In an interview with gothamist Billy talks about his dear friend Florence Shay (who passed away recently), Led Zeppelin, new bands, being trendy, his tea shop and playing in New York.
On Florence Shay
She definitely kind of took that role in my life. More like a Grande Dame. Someone I would listen to and be willing to contemplate the wisdom of what she was saying to me. She would be very vociferous about who I should be dating, not dating.
I met her almost ten years ago and up until she got ill, I thought she was in her mid-60s. I had her pegged for 20 years younger than she actually was. She looked so good and her spirit was like a 65-year-old person. I was so shocked when I found out that she was near-90 you could have picked my jaw up off the floor.
On Having a Favorite New Band
No… I’ve tried. I don’t wanna say that it’s because it’s not good, I’m sure it is good, it’s just not speaking to me. That’s a better way to put it. I don’t hear anyone speaking to me. It’s been a while since anyone has spoken to me. It’s just because I’m a weirdo, and it’s just too late.
Being Trendy
There was a time there when I stopped paying attention to culture so I could go deeper into what I was interested in. It’s self-absorbed but in a way that’s necessary. You’ve almost got to be oblivious because then you’re not trendy. I mean, Gish, Siamese andMellon Collie were very aware of trend. I listen to those albums—they’re working on the re-issues—I just roll my eyes and think, “Oh god. I really was listening to this record at that time.” I can really hear it and it embarrasses me because I’m obviously being trendy.
Tea Shop:
How did you get into that business, the tea business? That’s an idea I had for ten years and I finally decided to do it. Now it’s been dealing with the reality of that ever since. The design and the city and the permits and the code and the thing in the bathroom and the ugh.
Yeah, it’s a lot… I think I read that you were only doing vegan food there? Vegan dessert. Sugar-free vegan dessert.
Are you a vegan? No, I really want to be but I’m also anemic so it’s really difficult for me to be vegan. I just get so weary.
New York
Did you have a choice over MSG or Barclays? Did you want to play Brooklyn? Because everyone is playing Barclays now… I think the thing I heard was there’s an attraction to a new building, that it would be good for a variety of reasons. The thing at MSG always is that it’s really expensive to play there. They make you pay to play there. I’m not saying you can’t make your money but playing MSG versus playing the United Center in Chicago, the costs are significantly higher in New York. And let me tell you, if you want to film anything there, psh. You’ve gotta pay some crazy fee in order to say “Live From Madison Square Garden.” Then there’s the whole union thing where you can’t touch your amp.
Really? Yeah I got yelled at once for trying to move a speaker cabinet an inch. A man bellowed out of the wings, “DON’T TOUCH THAT!” I’m looking around like, “Don’t touch my own amp?” Legendary stories from there.
