Want to read some stuff about the ever talented Janet?
Janet's own words (from a SF paper):
"Carrie and Corin -- their guitars and vocals -- fill so much space with tension. I'm pausing at some points, pulling at some points, and at other points I just sit back and let them battle.
In June '97, Janet -Sleater-Kinney's so fab drummer-told me some of the music she'd been listening to in her car.
The Wipers "Over The Edge" - the most important Portland band, ever!
Bikini Kill "Reject All American" - great drummer!!! Toby's got it all...beats, great vocals, and is super cute to boot.
Elliott Smith "Either/Or" - I've got a major crush on this record. Can't seem to get through a day without it. The third song has saved me from many a gloomy mood.
Booker T and the MG's "Soul Dressing" / Jimmy Smith "The Cat" - These guys worked their Hammond organs like masters.
Built to Spill "Perfect From Now On" - Another Northwest choice. Perfect is right.
An email sent to me from Foxset@aol.com
did you know that janet is not only one of the most rockin' drummers around she is also known in some circles as the karioke queen. She also is the proud owner of a very sweet dalmation named POPPY.
QUASI: Movies, America, and Microcosmos
Quasi is a 2 piece (Sam: organ, stringed things, devoted biker, thinker, and Janet: drums, mod, Sleater-Kinney star) wonder from Portland that just makes my insides all warm. Like taking a grip to the cookie factory on Sesame Street or realizing that the eyes in the painting on the wall are watching, Quasi is up to a little more than playing distorted pop songs. I interviewed them in clinton street video where the Sam half of Quasi works.
M: How long have you been playing together? J: As Quasi or as any incarnation? M: Any Incarnation. Then as Quasi. J: Since like 1990, it was a pretty loose interpretation of what we are playing now, we were playing in the basement. I guess we were playing as Quasi before. How long have we been playing Sam? 3 years? 4 years? How long Sam? S: The early recordings were 3 or 4 years ago. I need the last 4 digits of your phone number that's gonna be your account number. M: What's your favorite movie? J: My favorite movie? Um, I'm a movie freak, so to pick just one is really hard. The movie that I really like that I saw recently is "Elevator to the Gallows". S: Do you have a credit card or a debit card or something like that? J: It's supposedly like the first French New Wave movie, in the late 50's, that sparked the whole genre. M: Was it documentary or just film? J: No, just the first film in that genre.
M: Do you play just drums or do you switch off and play other stuff too? J: I try to play just the drums, it's what I'm best at. I play a little bit of guitar. I can play several instruments pretty badly. But the drums is the only thing I play efficiently at all. M: Who or what inspires you? J: I guess the people I play with. Sam's pretty inspiring. M: What triggers you to play: The feeling of playing drums or something you listen to the night before? J: Could be either, not one particular thing, but usually getting together with people. S: These are all two bucks, all the moview are two bucks for two days except all the movies over there and they're 3 bucks for one day. J: (continues) Drums are such a physical experience, it does definitely make you feel good and getting together with people, looking forward to that drives me to play. S: Six o'clock is the official time, but we don't actually start charging a late fee until after seven. J: It's not like guitar where you can create something that can be controlled on it's own. You can practice on your own keeping your skills, you know? Not for some beautiful melody line, but to combine the rhythm with the melodies is really satisfying. M: That's what makes you feel good? J: Ya. M: What state of mind makes you play the best? J: Probably when I haven't played in awhile. You think you'd be out of shape and play really badly, but your brain had a chance to catch up, think up new things, listen to new things, sort of actually be inspired without actually playing so then when you go to play you miss it because you haven't done it for awhile.
