Pere Ubu comes straight from the dada tradition. How much have you been influenced by this movement?
Pere Ubu, the character, was conceived by Alfred Jarry. Pere Ubu, the band, was conceived by us and has nothing to do with dada. Dada and surrealism – at this point – are historical curiosities with no relevance as a living art. There are important lessons to be learned, of course – valuable production methodologies and narrative tools all fundamental to producing and understanding art in the 20th / 21st Centuries. But to endulge in a regeneration of it is akin to starting a band in the year 2007 that does doo-wop. Why bother? It was done better the first time around when it was alive and fresh. Dada and surrealism is what you do when you’re 17, a thing of youth that should be put away with maturity.
