Interview with Michael Kotch (Eve’s Plum / Vitamin C) conducted by Greg Svitil in Cambridge, Massachusetts at TT the Bear’s Place on May 10, 1996
Greg: So how was tonight’s set for everyone?
Michael: I had a lot of fun. I think I lost about ten pounds; it was hot up there. I like this place a lot. I don’t know what it sounds like out there. I mean, it never sounds that great when I see bands down here, but I like the vibe of the place a lot.
Greg: So what’s going on with the second guitarist? I’ve seen about two different second guitarists the page two times?
Michael: We had first, Mike Gent, who plays with the Figgs. Then his band went on tour, so he couldn’t do it anymore. When we were out on the west coast, we had another friends, Johnny play with us. He lives out there. Our friend Julian has been playing with us for a while now. So, basically, we kind of rotate it, keep it interesting. The second guitarist is just to make it a little fuller sounding.
Greg: At first I was pondering whether he was the third twin or not, because he looks like you.
Michael: He actually, coincidentally, owns the same pair of glasses I have. But he’s not the triplet, no.
Greg: So what’s going on right now as far as the rest of the tour?
Michael: Well, actually this was kind of a one-off thing. We have a few scattered dates, we’re going down south, playing with the Posies a few shows. And then we’re gonna be writing and working on stuff for another record.
Greg: Are there any immediate plans for the follow-up to Cherry Alive?
Michael: Yeah, there are. They’re very uncertain. We don’t know what label we’re gonna do it on. We’re not sure if we’re gonna continue working with 550 or not, because we weren’t really happy with the way things worked out with them so far. So we gotta sort all that out. But we’re definitely gonna do another one, regardless of where we do it.
Greg: Have songs started to be written for that one?
Michael: Yeah, we have a bunch of songs already. We didn’t play any tonight, obviously.
Greg: “Post-Orgasmic Depression” isn’t for the new album?
Michael: That is actually one of the very first songs we ever wrote, years and years ago, and we like flippin’ it out every once in a while and play it. Where did you see us play it?
Greg: Right here.
Michael: Oh yeah, here?
Greg: Yeah, it was pretty intense.
Michael: We had it on the list tonight, but we always run out of time here, because of the curfew thing, you know? (TT’s has a 1am curfew for when shows have to end).
Greg: I don’t know what’s with that.
Michael: Is that everywhere, or just this club?
Greg: I don’t know. Most shows don’t start as late as at this club, so it never goes until 1am anyway. I don’t know if that’s just the club or not.
Michael: Oh, I hear what you’re saying, yeah.
Greg: So what are Eve’s Plum’s favorite albums to bring on the road?
Michael: The Posies’ Frosting on the Beater. We listen to that one all the time. We listen to a lot of disco compilations, too. We listened to a lot of Neil Young today, for some reason. I don’t know, we bring all kinds of different stuff, there’s not like one thing. We like all kinds of things.
Greg: What’s happening with Colleen’s acting career?
Michael: Well, I think she might be doing some stuff in the future. She’s been concentrating on this for a while, but I think she still plans on doing some acting stuff. She did Hairspray, and she hasn’t really done anything serious since then, but I think she plans on it.
Greg: So was Hairspray the big thing for her acting?
Michael: Michael: For her, yeah it was. And it’s kind of weird because she moved into a new apartment, and it turns out Ricki Lake lives in the same apartment. Totally coincidentally, she walks into the elevator, and, wow, there was Ricki Lake.