FOLIO
Editor’s note: So, locals-done-good Black Kids are coming back to town, and we figured that, sure, we could write something about them, maybe another profile, that’d be fine. But that would require work. Another option: Ask our former staff writer Owen Holmes, who just so happens to play bass in Black Kids, to interview himself. What the hell, he’s a writer. He can handle it. And he did — though, like a true Folio Weekly writer, he turned in his copy one day late.
Hello, Owen. You played in Seattle last night, and now, in nearby North Bend, I’m interviewing you in the diner where Twin Peaks was filmed. Is stopping at this iconic location a big part of the tour for you?
Huge. I love Wes Anderson.
Let’s just get this out of the way: When’s the next album coming out?
In September. After two recordings under the moniker Gospel Music, I’m putting this one out under the name Owen Cohen.
What? I meant the next Black Kids album.
You meant the next Black Kids album. Soon.
Are you playing any new songs on the tour?
Two, a handsome pair. One is called “Origami,” and it includes one of Reggie [Youngblood]’s more immortal lines, “Love causes so much pain, and I’ve got so much love to give.” In the other song, “Clocks,” I perform that lyric on bass.
You’re a literate bunch, arguably. What has everyone been reading on the road?
I see little reason to read anyone other than P.G. Wodehouse these days. In fact, I could use one of Jeeves’s morning revivers at this very moment. Reggie is reading the new Murakami. He’s been complaining about the translation; apparently he’s fluent in Japanese. Dawn [Watley] likes her graphic novels. Ali [Youngblood] , meanwhile, prefers to craft.
What’s been on the van stereo?
I’ve had Serge Gainsbourg’s “Histoire de Melody Nelson” on repeat — some life lessons to be learned from that one. Reggie plays music that has lots of guitars. Brendon, our sound guy, likes driving to cold, German-sounding music.
Each band member now lives in a different city. How does that work?
We meet in Jacksonville a couple days before a tour and practice until it hurts. Beyond when it hurts, rather. And now we bring qualities from our respective new homes to the group — in Dawn’s case, Portland’s endless preciousness; in Reggie’s, Athens’ unhealthful enthusiasm for music; in mine, New York City’s shrewdness and irritability. Ali, who lives in Jacksonville, keeps us rooted.
You were a staff writer at Folio Weekly from 2004 to 2008. Looking back, do you have any regrets about anything you wrote?
I do wonder about MyDuke, whether the publicity was good for him and his family.
What’s next for Black Kids?
In October we’re playing at the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City. We’re excited for that one, as we’re biggest in Mexico. That’s a fact.
Right ho, Owen.
Right ho.
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