Curt Kirkwood of Eyes Adrift

Interview by Paul Salfen
Dallas Music Guide

Most people wondering about what exactly “Eyes Adrift” are about will have to just check the band out for themselves out this Tuesday (February 4th) at Trees. Comprised of Krist Novoselic (ex-Nirvana), Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets), and Bud Gaugh (ex-Sublime), not much is known or being said out this trio of folks from bands with tragic stories, which is “a coincidence”.

Described by some reviewers as “alt-country”, there is no album to speak of yet. It is currently being recorded in Austin, but at this time there is no label and no projected release date, so no one is sure how long it will be until something will become available. This mini-tour is just a way for the band to road test the material and see what the initial reaction is.

We caught up with Curt Kirkwood, who is also serving as the band’s tour manager, on their way down to this part of the country to try and get what little information is available about the band behind this much-buzzed-about show.

Dallas Music Guide: How did the band come together?

Curt Kirkwood: We all just got together in early December. I was out playing on the West Coast and Bud saw that I was playing and Krist came to the show. They both called me within the same couple of days and we hadn’t all met each other but we just decided to get together and see what happened.

DMG: Is this a long-term band or just a side project?

CK: Hmmm. It is what is is. It was coming along well in the studio and that’s when we decided to get together and do a tour. It’ll make us stronger.

DMG: What is the status of the Meat Puppets at this point? What happened with the last album?

CK: It’s a cyber thing. The label sold it.

DMG: What kind of music can people expect? Are they all new songs?

CK: It’s all originals. It’s all brand new shit. It’s 3-piece rock. Alt-country rock. I don’t know. “Rock” isn’t the right name for it because it doesn’t sound like Chuck Berry.

DMG: Apparently Krist isn’t interviewing for the band due to an exclusive deal he has with Rolling Stone. What’s that all about?

CK: He just didn’t want to do interviews. He just wanted to do Rolling Stone so he could get that out of the way. They could put it out and everybody could get it online if they wanted to. He just didn’t want to talk about that (old) stuff over and over again. I think he would talk to people about the band but how could you not mention the other things, you know? It’s not snotty or nothing, just practical.

DMG: How has the tour been so far?

CK: Good! It’s just been a week so far, but it’s just Krist, Bud, and I playing.

DMG: Have you had some weird fans at the show asking you to play songs from your former bands?

CK: Yeah, a few. They’re…congealed. (laughs) They’re fantastic. They’re amazing. You know, you’ll hear the odd ones but we’re really strong. It’s kind of weird. We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t get together and sound the way we do. After you’ve been doing it this long, you realize that you can help each other out and have a project that’s all original and stuff. It becomes apparent once people are involved in the show for a couple of minutes. It hasn’t been a let down. It’s really been a blast. What you’ll hear on Tuesday is what we’ve done so far.