Killer Born Man: Peter Hammill

In addition to being the founder of the legendary British progressive-rock outfit Van der Graaf Generator, PETER HAMMILL is an accomplished solo artist with a catalog of over 30 releases that are, to the say least, difficult to categorize. His last solo record, Singularity, was issued in 2006, but it's only this month that Hammill is touring America for the first time in nine years, playing solo shows and drawing from various periods in his celebrated career. Not only is he constantly writing and recording, he's still helming Van Der Graaf (their latest, Trisector, was issued by Virgin earlier this year). As a professional musician for four decades, the 60-year-old Hammill has been an inspiration to legions of musicians, from heartfelt singer-songwriters to diehard prog heads to old-school punks to underground alt-rock aficionados. While maintaining a career in music for that long a period is possible, a career with continued relevance is something altogether different. (Of course, not like 89 percent of the bands operating right now will ever need to worry about that.)

Your latest solo release was in 2006. Obviously, you aren't doing a promote-the-disc tour in 2008. Why are you coming to the states now? Was this something you had planned on doing for a while?

Well, nine years is quite a while. Actually, it's become more complicated for Europeans to come on tour these days. I was enormously helped in getting a visa, and since it runs for a year, it would have been churlish not to take the opportunity to come back for more than just a couple of shows. Playing live has never been a promote-the-disc experience [to me].

Everybody I talk to that's familiar with your work cites Nadir's Big Chance as your Revolver or Sgt Pepper. The disc has been described as everything from "gutter prog" to "proto-punk" to allegedly being a huge influence on one Johnny "Rotten" Lydon and other players in the original British punk scene. Thirty-three years after the fact, why do you think that disc has resonated with people?

I suppose the resonance is that the songs were simple, but infused with what appears to be the strangeness I bring to pop songs. I definitely wasn't trying to write any manifesto--or was I? In my own view, "Two Or Three Spectres" [a timeless diatribe on the music business] is the crucial song, rather than "Nadir," itself. But it all seemed bleedin' obvious to me, anyway. It's true though, [that record] was a major influence on a number of major players of the era '77. When it came out, many reviewers were led to question my sanity and whether I--and by extension VdGG--had any kind of creative future in prospect!

As a professional musician who's been doing this most of his life, you've seen trends come and go. Now we're seeing what looks like the slightly accelerated demise of the Record Industry As We Know It. Is it easier for you to conduct business now than ever before, or are you experiencing hurdles you didn't have to face, say, 10-15 years ago?

The hurdles have constantly changed, but I think the present is an extraordinarily difficult time in which to attempt to make a living from making music, particularly for those just starting out. The perception that recorded music should be (almost) free and that somehow everyone will make money touring (Whhaaaatt?) is clearly bonkers. But really, this [exchange] is hovering at the portal of a whole other debate I'm reluctant to go towards right now, filled with youthful enthusiasm and gung-ho fervor as I am at the prospect of A Stage.

With 12 Van der Graaf records and a catalogue of 30 solo releases, I'd perceive you as very been there/done that/sold the shirt on eBay. What/who impresses you these days, musically and/or artistically?

Well, I don't follow stuff to be honest. And although I know of some stuff and "approve" of some, useless namechecking is, as they say, a losing game. But in the old dictum, there are only two kinds of music--good and bad. The definition/split lies in the heart of the musicians making it.

Fans of progressive rock, singer-songwriter enthusiasts and various subcultures of the whole punk/new wave/alternative rock pantheon have embraced your work. When you are making a record, is there a predetermined aesthetic or are there extra-musical factors that will determine process and outcome?

It's entirely internal. I don't even think about what I've done in the past; except maybe to go, 'Oh, did that last time, so...' Usually something or other emerges to be a theme--musical, lyrical, spiritual, conceptual or whatever--in the process of writing/recording. But in general, I find I'm chipping away at the stone in an effort to reveal what's within, rather than building up plaster in a this-is-what-I-currently-think way.

Younger critics are fond of playing the age card, using such pejorative vernacular as "old farts" or "dinosaurs" in describing older performers. Your work--both solo and with VdGG--seems to be just as passionate, inspired and urgent as ever. A 50-something member of a prominent groundbreaking class of '77 punk band once told me that "The Rolling Stones aren't boring because they're old; they're boring because they're boring." Do you have an opinion on ageism in contemporary music? Has it affected how you do things or is it a complete non-issue in your universe?

Non-issue. And issue. There's interesting stuff to write about the ghastliness of getting older. And incidentally, I'd rather be doing that for an evening than heading down to the disco with Mick & co., though I don't mean to knock anyone's continued enjoyment of playing. I think in many ways, I was old before my time. But there's still that kid bursting inside to hit his three-chord tricks in me.

How would you describe the Peter Hammill Fan v.2K8?

By now, thankfully, there's absolutely no archetype. Could be 16 or 70. Professor or punk. Fighter pilot or unreconstructed hippie. I think, though, the whole crowd are unified by a certain independence of mind and a capacity for (usually constructive) criticism of The Artist in Question.

Peter Hammill's American tour starts in San Francisco tomorrow. Tour dates and other background material on both Hammill and VdGG can be had at Sofa Sound, Hammill's long-running personal imprint.