CLARE FISK
Mother of Steve Fisk (Pell Mell)

Do you remember, when he was a little kid, what he wanted to be when he grew up?

Sure! (long pause)

Well...

He wanted to be Abbott & Costello at first.

What? He wanted to be a good speller?

(laughs) No, Abbot & Costello. He and his brother used to put on Abbott & Costello clothing and hats and run around. They also took a prize in a neighborhood Halloween parade. Dracula... and the Mummy. I can't remember which was which but they were frightening and cute.

How old is his brother?

He's eighteen months younger, his name is Benjamin. They used to play music together. I think Steve thought about fifteen minutes about being a doctor once but that didn't last long. From the time he was 12 or 13, he was interested in art and music.

Did he take any lessons?

First he started off in school. He did clarinet and oh god he was good but he couldn't do what he wanted to do with it which was to use it as a social tool, to be in the marching band. That didn't work for him at all so he gave the whole thing up...but he was so good!

What do you mean it didn't work for him?

He couldn't manage the physical part; the marching and the playing at the same time wouldn't work. He wasn't that kind of a human. So he went to keyboards. He father bought him a little Farfisa when he was about 13 and arranged for lessons.

He knew what kind of organ to get?

Oh yes, he knew what he wanted. And I bought him a synthesizer when he was about 18. That was hard for me to do: that was a lot of money!

What groups was he into?

The Beatles, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the Who. We all went to a local production of Tommy once.

Did he have any particular idiosyncrasies?

Intensity. If he got going on an art project, you couldn't get him at the table. I mean he would work for 18 hours until he got what he had in his mind completed....also, it seemed like an idiosyncrasy at the time (I'd never lived with a lot of males). I always thought he was overly interested in the way he looked. I found out that's the way the whole world his but he was unashamedly that way and I think the whole world is because this was just before the world went tipsy topsy turvy in the '60s. He was very unhappy with the natural cut of his hair until he found out by contacting the broader world (because we lived in a pretty narrow band of reality, everything around us was middle-class middle-class) that white kids were wearing Afros, then he adopted that. And then he was happy.

Really? He had an Afro? Was that a political statement for him?

Yeah, it was in a way, but I think it was more cultural. If he could've worn his hair down to his butt, he would. But when he had a full head, it didn't even grow to his hips.

So did he have a lot of friends with Afros?

Well, no, he had the curliest hair.... but he wasn't ostracized for it.

What's his brother doing now?

He bills himself as an engineer. He graduated in statistics, then he learned what he does on the job. He helps design telephone systems for small businesses.

Really? That's sort of what my dad does... so is Ben still involved with music at all?

As far as I know, he isn't. Ben has an enormous sensitivity. He has never shown with his experience...when I would accompany him on cello, I was blown away with his delicacy, his ability to interpret. He was 95% more musician than I ever thought of being.

What was his Steve's first word?

I wanted it desperately to be "Mama" but it was probably "umph." (laughs) I've got it in the baby book somewhere.

Do you remember Steve's first live shows?

He had a gig out at the end of Redondo Pier (in Southern California)... and it was just wonderful. He loves to perform! I imagine all your mothers will tell you that.

Was it was you expected?

I knew what he was doing because they practiced in the garage.

Do you listen to Pell Mell?

Sure, he gives me a copy of everything he does. He doesn't record all his bands, of course, but I have all of his records. I think it's terrific.

Do you have a favorite?

I like very much his 448 Deathless Days, which I think was the first compilation of his work... it's very...well I started to say "ebullient" but that would make me sound terrible! It's very good. It moves me. It's very complex. I like some of the unusual stuff he does. I know you probably haven't had to listen to the whole catalog (laugh).

Yeah, well, I like some of the audio collage stuff he does.

Because of what he can do, it comes out as an original creation. I love when he works with this boy Shawn Smith and they do some really stunning stuff. It just lights me up all over. The two of them working as Pigeonhed...I met a lot of other musicians met at the Crocodile when Steve had his Pell Mell concert there. Are you all publishing the Pell Mell records? Is that how you're connected to him?

Yeah, it's a publishing deal. We have the rights to the songs but they don't actually record on our label.

Well, alright, whatever. You know him as Pell Mell. Anyway, I must've met about a hundred people that night and they all praised Steve for his musical ability...but they also said what a nice guy he was and THAT WAS THE BEST. Absolutely.

Is there something you think fans of Steve's music should know about him that they might not know otherwise?

Oh, I don't know, I think Steve's music stands on its own.