Exclusive Interview

Justin St. Vincent from Xtreme Music interviewed William Winant on June 15, 2004 San Francisco (CA), Bodega Bistro.

Xtreme Music: I’m here with William Winant.. I’d like to start the interview by asking, what’s it been like working with Mike Patton and John Zorn over the years?

William Winant: It’s been a lot of good eating, restuarants just like this! We’ve eaten in the finest restaurants throughout the world actually. So that’s one good aspect of it, that I’ve learnt a lot about food. Also in every part of the world, Japan, Europe, Mexico, Canada and of course America. A side issue is that the music has been really great! It’s been a great opportunity for me to actually work with a lot of interesting musicians from all over the world. Both through Mr. Bungle and through Zorn. It’s been a good learning experience and an eye opener for me overall.

Xtreme Music: You’ve collaborated with some of my favourite musicians including Mike Patton, Trey Spruance, Trevor Dunn and the members of Tipsy, Tim Digulla and Dave Gardner. Could you tell me about some of the work you did with them?

William Winant: Well, that was right around the time I was finishing up a record with David Tanenbaum. We were recording Terry Riley’s guitar and percussion music, and I think I was doing those sessions in the day and then in the evening I would go down to the compound and just lay down tracks and listen to my old tapes that I had of kinds of prank phone calls and stuff like that. Then every once and a while go in, record and do overdubs basically of looping tracks that they already had. They rented a bunch of percussion equipment and I think we just spent two nights listening to prank phone calls, drinking beer and laying down percussion tracks which they later on probably cut up, manipulated and put out this wonderful record.

Xtreme Music: Working with Mr. Bungle you’ve toured extensively worldwide with them. What was that experience like Willie?

William Winant: That was kind of an eye opener for me because… working in the kinda music that I do, which is contemporary classical mostly, I will work very hard on a piece for a couple of months and then you perform it many once or twice. Having a chance to work with Mr. Bungle on a continuing basis over a long period of time, I got to record records with them and go on the road with them and you-know just work on the music and do the same music over and over and over again. Like do concerts ever night, playing that music every day.. that was a great experience, a new experience for me. Just the adventure of being on the road and playing in weird different venues, it was a great experience.

Xtreme Music: What would you say has been the best experience, if you had to narrow it down, throughout your entire music career?

William Winant: Let’s just go with the most recent one, I’ve had so many over the years. The most recent ones I would remember, would be concerts with John Zorn, some of the 50th birthday concerts. Recently, we were in Mexico City, we had wonderful concerts down there. I’ve had some very special moments with the members of Mr. Bungle, both Trey and Mike. Those have been some very special concerts. Also, with my trio Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio, there have been some really beautiful moments of music making. Working with composers that we love, like Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, Somei Satoh and playing in some beautiful venues in really nice countries and meeting really great people.

Xtreme Music: Out of all of the collaborations that you’ve taken part in, who would you say has been the musician or composer that has challenged you the most musically?

William Winant: I would say that the two composers that I have had the most influence on me, and have somehow been the most supportive of me over the years… There’s a composer that recently just died named Lou Harrison, a great American composer from the American classical tradition, coming from the you-know tradition of Ives and Henry Cowell, a collegue of John Cage. John Zorn is the other one that I would say has been very supportive of me and who’s music has inspired me quite a bit. But don’t forget people like Mike and Trey, and people like that… Also some of the people I have collaborated with, some of the musicians I have worked with over the years. People like Yo-Yo Ma, correographers like Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham… These are all great experiences for me.

Xtreme Music: You were speaking earlier about Fantomas’ most recent record “Delirium Cordia”, and you mentioned how you feel it’s “the most mature and sophisticated work that Patton has done to date”. Have you got any further comments on the work he’s doing recently?

William Winant: Well you just said it all, I think that everytime I hear a new record that Mike does, it gets to a higher level. Here’s an artist who every time I hear him, is just maturing and the music is growing and he’s growing as an artist and a performer… I think it’s evident on his last Fantomas record, which I think is his most mature and sophisticated work to date.

Xtreme Music: Working with Trey Spruance, the guitarist of Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3, what was it like working on the recent Book Of Horizons?

