| Busdriver Session | |
| Violitionist Sessions |
Session Date: March 20, 2012
Posting Date: October 8, 2012
Artist Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Links: Busdriverse.com, Facebook
Recorded by: Michael Briggs
3 QUESTIONS
ONE: On your most recent full-length, Beaus$Eros, was there a specific theme that you wanted to get across to your listeners?
Regan Farquhar: I don’t have enough forethought to really know what people should take away from a lot of my songs, but I think by and large it was mainly a break-up record, or it was kind of inspired by that idea. The songs were really cathartic. They came after a…big break-up, and just…you know, I would never think that something as commonplace and romantic as the fizzling out of a relationship would be a good impetus for one of my records, but it is, and it became one for Beaus$Eros. My older record, Cosmic Cleavage, kind of had a similar thing, but…yeah, so, it’s basically just a break-up record, with other stuff in between it.
DJ: You mentioned that you don’t have a thought-out message for a lot of your music. Do you start writing without any specific concepts in mind?
Regan: I’m just saying I don’t have a whole lot of self-consciousness as far as how I want to be perceived, or how a body of work is to be thought about, but, no, most of my songs have some kind of idea that starts them off, and some kind of…some kind of message or story or idea that they want to convey, and that’s pretty apparent on Beaus$Eros, more than on most records.
DJ: You mentioned that you don’t have a thought-out message for a lot of your music. Do you start writing without any specific concepts in mind?
Regan: I’m just saying I don’t have a whole lot of self-consciousness as far as how I want to be perceived, or how a body of work is to be thought about, but, no, most of my songs have some kind of idea that starts them off, and some kind of…some kind of message or story or idea that they want to convey, and that’s pretty apparent on Beaus$Eros, more than on most records.
TWO: Have you been following the Presidential election this year?
Regan: The lead-up? The pregame? Yeah, right. I’ve been following the pregame. I haven’t been following it as much, because I lost interest after Rick Perry dropped out, and after the news cycle started getting…just comically obsessed with the ‘Flavor of the Week.’ Candidates surging in polls that wouldn’t act like…that guy was on his way, on his way to winning the Republican nomination, but, it’s just been a constant back and forth, so I’ve lost a lot of interest in it. But I’m still following it.
DJ: Where do you think the country is headed after November?
Regan: Well, a lot of people are in a depression, so, I think that’s going to continue. As far as what millionaires do in the governing of this huge swath of land, I can’t really say, because I’m a poor man and I don’t know the dealings of millionaires and concerns of billionaire corporations. I don’t know where those put us. But that’s how some things are run. But, you know, hopefully, I mean, I don’t think we’re going to have much of a change. I don’t think we’re going to have any new people that are going to be moving into the White House. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but that doesn’t matter, because it’s still the…the policy right now isn’t too fantastic, so…
DJ: What would you like to see happen?
Regan: It doesn’t matter what I want to see happen. It’s not going to happen. You know, I want gumdrops raining out of the sky. I don’t really care, because there’s no…to me, it’s not a partisan argument, because there’s no candidate who represents things that I think are important in office or who is even running for office, so, it’s not even possible for my concerns to be addressed. But, I think Obama is a good celebrity.
DJ: Where do you think the country is headed after November?
Regan: Well, a lot of people are in a depression, so, I think that’s going to continue. As far as what millionaires do in the governing of this huge swath of land, I can’t really say, because I’m a poor man and I don’t know the dealings of millionaires and concerns of billionaire corporations. I don’t know where those put us. But that’s how some things are run. But, you know, hopefully, I mean, I don’t think we’re going to have much of a change. I don’t think we’re going to have any new people that are going to be moving into the White House. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but that doesn’t matter, because it’s still the…the policy right now isn’t too fantastic, so…
DJ: What would you like to see happen?
Regan: It doesn’t matter what I want to see happen. It’s not going to happen. You know, I want gumdrops raining out of the sky. I don’t really care, because there’s no…to me, it’s not a partisan argument, because there’s no candidate who represents things that I think are important in office or who is even running for office, so, it’s not even possible for my concerns to be addressed. But, I think Obama is a good celebrity.
THREE: How has social media affected the way that people connect with your music?
Regan: Well, it’s made it the only way, pretty much, to connect with my music, which is unfortunate…either it’s unfortunate, or it’s great, I don’t know. I guess it depends on what tools are readily available to me, but it…it invites a kind of competitive nature to music making that I don’t personally enjoy, because you’re competing with everything. Literally everything. It dictates a lot of choice-making and songwriting, you know? It should influence my songwriting more, but it hasn’t a lot-lot, but it should. I don’t know, I like it because it means the proliferation of a lot of stuff and people are really…you know, it’s really competitive, but it’s nerve-wracking, too. It devalues songs a lot, but…
DJ: Devalues them how?
Regan: The songs are really just ephemeral. There’s such a— People are competing so fiercely that they’re putting out stuff at a more rapid rate, and things are free and things are just out there, and people pick them up online and they just kind of take them in, and then they just vanish into the ether, and that’s the way music is going. There’s more music being made and consumed now than ever at any point, you know? It’s…I don’t know, it’s…I don’t know any artist who isn’t incredibly stressed out and incredibly pressed to make things. Which is good! But, under what circumstances? I don’t know. So, it’s great, because you can readily give people shit, but you know, you’ve got to compete with…you’ve got to compete with popular culture, which is fine— which is good. It’s just not good for me, because I don’t care enough.
DJ: Devalues them how?
Regan: The songs are really just ephemeral. There’s such a— People are competing so fiercely that they’re putting out stuff at a more rapid rate, and things are free and things are just out there, and people pick them up online and they just kind of take them in, and then they just vanish into the ether, and that’s the way music is going. There’s more music being made and consumed now than ever at any point, you know? It’s…I don’t know, it’s…I don’t know any artist who isn’t incredibly stressed out and incredibly pressed to make things. Which is good! But, under what circumstances? I don’t know. So, it’s great, because you can readily give people shit, but you know, you’ve got to compete with…you’ve got to compete with popular culture, which is fine— which is good. It’s just not good for me, because I don’t care enough.
– Interview and transcription by Dale Jones