Sometimes it's more than he can take
He falls in love more everyday
Sometimes it's all he can do to stay awake


Cara Ober, Well Meaning, 2008

* Interview of Dean Wareham. excerpt:

Q: The obvious question, I guess. Why write a memoir?

Dean Wareham: I had been thinking about a book, and already doing some writing, when the editor at Peguin contacted me. Most rock bios aren’t written by the musician, they’re written by critics, people outside the band, from interviews. And there was a story to tell.

Q: What a shift in gears to go from writing primarily as an impressionistic lyricist to taking on a memoir.

DW: Of course. Songs can be lies. This had to be the truth.

Q: How has the reaction been from your former bandmates in Luna, and the rest of the folks in the book? I don’t want to say 'characters,' because these are real people…

DW: I haven’t really heard from most of them yet; it’s still a bit early. It’s tough to read about yourself. and I expect not everyone will like everything I said about them. But it had to be true, and if you take out every little thing that someone might mind, there wouldn’t be any book left. I don’t think I was mean. Well, maybe I was a bit mean about Terry Tolkin, our former A&R guy. He’s a fairly big character in the book, and he wasn’t thrilled with his portrayal. But I do think I was harder on myself than I was on anyone else.

Q: Is it much different reading the book reviews than it is reading what people have to say about your music?

DW: Well, the book is more personal, so I guess I do take the reviews for it more personally as well . It’s not just an album; it’s my life. Everyone seems to have an idea how the book could be different. Some people say there’s too much detail about Galaxie 500, or there’s not enough about this or that area.

Q: When you decided to call it quits with Luna after twelve years and seven albums, one thing you said struck me. To quote you, 'We reached a point where I really thought there were enough Luna albums in existence.' It’s so uncommon to hear a band or songwriter say that.

DW: Some times you can make three and that’s enough (laughs). But many bands just keep on going, making albums with slight variations, because… well, because they can make a living at it. They’re comfortable. I think we had made enough albums, but I also think we ended it with one of our better ones.

Q: Over the weekend I was watching 'Tell Me Do You Miss Me?,' Matthew Buzzell’s documentary of the final Luna tour. There was one sequence where you’re on yet another really long drive between shows, and reading aloud from newspaper that has a review of your previous night’s show. The critic seemed to be offended that you stood still and sang, calling you 'dispassionate' as if what a rock band does isn’t valid unless they leave the stage sweat-soaked and exhausted.

DW: Right. Well, you can’t fake that stuff; at least I can’t. I just play the guitar, I don’t jump up and down, and I’m not a screamer. I’m a quiet singer, not a belter. Maybe 'deadpan' would have been a better word. But that’s ok, you know? It’s not for everyone.

* Little known facts: "The U.S. Congress has the authority to order the U.S. military to shoot the President's plane out of the sky, if the U.S. President becomes a rogue President." —Keith N. Ferreira, Simpletism, 2004, p. 28.

* Saturday March 29 (from 11am until 6pm) at the Randall Scott Gallery (1326 14th Street, NW, WDC), Cara Ober, whose work is on display at the Randall Scott until April 8, will be "babysitting" the gallery while the owners are in New York City. Ober will pass the time talking about her work and playing scrabble with whomever wishes to play. Also, every fifth visitor will get spring rolls, while they last.

* "You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus." -- Mark Twain