Holy Shit have counted Ariel Pink, John Maus, and two guys from Girls among their ranks at various points in recent history, but for some reason no one's really bothered to listen to their records. That might be about to change now that someone has finally agreed to give Matt Fishbeck's psychedelic lullabies the release bombast they deserve (their Stranded at Two Harbours LP is a total lost classic). To prematurely celebrate, Matt Fishbeck made us our first mix of the year, and it's a great way to start. I caught up with him on Gchat, too, and had to rewrite all the stuff below because he wrote in ALL CAPS. Sign of a genius, OR AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID.Vice: Now that you've started playing shows again--who's in the live band?
Matt Fishbeck: Me, Jimmy Abrams on guitar, Jean Paul on another guitar, Ben Brown on keys, Andy Jordan on bass, and our drummer just quit because his girlfriend would rather be going out with someone who's just "a sculptor," and not a "band dude who sculpts." It's a small but significant difference, and the upshot is we need someone else to bang our drums for us.Until the shows you played recently, had Holy Shit been solely a recording project?
Exactly. I've never not been recording, though my set up has fluctuated a lot in the last few years. Until recently, any live performance has either been just me, or me and a couple friends recruited at the last minute. Honestly, about a year ago I just decided to get serious about the songs and the project. I realized that they deserved it. A band came together and has stuck--the players are each kind of perfect.Sounds pretty harmonious. What else do you do Matt? Do you have a day job, or write, or cook?
I'm a horrible cook, but I do write--quite a bit actually. Most of it doesn't leave my desk, but it's mainly essays and poems, plus the odd fiction item thrown in. My "day job" is actually more of an evening job usually--I'm a gondolier on Lake Merritt in Oakland.Woah.
Yeah, I mean it's hard physically, but it's rad. And real. Well as real as it can be, not being in Venice. I told my friend Rachel I got the job and she said, "Fishbeck, you're the only motherfucker I ever knew who got a job to match his clothes."The stripes?
Exactly. And really, I do it for the hat.Are your customers all couples?
It's basically all couples unless it's a party celebrating couple-hood, like a wedding. Lots of proposals, some hanky panky, but it's the gondolier's job not to notice these things. I become invisible if I have to.The sacred code of the gondolier?
One of several of them, yes. Since it's Oakland there are a lot of lesbian couples. Mostly it's straights, but only once have I gotten a couple that was two men. That was also the only time I've ever gotten a $100 tip.Nice dudes.
Yeah, that's the income. I get an embarrassingly small hourly wage, but it's really tip-work. Talk about singing for your supper.You have to sing?
I do it all: row, sing, I'll tell you the story of the Republic of Venice, answer any stupid question you have about the lake or "What's that building?", I'll uncork your bottle, you name it. And I'll do it all without breaking a sweat, because I'm not allowed to.If I'm ever in Oakland…
Do it. I know it sounds corny, but it's actually pretty beautiful.I love boats and lakes.
Me too, I'm a water freak. And a sun slut. I get crazy if I'm ever landlocked. I feel it.Trapped?
Just, I don't know, scaly. Like a sea turtle at the Grand Canyon.Keep on singing, Matt.HOLY SHIT – SPF NOIR MIX[audio:http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/spf-noir.mp3]Holy Shit have releases forthcoming on Fantasy Trashcan & Porous Records, they also have passports and are waiting for someone to fly them to Europe now plz.JOEL WRIGHT
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Matt Fishbeck: Me, Jimmy Abrams on guitar, Jean Paul on another guitar, Ben Brown on keys, Andy Jordan on bass, and our drummer just quit because his girlfriend would rather be going out with someone who's just "a sculptor," and not a "band dude who sculpts." It's a small but significant difference, and the upshot is we need someone else to bang our drums for us.Until the shows you played recently, had Holy Shit been solely a recording project?
Exactly. I've never not been recording, though my set up has fluctuated a lot in the last few years. Until recently, any live performance has either been just me, or me and a couple friends recruited at the last minute. Honestly, about a year ago I just decided to get serious about the songs and the project. I realized that they deserved it. A band came together and has stuck--the players are each kind of perfect.Sounds pretty harmonious. What else do you do Matt? Do you have a day job, or write, or cook?
I'm a horrible cook, but I do write--quite a bit actually. Most of it doesn't leave my desk, but it's mainly essays and poems, plus the odd fiction item thrown in. My "day job" is actually more of an evening job usually--I'm a gondolier on Lake Merritt in Oakland.Woah.
Yeah, I mean it's hard physically, but it's rad. And real. Well as real as it can be, not being in Venice. I told my friend Rachel I got the job and she said, "Fishbeck, you're the only motherfucker I ever knew who got a job to match his clothes."
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Exactly. And really, I do it for the hat.Are your customers all couples?
It's basically all couples unless it's a party celebrating couple-hood, like a wedding. Lots of proposals, some hanky panky, but it's the gondolier's job not to notice these things. I become invisible if I have to.The sacred code of the gondolier?
One of several of them, yes. Since it's Oakland there are a lot of lesbian couples. Mostly it's straights, but only once have I gotten a couple that was two men. That was also the only time I've ever gotten a $100 tip.Nice dudes.
Yeah, that's the income. I get an embarrassingly small hourly wage, but it's really tip-work. Talk about singing for your supper.You have to sing?
I do it all: row, sing, I'll tell you the story of the Republic of Venice, answer any stupid question you have about the lake or "What's that building?", I'll uncork your bottle, you name it. And I'll do it all without breaking a sweat, because I'm not allowed to.If I'm ever in Oakland…
Do it. I know it sounds corny, but it's actually pretty beautiful.I love boats and lakes.
Me too, I'm a water freak. And a sun slut. I get crazy if I'm ever landlocked. I feel it.Trapped?
Just, I don't know, scaly. Like a sea turtle at the Grand Canyon.Keep on singing, Matt.HOLY SHIT – SPF NOIR MIX[audio:http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/spf-noir.mp3]Holy Shit have releases forthcoming on Fantasy Trashcan & Porous Records, they also have passports and are waiting for someone to fly them to Europe now plz.JOEL WRIGHT
