Hello, My Name Is Nash
Hello My Name Is Nash
Q&A with Nash Kato of Urge Overkill
IE: Is this a show for Bottom Lounge instead of Urge Overkill?
Nash Kato: Well, we just did an East Coast leg and we were gonna bury the tour in Chicago because our pal’s opening a new venue. We’ve played every shithole in town over the years, so we were excited over the prospect of a new venue — smashing a champagne bottle on its hull as it slips into Lake Michigan.
IE: Is not living in the same places why Urge’s rebirth has been open-ended?
NK: No, I don’t know how much that factors into it. When you’re a band, like we were for 20 years, and you’re centrally located it expedites the creative process — writing, recording. It’s amazing what happens when we get together and plug in. It’s instant Urge. It’s a revival machine: You plug it in, turn it on, it seems to work every time [laughs]. There’s a little maintenance involved, but gone are the days of being high maintenance.
IE: Is a release in the ether?
NK: Yeah, we have tracks we’ve been chipping away at. Some are obviously more honed than others, more fleshed out. But we definitely have an album’s worth. Now comes the time to see who’s serious about putting it out and who can do a good job.
IE: What did you do for Liz Phair’s Exile In Guyville re-release? Any plans for your own stuff?
NK: She’s attaching some DVD to it, like the making-of, so she called me. I ended up doing a little [interview]; I don’t know if I’ll end up on the cutting-room floor. Saturation came out in ’92 or ’93, so we missed our 10th. It’s like missing a high-school reunion: “Well, I’ll make the 20th.”
IE: Did Phair coin the term “Guyville”?
NK: She borrowed it off an Urge track on Stull [“Goodbye To Guyville”]. She was in our little circle, and she asked “Would you mind?” She actually asked permission. “Let’s have our lawyers lunch . . .” No. It was pre-lawyer days, so we were like “Fuck yeah. We’re honored.” We didn’t even know she was making a goddamn record [laughs]. We just thought she was gonna go back and write a little song in her bedroom called something “Guyville.”
Urge Overkill play Bottom Lounge on July 12th. Q&A by Steve Forstneger.
