Thanks so much to Tony Gauslin for the interview! I wrote about the one-off project Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse years ago on the blog! The band formed by him and Beth (Aberdeen, Jetstream Pony and many more) released one song you can imagine that there was very little info about the band. Happily Tony was up to fill in the blanks and also tell us more about other music projects he has been involved with!

++ Hi Tony! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Hi Roque. Thanks for asking me to do this. I’m doing well – managing to survive in a world that lately seems to get a new wrench thrown into it every few months. A lot of that is thanks to having music to fall back on to distract me from life.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

First music memories? Probably hearing my dad listening to Zeppelin, Heart, Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac in the late 70s. My first instrument was drums/percussion, which I started in 6th grade. I was a serious band nerd growing up and was in band through all of junior high and high school. The music program was a pretty serious thing where I lived. Marching band/drumline, symphonic band, after-school percussion ensemble, pit band for a couple musicals, etc. The private lessons that I took only focused on drum set for the first year or two, then I switched instructors and instead focused more on orchestral percussion (concert snare, tympani, marimba/xylophone/other mallet percussion).

I got a guitar for my 16th birthday and pretty much have been self-taught on that, bass, and piano/keyboards since then. As for what I listened to growing up, that’s kind of all over the place. The classic rock stuff that my dad listened to, obviously, but I was also exposed to Rush through some kid in the neighborhood when I was like 7. Around that time I also started listening to Top 40 radio and watching music video shows, so I got a healthy dose of early 80s pop and new wave. By high school my favorite bands were the Pixies, the Cure, and Dinosaur Jr, though I also was listening to Young Fresh Fellows, Poster Children, some Dischord stuff, generally whatever was angsty and loud but with some sense of melodicism in there. I fell down the indiepop rabbithole when I went off to college in 92 and started working at the radio station. From then on it was all about Slumberland, Simple Machines, K, TeenBeat, SpinArt, Pop Narcotic, Harriet, Merge, Sarah, etc etc. Mostly US-based stuff, though, since that’s what I had easier access to at the time.

++ Where are you from originally?

My family moved every few years when I was growing up, so we primarily bounced between the DC suburbs and Southern California (where my dad is from). But the formative years were spent in Fairfax, VA.

++ How was LA at the time of Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

I was in LA for a few years leading up to 2000, and it was kind of a weird place. Definitely drastically different from the massive DIY thing that DC had going on, though there was certainly an undercurrent of it. I got to witness the final days of No Life Records, which was probably my favorite shop there. Rhino deserves a mention, but that’s mostly because it wasn’t too far from where I lived. Most of the good “bigger” indie bands played the Silverlake Lounge if they even came through town. The Smell was interesting. Saw a few good shows at some hole in the wall down in Long Beach whose name I forget (including the first time I was blown away by the Aislers Set when that first album came out). There were some other shops and venues around, but it’s been over 20 years and their names slip my mind at the moment.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

IIRC, a week or two before the Family Twee project came up Beth had given me a drawing that she made of a pair of mice with a little verse about them. When we decided to record the song she threw that out as a name and it stuck.

++ And how did this project start? Were you and Beth friends already? How did you two meet?

++ She was of course in Aberdeen, a band many of us are big fans of, did you have the chance to see them live?

I never did see them live. They had already broken up when Beth and I met. I did have a chance to see them once after they reformed, but I ended up not going.

++ Had you been in other bands before Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

I was in a bad cover band for a short bit in high school, but that doesn’t count. Then there was the aforementioned project where I met Beth, which was led by a guy who worked at KCRW, the NPR station in Santa Monica. Recordings of that do exist, but I don’t think he ever released them.

A year or so after the BMGM song I got together and played bass with two guys who were in Bunny Summer, which was an early Rachel Blumberg band (they had a 7″ out on SpinArt). We practiced 4 or 5 times and got up to the point of talking about playing an open mic night somewhere, but then I started a new job and it all kind of fell apart. When I moved a few years later I still had the bass that I had borrowed from them. So Jeff and Adam, sorry about that…

++ After this project I know you were in a band called Color and Shapes with Laura Watling, right? Again, I have to ask as both Beth and Laura are two of the most well-known women in indiepop in the US, how did you two meet and what prompted both to start a project?

I met Laura at one of the poplucks (potluck dinner/living room concert) that she put on out in Riverside when I was in the LA area and got to know her there a bit. We both moved up to the San Francisco area around the same time and she asked about playing together. She brought her cassette 8-track over to my apartment and recorded me playing some acoustic guitar once or twice, then took that home and finished them up. I did go to her place in Santa Rosa and recorded some lightly brushed drums for one of the tracks, but I don’t believe those got used.

++  Speaking of Color and Shapes, you were telling me a tape was released? I had no clue. Who put it out? What songs were on it? Are there more unreleased tracks?

Raoul from Popgun put a tape out at some point. I found out about it maybe around 2005/6 or so when a friend messaged me and told me he had bought a copy. I don’t have a copy of it but I think it had two songs on it, which I’m pretty sure are the only two that we recorded (though again, there were drums for one, so there might be an alt mix out there).

++ You are now making music under the name The Quiet Corners, and the songs are great! Was wondering when did you start this project and if there are any news coming up for this project?

