Black Flag 'Can’t Decide'

Dave Grohl: Oh, the mellow sounds of Black Flag on 99x. This is Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, playing songs, having fun, picking stuff that I know you won’t like, that’s what I’m doing, and I’m into it. But, you know, I think that if I were a twelve- or thirteen-year-old-kid, and I turned on the radio at twelve o’clock at night, lying on my bed with my Maxim Magazine, and my flashlight, and the Jergens squishy lotion thing on the side, and I had my headphones on, turned to the alternative rock station, you know, hoping you’d hear something different, and all of a sudden you hear the Flag, man. Black Flag. That’s a big deal.
I brought a guest with me tonight, on the show. The almighty Gus Brandt. Yes. Yeah. (background clapping)
Gus Brandt: Hi. Thanks.
DG: Who is Gus Brandt? This is our tour manager, Gus Brandt, and he’s a little shy, he doesn’t want to do the interview right about now. You gotta get on the mike, dude.
GB: ...Hi, Atlanta, how are you?
DG: There you go.
GB: Wait - oh, I’m sorry...oh, lipstick!
DG: (laughs) So, I’ve never interviewed Gus. And I’ve never interviewed anyone about our band. But I’ve got a couple of questions for you, Gus.
GB: Fire away, dude.
DG: (serious interview voice) What’s it really like to be the tour manager of the Foo Fighters?
GB: It’s like being the sophomore class president.
DG: Sophomore class president?
GB: Definitely.
DG: How’s that? Whereas if you were Korn’s tour manager you would be the senior class president?
GB: I would just be a bootymeister if I were Korn’s tour manager.
DG: (laughs) Right. So how would you describe your job?
GB: It’s like...oh, I don’t know. It’s like traveling around with my little brothers.
DG: That’s absolutely true.
GB: Who I love. And cherish. Yet at the same time..
DG: You’re not getting a raise, dude. You know that. There’s no raise in your future, you realize.
GB: Oh, well, it’s really bad and they’re mean.
DG: See, there you go. Now..
GB: But I like grunge.
DG: Before tour managing the Foo Fighters, who did you tour manage?
GB: Eminem.
DG: That’s right. Gus has got a little hippity-hop in him too.
GB: The real Slim Shady...
DG: You did some Cypress Hill, didn’t you?
GB: Yes I did.
DG: Uh-huh. Did you smoke up with those guys?
GB: No, you know, I don’t smoke...
DG: Gus isn’t a smoker.
GB: ...straight edge...
DG: Gus is a clean teen.
GB: I’m a clean teen.
DG: Not necessarily true, I’ve seen you get pretty soaked before. Amsterdam.
GB: Amsterdam, on my birthday. It’s a very familial vibe on the road with these guys. It’s a lot like camp, except there’s beer and grunge. It’s cool.
DG: That’s true. It’s like grunge camp.
GB: Grunge camp...(laughs)
DG: It is! It’s like grunge camp. ‘Cause grunge never died, it just turned into a camp. (laughs) You used to put on Black Flag shows, though, didn’t you?
GB: Yes.
DG: See, Gus has got some punk rock in him. Definitely.
GB: A little bit, yeah. Black Flag played in Pensacola, Florida, 1985...they walked out with three hundred and fifty American dollars.
DG: That’s pretty good for ’85. Those are ’85 dollars too.
GB: Yeah, 1985 dollars. That was my paycheck from K-Mart, where I worked at the time.
DG: That’s right, Gus was working at K-Mart.
GB: Because the skinheads broke the toilet, like they always do.
DG: (laughs) True!
GB: So I lost money on that show.
DG: Hey, and did you work in the firearms department at K-Mart?
GB: Yeah, I sold guns.
DG: You did.
GB: Guns and oil.
DG: Wow. So what did you need to buy a gun at K-Mart?
GB: Money.
DG: That’s it?
GB: Pretty much, yeah.
DG: Library card, nothing?
GB: No. Well, there’s like this list of questions. Three questions. Have you ever been convicted of a felony, are you wanted by the law, are you old enough to drive...something. It’s something weird like that. Three questions, you can buy a gun in Florida.
DG: Huh. There you go. And if it were up to George Bush...it’d still be the same old three questions.
GB: Exactly.
DG: That’s what we’re talking about over here.
GB: Except they’d be easier.
DG: You know what, if it weren’t for George Bush there probably wouldn’t be any K-Marts in the area either. We wouldn’t have the Blue Light Special.
GB: But we would have the Super Wal-Mart.
DG: Absolutely true. Hey Gus, who’s your favorite female vocalist?
GB: I’d have to say it’s Chan Marshall, from Cat Power.
DG: Oh my God, me too! Oh, Chan Marshall from Cat Power.
GB: No!
DG: It’s funny too, because I think she lived in Atlanta for awhile.
GB: I think she was from a '404' if I’m not mistaken. [404=Atlanta area telephone code]
DG: Is that the deal?
GB: I think so. She’s not one of those Athens people, is she?
DG: No, I don’t know. I’m not sure. Couldn’t tell you.
GB: Jill?
Jill [the real DJ] : Jury’s out.
DG: Doesn’t know. Well, uh, Gus and I both love Cat Power so much because of Chan Marshall’s beautiful voice.
GB: Beautiful.
DG: And here we go. I’m gonna lay it on you. Here is Cat Power with the song 'Crossbones Style', from the LP 'Moon Pix' on 99x.

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