The Sonic Youth dude and the Shimmy-Disc dude interview one another about passion and process ahead of their awesome new LP.
music writers. Who needs ’em? We recently had the opportunity to get Sonic Youth rocker, improviser, publisher Thurston Moore and B.A.L.L. rocker, producer, honcho Bonner Kramer together, so we left them to interview one another with no interference from us.
Thurston Moore was radicalised by punk rock’s first transmissions to move to NYC and make a racket, playing, notably, in The Coachmen, Swans, one of Glenn Branca’s Guitar Orchestras as well as being a founding member of Sonic Youth. As well as three decades of no-wave, psychedelic, transcendent, punk rock goodness, Moore has also had a long solo career and has become a prolific collaborator, especially in the fields of noise and free rock. He is a co-founder of the Ecstatic Peace Library imprint, published his memoir Sonic Life in 2023 and recently published a book on improvised music, Now Jazz Now, along with Byron Coley and Mats Gustafson.
Bonner Kramer, FKA Kramer, FKA Mark Kramer, was born in NYC and became a full-blown member of Bongwater, B.A.L.L., Shockabilly and New York Gong, as well as having a touring role with the Buttholes, the Fugs, Ween and Half-Japanese. He set up the legendary Shimmy-Disc records, putting out records by King Missile, John Zorn, GWAR, Daniel Johnston, Boredoms and Spongehead. He is a producer of great renown having worked on records by Low, Galaxie 500, Will Oldham, White Zombie and Urge Overkill.