Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Camper van Beethoven members on coming out, performing
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2019-01-09

This article shared 5646 times since Wed Jan 9, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven broke into the music scene with "Take the Skinheads Bowling" and enjoyed major success with a cover of "Pictures of Matchstick Men."

After disbanding, lead singer David Lowery formed the group Cracker, David Immergluck joined Counting Crows and several others, including gay vocalist and guitarist Victor Krummenacher, formed Monks of Doom.

Before performing together at a recent sold out show at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, Lowery and Krummenacher sat down to discuss their history together.

Windy City Times: David, are you originally from Texas?

David Lowery: I was born in Texas. My father was in the Air Force so we moved all over the place. I have actually spent more of my life now on the East Coast.

Victor Krummanacher: I was born in Riverside, which is about 15 miles from where David and I met. I went to Santa Cruz [and] then San Francisco, until this year, [when] I moved to Southern California.

WCT: How did you two meet?

DL: He met through my sister for bass lessons, then we just decided to start a band together.

VK: I met you at a party talking about the Buzzcocks.

DL: We bonded over some seven inch music singles that my English cousins had given me.

WCT: I saw Camper Van Beethoven open for 10,000 Maniacs in 1989 in Nashville. Was the band originally meant to be experimental?

DL: I had been in a band before that with a bunch of people playing the wrong instruments we wanted to learn. It fell apart, but it was what we did with Camper. I would switch to guitar and Victor was learning bass. It was experimental in the way that we were learning what we could play. It limited the chords and melodies we could play, so we did ska and instrumental things.

VK: We all had other serious bands in the '80s. When Camper would play there would be more people there.

DL: We would get a six pack of beer and do the Camper rehearsal. It was us having fun. We developed all these songs and started playing live shows.

WCT: "Borderline," from Key Lime Pie, was my driving song.

DL: I was just trying to figure out the chords to that and bring it back into the set. It is very complex the way it changes.

WCT: How did you come out as gay to the band, Victor?

VK: It was awkward. I was aware, like a lot of people, pretty young. I think a lot of people were aware as well.

DL: We kind of knew, but then thought, "Maybe not…"

VK: I had a lot of girlfriends. I just hung out with one of my exes last night. I have managed to maintain friendships with most of them.

Frankly, it was anticlimactic because everyone in the band simply said, "I love you." It was very reinforcing. When I came out to my family, my dad had a hard time, but my mom said she knew since I was 12. It was a like a classic coming out 1980s movie. My uncle who was a nuclear engineer asked if I wanted a martini. He said, "Everybody knows, so let's have a drink and continue on."

I have known people that had horrible experiences.

DL: In retrospect, there wasn't a place for people to come out in those days. It was just announcing it to us. It was word of mouth.

When I was dating someone they got me mixed up with Victor and thought I was gay. People confused us in the grapevine of bands.

VK: I went to the same gym as Bob Mould from Husker Du and Grant Hart from that band was bisexual so we hung out regularly. Michael Stipe and I never talked about it. We talk about being gay now and wonder why we didn't deal with it then. Nobody was really dealing with it.

I had just come out and it turned out to be the last Camper tour. We were playing the Electric Ballroom and Pete Shelley from the Buzzcocks came up and kissed me. He was such a huge hero for me and just started flirting with me. I don't know what was going on there, but I was shocked.

WCT: I once asked 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant if she knew about R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe being gay and she said no—that they were just dating each other and were happy.

VK: Michael was pretty fluid. That was how it was.

WCT: It just means a lot to me after listening to the music for so long that there's a gay member in Camper Van Beethoven all this time.

VK: Last night, my friend Patrick Goodwin—who is the guitar player in Pansy Division—came to the Denver show and I just saw Luis Illades, the drummer, who I dated for a time. It was 1998 when we were going out. They were opening for Steve Albini and Green Day. It was a completely different world back then. I felt like the old guy hanging out!

WCT: What advice would you give to new bands?

DL: It seems simple, but just play the stuff they enjoy playing. If you don't like a song then you end up carrying it around like an albatross for the next 30 years.

The object is not really popularity. It's finding people who like the same thing that you like. We found that out by accident.

WCT: What songs are an albatross for you?

DL: There are only a handful of them. We never play "No More Bullshit" and several Camper songs that are throwaways. There is one song in my Cracker catalogue that I think is too mean so I won't play it.

VK: It is interesting that you bring it up because the band has been together 36 years now. We were in Seattle and there were a lot of kids at the show. It is bigger than us now and there's a responsibility to it. When I watch people respond I see how important it is to them. In some ways it's more important to them than it is to me. I like to respect that.

WCT: How do you narrow down a set list from a big catalogue?

DL: Carlton Owens from Cracker is playing drums with us on this tour, so he's been learning songs and throwing them at us. He will learn songs and it is completely passive for us to do them when he is ready. It's cool though, because it represents a view point that isn't from the inside. It's from the outside.

Oh, another bit of advice I give young bands is to have a compound. We didn't even achieve Ween's level of success. You have to have a compound!

WCT: What's one thing you want to be remembered for?

DL: We always leaned toward the Turkish instrumentals. A Greek pop star did his version of "Opening Theme" from Key Lime Pie to begin his album in the '90s. That went completely full circle. We are doing our fake version of Greek music and here he is covering us!

Look for more CVB and Cracker concert dates at CrackerSoul.com .


This article shared 5646 times since Wed Jan 9, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13
- The ARC Music Festival—an event celebrating house music—will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Park—less than ...


Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

'Always Olivia' celebrates Olivia Newton-John at Raue Center 2024-02-26
- From a press release: Always Olivia, a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John comes to Raue Center in Crystal Lake on Saturday, May ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

REFLECTIONS: An Evening of original music with the Jeannie Tanner Quartet 2024-02-19
--From a press release - REFLECTIONS will be a night of feel-good, upbeat original music written by Jeannie Tanner. Songs range from jazz, to pop, to soulful R&B. Jeannie's music can be heard in many television shows and movies, with recordings ...


Gay News

Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret Valentine's Day Feb. 17 2024-02-16
--From a press release - Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret puts their own spin on Valentine's Day with a show celebrating things done and sacrificed for love - not just romantic love, but love for pets, friends, family and art. Join the ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.