“Under the Milky Way” plays on the radio

SUE: It’s my pleasure to welcome to the studio live and in person Marty Wilson-Piper and Steve Kilbey of the Church. Hello and welcome.
SK: Good evening (this at 12:30 in the afternoon....heh heh)
SUE: All the way from Australia and on tour; the first U.S. tour since 1990.
SK: Uh-huh
SUE: So we’re thrilled that you’ll be playing in New York tonight at Tramps and I see here that you have no days off (Marty is laughing in the background) A very long and extended tour, my gosh.
SK: Yup
SUE: No time to even use the men’s room, huh Steve?
SK: No, I’ve been using the ladies room instead. (Marty laughs) Writing graffiti in there about myself so when the girls come to the gig, they can find out....you know.
SUE: That would explain the skirt, no?
MWP: That’s a kilt (laughs) Axel did it.
SUE: Ooooooo!! There you go! So the new album is entitled “Hologram of Baal” and you were just explaining to me about Baal, so fill in for the listeners.
SK: Yeah...Baal, for people who don’t know who Baal is, was sort of this Pre sort of Jehovian God whose ummmm...The Israelites tended....Apparently they were confused that Jehovah was a God of armies and baal was sort of a peaceful God of harvest and fertility and stuff, so as soon as all the fighting was over, they couldn’t quite get the monotheism of Jehovah, so that....and then... When he went up to get the 10 Commandments, when they came down, they were worshipping the Golden Calf, and that was Baal they were worshipping; they smashed the tablets (Steve seemed to be having trouble phrasing his thoughts here)
SUE: Now, the new single, Louisiana, I have the single version here, which you guys didn’t even see, this packaging...
MWP: I know, and we’re only in the group (sound a tiny bit irritated here)
SUE: And it has a picture of this God, Baal, that we’re talking about now, and I researched on the internet, and clicked on the actual picture. You could actually see a face, but, as you said, who knows what a God really looks like.
SK, MWP: yeah, yeah
SUE: There were no photos floating around of him
SK: No
SUE: That was before Christ’s days.
SK: Not many photos of any Gods around, really, are there, if you think about it. (Marty laughs)
SUE: Well.....yourselves. (everyone laughs)
SUE: Well, why don’t we talk a bit about more about the single itself then, Louisiana. Steve?
SK: Yeah. Well, umm, actually, when we wrote the music, it kind of sounded like an out take from a Sticky Fing--Umm, from Exile on Mainstreet. So it had that southern feel and, like, remember that sorta southern kind of feel like it was all done in the south.
SUE: OK
SK: So I just uh, yeah, spent some time in New Orleans and, you know, kind of tried working that in.
SUE: Why were we talking about circumcision before?
MWP: Steve had a joke...but we’re in New York. You can’t make jokes now in New York.
SK: No.
SUE: No...we won’t remember (tongue in cheek; everyone laughs)
Sue: I just blanked out (everyone laughs again) We have Steve Kilbey and Marty Wilson-Piper of The Church with us live here 92.7 WLIR.
MWP: Neither of us is circumcised.
SUE: Prove it !! (Marty laughs) I already knew that...just kidding. (Everyone laughs)
SK: That’s on the web site, isn’t it?
SUE: I think it is...actually, you guys visit the web site yourselves and answer.....
MWP: yeah, yeah
SK: We get pretty involved in it.
SUE: ...fan mail and what not. Do you know the address? I’m looking right at it. It’s www.Church.....Sausage?
SK: Yeah
SUE: .com?
MWP: It’s hardly an...ethereal.. address, but it has something to do with the guy who runs the web site, he works for a company called Sausage Software, and he designs software for computers.
SK: Sausage has nothing to do with circumcisions.
MWP: no, no.
SUE: That’s why I thought it was the perfect segue (all laugh) or either of you two guys in your kilts. No, they’re not really wearing them, we’re just joking.
MWP: we make Marilyn Manson look like Mariah Carey (Marty laughs)
SUE: So, are you having fun on this tour? I mean, it’s been a long time, and I read somewhere that last tour you guys said that it would probably be your last, and here you are, traveling around the U.S....now, you had actually done an acoustic tour, so this is actually the first electric tour with the entire full band since about 1990.
MWP: yeah; in America....we’ve done it in Australia 2 or 3 times.
SUE: And you started out on this tour around Septemberish...how’s it going; you having a lot of fun?
SK: Yeah...we are, actually.
SUE: have any good stories for me?
SK: Uhhhhh....
SUE: How about the glass eye?
SK: The glass eye isn’t from this tour, but do you want to hear that?
SUE: yeah!!
SK” Well, I was backstage in Columbus, and I was talking to these people, and this girl walks up and says “I’ve got something for you. Close your eyes and open your hand.” I put out my hand and opened my eyes and there was a glass eye in my hand.
