interview by Dave Stacey
(Mommy & I Are One #4 summer '96)

Young Chan Marshall is the songwriting thang behind Cat Power, a very polite, emotional woman from Atlanta, who put out an extra-excellent record on Runt called Dear Sir. It's got her pals Steve Shelley (drums) and Tim Foljahn (guitar) on it and between the three of them they end up creating the Great American Novel which is by Chan Marshall: Dear Cat Power Sir.

We begin after a brief discussion of how Chan, who grew up in Atlanta had a friend who always listened to Guns N' Roses.

DS: A lot of high school friendships go that way, you think you're the best friend in the world, and...

CH: No, oh no...

DS: How long has it been since you've seen her?

C: Let's see... it was in a bar -- this is in North Carolina by the way, and she looked identical to the same person I knew before, but we uh...

DS: Was it really her?

CH: Yeah, it was. We didn't have anything to talk about except maybe that Guns 'N Roses tape. She's like, "Hey, how are you doing? I haven't seen you for like, eight year! So, have you seen the new Guns 'N Roses video?" When I looked in her eyes, I just knew she was thinking about Guns 'N Roses.

DS: How did she end up in North Carolina? did you know her in Atlanta?

CH: No, 'cause I went to twelve schools. So, that was just one of my steps.

DS: You went to where? To twelve steps?

CH: Twelve steps! Yeah, twelve steps, that was the beginning of the realization process.

DS: That's where you tell everybody everything, right?

CH: No, that's where you learn to keep everything in. And then you tell everybody later, once you've been through the process, how to help themselves.

DS: So what kind of twelve-step program was this?

CH: Don't put me on the spot!

DS: I'm not, I'm just trying to find out...

CH: A twelve-step process that lasts 17 to 18 years. Actually starting at age 7, it lasts about 12 years actually. Twelve step program!

DS: Is that like high-school or something?

CH: First through eleventh repeated twice. Change the subject! C'mon, keep this baby rolling!

DS: So...uh, you're from Atlanta, right?

CH: Yes, that's where the twelve-step program began.

DS: Isn't that where they had that big fir?

CH: Ohh, I missed it though, but they would've had another one but L.A. beat us before we could really get another one going. During the riots, I was downtown at Macy's or Rich's or one of those stores during the whole Rodney King thing. It was my day off and I was walking around and there was this little above-ground subway thing called Marta. And I took Marta down there, and I'm in the lingerie department downstairs there in the basement, there's an exit down there that leads to the subway, and I'm in line, you know, I'm getting something, and the phone at the cash register just starts ringing, going crazy, like, ring! ring! ring! And the woman picks up and she's like "oh my god, oh my god!" It turned out that she had to tell everyone that there was a gunshot fired in the building and for everybody to remain calm and just leave if they want to, whatever. But it was like half-price off day or something and they just didn't care. About the gun being fired there, they were like, "Gimme that garter belt!" So, I walk outside, I didn't know what it was about you know. Ignorant white girl. It seemed sort of, well, this is an aggressive sort of day!" So I get home and turn on the news and it turns out that building I was in, all the windows ended up getting smashed and they were just beating people up all over the place. It ended up being really scary. The Coast Guard or whatever came in with these big trucks, kind of like tanks and all these police with shields and they were surrounding all these people. And it was very scary and they threw tear gas at them and they just ran away and they didn't really catch anybody and it was totally pointless. I don't know. Change the conversation.

DS: Where were you when JFK was shot?

CH: That's horrible. You know I'm only twenty! I'm just kidding. I'm sorry.

DS: So you moved from Atlanta to New York?

CH: When I was twenty.

DS: Was that because of the Rodney King decision?

CH: Basically, I was tired of the "quiet racism." I wanted really, in-your-face racism... no, I needed to leave for lots of reasons and it was a really hard decision because I was really unhappy here. Now I'm fine! and I'm leaving tomorrow.

DS: Are you and Benjamin (from the Atlanta band Smoke) kissing cousins?

CH: Yeah, we're cousins and we're... intimate.

DS: Do you guys tour together?

CH: Oh, boy! We're touring animals! I'm gonna see them when I'm in Atlanta, cause I'm goin' down there, I'm leaving tomorrow for Memphis, and then I'll be in North Carolina for a week. Then I go to Tennessee again, to a couple of places, then I go to Athens and Atlanta, and I'll probably see them there.

DS: So what's bringing you out to Portland Oregon? What's up with that?

CH: What the fuck?? I don't know, it's really pretty and clean and it's gonna be Spring, and I want a nice, quiet time.

