Chuck Klosterman w/ E.L.nO. at Triple Rock Social Club on 10/3/08
By: Pat O'Brien
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| Chuck Klosterman - Photo by Stacy Schwartz |
Though he has branched out into writing about a multitude of things (sports, life, etc.) Klosterman’s roots lie in music writing and he attracts music nerds, making him a rock star by default. He is currently on tour promoting his new book and first novel, Downtown Owl, but he wasn’t going to read a word of it, which is strange when you are on a book tour, but Minneapolis got a better deal than most cities are getting. He sat down Charlie Rose-style with his longtime friend and current St. Paul Pioneer Press pop music critic, Ross Raihala for a loosely structured chat--something Klosterman excels at. They spoke about what it’s like to grow up North Dakota, and reminisced about the dive bars they used to drink at after work when they were both working at the Fargo paper. It was amusing to hear about the two of them constantly writing about Pizzicato Five (they said they wrote about this band no less than ten times, including a multi-page spread at one point). For a few years, Fargo was apparently the most well-informed city on the planet regarding weirdo, ‘60s influenced Japanese pop. Klosterman admitted to being an exceptionally nostalgic person, for college in particular. Raihala asked him how he has changed since then--the measure of fame, career as a successful writer and he said really the only thing that had changed was lunch--he can eat a little better now. Raihala agreed, he is still exceptionally grounded. Klosterman also revealed that if he hadn’t taken this career path, which he almost likens to being an accident, he would most likely be an English teacher and a coach, for years that is exactly what he thought he would be and still finds it strange that people show up to listen to him talk. He also pointed out HWTS photog Stacy Schwartz and said “Like, you’re taking pictures and you actually like it, you came here specifically to do that--that’s still amazing to me.”
The other topics covered were wide-ranging and barely connected, it seemingly revealed more about him than any of his books do and it was, above all, entertaining. He prefers Krokus’ version of “Ballroom Blitz” over the original version offered by Sweet. Vince Neil once hung up on him. I think he gave everyone in the room pause for thought when he declared that “Anything you can think of is more plausible than time travel.” This is of course true. Overall, Klosterman seems like an exceptionally approachable human being--quite a feat for a writer, a breed of people who often by into their own bullshit and are notoriously arrogant and brooding. He seems to possess none of these qualities, to the contrary he appears to be baffled that he is in the position that he is but is grateful for it nonetheless. Writers are hardly ever excellent speakers, but Klosterman bucks this trend as well, he and Raihala spoke for about 45 minutes and it seemed to rush by. It was never boring, and it was much more humorous than I had expected; but then again Klosterman doesn’t seem like a particularly serious person. He seems to revel in the ridiculous and outlandish.
Dave Campbell of E.L.nO.
E.L.nO played a second, longer set, their ‘70s suits and goofy Jeff Lynne-like afro wigs adding to the outlandish aspects of the night. This is where the rock star status of Klosterman really seemed to be rear its head. Usually when you go to a function revolving around an author it’s at a bookstore. Bookstores tend to be sterile, quiet places with barely audible Muzak emanating from the overhead speakers, all designed to make you feel relaxed. This was a dirty rock club with concrete floors, exposed brick on the walls and a Zaxxon arcade game in the corner, but as I stood in line to get my copy of Downtown Owl signed, as very loud band was playing a very loud version of “Mr. Blue Sky,” this was somehow a wholly appropriate situation.
Location Info:
Triple Rock Social Club
Artist Info: Chuck Klosterman, E.L.nO
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