SUE: No way!
SK: And she had an empty socket.
SUE: No way!
SK : It’s true
MWP: It was actually Athens, Ohio
SK: Athens, Ohio
SUE: And then what did you do with it?
SK: I went....Ahhhhh....Ummmmm....Gobstopper! (Sue laughs)
MWP: It was very interesting
SK: And she put it back in and looked at these other girls and went “Huh!” and walked off.
MWP: No she didn’t.
SK: And she said “I’ll keep an eye out for you next time” (Sue laughs)
MWP: No, what she said was; what she said was..
SUE: You made that up, just so could do that ending!
MWP: It’s unfashionable to tell the truth, but what she said was “It really means a lot to me” Think about that.
SK: And then I said “Can someone else give me a hand?” (laughter)
SUE: And you said the truth is stranger than fiction...
MWP: Ruth is stranger than Richard.
SUE: (silent for a moment) Hmmm...very nicely said. Marty Wilson-Piper and Steve Kilbey of The Church are with us; they’re playing tonight at Tramps, definitely go check them out. They’re quite witty fellows; we’re having a lot of fun here talking, and we want you to listen to Louisiana, From the new CD Hologram of Baal.
Single version of Louisiana is played
SUE: ...and that one was written by most of the members of the band, so I was just asking the guys, like, how that comes about; whether the band actually brings in their part and everyone fixes it up, or if you come to the session and then just wing it. Wing it was the answer.
SK: We jam. We jam, yeah.
SUE: Speaking of jamming...I’m told that there is a bonus CD that is available of The Church, and this is something that I’m sure hard core fans don’t want to miss out on. It’s called Bastard Universe, and it’s The Church jamming in the studio, the longest track ever recorded.
MWP: We think, we think.
SUE: probably not, no.
SK: 79 minutes....on a CD, a CD
MWP: and also, it’s improvised....so it’s probably the longest improvised commercially released bonus disc...
SUE: How long is it?
SK: Bonus disc (echoing Marty here) on Thirsty Ear...
MWP: Thirsty Ear (echoing Steve)
SK: By The Church, this year
SUE: This week, on a Tuesday, in May (everyone laughs) and it’s 79 minutes long, something like that.
SK: Yup
SUE: Very cool....Well, the name of that was Louisiana. The band is on a massive tour, and heading to Louisiana in a few days. Are you happy? (Steve and Marty both laugh, a little nervously) And we also want to make mention of the big show tonight. You don’t want to miss it. Tramps, tonight.
SK: Tramps like us, baby we were born to run
MWP: (slightly sarcastic) Unless “Friends” is on, of course. You’d stay home to watch that instead.
SUE: Well, the band could go on after, and...you know what we could do? Have a TV at Tramps; everyone sits around joking with these guys; They’re very funny; and watches “Friends” all together, then you stand up and get together, and you play live. Well, that’s terrific. Thanks so much for stopping by, and for all the laughs; mostly of air, but certainly the ones on air as well.
MWP: Sorry we lost our guitars on the way, by the way.
SUE: yeah, what’s the story with that? I was told you were going to play for us.
SK: Well, we were, we were...but..
SUE: OK, what’s your excuse? The truck got lost?
SK: The roadies got up early, if you believe this, and took the guitars to the gig, and drove the truck away from the hotel, so we missed the truck.
SUE: oh, I see. I thought the story was the truck got lost, and I was going to say to you, then what happens tonight?
SK: yeah...we’d stay home and watch “Friends”
SUE: Catch The Church tonight at Tramps; my thanks to you for stopping by. I have cued up a song that won “best new song of the week” in its day, as voted by the listeners of this radio station.
MWP: Don’t say “in its day”
SK: This was the song we played on the ark.
SUE: The what?
SK: We were the group that played on the ark.
SUE: I was driving the boat, OK? I have been around as you have been around.
MWP: Hopefully it’ll still sound contemporary.
SUE: Yeah, I’m sure it will; as good as it did then. This is the program...golden songs of yesteryear (referring to the lunch time show that plays nothing but listener-requested hits from the 80s)
SK: Oh God
MWP: Oh no
SK: I should go get my wheelchair.
SUE: Speaking of which, we were going to send it out to Aaron in Greenwhich, who called earlier and wanted to hear “Unguarded Moment”
SK: Forget it, Aaron.
MWP: Sorry, Aaron.
SK: Not a chance.
SUE: Will he hear it if he comes to Tramps?
SK: Nah
MWP: Nope
SK: Nope.
SUE: Nope. What will he hear? Give us a little sneak preview; an hors d’ourve, if you will, of tonight’s program.
SK: Uhhhh....Freebird. Smoke on the Water
MWP: Hotel California.
SK: Whole Lotta Love.
(Laughter, good-byes, then Reptile)

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