Young god
A brief encounter with Slint's David Pajo.

By Kimberly Chun

SIMPLY AND STUPIDLY put, David Pajo is a monster of indie rock. OK, other members of Slint have played in Jimmy Eat World and the Breeders, but Pajo has probably been the most consistently active over the years, performing in Tortoise, Zwan, the For Carnation (with fellow Slint-ster Brian McMahan), and as Papa M/Ariel M. Who knew? Slint's members were so young that they named their songs after their families and pets (the band got their name from drummer Britt Walford's goldfish, according to Punk Planet).

I take a ridiculous amount of pride in the fact that I know how to pronounce "Louisville" (Loo-uh-ville) like a native – and that the pleasant and laid-back Pajo noticed. I spoke to Pajo briefly about a year and a half ago while he was touring as Papa M.

Bay Guardian: What do you think of the Slint records now?

David Pajo: I listened to Spiderland last year for the first time in a really long time, and, uh, there are a lot of problems I used to have with it that weren't there anymore – or didn't bother me anymore. Little nitpicky things. Like, I always heard where I could have played something better.

I think, definitely for the environment that we grew up in and for the time period, it was something really amazing, you know. In Louisville, Ky., to be doing that ... We started in 1986, making this weird music back then. I don't know, it seems more remarkable to me now than it did maybe, like, five years ago.

BG: So many records have come out since that have been inspired by the band and Spiderland.

DP: Yeah. The best thing about it for me, to be honest, is that it reminds me of that time period. We were basically teenagers. I think it appeals to a lot of people who are in that sort of vulnerable emotional space because that's definitely where we all were at that time. I think it's good that the message is still clear from that record.

But most of all I just like it because it reminds me of that time – all my friends there. Louisville was really exciting at that time. Squirrel Bait had just broken up, and [original Slint bassist Ethan Buckler's] King Kong was there. And Will [Oldham] was starting to make music, but I guess that was right after Slint. There were so many active, really cool people. We didn't know anybody else that had the same interests as us, so I felt like we were all just really close, excited by being alive.

BG: You've been involved in so many interesting bands and projects – why do you think people come to you?

DP: I don't know what I add. I think I'm easy to work with, collaborate with, and I'm pretty responsible. And I put everything into whatever I'm doing. It's not like I jump around and stuff. All my focus is on what I'm doing. I think I realize the importance of what I'm doing or what someone else is doing. Maybe it's even, like, an attitude. I definitely have philosophies – about eating or walking.

BG: What are you listening to?

DP: Today I did a lot of driving by myself while everybody was asleep, and I listened to maybe two cassettes in an eight-hour time span. And the first one I just listened to, just out of curiosity and in terms of songcraft and production. And the second one I listened to where I didn't think about any of that stuff, and it was purely just an emotional reaction to it. They were both truck-stop cassettes. The first one was Bing Crosby, and the second one was Don Williams. I was just curious about the Bing Crosby. It was something really weird, something really specific. I didn't recognize any of the songs on it. A lot of times that sort of stuff I listen to just out of curiosity and wondering what the appeal of it was at the time and, you know, just trying to think of it in a historical way, but then, uh, the Don Williams, I was, like, already sold on. [Laughs.]

BG: What do you do when you're not touring?

DP: I'm pretty withdrawn. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I'm not as extreme as some of my friends who'll literally get other people to go get cigarettes for them so they don't have to leave the house. But if I had that power, I'd definitely do that! [Laughs.]