William Winant: Trey is probably one of the best producers I have ever worked with in the studio. He’s a great recording engineer, he knows how to put things together. This record he’s probably working with seventy to eighty tracks. He comes into my studio with his computer and one mic and he gets incredible sounds. To me it’s always amazing to work with Trey, it’s like he’s a magician. You never know how it sounds until he puts it all together. I would put Trey up as one of the great producers or all time! You-know, up there with Phil Spector or Brian Wilson. Really, really creative in the studio and it’s proved by this new record which I also think is the best Secret Chiefs 3 record to date.

Xtreme Music: That’s fantastic to hear about and from your perspective Willie, what would you say is the fate of Mr. Bungle in the years to come?

William Winant: Oh man, I just think that you-know right now everybody is off doing their bands, their special projects and their record labels. I think they’re all growing and searching, doing their own thing and who knows maybe VH-1 will track them down and do a bands reunited thing…

Xtreme Music: Who are your main influences and how have they shaped your musical direction?

William Winant: There are so many! Again, I have to say people like John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Lou Harrison. Steve Reich when I was very young was a very important influence on me I think… All the music I listened to as a kid you-know, from jazz to blues to rock, I mean there’s so much! Certainly the people that I work with now, people like John Zorn, Mike Patton, Christian Wolff… these are all very inspirational people. Actually, even working with Sonic Youth… working with those guys have been very inspirational.

Xtreme Music: You’ve been working at Mills College, University Of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz. Could you tell us about some of the percussion work you’ve been doing there?

William Winant: Well for me teaching, I really enjoy it! I enjoy the enthusiasm of the students and you-know working with young people, it’s great. Usually, I’m just turning these people onto music that I’m into. So it would be the music of Zorn or Lou Harrison or John Cage or Xenakis. Improvised music or the music of Fred Frith, Braxton, just you-know opening them up to the same music that when I was a kid, opened me up. The good thing about working with these people is that they turn me onto things. They come in with all their ideas which is rejuvinating to me. That’s what was so great about working with Bungle, coz they were of a different generation than me and they really turned me onto all kinds of things. You-know new musical horizons which was great!

Xtreme Music: Could you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been doing more recently and what we’ve got yet to come in terms of future collaborations?

William Winant: I am doing twenty-three concerts, I’m gonna be doing a large tour with Merce Cunningham. Again, that’s the most recent thing I’ve been doing, working with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company along with composers Takehisa Kosugi and Christian Wolff. It looks like we’ve got twelve concerts all through the U.K. coming up in October, and then a series of concerts in New York City and then finishing with a series of concerts at the Paris Opera House in January where we’ll be focusing on the music of John Cage. So that’s one thing I’m really excited about. I would have to say, I’m going to be doing some recording with John Zorn. We’ll record his new piece called “Rituals” in October and then I’m going to participate in a concert with Zorn of all of his most recent chamber music which will feature at the Miller Theatre in New York City in January when I get back from Paris. So these are some of the things I’ve got coming up that I’m really looking forward to. I’ll also be working with this violist in The San Francisco Symphony, Geraldine Walter and we’re gonna do the premier of this relatively new piece of Luciano Berio’s called “Naturale For Viola Percussion And Tape” (February 28, 2005 Oakland (CA), Mills College). I’m really looking forward to that… this is one of my favorite viola players in the world. I getting to do this piece, but that’ll probably be next February. Also recently, Fred Frith, I’ve been working with him. We just recorded a piece for six guitars called “Stick Figures”, which will be part of this new record he’s putting out with the Arditti String Quartet, it’ll be a sorta interlude piece between two new string quartets. And then Fred is also writing a piece for myself and this cellist from the Kronos String Quartet named Joan Jeanrenuad that we’re gonna premier in March I think, here in San Francisco.

Xtreme Music: Fantastic! So you’ve got plenty of live tours to look forward to worldwide and playing in more collaborations coming up in the near future. William Winant, it’s been a fantastic pleasure meeting you and interviewing you in person regarding your prolific work with numerous artists. You’re definitely one of the greatest avant-garde percussionists of recent times!