Last week I had the pleasure of talking on the phone with Garbage’s Steve Marker. In what was probably my most exciting, and interesting, interview as a writer in Madison, Steve charmingly and honestly delved into how Madison inspired him and bandmates Shirley Manson, Butch Vig, and Duke Erikson, and how he still carries the memories of this beautiful city with him wherever he goes.
Speaking to me from New York City (for little things like a show there and a Late Show with David Letterman guest gig), Steve kindly introduced himself and was genuinely interested to hear more about Jonk Music. It is rare to speak to a veteran musician and actually hear the excitement in his or her voice, but you could tell that is just the type of guy Steve Marker is. Marker, a UW alumnus, and Garbage truly are a piece of Madison history, helping to launch our music scene to epic proportions and foster the talent our city has. Garbage is coming back to Madison this Sunday at the Orpheum Theater. You’d be an absolute fool to miss out on a show that is guaranteed to be incredible. If anything, Madison owes as much to Garbage as they believe they owe to the city.
Garbage just returned from a few tour dates in Australia. How was that?
“It was amazing. It was kind of different for us; it was this giant traveling music festival, I guess sort of like [the old] Lollapalooza here. The headliner was Metallica and the next band was Slayer, and all these super heavy bands like that, and then us.” (laughs) “It was a little odd but Australia is always fun. It is summertime there, so we left the freezing States and went in the sun in Australia for a while, so that’s cool.”
You’re living in Colorado now. How does it feel to return to Madison soon? It’s the home of Garbage. What do you think that’ll be like, and what are you most looking forward to?
“We were back here last summer and coming back (again on Sunday). I mean, it’s emotional. There’s a huge amount of history. The studio was there, I went to school there, and all the places the band hung out are still there. The people there are what kind of made us successful initially. I think the support we got from the community and just the people were really enthusiastic about what we were doing really inspired us and they’re all still there. So, it’s like a huge reunion party and, hopefully inspires a really fantastic show as well.”
Everyone’s really looking forward to it.
“Cool! I love the Orpheum too, and I hear they made some changes in the Orpheum since the last time we were there.”
Yeah, they renovated it and I, well, guess you could say it’s cleaner, a little fresher.
(Laughs) “Yeah, that’s always good.”
You were back here this summer and there was the exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Muesum. I’m assuming you got to see it, right?
“Yeah, we went and saw it and, oh my god, such a weird experience to think that something you did is in a museum.” (laughs) “It was really, totally bizarre. You know, there’s like some weird little thing that used to be part of your life, like a tape deck or drum set or something, and it didn’t seem that important at the time and now someone decided they’re going to put it in a museum. It was really, um, I guess you could say it’s an honor.”
That must’ve been so surreal.
“Yeah, it was freaky. But it was really, I thought they did a great job and it was really cool that they did it. You know, it’s funny to see because when I was a kid, the kind of music that me and my friends liked, which was basically punk rock, did not really have any value in society.” (laughs) “It was basically this little thing on the outskirts that only a few people were into. The Madison scene had this really vibrant punk rock scene going on, like Nottingham Co-Op and these little dive bars on the East Side. Our studio kind of grew out of that with bands like Killdozer and stuff started getting attention. It wasn’t anything mainstream like maybe it would be today. And it was really underground, and to think that that has changed and people do see value in that and see that they put it in a museum… I mean, it gives me hope for humanity!” (laughs)
How did you segue into this underground music scene as a student here? Was it right when you got here? How long did it take you to rally invest your time and energy and passion into the punk rock scene and try to develop it?
“There was a thing called, I guess it was the Electronic Music Lab, in the basement of Humanities and they had all these cool, early analog synthesizers in this room, and you could take this electronic music course and go in there and mess around for as long as you wanted. That’s where I learned to edit analog tape and make synthesizes work and I know Butch [Vig] did the same courses. And there was this weird kind of early industrial electronic thing that came out of that. That’s where we found the love of that.
“There was this club called Merlyn’s on State Street and I worked there doing anything they needed done. Every good band in the world came through there. All the southern California punk rock bands performed there. I mean, U2 played there. It was like all the new wave, punk bands from England. Tiny little place and I guess you just get hooked on it. There were bands that were playing there that needed places to record, so we bought a tape deck and hooked something up.”
That’s awesome. So, you started Smart Studios in what year?
“I think 1984, like 500 years ago.”
Then, it closed in 2010. And, I don’t want to push you to get emotional here but, do you miss it? Is it weird, you know, not having it?
“I totally miss it. And it’s sad that it wasn’t viable as a business anymore. People can now record with a laptop pretty well. We were, really, just a cool analog studio that had, well, you know, we were really good at what we were doing there. I still think there’s a place for that and a need for that. People don’t want to pay for that anymore because you can do something that is almost as good, for free. It’s sad, but the world moves on and you got to move with the times. I also like having the capability to record just about anything on my stupid little laptop in my knapsack. That’s cool, too.”
I agree that there are definitely trade offs, but again, there’s nothing like the real thing.
“Yeah, the new Dave Grohl movie is really good if you want to look at that further.”
I actually did! Really captivating, especially him as a first-time director.
“He did a great, great job.”
I know people I have worked with see Duke on occasion on Genna’s… so what’s your favorite bar or place in Madison? Kind of a lighter question now.
(Laughs) “Now it’s probably going to be Genna’s. But, uh, if I had a couple of weeks to go to the old places, I’d definitely go to Crystal Corner for sure. Is that still there?”
Indeed it is. Just to touch upon the album for a bit, to say that Garbage is now back in the game would imply that your band was out of it, which simply isn’t true, but there is something about the new album, Not Your Kind of People, that feels fresher. Why was it time for a new Garbage record?
“You know, the four of us personally just felt like it was something we wanted and kind of needed to do. We all really missed it; it’s a really special thing when all four of us are working together in a little room. We all worked with other people in the time we had off. For me, it was never the same as working on Garbage. For me, I missed it and I was thrilled when it looked like we would go back and record a few songs. Maybe that would have been enough but it turned into a whole album and a year of touring. Looks like we’re going to do some more recording, hopefully start a new album in the summer. It just worked out far better than I thought it would.”
Just to wrap up, we’re always on the look out for new bands. What are you listening to now?
“So much stuff that it’s almost impossible to keep track of. I’m really terrible at this question and I always forget. There’s, uh, I don’t know. The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs, this electronic thing called MDMR. I like her work a lot. And, oh, I am so bad at this. I am so sorry.” (laughs) “You know, it’s mainly like listening to block stuff. I’m going to look at your website and see what you guys are listening to, too. New Nick Cave is really cool. There’s also stuff I don’t like but I won’t tell you what that is.” (laughs) “Oh, man.”
A favorite band, just to throw in?
“My favorite band of today is the Cocktail Twins. Oh! And there’s something to do with the Cocktail Twins, called Coil, even that is old stuff but I heard a song today that I couldn’t believe how good it is. So, yeah, we’re all over the place. Sorry about my terrible answer.”
Got it! I will let you go. Thank you so much for doing this.
“I’ll see you at the concert in Madison hopefully.”
Yes, thank you again. Looking forward to it.
“Thanks Erica, talk to you soon.”