An Interview with Chris Xefos of King Missile
King Missile were one of the coolest and most underrated bands of the 80s and 90s. While best known for "Detachable Penis," their musical range expands well beyond that, as their best albums, 1990's "Mystical Shit" and 1992's "Happy Hour" will attest.
Centering their sound on John S. Hall's brilliant observations of everyday life, the musical dynamo of former Bongwater guitarist Dave Rick and keyboardist/bassist Chris Xefos formed their unique sound, augmented by various drummers.
Over the years, Hall has tried to recapture the magic, with less than spectacular results. In the end, King Missile, circa 1988-1993 were the lineup that really shined and thankfully, Chris Xefos was willing to take time out of his schedule to answer some questions.
When did you get started with music?
I've been playing music for most of my life, since I was 5 years old. During these formative years, I learned to play many different instruments and studied music theory during that entire time, up until I decided to quit college and pursue a music career.
How'd you get involved with King Missile?
I was living with Dave Rick in Brooklyn NY starting in the middle of '88, being good friends with him for about 6 years prior to becoming his roommate. When Dogbowl had decided to stop working with John S. Hall, John asked Kramer who to call to help him finish writing/recording the Mystical Shit record, and Kramer suggested Dave Rick. John asked Dave if he knew anyone else who might want to also be involved, and Dave suggested me.
How well did you guys get along with John?
It was fine at first, and for the most part it was OK, though towards the end of our involvement it became a deteriorating business relationship.
Was there any difficulty leaving Shimmy-Disc and signing with Atlantic?
We did not have any contract with Shimmy-Disc, so signing with Atlantic was never a problem. In fact, we knew Kramer wasn't going to put out The Way To Salvation, so we were in need of finding a label. Virgin was interested, but decided to sign Smashing Pumpkins instead, so through a connection I had made, we had decided to sign with Atlantic.
When did Roger come into the band and how well did the band get along then?
Roger came into the band in early '91. From late '89 up til that point, we were working with Dave Ramirez on drums, and Dave was already a part of the band Hypnolovewheel, and would not be able to hold to the commitments of the touring we needed to do behind The Way To Salvation. Roger is an old friend of mine that I had played in bands with for years, the best drummer I knew up til that point, so I asked him if he would join us, and he said yes. Once Roger joined, the subsequent touring that we all did in '91 really solidified our bond with Roger. At some point during that year, Roger was having second thoughts and had wanted to leave the band, but he was talked back into being in the band, much to everyone's delight. Roger is a very fun person to be around, and would keep us all laughing, probably the funniest guy in the band.
What was success with Detachable and Scorsese like?
It was pretty surreal, actually, and still is to a certain extent. When Detachable first became popular in December '92, there was a commercial radio station here in SF that was playing it every 4 hours, and it was number one most requested on this radio station for a few weeks, only to be knocked out by Radiohead's first single "Creep". Once (in '93) I was over at a friend's house in NY, he had Beavis and Butthead on while he was getting dressed to go out, and Martin Scorsese came on like it was no big deal....and that still happens as VH1-Classic will sometimes run the Detachable video, or someone will tell me they heard Detachable on the radio. I never expected it, and still scratch my head about it.
Were you really homeless around the time of Happy Hour (taken from the liner notes)?
I got a bunch of shit about claiming that in the liner notes, as it was felt by some in the band not to be politically correct. At the beginning of '91, I gave up my apartment in Brooklyn, placed all of my belonging in a storage space and spent most of the year on the road with the band. When we finished touring at the end of '91, I moved in to an apartment in San Francisco and started dividing my time between SF, NYC and being on the road touring, most of that time being the latter two. We were working on writing and recording Happy Hour all throughout '92, and I was crashing with different friends in NYC (when I was there) on their couches all throughout that year, and only (somewhat rarely) spent anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks at a time back home in SF. When it came time to put together the liner notes, I needed to thank those who had helped me get by during that 2 years, hence that claim was made.
How was your experience with a major label, did it leave you guys bitter or disappointed?
I believe our experience with a major label was (in retrospect) everything to be expected. At the time, we wouldn't have gained as much exposure as we did without the association with the major label, and of course I feel very gratified by that. However, there were many things the label could have done better, probably just as much as we could have done better with dealing with them. We didn't know what we were doing, and it was a very complicated process for us at the time. I think I'm more disappointed in the way we dealt with the business, rather than how the business dealt with us.
When did you decide to leave the band or did the band decide to call it quits?
That version of King Missile imploded in July '94, a few weeks after we completed our touring for the last King Missile album released on Atlantic.
Do you still keep in touch with your former bandmates?
I still keep in touch with Dave Rick, and Dave still plays with Roger in a couple of bands, so I occasionally hear from Roger as well. I very rarely, if at all, communicate with John S. Hall.
What are you up to now, is it the same as it was before?
I'm currently completing construction work on a recording studio here in SF, which should be fully operational within the coming weeks. I have worked with, and continue to work with, many different folks here in SF and beyond, in varying capacities, either recording or playing live, though I'm not part of a regular working band at the moment. For more info on my discography, you can check out xefos.com//discography. This is pretty much what I was doing before King Missile, and what I've done (with a couple of exceptions) since then.
