Vic Chesnutt Interview

Paradiso,Amsterdam, 2008
Image by Rémi Pinaud. Interview by Jochen Heyden.
Vic was born in 1964 in Jacksonville, FL and was raised in Zebulon, GA. He loved music from an early age and, in fact, started writing songs when he was only five years old. He played trumpet in a high school cover band. As he got older and began buying records, his first favorites were Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. After a car accident in 1983 that left him partially paralyzed and the recuperation period that followed, Vic came to "a whole new understanding of music. The first results were what he describes as vacuous pop songs But when he discovered a book called The Norton Anthology Of Modern Poetry (its footnotes were eureka!) Vic had, for the first time, what he describes as that art feeling. It was then that his songs began to take on adult form. In the middle 80s, Vic moved to Athens, GA to study English. He formed a group called The La Di Das and began playing the clubs around town. In 1988 he quit the band and started playing solo shows, including a summer-long residency at The 40 Watt. It was then that Michael Stipe saw Vic, repeatedly, and was moved to invite him into a recording studio. They recorded the songs that became his debut album, Little and Vics career effectively began. Vic has made 10 albums to date as well as 2 albums in collaboration with Widespread Panic under the name Brute. He was the subject of a documentary in 1992 entitled Speed Racer directed by noted indie filmmaker Peter Sillen. In 1995 he had bit part in Billy Bob Thorntons film Slingblade. In 1996, Columbia Records put together Sweet Relief II: Gravity Of The Situation - The Songs of Vic Chesnutt, a benefit album to assist musicians with medical and financial hardship. It featured Vics songs covered by the likes of Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, Garbage & R.E.M. In 2000, The Georgia House Of Representatives passed a resolution, honoring Vic for his off-beat musical genius and other purposes. In 2001 he wrote and performed the music for Josiah Meigs and Me, a puppet play done at St. Annes Warehouse in Brooklyn. In January of 2004, Vic participated in the Randy Newman Tribute at UCLAs Royce Hall along with Victoria Williams, Bill Frisell, Rip Torn and many others. In June of this year, he was invited to share the bill with Rickie Lee Jones for two concerts at the prestigious Century Of Song Festival in Essen, Germany. Over the last few years he has also been speaking on songwriting and creative writing at Berklee School Of Music, Brown University and The University Of Georgia. Vic continues to tour extensively all over the world and has shared stages with the likes of R.E.M., Laura Nyro, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, John Cale, Mo Tucker, The Jayhawks, Allen Toussaint, P.J. Harvey, Wilco, Billy Swan, Giant Sand, Calexico and The Sadies. Reference: 2006 New West Records LLC

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[karaokeyoga]

I appreciate that you've remained alive.

[crushdesign]

I bought AT THE CUT today with no idea he had died. Had a look on the web to find out more about him. Totally shocked! Very sad indeed

[eddill100]

@EllOEllproductions

I gave up, a long time ago, expecting the artists I like to all be married to their art in the purist sense. Some of the greatest art has probably been made by people that were more interested in fame, money, sex and staying out of the factory. People like to say it's a recent thing. What were all those professional Brill writers doing. Sitting in a cubicle, whipping out pop songs. We think a lot of them are quite good today.

[eddill100]

@EllOEllproductions :

Don't vomit. What you're talking about is a romantic notion of the arts but not necessarily realistic.

Bieber is probably one of less offensive people who get spoiled by early success. He seems polite enough (in public at least) and may actually have some talent, although not operating in a style that most older people would enjoy. Did Johnny Rotten (Lydon) scam us by joining a "put together" punk band that wound up lasting about 5 minutes and deconstructed. Beats me.

[MckyMseNTarotCrds]

I want to hear the song him and that fat guy were talking about at that party, the one w/ those awesome lyrics. "Leaving my soul! Leaving my soul! and then I drop down like in poetry, dot, dot , dot."

[madeyes4u]

@xBillyTheKidx I feel you, but we can't decide when we'll discover new music...So, don't feel so embarassed. The same thing happens to me too!

[painxtreme]

@EllOEllproductions What it has become? Ever hear of Pat Boone and Race music? Just because we have a spoiled little brat in the charts doesn't mean there haven't been sicker happenings in the form.

[failingwithin]

@EllOEllproductions Of course if someones goal is to lay chicks every night then he's out of my interest. :)

[failingwithin]

@EllOEllproductions Also, we cannot compare the two individuals. We don't know how Justin Bieber would live if he was in a situation like Vic's. We all have good and bad situations in our lives and in every one of them we try to do our best. For me, success is not derived from how much others appreciate what we do because it's something completely relative. For me success is derived by how happy and proud we are for what we do.

[failingwithin]

@EllOEllproductions Well, I can understand how you feel. People like Vic are heroes to me, but what is music supposed to be, to have became something we appreciate as garbage? Please, don't take this the wrong way. I believe Vic is an inspiration to anyone who truly loves something. Just because Justin Bieber is a success in what he does, whatever this is, it doesn't mean that we have to agree that he is someone we support, therefore I don't try to have a good opinion against him.

[samesamething]

god bless this soul.

[DeckardWill]

Loved Chesnutt's music since his early days.

Missing him.