GOGOL BORDELLO
The SiS Interview by Rob Fatal

Meeting Eugene Hutz is like meeting a mythical character of Eastern European folklore. His presence, words and music in his band Gogol Bordello set him apart from near every musician in the last 20 years, and he and his group of gypsy punks are well on their way to making history. But, before your kids go learning about him in like 25 years in some university contemporary music class, I was very fortunate to sit down for the second time with the leader of the Gogol Bordello tribe and pick his brain about his DJing and film making efforts, the band’s lifelong build to fame, and the Macarena.

SIS: What’s up everybody this is Rob Fatal from KSSU.com and Stranded in Stereo and I’m here with Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello and we’re at The Warfield in San Francisco, CA. What’s up Eugene?

Eugene Hutz: Hey heyheyhey, halli ho halli hey. That’s what’s up.

SIS:  Nice. So, have you ever thought of doing a DJ tour from coast to coast?

EH:  Well, I did it; and I hated it. I just absolutely… I came back completely destroyed from that tour. I did it in Europe, I did a three week tour; somewhere near to three weeks tour as a DJ, and just to confirm for myself that’s exactly what I don’t want to do. Because my DJing is not like DJing of most people where it’s like their set is an hour and a half or two hours and then that’s that. My sets seem to be six hours and so on. And if there is no one to put lid on it, it’s just gonna go on and I just end up being like complete wreck every night. It’s actually a lot more exhausting than playing a show with Gogol Bordello because I think I am much more inclined and addicted to collective energy. With energy bouncing off each other and having interaction with the crowd and being engaged in this kind of communal experience as opposed to [DJing], even though there’s audience, but its still just you projecting and projecting and keep putting out this thing. I just realized that’s not what I wanna do. So for me, DJing remains to be kind of great fun; it’s kind of an ongoing thing for sure but I don’t wanna make it into any real business. Screw the real business. You know?

SIS: Would you ever add a DJ to Gogol Bordello because of the samples you use? Have you ever experimented with that?

EH: Well, we have and we have it now, actually. But I don’t wanna do it in any ways that all other bands do it. I’m personally always very put off by an actual encounter where I need to sing over a drum machine. It just kills me. I immediately lose my interest in what’s happening. I don’t know why. I’m not saying it’s universal truth, but for me…as you know, we had the electronic project J.U.F. I did it live twice onstage and I almost died of boredom. I just don’t wanna do it. I need a live drums, I need a live band, I need a complete interaction and that’s my way.

SIS:  From the last time I met up with you guys back in Sacramento when you are on tour with Primus you’ve really exploded in that last couple years. What was that ride like and was there a certain point where you said to yourself “it’s getting big now”?

EH: There was never this point and I’m surprised to say it because even before that show you’re mentioning [opening for Primus December, 2006 in Sacramento, CA at Memorial Auditorium] we were playing two nights in a row, like multiple nights in [Slims, San Francisco] … It never became suddenly so big. It’s happened step-by-step and it’s continued happening…The inspiring truth is that you build things and the more slower you build them, the less festered they will go down. You know? And that’s the foundation of this band: It’s a live, touring, working, troubadour band. I think it’s a lot more inspiring example than anything that blew up over night. It never blew up overnight and anything you hear about it blew up overnight is usually a myth most of the time. Except for “Macarena” song maybe.

SIS:  So you’re not going on tour with the “Macarena” guys any time soon?

EH: I’d love to, man.

SIS: You did a couple of tracks back at the studio in Sacramento [recorded during our previous 2006 interview that is available for download on KSSU.com] and one of them was called “Soul Warrior”, what happened to that song on your new album Super Taranta! [Side One Dummy], it was pretty intense.

EH: It’s gonna be on the next record. There is hundred songs in the waiting room. There is so much material; the whole effort is always how do you narrow it down to an album. I don’t know how to do it. Always want to make an album that’s gonna be just fifty minutes long and end up with an hour and fifteen and that is much as CD can take.

SIS:  Would you ever do a double album?

EH:  It seems like next one will be double album.

SIS:  In regards to touring, have you done South America yet?

EH: Actually, going to South America in October. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia. It’s all gonna happen. So many of my actually bands that I enjoy is from Latin America; Starting with [El] Gran Silencio, and all the way down to Chico Science and the [Nação] Zumbi from Brazil there’s lots of amazing music happening without drum machines.

SIS:  Speaking of drum machines and Latin America, have you ever heard of baile funk and bands like Bonde do Role?

EH:  [sarcastic tone] Ya, let me see if I’ve heard that. Maybe it’s more like, “who was the first guy to play it in New York City?” The thing is that music exists for such a long time already that by the time it gets here it’s like already old for the people that actually knew its roots. Just like reggaeton, you know right? It’s been around for like fifteen years and suddenly it becomes huge with Daddy Yankee. It’s cool man, but like I know I was playing reggaeton and Baile Funk in like 1998 probably; during my first parties in New York City…Same thing with bhangra, by the time Panjabi MC became big it was like the most overplayed music at my party. People were just throwing up when they heard that song.  

SIS: Nice. So, did you ever have a solid goal for Gogol Bordello? A point for the band to get to that was your definition of success.

EH:  Well, that would kind of be limiting yourself. I just always knew that it’s gonna end up where it belongs: in a category of fantastic and grand events. It’s as simple as I knew it’s gonna be world class rock and roll band. I didn’t really think of it what kind of band exactly it must be. Your passion kind of takes over and makes what it is instead of you. That’s the recipe: let the passion take over and you’ll never be sorry about that.

SIS: Finally, I know this is a cliché question, and I hate to ask it, but where do you see yourself and Gogol Bordello in ten years.

EH: There’s a lot of things to do and a lot of things that need to be done. Everything from varying places of residence, to making our own musical entity grow, to collaborations. For example, making our own movies. I’ve been working on a couple scripts and its coming together very greatly so there’s lot of things to do for Gogol Bordello. So ten years is not a really big time. It’s already been ten years and I feel like it’s only beginning.