Kurt von Stetten crafts a musical wonder with his latest, Pyramid
Kendra Rae Beltran
December 22, 2010
Kendra Beltran: Right off the bat, if your album was an answer on Jeopardy, what would be the question?
Kurt von Stetten: This late 2010 album was the first record to successfully link The Origin of Continents, the Salem witch trials, necking, and the dialectical relationship between flippin the scripp and comin correck. Answer: What is Kurt von Stetten's "Pyramid".
Kendra: I love Jeopardy. But that aside we have something in common, I too have a notebook like yourself that is filled to capacity. How long have you been keeping a notebook?
Stetten: I have been keeping a notebook, actually many notebooks, for at least 15 years. I have not kept them all, but usually I try to have one with me at all times because I usually am inspired by overheard conversations and fragmented thoughts that come to me when I should be doing something else, so I scramble to write it down before I forget it. I will forget it if I do not write it down!
Kendra: Do you have a lot of old notebooks laying around your house? Anything you ever look back on and say...why did I write that?
Stetten: I think because I am always writing down conversation fragments I often ask, "Why did I write that?" But usually if I can find/remember the frame of reference for writing it, I can figure out what I was really appreciating about the thought. For example I just read this today when going through some notebooks to find some lyrics:
Green line trolley train is so full and everyone is yelling- conversation between two 20 somethings.
A- Listen to this, this is a dope beat (points to his headphones)
B- (A gives one headphone to B- B listens on headphones) N0! That is wack
A- (pause) I hear what you are saying but that IS a dope beat (has his hand held to his chest- rather scholarly/religiously)
B- (listens again on the headphones intently) No, fuckin wack!
A- This IS A DOPE BEAT (he is almost yelling at this point)
Why on earth did I take the time to write this down?
Kendra: Not only a writer, a true musician as well. What was the first instrument you learned to play?
Stetten: I guess I learned to play the guitar first, but I never really studied music or any instrument until I started playing cello. Now I take lessons. I am about 20 years older than most of my teacher's students!
Kendra: Is there one you haven't conquered?
Stetten: I don't feel like I have conquered any of them! The banjo is my Moby Dick though. I really really want to start up again when I will be less frustrated by it. I could not play to a metronome consistently, and it would kill me. I could not get proficient enough on it.
Kendra: You also dabble in another art form. What's your favorite subject to capture in photographs?
Stetten: I have been obsessed with making portraits, and portraits of couples, for years. I like just seeing how people react to and look at each other.
Kendra: You're also an athlete. I'm clumsy as hell so I was wondering have you ever been injured doing BMX?
Stetten: Yes, too many times to count! The health benefits greatly outweigh the occasional scabby elbows though. I hope to be healthy enough to do it until I am really old.
Kendra: Speaking of old, or rather antique, Kurt von Stetten sounds like the name of a king and that got me thinking about time travel. So if it was possible, what famous event would you want to travel back to and be a part of?
Stetten: My band mates from The Longwalls are always talking about outer space and space travel. This has affected me. I guess I would want to be part of the moon landing in 69. Not necessarily me being an astronaut, but I would like to have been around when people had that shift of thought, when we realized that we could travel off of this planet.
Kendra: Back to the present day and Earth. You just mentioned you're in a band, The Longwalls, but you fly solo as well. What are the biggest differences between the two dynamics?
Stetten: Well, playing live with The Longwalls VS recording my own music has obvious differences, so the two feel really different for me on a lot of levels. I also play drums primarily in The Longwalls. So my contributions, at least at first, are rhythmic. Later when we record together the differences seem to melt away and I am able to work on each song with my usual mind set. Another big difference is that The Longwalls write longer and sometimes more complex songs than I do. Initially this was a hard for me to get used to. I had to figure out how to respond to subtle things that I would never have thought of. This is still making an impression on me and it is part of the reason why I think we work so well together, it keeps it really interesting for me.
Kendra: What do you think of the current state of music in the creativity sense?
Stetten: I think the current creative state of music is awesome. I can go on any number of music blogs and find five new bands a night that I have never heard and be instantly inspired. Music blogs allow me to listen to all sorts of music in an instant and if I like what I hear, most bands have a lot of their music online so I can hear more. I guess I tend to gravitate to the less mainstream music so the internet will always be where I discover things.
Kendra: On that note, they say video killed the radio star. Now it seems Youtube killed the video star. As someone who grew up in the time of TRL on MTV, I dearly miss the epic videos. Do you think that time has come and gone for artists?
Stetten: To some extent yes I think that time has passed, but videos will always be around. It is natural to try to present music with visual images, even very simple videos can be great.
Kendra: Going back for a second, You also play a variety of toys? With the holidays creeping up, what's the one toy you still have yet to get?
Stetten: I am a pretty big toy geek so I am trying not to sound too uncool, but the list of toys that I want is huge. I guess the big metal "Bender" toy (notice I didn't say doll) from "Futurama" is high up on that list. As far as noise maker toys. There was this "laser" gun that I had when I was a kid that made a great noise. I am still trying to find that one!
Kendra: Christmas then the New Year. In a couple week's we'll be saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. Do you have any goals for yourself in the new year?
Stetten: I like to make one album a year, so I would like to put out another album that is better than the last.
Kendra: Any plans to tour in 2011?
Stetten: Yes, I want to play my music live again. I will probably end up hiring a band to back me (spread the word!). The Longwalls will be touring for sure!