Sometime in 2015 I ordered a cheap bass online to mess around with. When it showed up I dug out my cassette 4-track to see if it still worked. Within a few minutes I ended up coming up with the chords that became Goodbye Wherever. I quickly threw a bass line on that and recorded a (poorly played) drum track on my frankensteined electronic drum kit. I had previously dubbed the little practice area in the corner of my living room as “the quiet corner” since I could bang away on the v-drums with headphones on pretty much whenever I wanted (it was a ground floor apartment with thick walls and a garage on the other side of the wall). The name stuck even though it took another 5 years for me to get some other stuff recorded and released.

As for the future, I’m constantly messing around and coming up with little musical phrases or chord progressions that I then flesh out a bit and promptly forget. All of the recordings I’ve made so far are the times when I’ve actually bothered plugging everything together and hitting the record button. I have a few ideas that have been bouncing around my head for too long that I need to record, so there will be more stuff posted someday. I also need to sit down and record some Erik Satie piano pieces that I learned while teaching myself piano over the past few years. I’d like to get both of those done by the end of the summer, but we’ll see.

++ It seems there were many small indiepop bands in California in those late 90s, many that had great music but didn’t make it. I wonder if you have any recommendations for obscure bands that didn’t get a chance to make it?

Unfortunately that’s about the time I began falling away from the indiepop world, so I can’t really help you there.

++ As far as I know Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse was a one-off project, right? Or were more songs recorded?

Correct, just the one song. Nothing else exists.

++ The song that I am aware of, “Make Like We’re Not Sad” was included in a compilation called “Family Twee” that was put together by Skippy of March Records. What made you want to be part of it?

At some point in 1997 someone on the indiepop-list threw out the idea of releasing a compilation of songs contributed by list members. Specifics were hashed out regarding track length, payment, etc (you’d have to check the list archives for specific details on it). IIRC, Skippy took the reins on it, which I’m sure is a decision he quickly regretted. I asked Beth if she wanted to do a song for it, we checked whether we could do a longer song if we pooled resources and that was that (that’s why our track was ~4:30 minutes while everyone else’s had a 2:30 cap).

++ This compilation mostly features people that were involved in the indiepop-list email group. Were you active in the mailing list? How did you like this email forum?

I joined the indiepop-list in 1995, back when the internet was a very different world. Back then there seemed to be only a handful of places to discuss that sort of music online and there was definitely a sense of community from the various popfests and meetups. Even a severe introvert like myself managed to meet a lot of great people over the years (keeping in touch, well that’s another story).

++ I really like the song “Make Like We’re Not Sad”. Care telling me the story behind it? Where was it recorded? Did it take long to put together?

The whole thing was surprisingly quick. I wrote and recorded the instrumental tracks in my bedroom on my PowerMac one weekend after we decided to contribute a song. I gave a tape with a rough mix to Beth, she came up with the lyrics, then came over and recorded them a week or two later. There were some issues regarding horrible monitoring latency when she recorded those due to the jury-rigged setup we used, but she somehow managed (she wouldn’t let me into the room while she recorded the vocals). There were a couple rounds of mixing and the tape was sent off. And that’s the story of the birth and death of BMGM.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of your different bands?

++ After recording this wonderful song, you didn’t think about continuing this project?

Beth and I had a falling out not too long after the song was recorded, so there really wasn’t anything to continue. But I’m certainly open to working with Beth again if she were up to it. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

++ One thing that I thought was funny was that a year later after the release of the “Family Twee” CD you were saying you hadn’t received a copy. In the end you did receive one, right?

I did have to email Skippy more than a few times to eventually get some copies.

++ On this CD we see many friends and bands, was wondering which are your favourite tracks on it? And if you were familiar with any of the projects at all?

It’s been years since I’ve even looked at the disc, let alone listened to it (it’s stuck away in a box of CDs in the garage somewhere). I do remember there were a few tunes that I did like, but I couldn’t tell you who or what they were at this point.

++ If you were to choose your favorite song of yours, which one would that be and why?

I kind of like how “We Are Going Nowhere” came out despite the fact that it never really goes anywhere (yes, the title is a little self-referential). And Goodbye Wherever has some of that quick bash-it-out sensibility that I like. But I like to imagine that my favorite song is still to come.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? With which bands?

One C&S gig where we opened for Aerospace from Sweden. No comment.

++ Having collaborated with both Beth and Laura, I have to ask who else in the indiepopworld has made music with you?!

Nobody, because as far as I know nobody’s ever been interested. If you are, hit me up! Especially if you can provide vocals and/or assistance and feedback on arrangement and composition. tgauslin[at]gmail.com

++ Was there any interest in your music from the radio? TV?

A handful of people from the indiepop-list played the BMGM song on their college radio shows, which I know about because they posted their playlists to the list each week. If there was any interest beyond that, I’m not aware of it. I do recall Beth telling me she played the song for Matt from Sarah and that he liked it, so there’s that.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

One time the guy from Cloudberry Records asked about an interview for his blog. 😉

++ What about fanzines?

Again, not that I’m aware of.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for you as a musician?

Honestly, at this point I’m touched that people still like and remember the very first song I ever recorded, even if it is mostly remembered because of Beth’s involvement.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Reading, getting out for bike rides, and getting away from screens to play some mind-numbing hours-long strategic board games. (Though I’m terrible at them I loves me some 18xx. CCMF!)

++ Been to Los Angeles once but I’d like to ask a local about what you would suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

It’s been decades since I’ve been there, so I can’t really help you. But you’re doing yourself a disservice if you find yourself in California and don’t spend a few hours basking in the sun just staring out at the Pacific.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks so much for listening and being interested enough to interview me. I really appreciate it. Take care!

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Listen
Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse – Make Like We’re Not Sad