Ryan and Suzanne performed live on the “Space Disco For Fish Tacos” show in the KUCI radio station in Irvine on December 16, 1998. The following is a transcript of the post-performance interview by show host, 9-5 Superspy.
9-5 Superspy: Alright, you’re listening to KUCI 88.9 FM, in Irvine. This is 9-5 Superspy and I’m here with Ryan and Suzanne, from Love Spirals Downwards.
Suzanne: (mimics DJ’s calm voice) We’re here with Daniel.
Ryan: How’s it going, G? I need a better stage persona. You know, people have these cool names and stuff? I was thinking of “G.” But then there’s that whole thing with Warren G. and Garth Brooks fighting over the G.
Suzanne: Oh is that what the “G’d up sound” is?
Ryan: Yeah. Mmm hmm.
Suzanne: The “G’d up sound with the Pion…” is that what that is?
9–5 Superspy: I guess.
Suzanne: Oh my God.
Ryan: Yeah… But there’s Daddy G. in Massive Attack. So that’s already taken. So I dunno. I think I’m gonna scrap the G.
9–5 Superspy: Scrap the G? I think you aught to get a bunch of guys behind you when you play. You’ll look really tough. Fold their arms and bob their head with the music.
Ryan: (Laughing) Like about five guys behind us?
9–5 Superspy: Yeah.
Ryan: That would be cool.
Suzanne: This is a big deal. I didn’t know. I betcha that’s not what the “G’d up sound” is.
Ryan: You’re still tripping on the “G’d up sound”?
Suzanne: You know what? I’m gonna ask people.
9–5 Superspy: (Pleading) Susan…
Suzanne: I’m gonna ask people. And I’ll get back to you. The “G’d up sound.” No, no… you know what I thought it was? I always thought it was G forces or something.
Ryan: Yeah?
Suzanne: That’s what I thought the “G’d up sound” was.
Ryan: G forces? Like gravity or something?
9–5 Superspy: (snickering) The Gravity Sound.
Ryan: Like gravity is changing?
Suzanne: I don’t know!
Ryan: ‘Cause the sound is so dynamic?
Suzanne: Exactly!
Ryan: So much bass?
Suzanne: It doesn’t make any sense! I don’t know. I thought maybe they just thought it sounded good.
Ryan: Yeah?
9–5 Superspy: Don’t even look at me, man.
Suzanne: Do you know what it is?
Anji: (in the background) Maybe it’s the G-spot? (laughs)
Suzanne: Oh, is that what you thought it was, the G-spot? She thinks it was about the G-spot.
9–5 Superspy: Leave it to Anji…
Ryan: Anji from Nuclear Bedtime Story suggests that the G is for the G-spot.
Suzanne: What is the etymology of that?
Ryan: Gäfellberg?
9–5 Superspy: Gräfenberg. He was a… uh, my mom is listening right now. I don’t want to talk about this.
Suzanne: Is this trivia time?!
Anji: (Laughs loudly)
9–5 Superspy: No, Gräfenberg, I think it was Charles Gräfenberg. He was a, uh…
Ryan: Doctor.
9–5 Superspy: Gynecologist.
Ryan: He discovered the G-spot, or at least he named it.
9–5 Superspy: Discovered… I’m sorry, but how long have women been on this planet?
Ryan: He did like years of research. Many subjects.
(chaos ensues in the studio)
Suzanne: I’m revealing my naiveté. I didn’t know that, either.
Ryan: You were a psychology major, you should know this stuff.
Suzanne: I know! I’m embarrassed. But I went to a religious school, so they probably did not… They probably excerpted the… Uh, G-spot…
Ryan: Suzanne is very religious. She’s a very religious person, here. What are you? A fundamentalist baptist?
Suzanne: Whatever, Ryan.
Ryan: We don’t talk about Religion. But I’m a Buddhist.
Suzanne: Let’s talk about the album. Let’s talk about how good that album is. If you’ve heard me speak about the album any other times, I’ve completely switched my opinion now. My promotions people have talked to me. I love it. I love it!
9–5 Superspy: You love the album?
Suzanne: Buy it. I love it! Everything is so great! That’s what people want to hear — how wonderful everything is and what a wonderful process it was making the album. They don’t want to hear the truth.
9–5 Superspy: I mean, I think it’s a good album. I like the album. It’s my favorite album. I think it’s silly. The big controversy is this is Ryan’s big thing, because, you know, he’s the big electronic head, the big rave kid… And when you guys create the music, usually Suzanne handles the vocals and Ryan handles most of the rest.
Ryan: Yeah.
9–5 Superspy: And this album Ryan kind went off on the electronic side, and Suzanne… you said it wasn’t necessarily the direction you would have gone. And that got blown up into a big deal. For some reason.
Suzanne: I think one of the big issues is it’s not maybe a Projekt-y sound… and that’s made the whole thing more controversial. So people have jumped on this thing that ‘Suzanne doesn’t like it and Ryan does.’ And, you know… I dunno.
Ryan: And I’m not a rave-y kid, anyone who is listening.
Suzanne: But you know what? I haven’t heard anything negative from the fans, though, about the album. I really haven’t. They probably don’t dare say anything to me, ‘cause they’re afraid that, you know…
Ryan: No, if people thinks it sucks, they’ll tell you. People are honest.
Suzanne: I don’t know.
9–5 Superspy: Everyone I’ve talked to really likes the album. I mean, I really think it’s silly that people think that…
Suzanne: (pretend whispering)
9–5 Superspy: Are you commenting on the music?
