William McFadden (THE BELTONES) Interview!

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    Recently, I was granted to privilege of catching up with my favourite lyricist and vocalist of all time, Mr. William McFadden of the ground- breaking group The Beltones. Here's how it went: 
    
    
    Ok, so firstly, how did The Beltones form? 
    
    Rob Sessions (guitarist for The Beltones) and myself lived in what we saw as a cultural void, musically, and the general climate was thick with incredibly bad versions of bands that were popular at that moment. We saw nothing particularly interesting about the bands they were copying- and even less validity in their sad attempts at mimicry! It's kind of hard now for people to understand a punk scene (or whatever you want to call it) in the days before the internet- geographically isolated as we were. South Florida was kind of like a weird island, if you will. You had to really make an effort to even be slightly aware of what was going on outside of it. 
    
    
    Was there any particular motivation behind The Beltones' inception?
    
    
    We started a band because we were young, had guitars, and wanted to hear something we liked come out of them! We found a bass player through our mutual friend- Chuck Loose- and my then girlfriend's little brother really liked what we were talking about. He somehow procured a drum set and assured us that he'd work out learning how to play it somewhat proficiently- so we went with him.
    
    I struggle to place your main influences because the first thing that hit me was that you sounded a little like Skrewdriver! Was this intentional?
    
    There was never any real attempt to emulate any band, and definitely not them. We made some demo tapes, and sold them at the local record shop, Far Out (which subsequently became a label as well). Tim Pagones  made a little display case for them with a sign that read something like "Skrewdriver without the racism". I didn't get it... We did a Wire cover for fuck's sake!
     Are there any songs that are too painful to play live? So many of your lyrics focussed on trauma- is there a therapeutic outcome?
    
    There can be a fine line between catharsis, and beating yourself stupid emotionally. I'll play them all! If you listen to "Let the Bombs Fall" you can hear me throw my headphones against the wall at the end. That's a true story, so yeah, it sucks. The thing is, that's the song that people say helped them through shitty, similar circumstances. I guess the moral is that life shits on you sometimes, and it's okay to be upset- just don't lose sight of the good. It's the "and then from nowhere he feels a gentle hand on his shoulder" line. It's like a lot of those early songs. It's like "Okay, you got fed a plate of shit. Choke it down, and we'll go have a beer and a laugh and move on", if you know what I mean.
    
    Do you think The Beltones will ever do an international tour in the future or is it just not possible right now?
    I'm personally not into it as anything more than ocassional show now and again. If some foolish person wants to buy us plane tickets, and offer me pay commensurate with my current income for a weekend or something, then yeah. Music is not something I ever saw as a profession. I've only ever done it to entertain myself, and I'm way too old and satisfied with comfort to "hit the road".
    
    
    I heard a story somewhere that you were hounded by Neo- Nazis at one point in your career and forced out of town or something? Is there any truth in this and if there is could you elaborate?
    
    If by "Neo-Nazis", you mean a completely insane ex- girlfriend, then yes! I'm happy she did, because I love Austin. Texas on the whole can blow me, but Austin is my home, and I love it.
    
    
    The Beltones make no political stance apparent- which a lot of punk rock bands seem to treat as a necessity.Why do you not delve into the realm of politics?
    
    Well I suppose it's because I'm not a politician. Also, I could give a two-shilling shit about what people want songs written about. These songs are for me. As far as politics are concerned, I've always been troubled by the way people use issues that affect other people's lives, and turn into gangs. We're Tories, so we believe this. We're Labour, so we believe this. It's so small-minded to me. Why can't I form my own opinions on a subjective basis? I certainly don't want to listen to some overpriviledged shit tell me about the "working class". I grew up poor. It's no big deal. It just makes you get a bigger kick out of being able to afford toys when you grow up and have a couple of bucks in your pocket!
    
    You make a reference to “the good lord” in “Mr. Wrecking Ball”- do you have any religious views or is this strictly a lyrical tool for effect?
    
    It's kind of a tie-in to the song that I was paying homage to, "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. I love "Mr. Wrecking Ball" because it's the only one that's basically a work of fiction. It was inspired by a house I had a room in. Everyone was moving out, and I wasn't looking forward to leaving, so I turned off the lights in my room, and wrote it a love song.
    
    Was there any specific formula for writing The Beltones' material?
    
    A, B, sometimes music and lyrics simultaneously. Never had any kind of formula.
    
    It's clear you're an incredible lyricist and seminal composer from not only The Beltones but projects such as Everybody Poops- do you have any other new music in the pipeline?
    
    Haha. Everybody Poops isn't a musical venture, that was just some name I put on Myspace for some songs I demoed at (guitarist for The Beltones) Brad Teeter's house. Apparently at least one of them has been recorded by another band last Saturday for an upcoming release. I have no plans to speak of, but who knows.
    
    Any particular reason for this?
    
    I don't see myself ever giving music the effort required to be in any "real" band again, for reasons mentioned earlier. I love the shit out of it, it's just a matter of me finding people who I want to make new music with. I love working with Brad Teeter, even though he's completely insane.
    
    Finally, and I have to ask you this just for personal intrigue- who is your favourite lyricist of all time?
    
    Oh shit. Well there are so many, but Elvis Costello wrote my favorite line ever, so for the purposes of this interview I'll go with him. It was "I said I'm so happy I could die, she said 'drop dead', and left with another guy". Try and fuck with that! Can't do it.
    
    And your favourite vocalist?
    
    Oh that's easy: Otis Redding.
• Will McFadden, thanks for your time!