Centering their sound on John S. Hall's brilliant observations of everyday life, the musical dynamo of former Bongwater guitarist Dave Rick and keyboardist/bassist Chris Xefos formed their unique sound, augmented by various drummers.
Over the years, Hall has tried to recapture the magic, with less than spectacular results. In the end, King Missile, circa 1988-1993 were the lineup that really shined and thankfully, Chris Xefos was willing to take time out of his schedule to answer some questions.
When did you get started with music?
I've been playing music for most of my life, since I was 5 years old. During these formative years, I learned to play many different instruments and studied music theory during that entire time, up until I decided to quit college and pursue a music career.
How'd you get involved with King Missile?I was living with Dave Rick in Brooklyn NY starting in the middle of '88, being good friends with him for about 6 years prior to becoming his roommate. When Dogbowl had decided to stop working with John S. Hall, John asked Kramer who to call to help him finish writing/recording the Mystical Shit record, and Kramer suggested Dave Rick. John asked Dave if he knew anyone else who might want to also be involved, and Dave suggested me.
How well did you guys get along with John?
It was fine at first, and for the most part it was OK, though towards the end of our involvement it became a deteriorating business relationship.
Was there any difficulty leaving Shimmy-Disc and signing with Atlantic?
We did not have any contract with Shimmy-Disc, so signing with Atlantic was never a problem. In fact, we knew Kramer wasn't going to put out The Way To Salvation, so we were in need of finding a label. Virgin was interested, but decided to sign Smashing Pumpkins instead, so through a connection I had made, we had decided to sign with Atlantic.
When did Roger come into the band and how well did the band get along then?Roger came into the band in early '91. From late '89 up til that point, we were working with Dave Ramirez on drums, and Dave was already a part of the band Hypnolovewheel, and would not be able to hold to the commitments of the touring we needed to do behind The Way To Salvation. Roger is an old friend of mine that I had played in bands with for years, the best drummer I knew up til that point, so I asked him if he would join us, and he said yes. Once Roger joined, the subsequent touring that we all did in '91 really solidified our bond with Roger. At some point during that year, Roger was having second thoughts and had wanted to leave the band, but he was talked back into being in the band, much to everyone's delight. Roger is a very fun person to be around, and would keep us all laughing, probably the funniest guy in the band.
What was success with Detachable and Scorsese like?
It was pretty surreal, actually, and still is to a certain extent. When Detachable first became popular in December '92, there was a commercial radio station here in SF that was playing it every 4 hours, and it was number one most requested on this radio station for a few weeks, only to be knocked out by Radiohead's first single "Creep". Once (in '93) I was over at a friend's house in NY, he had Beavis and Butthead on while he was getting dressed to go out, and Martin Scorsese came on like it was no big deal....and that still happens as VH1-Classic will sometimes run the Detachable video, or someone will tell me they heard Detachable on the radio. I never expected it, and still scratch my head about it.
Were you really homeless around the time of Happy Hour (taken from the liner notes)?
I got a bunch of shit about claiming that in the liner notes, as it was felt by some in the band not to be politically correct. At the beginning of '91, I gave up my apartment in Brooklyn, placed all of my belonging in a storage space and spent most of the year on the road with the band. When we finished touring at the end of '91, I moved in to an apartment in San Francisco and started dividing my time between SF, NYC and being on the road touring, most of that time being the latter two. We were working on writing and recording Happy Hour all throughout '92, and I was crashing with different friends in NYC (when I was there) on their couches all throughout that year, and only (somewhat rarely) spent anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks at a time back home in SF. When it came time to put together the liner notes, I needed to thank those who had helped me get by during that 2 years, hence that claim was made.
How was your experience with a major label, did it leave you guys bitter or disappointed?
I believe our experience with a major label was (in retrospect) everything to be expected. At the time, we wouldn't have gained as much exposure as we did without the association with the major label, and of course I feel very gratified by that. However, there were many things the label could have done better, probably just as much as we could have done better with dealing with them. We didn't know what we were doing, and it was a very complicated process for us at the time. I think I'm more disappointed in the way we dealt with the business, rather than how the business dealt with us.
When did you decide to leave the band or did the band decide to call it quits?That version of King Missile imploded in July '94, a few weeks after we completed our touring for the last King Missile album released on Atlantic.
Do you still keep in touch with your former bandmates?
I still keep in touch with Dave Rick, and Dave still plays with Roger in a couple of bands, so I occasionally hear from Roger as well. I very rarely, if at all, communicate with John S. Hall.
What are you up to now, is it the same as it was before?
I'm currently completing construction work on a recording studio here in SF, which should be fully operational within the coming weeks. I have worked with, and continue to work with, many different folks here in SF and beyond, in varying capacities, either recording or playing live, though I'm not part of a regular working band at the moment. For more info on my discography, you can check out xefos.com//discography. This is pretty much what I was doing before King Missile, and what I've done (with a couple of exceptions) since then.
we all think JSH sucks Chris. :)
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