t h e  m a r k  e i t z e l  s t o r y

'The Gospel According to Mark'
Interview By Scott Carlson
A & E Sound Effects May 23, 1996
http://www.daily.umn.edu:80/ae/Print/ISSUE31/soundeffects.html

Interviewer: Eitzel has been known to cry onstage -- he breaks down in the middle of "Western Sky" on Songs of Love Live. His show last Thursday at the Fine Line was a bittersweet display of pain, anguish and the attempts to overcome a general sadness. In the middle of the last number, Eitzel took his hands off his guitar, covered his face and stumbled through a few lines before throwing down his guitar and jumping offstage. The crowd tried to coax him back onstage with persistent cheering, but Eitzel was gone. I saw him trudging down 4th Street moments later, tired and alone. The sight reminded me of the painfully honest Eitzel I talked to a few days earlier....

Q. Are you still doing the Toiling Midgets?
'No! Fuck no!'

Q. What was wrong with that?
'Oh, they're fucking assholes. They're like these ex-junkie rock stars who expect to be driven around in limousines all the time and they're getting older and they're not doing anything new. Fuck 'em. It's death, y'know, I'm sorry. I guess there is the argument that if you really love rock'n'roll, it's this whole white male thing where you do your one thing and that's what you do. You dance the way you make love and you make music a certain way and that's where your mojo is at and I don't accept it. I think it's crap.'

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