The Endless Travels of Brendon Massei

Brendon Massei at Fresh Up, Austin

For longer than most people do anything, Viking Moses has been on the road, driving back and forth across the country, playing wherever there's a show to be played. This is not what people who thirst after acclaim call "paying your dues" at all. This is a committed way of life for Massei, and it's from this deep commitment that he draws such intense imagery and such a wrenching voice. Massei does not tell; he conjurs.

Listen to Viking Moses on our compilation.

W & A: The show I saw in Austin recently really hit me pretty hard. There were times when your knees would pound against the floor as you sang and it reminded me of Catholic ascetics from the old days who would crawl across town on their knees whipping themselves and all that. In addition there was the bellowing voice which was very different than some of the more quiet recordings I've heard. I was wondering are you ever in actual, physical pain after a show?

B.M: O yes, there's much physical pain after i sing songs, normally, especially that show at the Fresh Up Club in Austin! concrete floors, and had been doing this nightly since January, and what was this, late May? whew! yes, that night was particularly painful, my knees were quite swollen and bruised, and it brought a few yelps and tears while i sang, which i usually can tough my way through without even feeling until afterwards.

I've heard that you've been on the road pretty constantly for the last couple years. What's the longest time you stayed put since 2000, and what's the longest you kept traveling?

i left Chicago, the last stable home i had, March of last year to do this awesome tour with my dear friend Dylan Metrano who does music called Tiger Saw. we toured for about three months, which didnt leave much of a homelife to return to, not surprisingly, so i've pretty much been touring since, with an occasional weeklong break. since 2000, this home i just spoke of was the steadiest i'd had since childhood, which lasted nearly two years. this tour i just finished in July has been the longest perpetual tour i've undertaken, which ran at over some six months. my vacation from this tour officially ends tonight, after a very much needed six weeks, however it proved to be as much, if not, more work than touring.

Living perpetually on the road must give you a really different take on things. What are some of the biggest distinctions between you and the normal folks who live in one place most of the time? What's the hardest thing about living this way? What's the best thing?

i dont know that touring would cast the greatest distiction between myself and somebody else. i feel in many ways closer to some folks i know who never leave the house, than many i meet in similar shoes as mine, traveling often. the most difficult thing for me about a long tour is achieving proper rest and nourishment, and the void of healthy, stable relationships. The greatest reward has been being able to meet people and travel to lands i'd otherwise have to miss, due to not having money or qualifications for much else.

If you weren't a musician, are there any mundane jobs you'd secretly like to work at for awhile?

well, to me, nothing feels more ordinary than what i'm doing now, but the fact that it's in my heart to do this, as surprising and unpredictable and invigorating as it is, there's a sense of comfort and familiarity and confidence much of the time. i dont think it would matter much what it was, any job could be just as fullfilling or imprisoning, depending where the heart was at. when music becomes overwhelming, or out of reach, i find myself washing dishes, or tending to children, or setting up tours for friends, or cooking, or screenprinting, or mowing lawns, or answering phones, or running a cash register, or doing construction, or countless other things that i'm limited to as a high school dropout in our place and time. i don't foresee any escape from the service industry, no matter what we do, but lately i discovered, we can choose who we
serve, so regardless of what it is i choose to accept as my task, i'll take it with full confidence and have the more to give, accordingly, as anyone would. up to now, i've never put too much planning in any of my undertakings, as far as a common job, which is all i've ever done, so i can't imagine ever putting any more thought into it than this.

How did you come to play music with John McCauley? That kid is rad.

John McCauley is one of the most outstanding persons of our age! i just got to his folks' house, in Providence this afternoon, actually! i'm sitting here now! well, i met Johnny at the AS220 gallery/showspace here in town. i was playing bass with Andy, Devendra and Alyssa for Vetiver, and he came up afterwards and shared some words with us. i bumped into him again a few months down the road in New York City, and i invited him to travel with me, and that was that, in a nutshell. He just played me some recordings he finished yesterday with our friend Nat Baldwin when he picked me up from the airport this afternoon, so good! it's a split release, six songs each, but they accompany eachother's songs, so super cool cooperative! i think Natrix Natrix is putting out the vinyl, and someone in town is doing a cassette, and they're looking for another label to release the CD
format.

What foreign country would you like to live in for a year and why?

for a year? yikes, hard to say. i've lived in Nottingham, England for a while, and another while in a small village outside of Bonn, Germany. i've obsessively fantasized about living in Guanajuato, Mexico for about 5 years now, so that might be on the top of my list, although, i am pretty eager and open minded to visit most anyplace who'd have me.

I asked this question to Ray Raposa (Castanets) as well, do you ever write about your dreams? Can you recall any recent dreams you'd be willing to talk about?

i write letters to people about my dreams, sometimes, but i dont normally write songs about my dreams. this isn't a dream, but plenty to do with sleep, so i'll share it anyway. last night, i slept at my love's folks' place. i slept alone in their guest room, fully clothed, by myself, under a quilt. around three in the morning i woke up, and someone had undone my belt, unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans and left things that way. this morning i addressed her with this, suspecting that she had come in while i was sleeping and left, perhaps sleepwalking, herself. she denies this accusation, nor will she allow me to suggest that maybe one of her parents or the dog was responsible.

What music are you currently listening to or influenced by?

well, for the past month or so, the only recordings in my possession have been: Little Wings' "Magic Wood" (Friends and Relatives Records), Sweeney and Bonny's "Superwolf" (Drag City), Willie's "Red Headed Stranger", Kristofferson's "Kristofferson" and Dolly's "Essential Vol 2", and a test pressing of the new Watery Graves LP called "Caracas" (Marriage Records). i've since put these down to lighten my load, and found Scout Niblett's new record "Kidnapped By Neptune" (Too Pure), and my friend Kris Poulin just sent me Love Letter In Blood Red which i'm about to listen to when the opportunity presents itself.

Do you do most of the booking for your tours yourself? It seems like you pretty much run your own show on the road.

i reeeeeeallly would like to start working with a booking agent! they'd prolly do a better job than i would, but for now, yes, for the mostpart i've been the main organizer of my touring, so my shows'll prolly continue to be in the comforts of living rooms, but i've had much assistance from kind, generous, hard working people all around to help arrange things on their end.

What's on the horizon for Viking Moses? Tours, new recordings, collaborations, etc.

well, i foresee no end to touring, outside of death, which i'm not anticipating anytime soon. but recordings, o yeh! yes yes! we just recorded 3 new Viking Moses albums this year! a trilogy of sorts! Spencer Kingman (Spenking), Cody Brant and Jacob Soto (Flaspar), John McCauley (Deertick), and Otto Hauser (Espers) all play on these, and we also included a couple versions of songs by inspirers: Scout Niblett, Thanksgiving, Spenking, and Daniel Johnston. the first two stories we recorded with Paul Oldham down on he's farm in Kentucky, and the third we recorded with Kris Poulin in Las Vegas at Spencer Kingman's mom's house. there are no plans yet who will release them, or when, but out of love and respect Marriage has first dibs on them, as far as i'm concerned, whether they want or are able to release them, or pass on them. i am always down for collaborating with people for tours or recordings, or releasing a single or comp track, or ep or album. so much music!