Interview date: 06/13/2007
On Tuesday, June 5, we arranged an interview at Zagreb’s Teatar & TD with Woven Hand frontman David Eugene Edwards. But thanks to some minor organizational hiccups, there wasn’t enough time left for the interview. So we stayed in touch with the manager and nine days later did the interview over email. All well and good, but if there wasn’t enough time back then, even though there were at least fifteen minutes left before the official start of the show, this time David Eugene Edwards gave RockLine.Info a whole minute, two at most. Still, it seems you can learn a lot more about Edwards from the short, curt answers and the way he handled the questions than from what he actually said. So, David Eugene Edwards a.k.a. Crazy Horse!
Rockline.info (RLI): I read somewhere that 16 Horsepower broke up because of the different creative visions among the band members (besides David Eugene Edwards, drummer Jean-Yves Tola and bassist Pascal Humbert). Woven Hand is now made up of two thirds of 16 Horsepower, and you guested as a singer on the album Short Stories by Lilium (Pascal Humbert and Jean-Yves Tola). So what changed?
David Eugene Edwards (DEE): The drummer
RLI: You once said there’s no difference between the songs you wrote for 16 Horsepower and the ones you write for Woven Hand. But on the latest Woven Hand albums, the sound seems hugely different compared to your earlier records. Is that the road 16 Horsepower would have gone down too?
DEE: You mean – the road to destruction
RLI: There’s a lot of Native American influence and motifs in your music. Were you directly familiar with that culture?
DEE: Yes, I am Crazy Horse
RLI: Your music feels more focused on rhythm than on melody. Is that a conscious thing?
DEE: What is melody?
RLI: How many instruments do you play?
DEE: None at the moment
RLI: Considering the songs you’ve covered and the various collaborations with other musicians, I’m curious whether there’s another song you’d really love to cover, and who else you’d like to work with?
DEE: Nickelback
RLI: One musician who pops up pretty regularly in your music is Bob Dylan. On Secret South you covered his song “Nobody ‘Cept You”, and the title of his album New Morning shows up in the lyrics of “Swedish Purse” from your latest album Mosaic. Is there one of his albums that’s especially close to your heart, and what do you make of his recent studio work (Time Out Of Mind, ”Love & Theft” and Modern Times)?
DEE: Saved
RLI: John Coltrane dedicated his most famous work, A Love Supreme, to God. With you, it seems God isn’t just a one-off inspiration, so is He more than just an inspiration? Can you tell us a bit more about that?
DEE: He is more than inspiration
He is God for heaven’s sake
RLI: Lately your interest in the eastern parts of the Old Continent has been hard to miss. Your tours are spreading further into Eastern Europe (and Russia), and in the song “Slota Prow” you sing in Hebrew. What did you find in the East that draws you in so much?
DEE: Chicken wings and dumplings
RLI: How did you get in touch with Ultima Vez, the Belgian dance-art company led by Wim Vandekeybus?
DEE: Mostly by phone
RLI: Is there any interest in making a third Ultima Vez / Woven Hand production?
DEE: Unsure of question
RLI: We’ve seen you as an actor in the dance-film spectacle Puur (Innocent) and in the movie Wrong Eyed Jesus. Can we expect to see you on the big screen more often?
DEE: Always
RLI: It looks like you’ve become a bit more productive with Woven Hand. Do you write music constantly when you’re not on tour, and can we expect a new album soon?
DEE: The albums for the future are already made
RLI: How come you produce all your albums yourself?
DEE: I’m best at amateur stuff
RLI: If you don’t mind, could you tell us a bit more about your background, musical and otherwise?
DEE: Mostly shaded blue with a little green
RLI: Bob Dylan is famous for his never-ending tours, while on the other hand there’s someone like Tom Waits, who only plays live really rarely. What’s your take on touring – how much of it is necessity and how much is pleasure? Or is it maybe something else entirely?
DEE: It’s lonely on the road