DS: You're just gonna go there and relax, kick back? Hang out with the guy from Discouraging Records! Ha ha, so you're going to Memphis to go record at Easeley Studios or something?

CH: Yeah, man!

DS: Is that with your pal Steve?

CH: My pal Steve and my pal Tim. Oh, and John Lee Hooker's flying back in for two guitar solo leads on the back of the album. The last couple of songs, just for like, ten seconds. Actually there's this one song that I hired him for, and it's just this light tapping of his foot (taps her spoon on a dish to demonstrate how light it is) that's all. Just kidding.

DS: That fits in your plan! Judging from your last record I could see that.

CH: Oh, don't be mean!

DS: I'm not, I'm no, I really liked that last record. I actually went out and bought it yesterday.

CH: Really?

DS: You want to see it? I have it?

CH: I don't want to see it.

DS: (reads from the cover)

Dear CATPOWER sir I have heaviness with a dr. molkner sir it's a rabbit stew with you it's you it's you sire we've got rabbit stew this time - and i'm in you i'm in you sire with a heavy line a very fine line indeed mr. wolfe it's heavy -- like you to meet and marry and have many smaller ones with my cousin pete you're a lot alike believe it about mr.warner tell him to change the stuff fuck this shit i'm hit that's bobby clayton for ya that's bobby please come to dinner some nite with mokner we're having rabbit stew call pete say hello and eat him then put him into a rabbit stew call pete say hello and eat him then put him into a rabbit with bobby mokner and eat - him raw with dr. molkner dr. molkner's no joke - he's heavy like me we've got heaviness with a doctor it's doctorial moks' no joke love - ya you sissy ass candy person CAT POWER sir

Where does that come from?

CH: My friend Jennifer used to live in the hotel and there was this old man and I guess he was crazy and nobody wanted to say hello to him and she would always say hello to him and you know, kind of took a liking to him. One day, she saw him being taken away by the proverbial white coat, as one might say. He was really sad and reached into his pocket and gave her the note before they took him away. It was three rectangular pieces of paper taped together that were very dated, and the paper was very dates, disintegrating...

DS: Well worn! Like the Declaration of Independence.

CH: Yes tattered at the edges, and the script was from that era as well, written with one of those feather things.

DS: What did it say?

CH: It said everything that was there. It may have been in Savannah, actually. It's sort of in memory of him. Like, where is he now? If that was written to him, then does that mean that he was gay?

DS: Was he called Catpower?

CH: I put that in. I don't think that was invented at that time. Actually, I guess he did wear one of those Superman outfits. In the late twenties, he'd run around, and say he was Superman. I think he just wore tights and had a "C" and a "P" cut out on his butt. (reads from the cover of the CD) "Dear sir, I have heaven with rabbits." It's consecutive letter, you know? This all made up three letters that he cherished so much that he taped them together and obviously had hanging on his wall, and they just disintegrated through time, you know. What was the specific meaning? Perhaps he was part of some sort of writer's community years and years ago, cause there's some kind of underlying SARCASM left and right. Are you mad?

DS: So when did you start playing with Steve, your drummer?

CH: I had opened up for Liz Phair at the Academy and I didn't know anybody at sound check and long story, whatever... I'm not going to say anything mean, but just that Tim and Steve were totally nice to me, like "You don't know anybody? Come out with us to dinner..." We kept in touch, and I hadn't played in a long time, and when I did, I was playing with someone very close to me, and he was in Atlanta, and I didn't know what I was doing, so I didn't want to be playing with other people right then. Know what I mean? It's still the same thing, I don't know what I'm saying.

DS: No, I know what you mean...

CH: No, you don't!

DS: Ok, you have this one record out it's like an EP

CH: EP! EP! EP!

DS: Then you have another record that's gonna come out on Smells Like, right?

CH: That should be out in two weeks, I always tell everyone two weeks, ha ha

DS: Was that recorded a while ago?

CH: that was recorded the same time that the other record was recorded. They both came out way too late, so I don't know.

DS: Was that recorded ten years ago?

CH: It was part of the 12-step reunion! We all reunited in the basement. They had never been involved with the 12-step program before, so it was interesting how it worked out.

And so Catpower moved away from New York to the great northwest to pursue a quiet Springtime and record a new record for Matador Records. In-between her pal/drummer is putting out another record on his label Smells Like.

Myra Lee LP/CD
(Smells Like, 1996)

-- Mommy and I Are One, $3 from P.O. Box 643, Allston, MA 02134.