A conversation between Korey Dane and Cameron McCool starting in the alley behind Diane Selwyn’s apartment in East L.A.
KOREY: Elliott Smith used to live in one of those.
(Pointing at the back of the Sierra Bonita apartment’s from the alley.)
CAMERON: Let’s go to the mountain.
KOREY: I don’t know why we ever left.
CAMERON: You went on tour & I went to Europe.
KOREY: What were we doing before that?
CAMERON: Reno.
KOREY: All those neon lights keep tanning our dreams, Thrash. Take her easy.
CAMERON: We need a break. How’d that tour work out? I missed most of it.
KOREY: That’s right. You met us in San Francisco at the tail end. Busy taking pictures of strangers. I watched someone fall out of a hotel room window. Got a free quarter in that sushi restaurant in Portland. It was pretty far out.
CAMERON: Did you take the lavender candles?
KOREY: I tried but someone stole the chest out of the van in Modesto.
CAMERON: So soft. How’d you feel about that show at The Independent?
KOREY: It was pretty cool, man… Dragged a little, sprinted for a bit.
CAMERON: Did it make sense?
KOREY: It made some at the time.
CAMERON: What were you saying about bad shows that night?
KOREY: I don’t know. It’s tough when you start losing it – when one starts getting away from you. It can feel like you’re suddenly chasing the song. Like a wild pig through a stranger’s house you’re trying not to destroy or something. It gets out of control. The Independent was cool, though. There was a couple of dogs running around the venue while we were sound checking. That puppy was great.
CAMERON: Where’s your favorite place in San Francisco besides Amber’s house?
KOREY: The pin shop on 9th Ave. The old woman finally remembered me. After going in there for ages. She has so much of my money.
CAMERON: What’s the best pin you’ve ever bought for a friend?
KOREY: I couldn’t pick.
CAMERON: What’s your favorite pin right now?
KOREY: Orange poppies.
CAMERON: What do you miss most?
KOREY: Heavy. I couldn’t pick.
CAMERON: What’s something you wish never existed at all?
KOREY: I couldn’t pick.
CAMERON: I’m going to stop talking to you.
KOREY: Okay.
(A few minutes go by.)
CAMERON: What’s your favorite moment from this last tour that happened before we all met in San Francisco?
KOREY: After we played Spokane we drove to this small town called Harrington in East Washington. There was a lightening storm off in the distance that was lighting up the sky while we drove. We were staying in this old farmhouse with train tracks running through the yard. While we were all hanging out front a train blew by. It was so dark you could hardly see it but it was ruthlessly loud. The corners of the sky were still flickering with lightening. We got right up to it and watched it pass.
CAMERON: Dammit. What’re the most beautiful words ever sung?
KOREY: ‘Honey, I want you.’
CAMERON: That easy?
KOREY: I think so.
CAMERON: What’s on the burner right now?
KOREY: I’m recording the new album this month. I’ll be working on visuals through the end of the year. We’re making a movie about it. Putting together that book of photos. You know.
CAMERON: But they don’t.
KOREY: That’s right.
CAMERON: What’s it called?
KOREY: Which part?
CAMERON: All of it.
KOREY: Chamber Girls.
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All photos by Cameron McCool.
