The Mark Feehan Interview
Having grown up in East Hartford, CT, Mark Feehan, legendary guitarist of such notable punk outfits as Broken Talent, Trash Monkeys, and Stun Guns, gravitated towards the irresistible intensity of the New York Dolls and The Ramones, who were only moments away from Feehan in New York. It wouldn’t be until he met his sonic brother Bill Orcutt after relocating to Miami in the early 1980s, that his world would forever change after joining one of the most poetically provoking and tonally transcendent bands of their generation, Harry Pussy. The tantalizing trio, along with drummer extraordinaire Adris Hoyos, took the infamous “No Wave” scene and turned it on its head by conjuring the creative chaos and atmospheric anarchy of free jazz and noise culture. While Feehan’s imprint on originality is obvious, it’s his pure abstract approach to his craft that separates him from the rest.
Born in Miami, FL, how did you initially connect with music, more specifically, the guitar? Tell me about your more formative years growing up in Connecticut, and what the local scene was like as the punk movement began to unfold all across America. How did this particular wave of sound and culture influence you to start playing music yourself?
Photo: Adris Hoyos
Growing up in East Hartford, CT, I was always banging on stuff, but my grandmother kept taking my instruments and throwing them into the furnace. She wanted me to be a doctor, or something. Anyway, I got into music because my mom encouraged me. She loved music and musicians. That's how I met my stepdad (dad), who had been in many bands over the years. He was from Pennsylvania, and his band, The Devils, had a big hit in 1961 called "The Devil Dance." He tried mightily to show me how to play wind instruments, but I wanted to be Ringo Starr. He had made the mistake of introducing me to “Meet the Beatles.” My mind was blown. Life was changed. Anyway, I wound up in the symphonic band at Ponce de Leon Jr. High, in Coral Gables, for two years. My stepdad worked at the local military defense contractor and got transferred to FLA. I noticed the dudes with the guitars got more attention from the girls, so I decided to ditch the drums. I had already been playing the guitar since I was 10, but now I was really beginning to put in the effort.
The punk thing was old news to me when it became a thing because I already knew about all these bands, through my cousin CJ, who used to publish a fanzine back in 1978, no less, about all the up-and-coming bands. Labels sent him hundreds of records to review. The first band that really changed my perspective was the New York Dolls. It was mainly JT and the way he played and wrote the music. Obviously, the Ramones were a big deal with Dee Dee being such a great songwriter. I stumbled into the Miami punk scene around 1983. My uncle knew a kid at UM who was in a band that needed a guitar player. That was Big Santo, and the band was Broken Talent. The main thing for me at the time was that Malcom had a car so that I could get driven around. The scene down there was very dysfunctional but well-meaning. There were so many great bands that were isolated from the rest of the national scene. That's how I got my start.
What were the first impressions of him, as well as the creative chemistry between you guys right off the bat? In the midst of Stun Guns, the highly influential noise outfit Harry Pussy was born. I’m curious to know about the atmosphere, and the particular attitude behind this band, and its incredible body of work, and how it compares to the previous decade of punk, and the takeover of hardcore music.
I met Bill while I was living with my friend George Kelley in his Dad's garage. Lots of people used to come over to record and jam. Bill was one of them. At some point, George, Lloyd Johnson, Tim Powell, Bill, and I started taking our stupid noise experiments from the garage to the stage in a band called Verbal Circus, which was an "auxiliary" band of Broken Talent. When Broken Talent broke up in 1986, VC morphed into something else. Initially, it was George, Lloyd, Libby Bentley of Morbid Opera, and me. She came up with the name Trash Monkeys, and Bill decided to learn how to play drums. That's when things began to move along. We'd been on the trajectory for a while, and then everything just happened. In any case, at some point, Trash Monkeys fell apart, and George and I started Stun Guns. It was Paul LeCours on guitar and Andrew Powell on drums. Andrew was the younger brother of Tim Powell, a true prodigy. Brilliant musician. We did some damage, but then everybody got too fucked up and we fell apart. At some point, we all decided to kiss and make up, but that same week, Bill asked me to join Harry Pussy. I decided to go with him and Adris because I knew they weren't drug-addled weirdos. Haha. Joking. They were doing more interesting stuff. I'm always up for trying something new and unusual. I can play any style, but I like thoughtful stuff, either way. My attitude was the same one I had when I first started music: to elicit a reaction. Fuck with people. If no one is losing their shit while you're playing, you're not very good. I'm not speaking for either of them, but that's my view.
The band immediately got busy recording and releasing its first two albums — S/T and “Ride A Dove,” on Siltbreeze in the early to mid-1990s. What was most important for the band to achieve and express both musically and philosophically in the beginning? Especially during a cultural climate that saw bands such as Pearl Jam and Nirvana, and the rise of the Grunge era, take over the world.
They both put out a few 7" in '92 before I joined. The most infamous being “The Girl With the Frog,” which Thurston Moore plugged on MTV's 120 Minutes. Speaking of Nirvana, legend has it that Kurt urged people to see us perform at an open mic at Churchill's, where Nirvana was playing at Bay Front Park. The only people who showed up were Babes in Toyland. The bar was empty as we were doing our free practice time, and here comes this goth nightmare filing in. They stood in front of the stage for three minutes and then filed right out. Not as cool as you think they are.
Your career has progressed with such remarkable prowess over the decades, as you’ve continued to refine your craft. What have you been up to more recently with Taiwan Housing, a group that's been together since 2013? Is there anything else you would like to share further with the readers?
Not much. I go through these pauses. I'm working on some stuff for Emily Robb. Kilynn Lunsford from THP and I are still discussing a potential duet. The band I'm in these days, Icky Bits, is on hold. I'm still recording. If my Mac doesn’t catch on fire or my phone doesn’t get dropped into water, maybe someone will hear it someday. Thanks for asking to interview me. I apologize if I'm a little slow on the uptake.
https://markfeehan.bandcamp.com
