kate gronner - guitar

(this interview was done at kate's apartment. james recorded the interview on an audio tape and transcribed it here)

James Flanagan: Do you like playing music in the Coughs?
Kate Gronner: Yes, I quite enjoy playing music in Coughs. It is the joy of
my day.
JF: Why do you like it?
KG: Because I don't know how to play the guitar yet. I do so. It kind of
makes it fun that I don't have to practice basically. That I can just do
stuff and can't speak correcly.
JF: You never talk.
KG: (sarcastically) I communicate through my musical vehichle. It's called
the guitar.
JF: You make the guitar talk.
KG: That's it. The guitar is translating my voice.
JF: What do you think of the political dimension to Coughs? Because I've
never heard you say anything about politics.
KG: I'm not a very political person. Not that I don't care. But I just
don't express myself in a political manner, I'm on the same note as
everyone else in the band. there. (laughs) Politics are good.
JF: I've onnly recently been able to talk about politics without feeling
stupid...
KG: Because of?
JF: Because I thought that if I was talking about politics I was being
pretensious and irritating.I felt embarassed to talk about political stuff.
KG:Yeah, my friends never talk about politics. The only time I ever talked
about politics was with my dad until I met you guys...
JF: and all of a sudden..
KG: (sarcastically) the political world opened into my eyes and it was
amazing! and the rabbit's biting me.
JF: Did you ever want to be in a band before you were in Coughs?
KG:Yeah, Since I was a little kid. I remember being three and playing with
toy guitars. "I wanna be in a band." pretty much my whole life. I never
thought it would happen becuase I was too lazy to practice so I'm never
going to be in a band.
JF: Were you intimidated to play music in front of people?
KG: Not really. I just never did. I just never had the opportunity because
none of my friends played any instruments. I just didn't either. At the
beginning of Coughs I was intimidated. "You guys know how to play
instruments and I don't! Ahh!"
JF: Why did that change?
KG: I just got used to it. I realized I didn't need to know how to play an
instrument.
JF: Why aren't there more women in bands?
KG: I don't know. I was thinking about that the other day. Most of the
music I listen to is all men. Maybe boys have it more pushed upon them as
they're growing up.
JF: Yeah. Especially with guitar. They always push girls to play piano,
they're never psuhed to play guitar. Classical guitar is almost a boys
instrument.
KG: Flute and piano are the girl's thing and everything else is the boy's
thing.
JF: And the musical instruments in rock bands, it's either drums or guitar.
KG: None of my friends played any instruments. I knew one girl who played
the saxophone. That was the extent of instrument playing in the girl's I
knew wheras the boy's all took guitar lessons and stuff.
JF: Do you think that men in bands actively discourage women from playing
instruments?
KG: Maybe unconsciously.
JF: What should I ask you?_
KG: You should ask me why my tv's possesed. What kind of household
cleaner's do I like?
JF: What kind of houshold cleaners do you like?_
KG: I'm particuluarly fond of ajax because it has that fresh scent I was
dying my hair last night and I got the tub all dirty and I poured that ajax
on there and it cleaned it right up.
JF: Wow.
KG: Yeah, ajax is cool.
JF: you know what get's the grease off is if you pour drain cleaner on top
of your kitchen sink, if it's stained with filth or something, The
KG: Draino?
JF: The draino, it bubbles and turn white. It's pretty amazing.
KG: Wow, I never tried Drano for anything except unclogging my fucking
backed up bathtub drain. My radiators leaking and theres a big sag in the
fllor and I thijnk it's going to fall through.
JF: Oh, like a water damage sag?
KG: Yeah.
JF: Since you do visual art as well, do you seperate your music and your
art or is it all the same?
KG: It's pretty seperate for me. The music is less expressionistic and more
fun. But I don't go for all trhat expression crap in my art. I don't think
I express myself in my painting either.
JF; You don't
KG: . I don't feel like I do.
JF: How do you express yourself then?
KG: I don't think I do. I don't ever express myself..
JF: Do you have all these pent up demons then?
KG: Yes, they're going to burst out and eat everybody's head.