M: What inspires you the most? S: I don't know. It's just psychological turmoil. Up one day, down the next day. Everything 's a song, you know, it's kind of sick. It's really unhealthy, but it's my life. J: (chuckles) M: What's better than a robot? J: Better than a robot? S: Angela? J: My dog. M: Your dog's better than a robot? J: Oh ya. I wish he were a robot sometimes. I wish he would act a little more like a robot. M: I have a whiny cat at home. M: What's your favorite insect? J: Cricket. M & J: What's your favorite insect (to customer)? S: Five dollars. C: Preying mantis. M: Why? C: Have you watched them move? They move their heads a lot. Their heads can go all the way, almost 360 degrees S: (opens cash register - "ching") Both are due back tomorrow and Doom Generation due back at six... M: You like crickets because of the noise it makes? J: I like grasshoppers too. M: Did you notice that you don't hear them that much anymore? J: I heard that the louder the crickets are determines, not determines, but relates to how hot it will be the next day. M: Really???? J: That's why you hear them only in the summer. Is that true? S: I don't know. J: That's what I heard. M: Interesting. J: On a summers' night when you hear tons of crickets you know it's gonna be really hot the next day. M: What's you favorite insect? S: there's a lot of really great insects, but I don't know the name of a lot of them. There's the one dung beetle that rolls those balls across, it walks backwards and rolls this ball of dung along into this hole or something. M: Did you see Microcosmos? S: Ya I did see that. There were great dung beetles in that. That one that came up against a stick and it was trying to get it over a stick and it... M: Was trying and trying... S: and it seemed like it was going through a thought process. M: The dung beetle went through a series of different stages to try to push the dung ball along. It gog stuck on a thorn. S: That's right. M: Pushing this little piece of dung and it gets stuck (sucking sound effect of dung beetle getting stuck on thorn) so he's kicking it. S: And he's digging around and it's weird to see a bug think, you don't think bugs think. Like ants, not individually, but collectively think, or bees, but like a single dung beetle, sort of logically trying to get the shit off the thorn. That was amazing. M: Not giving up either. S: Ya. S: Yougave me a twenty right? C: Ya. S: I thought so, but I was listening to that thing about Napolean. 18 dollars and sign on the line and you'll be set. That'll be due back Friday. M: What's YOUR favorite movie (to Sam)? S: I don't know. I've seen more movies in the last couple of weeks than I've seen in the last several years. There's a lot of good ones out there. I don't like most American or Hollywood movies, but I'll probably exhaust all the other ones and start watching only Hollywood and think, "ya Hollywood is great", but as of now, I hate it.
M: What is it like playing together having been in a relationship? S: ummmmm J: ummmmm S: Time wounds all heals... J,M,S: (laughs) S: There were many awkward moments. M: Did you ever think you can't play together? J: I don't think we ever said it. S: There were many times when it wasn't very comfortable, but it's hard to find someone to play music with that works out good. You know self-interest can gather much strength. It's amazing how much self-interest can override any kind of other considerations if you let it. J: The music also stayed good, you know, it's kind of odd. S: Our music was just starting to get good when we split apart. It would have been a shame to dump it right there so we tried to just split that off from whatever other feelings we had and for the most part it worked out.
M: What's better than a robot for you? S: What robot? A specific robot? The concept of a robot? M: You don't specify what kind of robot on the song! S: Well, you see that song is about suddenly realizing that you're a person and then like thinking about how horrible people are sometimes, sometimes they're great too, but that's why it's better to be a person than a robot, so it's just relative. M: What's your fascination with apes? S: An ape to me....is like my....most of me is ape, but part of me is not an ape. All people are basically apes, like 5% of people is not ape, but a lot of times ape is just running rampant and that 5% is just buried somewhere, so it's how I see paes, not just apes, but people as apes. M: We aren't that far from apes, considering how long we've been around. What do you think is the best thing and worst thing about America? S: Wow that's really complex! M: It could be really easy though! J: Charlie! (enter Charlie du Pond) J: Charlie's the best thing about America. S: Charlie is ONE of the best things about America Ch: I am definitely the best thing about America. J: That's something I try not to think about. S: It's hard not to get down on America. I find myself pretty down on it, and yet, it's okay. I travel around and it's great. M: What's the best place you've been to in America? S: Uh.... J: Portland! S: I love cities, even though they have a lot of problems. M: Everyone wants to move to the country, but if you move to the country it's not the country anymore, because they put the strip mall next to their house because they miss the mall. S: That's one of the worst things about America. If you travel around now everything's identical, same chains with the same architecture with the same restaurants and stores, everywhere from the south to the north to the east to the west.
M: Any last comments on things? S: Well what do you want to say to make your magazine interesting for people? J: How do we sell the product?!!! S: Does my hand look orange? M: It looks a little orange. J: Jaundice? S: No, carrots. M: Hives? S: No, carrots! J: You should be careful of carrots. S: Ya, you can OD on beta caroteen. J: It's vitamin A that's bad for your liver. S: We get 25 pound bags of carrots for 6 dollars. M: Where? J: It will make your eyes bloodshot too! S: I think I'm turning yellow.
Thank you Janet, Sam, and Nancy for the excellent transcribing.
Janet Weiss is definetly the drummer Sleater-Kinney should keep. Eventhough Laura Macfarlane was great it was hard for her to stay with them since she lived in Australia. Misty Farrell was good on the You Aint It! 7" and Toni Gogin helped them on tour but Janet is the best. Her drumming style is similiar to Laura's but she made S-K sound different on Dig Me Out as compared to Call the Doctor. I saw S-K twice with Janet playing. I first saw them at the Cooler in NYC with Cold Cold Hearts, Modest Mouse, Unwound, 764-Hero, and I.F.O.J. and I thought Laura would be there but Janet was instead. Janet played drums with CCH's and S-K that night and she rocked. The second time at Central Park was amazing. They played a new song Big Big Lights. They took the stage played fast and then GBV's played. I think the Sleater-Kinney grrrls rule! Carrie, Corin, and Janet really show alot energy and excitement on stage.