The man from Louisville, Kentucky, is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated musicians of the last 35 years. David Pajo has quietly contributed to several developments in modern rock music. Growing up in the punk and hardcore scene of his hometown, the odd beats of his band Slint in the late 1980s/early 1990s meant that a new genre had to be invented: Math rock. From 1995 until the album »TNT« (1998), he was then guitarist with Tortoise in Chicago, helping another new genre to break through: post-rock.
Next came the short-lived supergroup Zwan with Billy Corgan, Matt Sweeney, Jimmy Chamberlin and Paz Lenchantin, as well as Children’s Hour with Josephine Foster and Andrew Bar. David Pajo also proved just how damn good he is at playing guitar as a live musician for bands as diverse as the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, Royal Trux, King Kong, Stereolab and Interpol, as well as in countless line-ups with Will Oldham and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, who is also known to hail from Louisville.
Alive and kickin’
And then there are his solo works as Papa M or Aerial M or M is the 13th Letter, in which David Pajo also demonstrates his talent as a singer and songwriter. Gentle, soulful and reserved, the introverted melancholic usually presents himself in such a way that it is hard to believe how tough he actually is and what Pajo has already been through: He struggled with heroin addiction and depression, first survived a suicide attempt and shortly afterwards a terrible motorbike accident. As a result of the accident, he had to undergo a dozen operations and spent two full years in a wheelchair.
Fortunately, he soon picked up his guitar again and returned in 2016 after a twelve-year break with the rough and grunge album »Highway Songs«, which was followed two years later by the purely acoustic counterpart »A Broke Moon Rises«. Now the next release is imminent with »Ballads of Harry Houdini«. And the »Peel Sessions« by Aerial M have also been released. Reason enough to ask him which ten records have accompanied him through his eventful life.
David Pajo: A desert island album for sure. if you’re stuck with one album for the rest of your life, may as well be one that has hallucinogenics built into it.
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David Pajo: For misunderstood young men and women in the early 80s, little else expressed an honest displeasure with one’s environment, with no frills and extra curse words, than Minor Threat!
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David Pajo: When I first heard Jimmie Rodgers, I felt I’d found the secret ingredient to Hank Williams. Went in deep, never left.
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David Pajo: I got this when it was a new release and Mama Mia whatta release! Was it Albini or Thurston who said something along the lines of »Die Kreuzen in 1984 were the best band in the world?« They were their own genre of power. All White sounds like second wave black metal, a good 7 years before that sound existed. One of the few »hardcore« bands I still play for enjoyment. The singer from our pre-Slint band, Maurice, used to describe our sound as a mixture of ride the lightning Metallica, Die Kreuzen, and Void.
Sebastian Hinz
David Pajo: If you weren’t sold on Big Black with their great flow of EPs and singles happening in 1985, by the time »Atomizer« came out you were either in or out. I’d never heard anything like it and the tones were so alien and detached. Just how I wanted it.
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David Pajo: There were a number of records that made me wanna move to a clean guitar sound, at a time when clean guitar was only for pussies. Philip Glass' »Mishima,« everything Minutemen, and this album. I could relate with their desert stoner vibes. Their interviews from around this time always involved bong hits!
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David Pajo: Joining Tortoise in 1995 and moving to Chicago was one of the best things I ever did. I was turned on to an avalanche of great tunes I wasn’t exposed to living in Louisville. To this day, this is still the »Krautrock« album I play the most.
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David Pajo: Tortoise also hipped me to this album. I knew dude had made moves towards Hendrix and James Brown but stupidly never investigated. Again, another album that invented a new style of presenting oneself. I eat up everything Miles within five years around this record. The speedball grooves are so thick and rich, you’re practically soaked in dilaudid just listening to it.
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David Pajo: Hank Williams was the first country music that made me cry. After that, you’re fucked—you now like and can relate with country music. Heaven forbid!
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David Pajo: I have a Blind Willie Johnson 78 somewhere in storage. I also have a Victorola from the 1940s somewhere else. One time, I played that 78 on that Victorola when I was alone in the house. I’ll never forget that.
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