After, after everything you had been through with Hüsker Dü in your early solo years, what was the, um, emotional and creative head space you were in when you started building this band?

Oh, my gosh.

Um, I felt like it was...

I felt like I had something to prove.

So with, um, my first band, Hüsker Dü, we started in March of '79 and wrapped up in January of '88.

Uh, when I walked away from Hüsker Dü, I just started writing music for myself and writing it in a completely different style than I had written with Hüsker Dü.

I made two solo records, uh, Workbook in 1989, Black Sheets of Rain in 1990.

Um, is there something about this that you can explain why chemistry happens quickly, in other cases why it doesn't?

Were there moments where you were like, how much longer can I do this? Or what is it going to take to get me to continue to do this?

Well, in 1998, I'd been on stage for 19 years and put out a record called The Last Dog and Pony Show and in earnest said, this is it.

And it wasn't for a lack of love of the music, but it was for not wanting to spend another decade being the rock guy in the rock van i was very out as a gay man as queer person and wanted to have that life instead of the the touring life so that was like a moment where things got put on hold i ended up writing for pro wrestling which was not on the bingo card at all in 1999 and But then I got back out on the road in 02 and was doing my modulate track show thing, then ended up back with a band in 05.

How do I keep going? That was a conscious, I want to have a different life.

Then I came back to this life that I know as a touring musician, and then that's just kept going since then.

There's a lot of DJ stuff in the teens that was great.

I was able to weave that into my road work for a while.

And in that moment, I realized how fucking old I am and how the generation I came up in was playing to a particular set of rules that had no business existing in the first place.

It's interesting because it's kind of like if things had gone well with Black Sheets of Rain, there might not be a Sugar, right?

Correct.

So, you know, the first record, the first solo record, Workbook, came out in May of 89, and it was a quieter record.

It was a little more delicate.

Your Fairport Convention record.

I guess so, yeah.

In hindsight, it sure looks that way.

but isn't that harder though isn't that technically a lot harder to do it that way nope you should know

Welcome Bob Mould to the Taking a Walk podcast.

I think of s- a lot of my, uh, mentors or people, colleagues who were important to the beginning of my public work, uh, you know, and they have like, you know, William Burroughs or John Giorno.

I was, you know, uh, I was texting last night with Jalal Biafra.

Either that or, you know, something, um, something I do, I, you know, just taking a walk with my husband.

That's, that's, that's perfect, too.

welcome bob mold to the taking a walk podcast hey how you doing buzz thank you for having me i'm doing great now take us back to the formation of sugar after after everything you had been through with husker do in your early solo years what was the um emotional and creative headspace you were in when you started building this band Oh, my

gosh.

I felt like I had something to prove.

So with my first band, Who's Gurdue, we started in March of 79 and wrapped up in January of 88.

When I walked away from Husker Du, I just started writing music for myself and writing it in a completely different style than I had written with Husker Du.

I made two solo records, a workbook in 1989, Black Sheets of Rain in 1990.

Had a wonderful rhythm section, you know, the late Anton Fehr and bassist Tony Maimon.

Is there something about this that you can explain why chemistry happens quickly and other cases why it doesn't?