A couple weeks back I was in Amarillo, Texas on my way to Los Angeles when I called Steve Squires for an interview I had been trying to set up as part of a plan to bother my friends in new and innovative ways. Here is the conversation that transpired:
Z – Sum up in a few sentences what you are up to right now.
S – Well, I just got off the lawn. That was a big part of my life. It’s spring. I want to cut some trees down. There are so many trees in this world.
Z – What’s most important to you in your life right now?
S – Playing with my son as much as I can. He puts my guitar on the floor and plays on it. It kind of sounds like, “me, me, me, me”. I kind of like that. It’s like an 80′s anthem for the “Me” generation. He also has a ukulele he likes to play while I play guitar.
Z – Tell me about your interest in architecture and interior design.
S – I don’t know. Everyone always told me I had a good sense of space. I think I have a knack for finding good design, and hopefully doing some myself. Right now I have this huge house that’s falling apart. It’s covered in metal siding and has way too many windows. I guess right now it’s the work of my life.
Z – Didn’t you co-write or help a professor of design write a book?
S – Well, I mean I kind of helped. It was this book on how to teach design and geometry and the origin of design. My professor’s name was Hung Shu Hu. I traveled to China with him for the 100th anniversary of Xing Wa University in Beijing where he was giving talks.
Z – I’m in a band with you called Naked Hassellhoff. How would you describe the sound of this band to other people?
S – Very angular. Like something that always sounds like it’s going to fall apart, but it never does. It sounds like something I’m afraid of. I think of it as the world’s best fling. As far as the sound, I think of it as being loud as possible without actually being rock and roll. More like sirens. A warning to the children of what they might become.
Z – What about the Naked Hassellhoff album “D -” that was just finished? Talk about it.
S – I’m happy with it. We took forever recording it, so we could kind of relax into it. It’s sloppy in a way that takes years to master. It doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard lately. I wanted to make something that was tons of fun, but had the ability to scare you, too. It’s kind of like you’re at a really great house party, and you enjoy yourself thoroughly throughout the evening. Later on in the week you find out it was thrown by Jeffrey Dahmer.
Z – Do you like movies?
S – Oh, yes. Very much.
Z – What’s your favorite movie right now? It doesn’t have to be new.
S – I always gravitate back to Casino by Scorsese.
Z – Why?
S – I don’t know, it’s just really cool and brutal.
Z – What about music? What are some influences of sounds that you find constant right now?
S – I never get tired of Stereolab’s “Dots and Loops”. It reminds me of boom times in the 90′s when everyone was spending lots of money and thought that it would go on forever. It makes me think of drinking expensive drinks. I don’t have a lot of time to listen to music, really. I like to listen to Pandora on my phone. I listen to a lot of tropical and Latin influenced music, I guess. I really like the bass lines and horns, and the way they go together. It’s like a party. When the horns come in, it’s kind of like they are saying, “Wake up, it’s a party”.
Z – You recently have been recording and mixing Iowa City band Family Van. How’s that going?
S – I think I’ve got it finished. I kind of just recorded and mixed it as it was, I didn’t do much to it. The song Country Music turned out really awesome. It’s probably my favorite.
Z – I think you’re such a great song writer, but do you care whether or not people hear your music?
S – Well, I’m a kind of a perfectionist, so unless someone else puts a stamp on it, I will never say its finished. Everything is always a demo to me. I like to try to feel out the parts. I’m always trying to get the bass and drums to create a different kind of feeling. Sometimes it literally takes years to write lyrics for songs.
Z – What sort of musical future for yourself do you foresee?
S – Limited releases tied to actual places on the map. I want to record, produce, and release collections of songs all in the same place. I want to try to make it close to the experience of being there. I’m more in a listening phase right now, though.
Z – You go to the auction a lot, it seems. You are always driving around looking for thrift stores and selling stuff on E-Bay. Can you tell me about that?
S – E-Bay is a necessary evil right now. I wish I could do something more local. As far as the stuff I look for, I’m a big fan of the 70s. I love the air of artifacts from that era. They put out a lot of strange, aspirational items, furniture, and art work. I’m not necessarily into known names. I like amateur stuff just as well. I’m big into high-end audio equipment from that era. It’s so over-engineered. I look for keyboards, guitars, and vintage instruments as well.
Z – Where have you lived in your life?
S – I grew up in Panora, Iowa, and then came to Iowa City for college. I lived a couple years in Chicago as well.
Z – You like to take off driving great distances by yourself, sometimes.
S – I like the spur of the moment decision to get in the car and just drive. I really like the endurance required. I love the scenery, especially in places like Western Canada, the way it unfolds. Also in parts of Wyoming and Northwestern Nebraska.
Z – How can people talk to you if they have questions?
S – Email is the best. You can reach me at stephansia1 A T msn D O T com
A few days ago Steve made me a CD of some new and old songs of his. Here are 3 of my favorites from the disc.
Here are links to three of Steve’s projects that we have managed to stamp labels upon:
Naked Hassellhoff / Nerd’s Curve / Demon and Me
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