AN INTERVIEW WITH VERNON SWART

Vice: Whiskey at two pm? Sies. So, guys thought you were naff in high school because you played music in a penguin suit and now everyone wants to be a rock star. Has music moved from ‘cultural’ to ‘cool’ since you were twenty?

Vernon : If you’re talking about rock & roll, it always was, and still is, about being cool.

Do you think it takes a particular personality type to make (it in) rock & roll?

As in most fields as diverse as the music industry, it takes all kinds, but generally I think it reflects personalities who harbour misplaced delusions of grandeur.

What’s the biggest difference between a young muso today and one from yesterday?

In some ways, I think it’s easier for the younger musos. They have all the modern toys of the digital era, which makes communication much easier. With intercontinental contact, they can see how bands operate. With Facebook, mp3s, home-recording systems and TV videos etc, they can create a following virtually overnight. Having said that, there are so many youngsters out there with musical aspirations and access to all these mediums, it makes the competition so much bigger. At the end of the day, I would like to believe that it’s the on-stage performances which set certain bands apart.

Which band/s are you following closely?

I must confess that I don’t attend as many gigs as I’d like to. The big crowds and excessive volumes seem to lose their appeal…and I’m slightly deaf in one ear! In the past, I’d buy everything that my favourite bands put out, without listening to it beforehand, but you can only have so many Nick Caves or Neil Youngs before you run out of space, and time to listen to everything. I still look out for anything new by Alabama 3, Hothouse Flowers, Peter Gabriel and a couple of others. I like the energy amongst the young local bands. I’m curious to see which route New Holland will take, and of course, I have a soft spot for The Pretty Blue Guns.

Do you think young musos have a different set of difficulties to deal today? Besides acne and inflation, of course.

In terms of the music, I think it’s tougher for youngsters to establish a style of their own. In the Post Modern era, most pop avenues seem to have been explored pretty thoroughly, so it’s tough to be original, and there’s little to rebel against. Fokofpolisiekar were a breath of loud fresh air, but now it seems there are too many youngsters out there trying to sound like them. On a practical level, the difficulties are pretty much the same – dodgy venue owners, unpredictable sound systems/engineers, (with some notable exceptions). The vices are pretty much the same, too, and of course, the vast travelling distances haven’t gotten any shorter.

Are today’s young musos more responsible?

Definitely. I think they see the greater picture. We operated in isolation. The lighties nowadays realise what’s at stake, what things cost. Just looking at The Pretty Blue Guns, they rock up on time, have a beer or two and then rehearse. It’s phenomenal; we were stoned most of the time, and would talk about playing. It seems to me that they’re more sussed.

How did you set up your networks in the days before ‘reply all’?

We just hit the road and played. Word of mouth, festivals and home-made posters.

You seem a well adjusted adult – a full time artist with a happy, healthy garden in the back and a bookshelf arranged according to subject and author. But is it true that you took your sons Ruben and Lucas to bars before they lost their virginity?

All true. But in my defence, they went to bars to be with us while we played music. I didn’t prop them up in the corner and pour tequila down their throats! And are you telling me they’re not virgins?!

Well, they’re not saints, but they are musical. Is it an ego boost for you?

I’m very proud of both my boys. Lucas is doing great [on drums for The Pretty Blue Guns and on vox and guitar for The Lua Union], but let’s not forget that Ruben played gigs with Gert Vlok Nel and Jackhammer when he was fifteen. Having said that, I never actively encouraged them to start playing music. I was kind of hoping that they’d become doctors or accountants so that they could support me in my old age. Fat chance.

So it’s your fault? Or is it maybe because there were musical instruments lying around the house?

‘Talent’ is a strange, elusive concept. I tend to think it’s more a question of monkey see, monkey do. If a child starts emulating any activity, be it carpentry or golf, and he sticks to it, he’s going to develop an ability which will probably be perceived as talent. There will always be exceptions.

What about the ‘coming of age’ angle? Do you think being in a band is a rite of passage or just a right to party?

It differs according to the individuals involved. To become an established and respected band will always involve blood, sweat and tears, which I guess is a rite of passage. On the other hand loads of bands think it’s just a party, and they aren’t around for long.

Speaking of which, a lot of local acts sound like global acts like the Arctic Monkeys or Muse. Do we have a stab at a unique South African music identity?

This is a very tricky question. By virtue of our cultural and ethnic diversity, we will never have one unique SA musical ‘identity’. I see this as a positive thing. We have a wealth of uniquely South African sounds coming out of the jazz clubs and townships, and then we have the ‘new wave’ of Afrikaans youngsters on the other hand, with their own brand of African energy. I love seeing a reggae band like Tidal Waves ripping it up on stage with an Afrikaans boy in their midst.

Seems every social group has its own soundtrack these days, replete with a matching T-shirt. Is the music scene separating into sub-cultures or is it growing into a movement that could capture the imagination of the masses?

I would like to believe that music is one driving force that can and will continue to cross and unite different cultures and sub-cultures. Although we get lambasted with loads of kak music, it still never ceases to amaze me how many exciting musicians and bands are constantly popping up from all over the world.

What pisses you off about musos?

Being late for gigs. Some people think they’ve got carte blanche, think it’s cool. It’s not.

Got some wisdom or a wisecrack for us?

Sometimes during a gig, one can nick a finger or a hand on a cymbal or the rim of a drum. This happened to me during one of my first gigs with Valiant. Backstage, I showed him my bloodied hand and announced that I’d just proved that I was willing to bleed for the cause. He said “dis nog fokol, jy moet bloed piss!” [“That’s nothing; you must piss blood!”] Luckily it hasn’t quite got to that, but sometimes I think that’s what it takes.