In The Dock

By Steve Athwal

Where the Stars Go On Trial for their Shady Pasts

Charge Sheet:
The accused, Butch Vig, originally earned his reputation as the hotshot Seattle producer. He is responsible for shaping the sound of one of the most infuential albums of the last ten years, Nirvana's 'Nevermind'. He also sprinkled his magic dust over Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and L7, and has notched up remix credits with the likes of Nine Inch Nails. Before all this, Vig was in a band, cutting his musical teeth in and around seattle, and today we find him in a similar position, on the drumstool with his new outfit Garbage, a noisy, groovy, rhythmic quartet whose self-titled debut album will be released late September/early October.

CHARGE 1
That Garbage would not have made any waves were it not for your high-profile reputation as a producer.

"Realistically, I'd have to say guilty. But fortunately we've found that most of the people who have heard the record like the music. Initially people were thinking they were going to get a grunge record, like the bands I've produced. It's good that people judge the music and the songs independantly from anything else."

CHARGE 2
That it is a contradiction for you to be organised enough to be a studio technician and a drummer.

"Not guilty, because I used to be involved in production of my earlier bands as well as playing the drums. Because of the success of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins the last five years have been spent producing, but I'm doing exactly the same as I've been in the last 15 years."

CHARGE 3
That, considering you could have anyone as your front person, it was an extraordinary move to have plucked a hard-drinking Scot from a going-nowhere band like Goodbye Mr MacKenzie.

"Guilty. Steve (Marker, guitarist) saw Shirley on MTV's 120 Minutes and taped the show. He told me she'd be perfect for Garbage and we both fell in love with her voice. Soon we met her in London, then for a few beers in Chicago where we worked on three songs. Slowly but surely the chemistry started to spark and we discovered we were all into the darker pop thing: self-destruction, hedonism, voyeurism, and perversion."

CHARGE 4
That although your own contribution to the mid-'90s musical revolution was immense, Garbage are a surprisingly melodic band.

"Guilty in the sense that I'm a pop geek - I love pop music. Even when I'm producing, if I hear hooks and melody I always try and pull that out. Nirvana were an incredible pop band; Kurt wrote amazing melodies and was an amazing songwriter. That was the kind of record we wanted to make when we started Garbage - a really cool pop record."

CHARGE 5
That it was tempting fate for a band featuring three men and a woman to pen a song about Lorena Bobbit's penis-snipping exploits (allegedly the subject matter of Garbage's first single, 'Vow').

"Not guilty. Ha ha ha! That came about when we told a journalist that 'Vow' was about the Bobbit case. The song is about an intense relationship between a couple - showing that violence can come from a psychological standpoint rather than a physical one because it can be just as damaging. The way we write the song should become more ambiguous and less literal, so people can read into it whatever they want."

CHARGE 6
That although you were christened Brian, you adopted the name Butch to make you sound more, er, butch.

"Not guilty. I was given that name when I was two years old because every month my dad gave me a butch haircut. I eventually got my revenge on him by growing my hair really long and having a beard and moustache - a hippy-esque mode. Even my parents call me Butch and it always sounds odd when people do call me Brian."

CHARGE 7
That you must have supreme confidence in your musical merits to have abandoned such lucrative studio work.

"Guilty. People tell me I'm crazy to give up the studio side, but I'm obsessed and passionate about playing music. Creatively, it's sometimes more satisfying working on your own music that producing somebody else. I can live comfortably now - I'm not rich and I don't care if I am or not - and I'll always be into music and how it affects me personally."

CHARGE 8
That the least famous member of your band - Shirley - is the only one with any real stage experience.

"Not guilty. Duke and I played in a band called Spooner that released three albums and toured all over the place. That evolved into a band called Firetown which had two albums out and again we toured everywhere, from 1986 - 1989. I'm in terrible shape now to start touring again, because it's much more physical that producing. We're in the process of rehearsing so hopefully I'll be road-fit in time. Shirley has more recent stage experience, yet a year ago she didn't want to tour. Now she wants to tour more that anybody because we're much more comfortable as a band now."

CHARGE 9
That although you were part of something that was initially worthy, the grunge 'scene' has become as redundant and self-conscious as the rock stars it set out to replace.

"Guilty. When the record labels jump onto a scene they create the demand, signing bands who emulate the latest 'sound', and the whole scene goes stale. Eventually something new will stick its head up, then that will be the latest thing. In rock'n'roll everything is cyclical; it's impossible to invent something entirely new. The most exciting bands are those who incorporate all those elements of punk, funk, techno, hip hop, etc. That's what Garbage are trying to do, to take those influences and make them work in the context of a pop song."

CHARGE 10
That your grunge credibility would have been tarnished if it was common knowledge that you had worked with (ageing '70s glam star) Gary Glitter.

Ha ha ha! Not guilty, only because I never worked with him, but Steve did a couple of remixes for him over here. I have met him, though, and I was able to tell him how much I loved (his mega-hit) 'Rock'n'Roll Part 2'. But no, I didn't work with him. Sorry!"