The Obelisk Questionnaire: Paul Vismara of Deer Creek
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Paul Vismara of Deer Creek
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I like heavy music. Always have. I remember as a boy being in church and hoping they’d play the one sort of heavy song. It had a heavy riff. I’m always aiming for something on the heavy side, but I mostly care about good songwriting. All of the technical skills mean nothing if you can’t produce interesting, compelling work. All art is subjective, so there will be plenty of people who think what we do sucks. Get in line. Sometimes I think that too. But I keep coming back and working on it and trying to push myself to improve.
I’ve always hoped to write interesting music and not necessarily conform to expectations, at least structurally. I learned that from playing with some friends in an AmRep-style band in Chicago in the early ’90s. We liked Slint, Sonic Youth, the Melvins, Jesus Lizard and were influenced by their willingness to challenge conventions. After our first album (verse/chorus/verse-style) we deliberately tried to get away from that, we jammed a lot more and allowed ourselves to sort of go anywhere. That was the first time I really started writing songs. I brought in a couple of riffs and they said, “where does it go next?” And I’d describe what I heard in my head and they really helped flesh out those ideas. I have often naturally written in odd timings and they encouraged me to have confidence and keep working at it. By the time Conan [Hultgren] and I formed Deer Creek that writing style of let-the-song-tell-you-where-it-wants-to-go was firmly rooted in my mind.
Describe your first musical memory.
My parents listened to big band music and the Boston Pops. I think they gave me this record when I was about 5 years old. Leonard Bernstein narrating Peter and the Wolf. The flip side was the Nutcracker Suite by the New York Philharmonic. I played that record obsessively for weeks and weeks. I’d listen to it pretty much every day. I think I was drawn to the idea that the music could be a character as heard on the Peter side and I just loved the energy, emotion and beauty of the Nutcracker side.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
This is nearly impossible to answer. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced a lot of wonderful musical moments in my life. One answer would be the first time I heard the first song I wrote. I wasn’t the one to first play it. My art school friend, Paul, taught me some basic chords on the guitar and I started practicing and learning. I wrote a song, mostly in my head. Paul came over and I painstakingly showed him each chord; willing my fingers into the chord shapes. I strummed each one separately and then said, “okay, now put them all together and play it fast.” Paul played it and I said, “THAT’S IT!!!”
Another could be: We got a note from a guy in Spain this morning and he said our music saved him during a recent bad stretch of his life. We didn’t set out to do that, but, man, that’s pretty damn humbling to hear.
Maybe the first time I saw Solace or Ufomammut. Being at many Emissions From the Monolith festivals. The first Psycho Vegas I attended. Just being at shows with friends.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
2016 election. I trusted that the American people weren’t foolish enough to elect a man who bragged about sexually assaulting women.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Hopefully, it’s a never-ending quest for expression, challenge and improvement. It’s easy to feel that everything has been done, but it hasn’t. There are always new ways to reveal the world or a part of it.
How do you define success?
You’re doing what you want to do, whether it’s financially rewarding or not.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I’ve been lucky enough to not really have an answer for this one.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
More joy.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Moving the viewer/listener.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
2024 solar eclipse.
https://www.facebook.com/DeerCreek303Doom/
https://deercreek.bandcamp.com/
