David Byrne
Wooooo Five, 12.07 [Link]
Interview: Jason Crombie
Illustration: Jason Polan
 
David Byrne is a Grammy Award, Academy Award and Golden Globe winning musician best known as a founding member and the principal songwriter of the New Wave band Talking Heads. Wow! That’s a pretty amazing first paragraph I just pulled from Wikipedia! Thanks Wikipedia! Academy Award winner? Wow! What the hell is doing in Wooooo right? It’s not like he needs the press! Truth of the matter is this—I saw David Byrne riding his bike down Houston St. here in New York, and I chased him on foot with tape-recorder in hand, and I ran along side him and I interviewed him. That’s journalism man. That’s how it’s meant to be done. You don’t play footsy with agents and the like, you just get in there and you get the story. To be honest it wasn’t as hard as all that, he rides like Estelle Getty, I just leisurely strolled up to him and said—“How come your arms is so hairy then?” He just went “uh-oh” and we took it from there.
 
Has a girl ever been put off by your hairy arms?
If so they’ve been quiet about it.

Is it true Lou Reed advised you not to wear short sleeves on stage?
Yes.

Bit rude. Do you think if push came to shove you could beat Lou Reed in a fight?
No comment.

Who do you think would win in a fight between say, David Bowie and Lou Reed?
I dunno—both those guys trained with boxers, I believe—so...

Do you like that your hair went white? It looks pretty cool doesn't it? I like it.
I’m used to it and yes I think it looks better, much better, than when I was dying it.

You're 55 now, I wonder would you consider a name change to maintain appeal to a younger audience? Would you consider renaming yourself  'Burny-D'?
No Comment.

What about 'Dirty-Burner'?
No comment.

Do you give much thought to your legacy?
Now and then. Well, I realize that not too many people know pop songs from 1907—a hundred years ago—though pop songs, some of them, like Stephen Foster’s are still around—and opera arias were sort of pop tunes, in a way. But in general it’s an ephemeral medium.

Do you think pottery is a legitimate art form?
It’s certainly thought of that way in the East.

True. Does your daughter think you're cool or are you just an old dork like everyone else's dad?
I think both—which must be confusing.

Do your parents get what you do?
Sometimes.

Who was the first girl you ever kissed? Where did it happen? how did it happen etc... 
On a double date at the movies in the small town where I went to high school and Jr. High. I forget her name.

Do you think Nick Cave could beat Ryan Seacrest in a fight?
What’s with the fights?

Nick would kill him! Ha Ha! So I've heard you believe that adversity breeds creativity and contentment does just the opposite. Talk us through the time you got mugged and explain if/how that effected you artistic output.
I don’t know if a mugging counts as adversity—but living in a city where it posed a constant threat, as it did in the 70s, that might encourage one to....strive harder to get out of there.

Is contentment real? Can anyone ever be truly content?
If they are they’re fooling themselves. 

Finally, you may ask yourself—is this the best interview I ever did? and you may ask yourself—should I change my name to 'Burny-D'  and you may tell yourself—What?
I have to figure out what to do tonight.

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