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Vol. 1, Issue #23 Dec. 8th - Dec. 21st, 2006
Jeremy Enigk Interview
--The title track is about your love for the world, but at the same time your frustration with the imperfections of humanity. Can you elaborate on this. The imperfections of humanity have to do with poverty, hunger, war, grees. It’s all about money and not about love. It’s just incredible to me, I mean, what is the world waiting for? We know all of the symptoms, but no one is coming together and making the world a better place, myself included. It’s mind boggling what people do. Government, crazy fundamentalists, and presidents of the United States that are just as fundamental, who kill people. It’s very frustrating. --You’re a very spiritual person, which is a topic that has been brought up a lot in reference to you. Where do currently find yourself spiritually? I am a Christian. I am Hindu. I am a Buddist. And I am a person. Basically what I’m saying is that I don’t connect myself with any one religion anymore. But I will say that I think the greatest spiritual leader and teacher that I have ever encountered is Jesus. So, I guess that makes me a Christian. I’m just a person that tries to have a connection with God, as much as I possibly can. I’m not going to put any of the religions on an equal playing field because I think they all have different lessons. --Is that why you refrain from using words like God and Jesus in your songs, or is that related to the idea of “selling God”? I definitely don’t want to sell God. That’s a funny thing to say. Like I even have any control or power to do that. I just write what I write. I don’t keep those words out of my songs on purpose. The songs are the songs and the lyrics just happen. --You said that with World Waits you wanted to create a voice lyrically and say something spiritually and politically profound. Im curious, how do you feel about the use of Christianity in politics? I think people do whatever they want to do, and use what they want. It’s all a lie. Can you spread the message and giving and send an army and fight? It’s a total hypocrisy and contradiction. Phrases like “God Bless America,” it’s God’s world, and our world, and it belongs to every single human being. Using religion to justify anything is absurd. Especially when what Jesus taught was an incredible love that very few people can understand. The two don’t exist together, politics and religion. --How do you feel about labels like “emo” and “emo-core” that have been put on a lot of your music considering that a lot of people associate you with starting this movement in music? Do you feel like a part of that movement? No, I’ve always been out to write the songs that I felt from my heart. I never really felt a connection to the emo name. That’s just something that people, for some reason, just love to attribute to what I’ve done. Maybe it’s because of that first Sunny Day record. But Sunny Day was just writing music and I’m just a song writer. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it. --Is The Fire Theft (Sunny Day minus Dan Hoerner) going to be working together again soon? Yeah, we’re just going to do it whenever we feel like it. Right now I’m focusing on my solo stuff. When I’m done touring and focusing on that we’ll probably get together and make a new album. --Does Lewis Hollow, the label you and former manager started, have anything planned with other bands soon? As soon as I can make money I fully plan on signing bands, but right now I just can’t afford it. But I absolutely want to put some other stuff out. Right now I’m trying to use my solo stuff to generate some revenue. |
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Even though he isn’t a household name it’s hard to deny the influence that Jeremy Enigk has had on the music industry. He first emerged as the frontman of Sunny Day Real Estate, a band that laid the foundation for the Emo movement and sparked the creation of a sub-genre, in the early 90’s. Now, a decade after its predecessor, the second solo release from Enigk is finally complete. World Waits picks up where Return of The Frog Queen left off and struggles to make sense out of the mess that the world has become through deep and insightful lyricism. Enigk will be stopping by The Opolis in Norman on December 16 with local musicians and Enigk fanatics Student Film. ©2006 NONCO Media, L.L.C.