Bent By Nature - Ep. 6: Crossing Over (with David Lowery)

Lost Notes: Groupies

KCRW

Music History, Documentary, Society & Culture, Music

4.7 • 721 Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2021

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1986. Deirdre is talking with the LA Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn, about the musical trends of 1985.

Deirdre O’Donoghue: I don't think that the big, quote-unquote, "rock" stations can very much longer ignore the growing numbers of people who are listening to alternative radio stations all around the country ... with which you're seeing album sales, at least on a smaller level, but it's making a bump.

Among the acts Deirdre discovered that year was a crew of self-described “pot-smoking hippies from Santa Cruz.” Camper Van Beethoven lit up the college circuit in 1985 with their breakout single, “Take the Skinheads Bowling.” And they quickly became one of Deirdre’s firm favorites.

David Lowery is Camper Van Beethoven’s guitarist and de facto frontman. He explains that Deirdre’s show was just one taproot for a larger movement which was spreading across the country in the mid-’80s. In this episode of “Bent By Nature,” he shares how the band navigated their own transition from indie darlings to major-label recording artists.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't think that the big quote-unquote rock stations can very much longer ignore the growing numbers of people who are listening to alternative radio stations all around the country, with which you're seeing album sales, at least on a smaller level, but it's making a bump.
0:20.6	It's New Year's Eve, 1986.
0:23.2	Deirdre is talking with the L.A. Times music critic, Robert Hilburn, about the musical trends of
0:27.8	1985.
0:29.3	Among the acts Deirdre discovered that year was a crew of self-described pot-smoking hippies
0:33.8	from Santa Cruz, also known as Camper Van Beethoven.
0:39.5	They lit up the college circuit in 1985 with their breakout single, Take the Skinheads Bowling, and they quickly became one of
0:44.7	Girdre's firm favorites. Camper von Beethoven, who simply are crazy and I adore them.
0:49.6	Take the skinheads bowling, take them bowling. Take the skinheads bowling. David Lowry is Caper Van Beethoven's guitarist and de facto frontman.
1:07.0	He explains that Deirdre's show was just one taproot for a larger movement, which was
1:11.8	spreading across the country in the mid-80s. And in this episode of Bent by Nature, he'll explain
1:17.2	how the band navigated their own transition from indie darlings to major label recording artists.
1:22.4	What does selling out mean, like changing your music style, right? To other people, it was
1:27.0	literally being part of this other music economic system, right?
1:30.9	And so that didn't really feel like that could ever be reconciled.
1:34.9	I'm Tricia Halloran, and from KCRW, this is Bent by Nature, Deirdre O'Donohue and the Lost Snap Archives.
1:42.1	Episode 6, Crossing Over.
1:45.1	It's Snap. I'm Deirdre O'Donoghue.
1:47.0	It's Monday night, August 10th.
1:48.9	My guests tonight are Camper Van Beethoven, or most of them, plus a couple of friends.
1:53.6	It's going to be a real special show.
1:55.0	They're in there doing their sound check now, about half an hour, 40 minutes or so away. We'll be doing Camper Van Beethoven live,
	...

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