Suzanne: No, I like it! Yeah, it’s cool.
9–5 Superspy: It’s one of my favorite CDs right now. It’s called the Starseeds and I highly tell anyone that likes it to rush out and grab it. It’s like my favorite CD right now.
Suzanne: Cool.
9–5 Superspy: I’ve had it just looping on and on and on all day in the house.
Ryan: Very nice. Yeah, I’l have to get this. (adopts comic tone) But let’s talk about our album. ‘Cause, you know, our whole purpose of being here is solely 100% for helping us move units.
9–5 Superspy: Move units.
Ryan: Move lots of units. Ya know? Like Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers — they’re all moving lots of units. And you’re here to help me move lots of units.
9–5 Superspy: I’m your salesman. Your unpaid salesman. To move units.
Ryan: (Chuckles) No, actually we’re here because we like doing this. You know, we haven’t played live since the ProjektFest show in L.A., back in March. And… if anyone is listening on the Internet, I want to see, so email me right now and the first five people –I’m gonna check it when I get home…
Suzanne: We’re gonna give ’em something.
Ryan: We’ll give you an autographed sticker of Flux.
Suzanne: Wow! (fake voice)
Ryan: You can put it on your car…
Suzanne: Maybe we can give them something else, more exciting?
Ryan: We’ll be jolly, it’s Christmas-time. We’ll find some odd object to include. So first five people that email us –and you gotta be from far away. I’m sorry, Orange County locals, I want someone from, like Czechoslovakia to write us.
Suzanne: No, no. They just have to be on the Internet. ‘Cause if they’re in Orange County, they’re probably not on the Internet.
Ryan: Yeah, we’re trying to see if people are listening to us from far away.
Anji: (saying something in the background)
Suzanne: Yeah, that’s true.
Ryan: They’ll probably just have it mailed to some friend on the East Coast or something.
Suzanne: That’s true. I didn’t even think of that.
9–5 Superspy: People are gonna cheat.
Ryan: People are clever.
Suzanne: You know what? Don’t cheat.
Ryan: Don’t cheat. Be honest. You know Santa Claus is watching you. You want to have good points stored up at this time of the year.
Suzanne: You don’t want to be naughty. You won’t get anything.
Ryan: I like naughty people, are you kidding?
9–5 Superspy: My mother is listening. I told you. She has discovered that she can get in the station. Let’s discuss this record. And you playing live.
Ryan: Yeah, I think I was leading up to that. Somehow I got sidetracked. We’re working on our live set now, ya know, kinda like what you heard tonight. We were gonna play more Flux songs, but stupid me, I forgot to bring a critical piece of music gear for the guitar to do a few of them. So, oh well.
Suzanne: Where were you going with that?
Ryan: I forgot to pack it in. I just, like, packed really quick, I didn’t think quickly.
Suzanne: So we’re doing this, you were saying, because…
Ryan: We want to move lots of units.
Suzanne: Yeah, no. Because… (starts laughing)
Ryan: Because we’re getting warmed up…
Suzanne: That’s not the answer we practiced!
Ryan: Um… Um… Let’s see, ah…
9–5 Superspy: You practiced the interview, too?!
Ryan: I don’t know. I give up. Why are we doing this? You tell me that. It’s not to move units. It’s not to warm up for a show next year.
DJ 9–5 Superspy: It’s because you love it!
Ryan: It’s because we just love you, Daniel.
9–5 Superspy: Ahhh…
Ryan: We do. I… I… I’m your stalker. You know that guy that’s been sending you those weird packages?
Suzanne: Ryan’s funny tonight. Ryan, you’re funnier than me.
Ryan: That’s always the case, isn’t it?
9–5 Superspy: Busted!
Ryan: You’re like a fuddy duddy.
(Awkward silence)
9–5 Superspy: Now this is your first performance in how long now?
Ryan: Since March. Someone else can do the math who is better than me. What’s that, like 9 months or so?
9–5 Superspy: A while.
Ryan: Yeah.
9–5 Superspy: A while. So why? Why don’t you ever play? What’s up with that?
Ryan: This is a weird year. We usually play more than once a year. Twice, counting this. It was just a weird year. We finished the album, we both moved –and I was, like, traveling all over– and homeless, and wandering the earth and stuff this summer.
9–5 Superspy: Like Cain from Kung Fu.
Ryan: Yeah, like Cain from Kung Fu, exactly.
Suzanne: He also had a hysterectomy. It was really painful and…
Ryan: I can just barely…
Suzanne: It took a long time to recover.
Ryan: I can just barely pick up the guitar now.
9–5 Superspy: We can tell you failed that class about Gräfenberg. (laughs) Alright.
Ryan: Let’s have a contest. Let’s see. Any ideas for a contest?
9–5 Superspy: Um… How about they name one of your previous albums?
Ryan: Let’s see. Now the phones will stop ringing.
Suzanne: Isn’t that easy?
Ryan: Well, we just named Flux, the one we’re promoting –the one we’re trying to move the units on.
9–5 Superspy: But you have three other albums, all available on Projekt.
Ryan: We’re moving units!
9–5 Superspy: I love the strobing of the phones.
Ryan: It’s kinda psychedelic. When the phone rings here in the studio, its strobes, it doesn’t ring.
Suzanne: Good thing I’m not epileptic.
9–5 Superspy: And for those calling, just so you know: we can’t answer the phone until we get off the air.