The Ladybug Transistor formed in Brooklyn in 1995, and frontman Gary Olson has been the band’s sole constant member. Clutching Stems (Merge) is the group’s seventh album and the first to be made following the 2007 asthma-related death of drummer San Fadyl. Since, the band’s lineup has solidified behind Olson, featuring Kyle Forester, Julia Rydholm, Mark Dzula, Eric Farber and Michael O’Neill. The Ladybug Transistor will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with Olson.
Gary Olson speaks with Darren Hanlon about Australian cinema, spaghetti-Westerns and Eli Wallach.
Olson: So we’re in the land of of all of the great spaghetti-Westerns. A lot of those Leone pictures were shot in Almería, Spain, just down south of here. Would you consider a visit to Eli Wallach‘s (Hanlon’s favorite actor) old stomping grounds?
Hanlon: Oh man, I’d love to. Can’t believe this is where it all went down. He was nearly killed a couple of times making The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, you know?
Really? Well I guess “safety officer” was a job yet to be invented back then. What happened?
The scene where he cuts his handcuffs on the train track. That was a real train. And no stunt doubles. Leone asked him to raise his head so the camera could see him better. If he had’ve, he would’ve been decapitated by the train step. And then there’s him being hand tied on a galloping horse. That was all real.
Gee. Eli still loves working. Do you reckon it’s been the key to his longevity?
That, and I’m guessing they grey coloured shake he always seems to be drinking when I visit him. Maybe it’s liquid life-force. He says the key to his long life is happiness. He has a framed personalised letter from Tennesse Williams that says something like, “Eli has the ability to piss everyone off, as he’s found the key to eternal happy.”
That’s sweet. He was a real Brooklyn boy and attended Erasmus Hall High School, which is near my place. Some other noted Erasmus alumni are Neil Diamond, Bobby Fischer, Marky Ramone, Mickey Spillane, Barbra Streisand and Mae West.
Wow. Is that why you’re such an overachiever? Is there a plaque there anywhere saying the Gary Olson Auditorium?
I actually attended Midwood, which is where Woody Allen went to high school, but it’s amazing to think of the variety of ghosts roaming the halls of Erasmus.
Yeah, they might all get together at night in the gymnasium and have parties, like in The Shining. Could you imagine Marky Ramone playing chess with Bobby Fischer?
Or Barbra Streisand dueting with Neil Diamond.
They’re not dead yet.
Either is Marky Ramone for that matter. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. I really love the video you made for “I Wish That I Was Beautiful For You.” It’s such a wonderful tribute to Ditmas Park and Marlborough Road. Eli is truly a man of the stage, and his performance is so expressive, even though the majority of the clip has no dialogue. We’re you nervous in your scene together?
Yeah, so nervous. And I can’t watch it now. Plus I look ill from being awake the whole night before with anxiety. He kept saying just pretend we’re having a conversation, and I said that’s what I’m trying to do! He was very complimentary.
I think it’s sweet. The Australian film industry seems to have gotten a slow start. There was not much commercially available in the USA until the ’70s with Picnic At Hanging Rock, etc. Why did it take so long to peak? Were you getting a lot of imports down there?
It was strong in the beginning. We’re even credited with having the world’s first feature: Ned Kelly. Not the Heath Ledger version. They’ve only salvaged a few minutes of it. More bits pop up now and again. I think someone found another canister from it at a dump a few years back. So yeah, the scene had a lull for a few years. But the ’70s were actually very productive. That’s when the whole Ozploitation thing was going on. And other films must have been shown somewhere in the U.S., as I know Tarantino was inspired by all of that stuff when he saw it. He loved Man From Hong Kong—Australian kung fu! They even fight on Ayers Rock.
Is it named after Kevin Ayers?
Very good mate.
But seriously, that film’s a bit racist right?
Well…
Moving on. Do you have a Hanging Rock theory of your own?
You mean what happened to the girls? Hmm. It could have been a clever tourism ploy. Good way of getting people to visit your geographical site: Stage a gothic mystery! The few times I’ve been there there’s always someone calling out “Miranda!”
I just read Errol Flynn is from Tasmania?!
Yes, I always think of him when I drive past Hobart Hospital where he was born.
In your opinion what’s the most essential Australian film and the most underrated?
I always say Wake In Fright. And that’s made by a Canadian. In 1971. I don’t think anyone has captured the outback condition before or since. The feeling of being imprisoned by open space. In fact I think it was called Outback in the U.S. or U.K. Australians hated it when it came out—too close to the bone for most. It’s challenging and pretty disturbing and looks so beautiful. And then the director went on to make First Blood and Weekend At Bernie’s!
Really?! You are a frequent houseguest of mine. My landlord refers to you as Russell Crowe. I imagine this happens a lot. Have you ever taken advantage of the resemblance?
Just recently on the U.S. tour, we were at a food co-op somewhere in Montana, and the lady serving us was going on about it, so I said I was his brother. She was like, “Really?” And I said, “Yeah, we don’t see him much. He lives in L.A. and N.Y. a lot. But he tries to come home for Christmas.”
Oh no
Shelley Short, my bandmate who I was traveling with, said the woman went mental when I walked out and and got her colleagues to go out to take a look at Russell Crowe’s brother.
I’m working on a screenplay for Cocktail 2: Down Under and would like to cast you in the Tom Cruise roll. What are your conditions for accepting?
That would be great. And we’d set it in the outback. A cocktail bar that only sells beer. Yeah! This is great. We send the Tom Cruise character to the land of Wake In Fright and see how long he survives with all his tiny umbrellas and fancy shaker tricks.
We’ve been on tour now for a week and are often sharing hotel rooms. Would you consider doing a new Odd Couple series with me?
Yeah, of course. Ernie And Bert The Movie. That means you’re the uptight one, I guess.
And you’re messy and wear a lot of stripey T-shirts. You are off to Krakow tomorrow. Are you planning to brush up on your Polish cinema?
I’m hoping Mr. Polanski will be there to greet me at the airport.
Video and another photo after the jump.
