggs (Tiger) Stadium.
imlikeyeah:: hmm...It's funny to think that the city I'm from probably even wasn't even a city when you lived here
LL:: ???
Imlikeyeah:: West Bloomfield
LL:: Oh, you're one of the rich kids we used to hate!!
Imlikeyeah:: I believe it was just part of the vast farming land
LL:: And who used to make fun of our clothes.
Imlikeyeah:: To be honest I don't really associate with most people from there
Imlikeyeah:: I take it you're familiar with the area though
LL:: Not that much; we didn't mix too much with the kids from that side of town.
Imlikeyeah:: were there even people out here then?
LL:: Birmingham, mostly, and Bloomfield Hills, yes
Imlikeyeah:: Bloomfield is where my parents ended up after the whole white flight
Imlikeyeah:: Are you old enough to remember "Lipmans Bar" that was down on West Fort St. downtown?
LL:: Well, you are forgiven. Most kids I know nowadays come from places like Bloomfield anyway, if not even posher than that. But as a teenage delinquent, I suffered from a bad case of hostility toward the middle classes.I never did much drinking in Detroit. I left for Ypsi when I was still 17, and by the time I was 21 I was already living in California.
Imlikeyeah:: I could imagine that out in California there are a bunch of kids trying to be "punk" out on Rodeo Drive...in the slums of Beverly Hills Kind of like the rappers who still have the hard life, even though they're raking in the money
LL:: Maybe not there, but certainly the kids from the wealthy suburbs come in to spare change on Telegraph here in Berkeley.
Imlikeyeah:: Well...I really appreciate you doing this interview...it's been by far the most fun I've had doing one
Imlikeyeah:: it's fun talking to someone who actually has something to say
LL:: Well, thank you very much. I'm only sorry we couldn't have done it in person, but then you probably would have had to listen to me telling Detroit/Ypsi/Ann Arbor stories all night.
Imlikeyeah:: I'd definitely be up for that If I didn't have a make or break test tomorrow I'd be on here all night listening
LL:: MC-5 and Stooges stories White Panthers, etc...yeah, I know, I'm trying to go to bed too
Imlikeyeah:: hahaha...well do you come online a lot?
LL:: So we'll talk again sometime...Yeah, I do
Imlikeyeah:: We could do this periodically...
Imlikeyeah:: have the Brad and Lawrence corner discussion in the zine
LL:: That is a fine idea.I used to do a radio show that was something like that, with me and Chris Appelgren, when he was about 15 and I was, I don't know, 40 or something
Imlikeyeah:: hahaha
Imlikeyeah:: Any final words?
LL:: Good night! See you again
Imlikeyeah:: Thank you!
Imlikeyeah:: See ya later
Source – http://www.angelfire.com/mi/imlikeyeah/liver.html
