Belly in Volume six April 13, 1993
[ There's one really cool picture of the band at the front of the article that I was unable to scan without destroying the book. It's a picture of Tanya being carried by Tom, Chris and Gail, with Gail tickling Tanya's tummy. :) It's similar to the one at the end of this page. ]
THE governing thought of the British Riot Grrrl movement seems to be that women can only attain power by forming into large groups and being obstreperous on The Word ( the walls really came tumbling down there, eh? ).
It has the same impact on society as smoking at the back of the bus and it re-establishes the ever-popular image of feminism as a refuge for people with bad haircuts and dungarees.
On stage, Tanya Donelly doesn't need all her friends to get up beside her in order to exude power. The confidence she display with her guitar and her voice gives her an authority that bands like Huggy Bear will never know.
It was interesting to see her on The Late Show special on US bands ( were it not for Belly, in fact, I'd have thought I was watching Sounds Of The Seventies ). She was the only performer on the entire show who was able to look the camera in the eye and, in a truely revolutionary gesture, smile. Everyone else, Perry Farrell, everyone, kept their eyes fixed on the base of their microphones, as if someone might shout at them if they dared look up.
There's none of this shit about playing to the 'true fans' at the front of the crowd ( take a bow, Nirvana ), either. Belly are for everyone.
"There's something I like about the idea of being a 'cult' band," says Tanya. "But I'd like Belly to be successful. I'm not a goal-oriented person but I'd like to get to the point where I don't have to worry about my future or the future of any children I might have. I still find the whole thing of being a cult band very attractive though, unless it becomes precious. There's not much security in it, but... when I talk about success I mean, success to me is being able to live OK and do this forever."
A bit of history. Belly formed when Tanya left Throwing Muses, arguably the most extraordinary band of the '80's ( Oh yeah? What about Ruptured Dog then? - Ed ). Kristin Hersh was certainly the focal point as far as songwriting was concerned but occasionally Tanya would spring forward with something heart-stopping ( such as the aching 'Honeychain' from 'The Real Ramona', her final album with the band ). She doesn't mourn the loss of interplay she enjoyed with Kristin.
"I miss Kristin as a person more than anything. I didn't feel there really was any interplay for a long time. I think it's in the nature of bands that they go through changes. It doesn't worry me that the nature of Belly is so mercurial either. It's interesting to me to play with a alot of different people. It's not only interesting, it's good for you insofar as what you learn and how you play. I like the fact that people come into and out of my life.
"I have the same tastes as people in the band and I usually use people who share my tastes. There are fights and stuff but I usually put up enought of a stick that I get my way."
Oooh, you little dictator, you.
"Yeah, but sometimes I'd prefer if Belly was a kind of communal thing rather than just me. Giving over control to other people is exciting sometimes and it's healthy to have a few people contributing their personalities."
What's your favourite part of the process of getting a song from point A to point Z?
"Point A. Writing's my favourite part. It's the only thing I like." She bursts out laughing. "No, that's not true. It is my favourite part, though, sitting down and writing the song and teaching the song to people. After that, touring and making records is just secondary. Making records is really hard. It's hard to make the one version of a song that's going to be the version forever. I tink that's kind of unfair. I'm not really great in the studio. The permanence of it scares me. It would be awesome of you could make the same record over and over again forever. I'm not sure people would get the point, but... it'd be nice."
TANYA'S songs are riots of imagery. Each one is bristling with stuff that catches in your mind and even the titles on 'Star' display the kind of immediate punch you normally associate with Michael Ondaatje novels: 'Dusted', 'Gepetto', 'Slow Dog', 'White Belly'.
When you look at the lyrics to 'Star', however, there's an uncomfortable feeling that all this might be stream-of-consciousness, nothing more than a haemorrhaging of words. Does she actually write about anything, rather than choose words for their power?
"It's a little of both, one leads to the other. The surface of the songs becomes clear and then the right words come. I heard this a lot, but it is true that you find out what a song means later. You have a premise or some kind of thing going on but later you go, Wow, that's what that means."
Frank Black's method of songwriting seems interesting - finding the structure and then almost arbitrarily choosing words to fit the spaces. Ever do that?
"No, it's a lot looser than that," she says. "I'd love to be able to get to the point where I could fucking do that but... no. The way I write is less out of control than that. I know what I'm doing lyrically, most of the time The stuff is definitely about something."
RIGHT, that's the music stuff over with... you want to try some random, general stuff?
"Yeah, sure."
Are you a part of Generation X?
"I'm not a slacker but I know a lot of people who are. I'm too busy to be a slacker. But there are a hell of a lot of slackers, I know a few. I don't think it's healthy, but I don't have any kind of philosophical or moral take on it. I just don't think it's healthy for people as individuals.
"I certainly don't think there's any reason for any human being to work a 50- or 60-hour week. I don't think it's natural. But I think it's equally unnatural not to do a thing. I think your mind atrophies when you have nothing to hold on to. Not, like a job or whatever, but anything."
What animals scare you?
"Whales. Cos they're so fucking big. They facintate me. When I was a little girl my dad took me to the Museum of Natural History in New York and we walked in and I looked up and they had this sperm whale hanging from the ceiling and it just completely took the wind out of me, it was like being hit over the head, stunned. Proably the closest to Zen I've ever come. They're soooo enormous."
The Loch Ness Monster?
"I'm willing to believe anything before I'm willing to disbelieve it, which is not necessarily a good thing. But I believe all that stuff... the guys in my band make fun of me. I read tons of shit about crop circles and UFOs, I just find it incredibly interesting."
Think Clinton's going to make a difference?
"I voted for him. I think he'll make a difference as far as the evolution of our country goes. I don't think he's a great man but his heart's in the right place."
What did you think of him flying back to Georgia before the election to make sure a death sentence was carried out?
"That worried me. But there is nobody in the US who you're gonna trust completely. There is no such thing as a hero in that context. Tt's whoever's gonna fuck you up the least. I don't want to sound like a fatalist but.... unless the nature of the world and politics changes radically, you're never going to see anyone truely clean in The White House. I think if you're running for President then you've already had to do so many heinous and digusting things that it marks you for life."
Under what circumstances would you kill someone?
"If they were threatening my life or the life of someone important to me."
Do you think you'd be able to do it, actually do it?
"Yes, definitely."
'Star' ( 4AD CAD 3002 CD ) 1993
ALTHOUGH Tanya Donelly was always known as the writer of Throwing Muses' more commercial and straightforward tunes, 'Star' is not a pop album full of upbeat 'Gepetto' and 'Feed The Tree' gear - although there are those ( 'Slow Dog' would make a fine single ). But it also probes more plaintive corners and take stranger twists on the likes of 'Every Word', 'Low Red Moon' and 'Witch'. it seems however that the all-conquering CD format is tempting bands into over-long albums. Most of the 'Star' songs are sterling stuff but it would, with a third lopped off, be twice as zippy. RG