The Seattle Times
February 21, 1992
Providence On The Line: A Chat With Robyn Hitchcock
by Tom Phalen
English singer-songwriter and benign madman Robyn Hitchcock -- who plays the HUB Ballroom tomorrow night -- conducted this interview with yours truly two weeks ago.
Hello, Seattle Times.
Hello, is Pat MacDonald there?
No he's not. Could I take a message?
This is Robyn Hitchcock.
Oh, hello, Robyn. My name is Tom Phalen. Pat won't be able to conduct the interview today, so he's asked me to do it.
Is he okay? He's not sick, is he?
No. He just had something else come up. Is that all right with you?
Oh, yes.
Where are you now?
In the middle of my sandwich.
How is it?
It has raw onions on it. I'm pulling them off. I don't know why people do this.
But where are you on the road? What city?
Oh. Providence.
How long have you been out?
Two weeks.
And you'll be in Seattle the 22nd?
Well, that's assuming we get there. There's a lot of time in-between. I'm never confident enough about anything to make that kind of assumption.
Is that pessimistic?
No, realistic.
Excuse me for a sec, I'm just grabbing some notes. Your call came a little earlier than I expected.
Okay.
As you are a self-described amnesiac, I hope you won't mind that I'm feeling a little fuzzy today.
Fuzzy? How come? Are you hung over?
No. I think it's just lack of sleep and too much coffee.
Oh, thrown into the muck, then, huh? Well, perhaps I should interview you?
That would be nice. Do you mind?
Not at all. Let's see...when were you born?
October 10.
Ah, a Libra!
Yes. When were you born?
March 3.
Hmmm. I don't know what that makes you.
Good: that gives me the advantage. Do you like sports?
No.
Good: neither do I. With or without balls. Can't stand them. Do you have any household pets?
Yes, I have a parrot. You?
No.
I thought you had cats?
We did, but they died.
That happened to me, too. So I got a bird that'll outlive me.
Can you do that?
Yes.
Maybe I should get one. You know, we were doing a show in Albany once, and I had to walk up four flights carrying a load of pumpkins to this apartment where we had to change our clothes. I sat down to carve one of the pumpkins, and a little voice behind me said, "I love you."
What was it?
It was a mynah bird. But it was definitely a woman's voice.
You know, there is something here I wanted to ask you. Something I read on one of your press releases.
Which one?
Ah, the one from 1989.
Oh, good. That was a good one.
You grade your press releases? But you write them. Do you think some better than others?
Yes. The older ones are much better. They just get more and more dull the longer you have to do them. You never say anything new. You just say the same thing in a different way, you know? After a while, you run out of clever ways to say them. It's like the questions you're asked. It's always the same thing, and they always want to know about the wrong stuff. They always ask the wrong questions.
Well, what kind of questions would you like to be asked?
I'd like to be asked about my first plane ride.
Okay. What was your first plane ride like?
It was wonderful. It was in August, 1960. I don't remember the kind of plane, but it was British. This huge cargo transport thing! And the whole front nose cone opened up and my father drove his car on and we flew to France.
One of those big propeller jobs?
Yes!
I'm wary of planes with propellers. Especially the little ones. They're like Volkswagen vans with wings.
That's all right. They can't fly as far up, so you don't have as far to fall when you crash.
As opposed to jets?
With jets you're so high up -- 30,000 feet -- you're removed from everything. You have no idea where you are. You could be in your living room, except it's cramped and dirty and you're probably watching a Gene Hackman movie.
Gene Hackman?
Yeah. Gene Hackman means you're probably on a jet. If it's a Michael Caine movie, it's a certainty.
Anything in particular we should expect from your show when you get here -- assuming you do?
Things from Perspex Island [His new release]. We'll avoid doing the really old stuff. Things will be more recent. I mean, there'll be some old stuff. But nothing from The Soft Boys.
Anything else?
Yeah. Watch out for the coffee, keep flying low, and avoid Stephen Stills. Goodbye.
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