An Interview with Al Margolis by PBK

PART I - May/June 1988
PBK: When did you start your cassette label, SOUND OF PIG, and what prompted you to start carrying music other than your own?
Al: Sound of Pig began in 1984, though it took about five releases before it dawned on me that I had a label. I started doing a compilation (SLAVE ANT RAID, released in January or February 1984) which was followed by the first Sombrero Galaxy release. After the first comp I had material for a second, so I did that. And the label, or more precisely I, started doing compilations to help get my music out. Then one of the people I had been in contact with asked if I wanted to release his tape, and that's when it dawned on me that I had a "tape label."

PBK: You've been busy with many music projects, most notably IF, BWANA - but how long have you been playing music? (especially electronic music?)
Al: I started out playing guitar 20 years ago and I haven't gotten much better! Let's say that when I started out, "chops" were important on the musical scene, and there was no way in hell that I was ever going to be some hotshot/shit guitar player So I kept playing and when Punk exploded, in its aftermath I was able to finally start a band. So I'd been desiring to play music on a more serious level for a long time. I'd always listened to the "strange" rock stuff - Soft Machine, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Henry Cow, Gong, etc. and I'd gotten away from it a bit, then I found the newer layer - Throbbing Gristle, Eno, etc. Once I got a Fostex X-15 four-track I started doing more noisy stuff - the first IF, BWANA tape, FREUDIAN SLIP, was fueled by personal anger, just a venting of what was inside at the time. By the time it came to starting SEX, INSANITY, DEATH I kind of realized that I couldn't rely on anger as a means of art.

PBK: Does living near NYC make it easier to find venues for live playing or radio airplay?
Al: NYC is a weird scene. I live in Brooklyn (Great Neck is the mailing address). Lots and lots of musicians and other artists are now living in Brooklyn, having been squeezed out by the real estate "boom", as have many of the music spaces and not much has sprung up to replace them. And almost nothing in Brooklyn. It's come down at most spots, as the bottom fine being money, how much can they make? Especially as a number of us have been trying to find places for experimental music to be heard and to be able to pay the musicians. As usual most places want you to play for nothing (or the "door"), while they suck up the liquor money which is understandable, but sucks. There's a lot of people hustling to get gigs, but unless you're a big name, you're doing a "freebie'! As for radio airplay, well there are a couple of stations that are pretty helpful - WFMU and WKCR - but most DJ's still find tapes too "difficult" to cue up, or too un-serious/unprofessional, as do some magazines.

PBK: Which of your collaborations have been most fruitful?
Al: Well, my most fruitful and enjoyable collaborations have been with Hal McGee (Dog As Master). This has led to seven tapes and the BWANA DOG TOUR, which was my first. Also the work with Dave Prescott through the mail and in-person has been most pleasurable; as has working with Adam Bohman; Chris Phinney (Mental Anguish),- Roger Moneymaker (Swinebolt 45), Zan Hoffman and the two International Mail Collaborations.

PBK: Which of your recordings best expresses your own personal vision?
Al: Right now I don't think any of them do, as I feel I am entering a new phase of work. I still enjoy them all, and I think they all represent different aspects of where I'm coming from. Perhaps THEY CALL ME BWANA at this point is my favorite. It was the first tape I did on my 8-track, so it was a step that way... I'd guess that at some point looking back, that tape will be a dividing point with future work - for better or worse, I can't say.

PBK: What sort of criteria do you use to select music for the SOUND OF PIG label and who are some of your personal favorites on the label?
Al: My main criteria in choosing tapes for SOP is whether I enjoy or find the music of interest. Basically, l have to like it. Some of my favorite people working right now are on SOP - Morphogenesis, Big City Orchestra, Dave Prescott, Brian Charles, Amy Denio, Violence & The Sacred...

PART II - January 1989
PBK: Al, by now you have well over 200 releases available - correct? Could you explain some of the difficulties of releasing so many recordings? How, for instance, do you manage to afford it? And also maintain the quality?
Al: In fact, I am working on the 1989 catalog right now, which will probably have close to 250 releases (an estimation which will probably be out of date by the time this comes out). The difficulties - well, the one major problem, if you will, is that the more tapes I release the less I'm actually able to push each one. I still send a fair amount of copies around for promo, but it's never like it was when I had a lot fewer to deal with. This is the main contribution to the feeling I have that I'm never "doing enough" - whatever that may exactly mean... As far as affordability goes, buying chrome blank tape in bulk tends to keep the cost down. Though I am losing money - I'm striving to break even if I can. And in the question of quality in packaging and aesthetics - well, I do prefer that each artist does their own cover if possible, therefore they can control how they are presented. Same with sound quality - some people give real high quality sounding tapes and some are less so.

PBK: With your label, your various music projects, touring and promotion you must be short for time. How do you find the time and energy for all of it? Also, have you listened, in full, to every SOP release?
Al: Time - the great thing that there is never enough of. You forgot to include "working" in your list, plus having something like a personal life. Again, I never feel like I'm doing enough and have to try to balance that out with the thoughts of not driving myself crazy or just doing what I can get done. Sometimes, unfortunately, too much "business" keeps me from doing any recording for a while. But then a lot of ideas kind of build up, and when I do actually record things come pouring out - so it might actually work out to the better And, oh yes, I have listened to every SOP release in its entirety at least once (great wails of shock and dismay!).

PBK: Recently you were quoted in Keyboard Magazine that you would take an untrained musician "with heart" any day over the trained musician with "no heart". I understand your feelings about commitment and passion yet it might be interesting to get your views on the current state of things in the "network". You must receive a lot of crap in your mailbox as well as good stuff. With this whole scene growing so fast is there a danger of too much dilettantism?
Al: Well, I do receive lots of tapes. Arid yes, there is a lot of weeding out - or maybe the better expression is "wading through" - to find some real good stuff. What I've also noticed lately is that people just starting out are doing a lot of the stuff that I first heard back when I first started listening to tapes in 1982-83 and have heard in a number of cycles since - feedback, Manson, preachers. This might be something that newer people need to do, but for me it's the same old stuff. I'd still rather have lots of people at home trying to do music. It still beats the monopoly that generally exists between most radio and the major labels (where this stuff will never end up).

PBK: Finally - specific plans for 1989?
Al: 1989 - what does it hold in store? I look into my crystal ball and see... cassettes. Also my hope is to get involved in records this year - hopefully even an IF, BWANA LP. I'll probably be expanding the records I'm starting to distribute, which is still pretty small scale at the moment. More gigs and recording... I'm not always great at making plans though I may have a few things bubbling around in the old brain (and then, maybe not).

Interview from Hal McGee's Electronic Cottage No. 1/April 1989

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