Wilco interview Oslo 1999

Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett talks and performs Acoustic Versions of "We're Just Friends" and "Via Chicago".

[@KennyBoothby]

it's nice seeing that little twinkle in jeff's eye when he's talking about maybe having their own studio someday, and knowing he eventually got his wish

[@KjellKite]

Sure is.

[@foglake757]

hi kanny

[@Rubberfooted]

RIP Jay. Not everything has to be understood, Jeff is right. Jay could’ve remembered that during those YHF sessions but we still love him and miss him.

[@KjellKite]

We miss hin

[@KjellKite]

*him

[@cbartal1]

I was best friends with Jay through 3 years of high school. We learned guitar together and played in a stupid cover band together and lived together for 4 years at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Jay was an extremely talented driven guitar player. We were always going to be the next Lennon and McCartney. Obviously he made it a lot further than I did. I spent 20 years as a computer programmer and he left the dream. his big downfall was his arrogance. He should have understood his place in Wilco. But he wanted to overtake the Jeff tweedy who was the driving force behind Wilco and a brilliant songwriter. He killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Jeff tried hard to make it work but Jay just became too big for his britches. Jay finally met his match. I Love you Jay but sometimes you got to lay back and let it come to you.

[@KjellKite]

@@cbartal1 When I met them, and at the duo concert they held later that evening their seemed very friendly. I don’t know much about what happened «on the inside» in Wilco, but it was a pity that it didn’t work out - «Summerteeth» is still my fave Wilco LP. And of course it was very sad that he died far too soon.

[@philipbell9301]

@@cbartal1 from my perspective as a musician, Jays writing was instrumental especially for arrangement and engineering. It’s really incredible to see someone sketch out a song with arrangements and engineering/production in mind from the very start of a song. Jeff has a good voice and he’s a great writer, Jay was an incredible soundboard of ideas. All those awesome textures on Summerteeth were Jay, if you read about those sessions the other members of the band felt cutout because Jay was even playing drums and bass. I don’t think it can be emphasized enough who did the lion share of production on Summerteeth. I know by YHF those two guys were bumping heads, a lot of drug problems and emotions flying. But I didn’t see Jay as stubborn, I saw what was most likely a recurring interaction between those two unfortunately memorialized on tape. Jeff is very good at remaining calm and passive which doesn’t go well with someone who insists on being affirmed and understood. I also know there was some other stuff going on with Jay wanting to engineer and mix YHF, to which my reply was- why not? He already blew Summerteeth out of the water, It actually goes against intuition to go to O’rourke to do the mixing. The proof at the end of the day, is that everything got very uninteresting after YHF. I really like half the record, but then the other half I could live without.

[@estudiosfolkloreiberoamericano]

Jay playing piano with the cigarette in the mouth Just Jay doing Jay things :)

[@Jmacplus182]

Thanks for this. I love rare Wilco videos, and RIP, Jay.

[@KjellKite]

It's nice isn't it? It certainly was magic to be an audiencr of three (camera, record company rep and me) when they performed those two songs.

[@PeterBondeVillain]

Hey Kjell! Thank you so much for this great video! It's not often you get to see Jay and Jeff together like this. What did you feel that the dynamic was between the two? Did they seem friendly, high, both or something else completely?

[@KjellKite]

Thanks Peter. I remeber them being tired after having done quite a few interviews before mine. They asked if they could play instead just talk, which was more than fine by me... The atmosphere between them seemed friendly and they acted very normal (this was on the relase of "Summerteeth" and I saw no sign of the split to come). Later that evening the two of them held a concert at a small Club in Oslo called "Smuget". It was magical. But I'm kicking myself for having lost the raw material. I had footgae of the performen two takes of both the songs...

[@PeterBondeVillain]

Thank you so much for the response! Aw, it would have been great to see the songs in their full length, but honestly, just this is so good. Other than that, they were cool to you? Or were they sort of dismissive?

[@KjellKite]

Never realized I didn't answer to your reply. Anyway, I remeber them as being polite and how shall I put it? Professional maybe. The took my questions seriously and were cool to me. Jay was the quieter one, he was obviously tired as I said before. But the interview, the concert I told you about and the obvious quality of "Summerteeth" made that the album I listen to most that year.

[@redadamearth]

A lot of pain, addiction and conflict during that time, but DAMN, did it produce some brilliant albums.

[@KjellKite]

It sure did!

[@gordononkyo2713]

Without the pain it probably wouldn't work or could not be understood.

[@_toxicgaybish_219]

Jay was my cousin! I never got to meet him, but it’s super cool

[@KjellKite]

Jay was a nice guy - and a great musician. We lost him too early.

[@leafbelly]

They were being nice when they said they didn't know what "Summerteeth" meant. It's an American joke. The joke goes something like ... Man1: "My brother's new girlfriend has summerteeth." Man2: "Oh, really? What is that?" Man1: 'Sum'er there, Sum'er not." (You have to say it out loud; not really a written joke)

[@KjellKite]

I get it. Didn’t know. Thanks! 😂

[@LNClubsTheaters]

Calling all Wilco fans! We think you'll enjoy our never before seen interview with Jeff Tweedy & John Stirratt of Wilco from the early 2000s! Check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ7ReoKqarWgkKs