GOODTIMES GT: What is the most important thing in your life? KS: Um… I think I would say music. And a very close second would be my friends.
Q&A with FLAMING LIPS’ DRUMMER KLIPH SCURLOCK By Andres Mah-Candelaria On November 1, 2013 (The Day of the Dead), I saw the Flaming Lips at the Santa Barbara Bowl. It was their last show of the tour to promote their new album The Halloween Blood Bath. It all felt like a dream because Gumby was there with a rainbow wand, and there was a girl dressed as Wonder Woman on a bear’s shoulders and a gorilla next to the bear. The bear and gorilla were both people in costumes. They were on the stage for the Flaming Lips’ act. I was in the pit with my dad! But I’m only 9 years old. I don’t know how I survived when there were a lot of adults. I just focused on the band playing. There are five people in the band: Wayne Coyne (singer), Steven Drozd (guitar, keyboard, and backup vocals), Derek Brown (guitar), Kliph Scurlock (drums), and Michael Ivins (bass). Kliph Scurlock, aka Clifton, aka the roadie for the Flaming Lips in 1999, aka the drummer for the band from 2002-present time agreed to an interview. I got to interview him because my dad tweeted everyone in the band and Kliph was the first to respond. Before the show started, we met with Kliph backstage in the dressing room and I asked him some questions.
GT: What was it like setting the record for the most shows in 24 hours? KS: It was very weird and tiring and… Yeah, because we were obviously up for longer than 24 hours straight getting the first show set up and all of that. So by about midway through, when it got to be 4 in the morning, my body telling me I should be asleep, whereas I was going into another club to play another show. And it was like, “What? What are we doing?” And then get back on the bus and and, “Uh… What?” It was a lot of fun but it was very, because we’ve never done anything like before or since, but it was very surreal. And it was very hot. The air conditioner on our bus broke. And we were in the South in the middle of summer. And we were all sitting there with our shirts off trying not to touch each other. GT: That would be the worst. KS: Yeah, because it was so hot! But I’m glad we did it. I wouldn’t change any of it at all. The whole experience was great. GT: Were you the roadie for the band in 1999? KS: Mmhmm. That’s when I first started roadying for ’em. GT: Did you expect to play drums in the band? KS: No! I never did. And then when it came, it just came really suddenly and it was a surprise. And I think it’s a good thing that it happened so quickly because if I’d been given any time to think about it I probably would have psyched myself out and messed it up, because they were my favorite, favorite, favorite band for… for… GT: A long time? KS: A long, long, long time.
Good Times: What’s the coolest part of being famous in a rock band? KS: The coolest part? I mean, for me it’s just being able to play music all the time. I love music, and listening to music, and playing music, and getting to do that every day is my favorite part. But probably my second favorite part is that I actually have gotten to meet a lot of musicians that I really admire and become friends with some of my favorite musicians. That’s pretty amazing.
GT: And now you’re playing with them. KS: And now I’m the drummer, yeah. It’s really crazy. And I think if one of them would have said, “Hey, in two weeks you’re going to start playing drums for us,” I probably would have, in that two weeks, completely freaked myself out, instead of, “Hey, go play some drums.” And then I just had to go set up drums, and then I’m playing drums, and then it was later that [I realized], “Oh wow, I’m playing drums with The Flaming Lips. Oh, this is too weird!” But it was too late because I was already doing it.
GT: Why do you love sushi and cats? KS: [laughs] Why do I love sushi and cats? Well, I love sushi just because I think it’s the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten. And I’ve always loved cats. I think they are all beautiful and just funny, interesting creatures that you can never figure out. And they’re endlessly amusing and they’re fun to cuddle with and to play with. I mean, I love dogs too, but I’ve always been more of a cat person.
GT: Do you have advice for kids who want to join a band? KS: Yeah, I would just say practice as much as you can, listen to as music as you can, so you just take in all different types of music. And the biggest piece of advice I would say is just play with as many other musicians as possible. I mean I spent years in school band learning rudiments and how to read music and all of that stuff, and that was all invaluable, but the most that
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VOLUME V, ISSUE III
I’ve learned is when I’ve played with other people and learned how to make what I’m doing fit in with what someone else is doing to collectively create a song or a piece of music. GT: My final question is for the issue of the newspaper that I’m doing. Do you think politics are important? KS: I do. I think they’re very important. I think people should owe it to themselves to stay informed about what’s going on, because ultimately, when we vote someone into office, for however long their term is, they’re going to make whatever decisions they want. And so it’s always good to know where people stand when you’re voting, that you try to get somebody that feels the way you do about things. Yeah, I do think they’re important. But, I mean, that’s just me. I have several friends that don’t care about politics at all and I still love them with all my heart and think they’re wonderful people. Andres Mah-Candelaria attends Eagle Rock Elementary. He is 9 and likes journalism because he gets to talk to cool people and write stories.
Interview with Jeff Kinney author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Joon Kim Student reporter Joon Kim recently interviewed Jeff Kinney prior to the release of his new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Hard Luck. Joon: How long did it take you to write your new book? Jeff: It took me about eight months! Joon: What gave you the idea for the eighth book and the previous eight books? Jeff: I just wanted to write stories that made people laugh! So I tried to remember funny things that happened to me as a kid. Joon: How many books are you going to write? Jeff: At least ten! Joon: Right about now! Joon: Where did you get the names Rowley, Fregly and Rodrick? Jeff: Rowley was from a town in Massachusetts. Fregley is meant to sound like “freckly.” Rodrick is a just a hard-sounding name which seemed like a good fit for the character. Joon: Did you encounter a cheese on the blacktop at school, just like in the first book? Jeff: Yes! We had cheese on our church parking lot playground! Joon: How did you feel when the movies were made? Jeff: It was exciting to see my work on the big screen! Joon: Thank you for your time!
The Good Times is written by the students of the 826LA in Echo Park Journalism workshop.
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