Bedhead

Interviewed winter 1996 via the Internet.

Bedhead is a group of five musicians who originate from Texas and were founded by the two writing brothers Bubba and Matt Kadane. Not all members are from Texas. One member even stays in Russia all of winter where he is an English teacher. To inform the fans Matt manages his own mailinglist through Internet (bedhead000@aol.com), via that medium I held this interview.

Matt: "Why do we ask the interviewer not to ask so many questions? Oh, it might seem a bit strange, but we think we have nothing important to say about ourselves or about our music." Okay Matt, then I will. In the spring of 1994 I stumbled upon a strange grey record. The artwork was limited to the name of the band and tracklisting on the front of the record: 'WhatFunLifeWas'. No pictures of bandmembers, no names, no lyrics and no thanks. In the booklet there was only one picture of a recordingstudio with all the instruments and microphones in it. The artwork was so cryptic and bare that I first thought it would contain some weird electronic music. It didn't, on 'WhatFunLifeWas' there are eleven very intimate guitarsongs of intense beauty. Bedhead make songs. Lovely songs describing very personal experiences and individual observations of dayly life. Songs with very emotional content. Songs that usually start so quiet that they are barely audible but during the song the sound gets louder and louder becoming a mellee of guitars and drums in which the melody shines through like streaks of light. After just one listen I was captivated by the sound, Bedhead hasn't released me yet.

Why is Bedhead so cryptic? Matt: "Why do people put their names and faces on a record. That sort of self promotion is either meant to sell the record or to please someones ego. The artwork on the first record was telling enough for us. The picture of the studio was in essence the feeling we had after four months of recording. The way it looked in there didn't change at all in the four months we were there. It was suspended in time, an image of us being there would only date the image."

The music of Bedhead is written from a very personal standpoint. Matt: "That's right, we hope that the listener, because the music is so personal and quiet, feels invited to experience those personal observations." The personal content of the music is one reason Bedhead isn't eager to give away much about themselves. Matt: "If I read an intense personal book I don't need a picture of the author. I don't have to know anything about him or her to experience to feel the person in the text. It's good enough to know that someone has made it and he alone decides how much he shows of himself in his work. For music this can be the same. I am interested in music without a face, so I can make up the face myself."

The fact Bedhead stays locked up in a studio for four months shows that they pay a lot of attention to the way the music sounds. But even if they work fast like they did for the '4songEP', which they made in one take using just one microphone and a two track recorder. It sounded like they have visited a twentyfour track studio. Matt: "That mike is a piece of art. But we do spent a lot of time setting up the instruments. I think we had a lot of luck that day. We almost record everything live, because that sounds a lot better, but it takes time if you want to do it right."

Have you learned anything new about them yet? Not really eh? Maybe just as well, because that way Bedhead stays a strict personal experience. But if they ever plan to come round and play live in your neighbourhood, should you go and watch?