ANIEC: Leslie Singer interviews Adam Naworal

Back in January when I was in Gainesville to perform at the wonderful Apartment Music 31 and 32 shows, I met the affable, accomplished fellow ECer and Apartment Music performer, Adam Naworal. He and his multi-talented wife, Aimee Grace Naworal perform as the duo, Tomokie’s Cup. Adam has initiated two way interviews with fellow ECer’s such as Lord Litter and Frank and kindly invited me to do one with him.
​You can read Adam's interview of me here.

LS:
What inspires you to pick up a certain instrument or piece of gear? For instance,
what attracted you to the electronic bagpipes?  
AN:
​I always wanted to do things that others aren't doing, without trying to sound too
full of myself. The electronic bagpipes were something we found after getting actual bagpipes and finding out they were defective and INSANELY expensive to repair. I tend to go for instruments that are easy for Aimee and I to both play and learn. I also don't want to limit myself to one particular type of instrument, which goes into our decisions as well. We have synthesizers and strings and a harmonium and various other things, all of which come in handy depending on our mood and what ideas we have at the time. I truly believe that being a multi-instrumentalist opens up a vast array of creative possibilities, and I highly encourage everyone to pursue that path.

LS:
Do we survive death in any sense, and if so, do we survive for a time or forever?
AN:
I believe as long as you leave memories, acts, and art behind, you never truly die. I’m not much of a believer in afterlives and such, but I do feel the quickest way to achieve immortality is to leave a tangible piece of your life for future generations to study.

LS:
What is the story behind Waste of Tape? 
AN:
Oh wow, there's a question I have genuinely never been asked! Waste Of Tape
started when I met Jim Greco. He was stunned that this nerdy little goth kid knew who Beherit was (he was wearing a Beherit shirt). We got to talking and realized we both had similar interests and thought processes, and we were both interested in doing noise as a therapeutic release. Jim was especially interested in experimenting since he's in a lot of death metal and black metal bands which require a lot of thought and practice. We recorded some really bad noisecore and then some better jokey tracks on the first day of our existence. We were throwing names back and forth and finally I said "Well, might as well call it Waste Of Tape because it's starting to look like one", upon which Jim said "STOP! THAT'S IT!" We've since evolved from mostly comedic who-gives-a-fuck-ism into
more restrained and atmospheric music, while still being jerks to each other in the best sense. Jim's a good dude and I've enjoyed creating nonsense with him for all these years.

LS:
Can mind dominate matter or does matter completely dominate mind, or has each, perhaps, a certain limited independence?
AN:
Mind CAN dominate matter, but be careful what you wish for; their limited
independence may be the best thing. When you put too much mental emphasis on physical pleasure, for example, it can be a toxic combination. I think it’s best to approach this subject on a by-case/by experience basis, since not every experience will warrant the same reaction or thought process.

LS:
What music do you listen to around the house when you are hanging out with the
Aimee and cats? Or when you are just hanging out by yourself with the cats? 
AN:
My main musical interests run from noise rock and no wave to free jazz and fusion to krautrock and weird prog to early electronic and musique concrète and everything in between! That being said, I can go from listening to Girls on Fire right into Xhol and then switch to "Easy Lover" or "Games Without Frontiers" without feeling like I'm being too eclectic. A good song (or piece of music or piece of audio art) is good, regardless of genre or popularity, and I will not deny that some of the poppier stuff I enjoy would probably surprise people. A good cross section of my musical (and film) tastes can be found at my Rate Your Music page, where I operate as dotadot.

LS:
Has the Universe a purpose?  Or it it driven by blind necessity? Or is it a mere
chaos and jumble in which the natural laws that we think we find are only a fantasy generated by our own love of order?
AN:
I'm not so certain the Universe has a purpose per se, but if it doesn't, that simply
makes the universe the greatest embodiment of Dada ever. Nothing wrong with that!

LS:
Legend has it that goats discovered what berry?
a.   blueberry
b.   coffee berry
c.   blackberry
d.   none of the above

​AN:
I wanna say B!
I recall reading somewhere that goats were observed being more active after eating coffee berries and their herders thought "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm".

LS:
If there is a cosmic scheme, has life more importance in it than astronomy would
lead us to suppose or is our emphasis upon life mere parochialism and self-importance?
AN:
I'm going to quote the recently departed Mark Hollis of Talk Talk for the last part of the question: "Life's what you make of it". I really think including others in your life leads to a healthier overall experience than being self-important or –absorbed. The EC community is proof of that!

LS:
What is your favorite Pepperidge Farm cookie?
AN: Mannnnnnn, I haven't had any of those in forever! I remember the one I liked was shortbread with caramel and chocolate; I'm not sure if they even make that anymore.
(EDIT: After reading your interview with Lucy (Bonk), the cookie she named is the one I was thinking!)

LS:
If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?  
AN:
Never let anyone tell you that what you're doing is worthless. Always go with what your heart tells you. If you don't like something you've created (art, music, whatever), think about how to improve it and go from there. Just keep creating; your ideas should never stay in your head to the grave. In the words of Jónsi from Sigur Rós, GO DO.

(Questions 2, 4, 6, 8: Credit: Bertrand Russell and his "Philosophy of Laymen" Question 7 Credit: The "Screaming Goats- A Pocket Guide")
Photo credits: Aimee Grace Naworal