JOAN BUSKO

Mother of Dave Brylawski (Polvo)

What kind of music did David listen to when he was little?

All that 70's stuff. One person I used to listen to all the time and that David actually likes is Leon Russell.

Did David show any special talents when he was young?

He did imitations. When he was two, he could imitate LBJ, Ed Sullivan and Elvis. The other thing he could do when he was a little baby is his dad taught him geometric shapes. I think he knew about 28 shapes. His dad was getting his dissertation in some kind of geometry.

Did David show any special musical ability when he was young?

Well, the guitar was in high school and I wouldn't let him plug it in because it was too loud, so all I'd ever hear was plunk, plunk, plunk. I'd never let him turn it on. And he had one lesson. I probably gave him a recorder when he was in elementary school. And he had a xylophone. His grandfather would play the piano and sing with him all the time. And we played records all the time. His dad was a DJ for a soul show at Dartmouth. He took David up there when he was about a month old and we used to have him cry on cue. So David was on the radio crying when he was only a month old, doing promos for his dad's show. Also, when he and his brother, Michael, went to camp, they got their DJ license real early. David was eight or nine.

What about Polvo?

I just went to see them Friday and they were great. When I came back from the Polvo concert, I wrote down some things I really noticed. First of all, when David's on stage, he has a charisma. I really think he looks good and the other thing that I like that I never thought I would is the feedback. I think that's what you call it. I love the feedback and a lot of their music has a sort of Near-Eastern take, and I really like that.

So do you listen to Polvo much?

I listen to XYC all the time so that I can be familiar with the music and know why Polvo is different, and I think Polvo really does have its own sound. I happen to love loud rock and roll, and Polvo is loud and distorted, but melodic. David said someone saw me dancing Friday night and I said "I wouldn't dance because that would embarrass you," but you can't listen and not move to it. It's so good and they were so great Friday night. David did a keyboard thing at the end and it was just marvelous. They all have their roles and they're just so good together. I love Polvo. I have their tape in my tape deck, I have their CD and David's even given me two compilations that they're on. I bought and gave away all the first Polvo seven-inches, the one with the little robot on it. But I have the one that's Erectus Polvotone and "Vibracobra"/"The Drill."

So you give Polvo recordings to your extended family as gifts?

Absolutely! And my office is full of Polvo posters and pictures. I have every article, every ad, everything in which the name "Polvo" appeared. I am the band's mom, that's what they let me be. They call me the band mom, which, I think is an honor. My mother loves their music, too. Truly. She goes to an exercise class and they dance to lots of different kinds of music, so I said, "Mom, you've got to listen to Polvo," and she did and she really liked it.

So do they listen to Polvo in her exercise class?

I think they've done it once. It might not be for everybody, but they're good! They're interesting as well as good and they really have a distinct sound. I listen to XYC in my office and I can pick out the Polvo songs from the rest. I don't know the names of the songs and, I don't know if this would embarrass David, but I can't understand the lyrics. But David says that's not important.

So do you request Polvo a lot on WXYC?

I do! I have a student who has a show at WXYC and when I was running, he would play a different Polvo song for me at 7:30 a.m. I try not to embarrass David, although I talk about Polvo all the time. I think he likes it, as long as I'm cool.