Crash Encore
Maxwell’s Maxim with Crash Encore
After the show, I caught up with John Bishop. The night was a clear one and I watched the glowing lights of the Belmont Park roller coaster as they reflected in the plexiglass of the bar’s upstairs terrace. I lit a smoke as John chatted with two beautiful blondes. Lucky guy, Chicks dig that long pretty Jesus hair. Seriously ladies, I consider myself to be quite dashing but John trumps me, hands down. The man was articulate with intense eyes and as he talked me in circles, I felt zen in his presence. John’s passion was obvious and as the interview bobbed and weaved onward, I started wondering if maybe we were both half-tanked.
Maxwell: In a world of phonies, I was pleasantly surprised with the honesty and intimacy of your songs, who is responsible for the lyrics, is it one person or a collaborative effort?
John: I, myself am responsible for all the lyrical content and all the messages thrown out through Crash Encore, it’s all me John Bishop, and the things that are wholeheartedly believed by myself, it’s kind of a lesson and it’s also kind of a self-advice, like this is what I should be thinking or doing, you know? It’s not necessarily completely hypothetical or metaphorical even, sometimes it is metaphorical, sometimes it’s advice to myself, but I am responsible for all that, what you hear.
Maxwell: And what is the inspiration behind it?
John: The inspiration behind it, the times, I think, it’s humankind, humankind really, and then also the times because I feel like the times have created who we’ve become and I don’t like it, and I don’t like what we’ve become and I feel like we should be somewhere so far different than where we’re at , we could be something amazing and we’re not there yet, but we have the potential to become that which is amazing and I want to inspire people to change ‘cause I’m not a politician and I’m not a lawyer or anything respected in that regard, I am a musician and I’m only there to inspire those with great minds to change the world and I think that is was art is meant to be there for. It’s to inspire those who can change it, so we change those who can change what is and that’s what I was inspired by and that’s what I write about. I want a brighter, better future, one that I see, that I should have been born into, I was born into chaos and abstract ridiculous policies and politicians and governments and I feel that it should be so much greater. I think it can become that and that’s what it’s about.
Maxwell: What do you say to people who don’t listen?
John: If they don’t listen, they should open their ears, say goodbye to ignorance, because ignorance is bliss, up until the day that you come up on the other side of that ignorance, and then you realize that those who are ignorant are being idiotic, because no longer are you numbed by the ignorance, you’re one of those who feels. And if you’re one of those that says “ignorance is bliss,” then it’s only because you don’t know what the true questions are.
Maxwell: Your song, So Long, is that about a working girl?
John: By working girl, I assume you mean prostitute. And the answer to that question is no, it’s not about prostitutes or anything along those lines. It’s about people who are lonesome. Mainly, it was inspired by homeless people. People who have nothing and who are forgotten about by the ones who love them and the ones they loved. Its about the people who are forgotten, and the people who haven’t seen love in so long that they’ve forgotten what the point of it was. And that’s why they came into such a dark place, such a strange place in their lives, it’s because the people who once loved them, forgot about them. And so that why it says, “Oh, it’s been so long, so long since I’ve been loved, it‘s been so long” And that’s why they became the way they are, they’re on the streets. And, it’s really inspired by the homeless people. It’s a question. Why do people come to that point in life? Why are they homeless? Why have they nothing? And it’s because they haven’t seen love for long time and no one has given them that. And the ones who are supposed to give them love, their families especially, haven‘t given them the love. It’s not about anything sensual or sexual, or prostitution or anything like that, it’s about pure human love.
Maxwell: So, obviously revolution is in the air, where do you think it’s going to start? How do we change the apathy that is all around us?
John Bishop: I think it is impossible for it to happen overnight. Unfortunately it’s become so strong and so unchangeable to the human eye that it’s not something that can happen over night. It’s something that has to happen over generations. We can initiate that change, but the people who have to follow through with it are the people who are being educated now at a high school level, so that ten years down the line, they can make a change. They are the ones who need to be inspired to change. I know that everyone whom I know within my generation are in hope of a change, and it’s going to be started through this generation. The real change has to be backed up by those who are being taught right now, and they have to change so many things. I’m afraid this change won’t be seen in my lifetime, I would love to hope that it will be seen in my lifetime, but I think that it’s not going to be seen until I’m gone. It’s so intricate now, for the change to happen, there are so many levels of change that need to happen. I think that change is going to happen by inspiring the next generation every time the next generation comes under our influence. In my mind, it would only take a day, but in realistic times, I think that it will take years and years until this revolution will be complete. It definitely takes inspiration at the younger years.
Maxwell: If you look back on the 60’s, you see that the revolution never materialized, do you see that as a result of a culture clash? Because that was really the young against the old and now we have a lot more people like the Baby Boomers that actually are on the side of change and looking at the truth. So how do we unite the youth you are talking about and older people that are sympathetic to that cause? How do we go about uniting them?
John Bishop: I think throughout the process we have become united as one, and those that think the way that I think, they see things the same way we do. Unfortunately, somehow they didn’t break down the system along the way, and they let corruption infiltrate the system, and it has been corrupted ever since. But, it is those people that you speak of, if they were the ones leading the country, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.
Maxwell: Do you think the elections have been stolen from the democratic party?
John Bishop: I can tell you right now that all the elections in the pass twenty odd years that I’ve been alive have been swayed, changed, corrupted, hornswaggled, bamboozled and every other word that fucking goes along those same lines.
Maxwell: Well, bad things happen when good people do nothing! We got a little off track here, back to your music, your band has quite the eclectic sound. Would you care to elaborate on these unique sounds and instruments?
John: Sure, inspirational bands are obviously influential in our sound. The greatest bands of all times, I feel with message and instrumentals, I would say number one, The Beatles, because they really tried to change the world and they gave it their all. I’m speaking of John Lennon especially because he really tried to change everything that was known and everything that was accepted. The instrumentals, they also dabbled in re-creating the blues, rock and roll as it was, introducing electrics. Away from The Beatles, I think of T-Rex, I’m talking about strange vocals, I think strange vocals, new brave ways to sing is something that should be done because if you just do what’s been done then it’s nothing new. So I’m inspired by the way T-Rex sang in a different manner than what was accepted. If you were to be someone who is a knowledgeable person in music, you might say that’s the wrong way to sing, but I feel that in art and in music there is no wrong way to sing or to say what should be said. It’s all things that need to be said and the way they need to be sung. So, what you sing should be sung in a certain matter. And I try to embody that in my music, in what I say and what I sing.
Maxwell: Do you like David Bowie?
John: David Bowie is amazing.
Maxwell: I knew it. I knew you would appreciate Bowie.
John: Yeah, absolutely, David Bowie is a strange person in a strange world.
Maxwell and John toast to David Bowie.
Maxwell:Your band is local to San Diego, where can I get a decent Martini?
John: Uh, Martini Ranch?
(They both laugh.)
Maxwell: Right, right, so I guess I’ll have to settle for something else tonight.
John: Yeah, let’s go downstairs, I think that everyone’s hanging out backstage.
