By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
November 26, 2000
Brian Liesegang, front man for American Sunshine and former member of Nine Inch Nails and Filter, lives in Lincoln Park.
You were in Nine Inch Nails with Trent Reznor and then in Filter with Richard Patrick. What did you learn from them?
I said in an interview that I learned how not to do things from Trent and I think I got him mad at me. When I work with people, I’m not very proprietary over controlling the working environment. I’d rather encourage people than be a dictator. I’ve hung out with Richie a bit lately. There was a point where he and I were best friends. A lot of time has passed since then. We’re at a stage where we’re not going to break bottles over each other’s heads as we were once inclined to do.
True or false: Richie knocked your teeth out once.
True. Richie knocked two of my teeth out with a guitar. It was our third show ever in Filter and we were playing in Nebraska. The lights were low and Richie jumps over a monitor and plants this guitar in my face. My whole face had to be stitched up. But first the crew was on the floor looking for my teeth. I was bleeding so much that we couldn’t figure out how many were missing. We found a 24-hour dentist who just shoved them back in and wired them up. We didn’t have any time for anesthesia.
What was your biggest fashion faux pas?
I went through a Robert Smith phase and had hair like him and wore black lipstick. I was a Goth kid who was into death rock. And when I was in college [at the University of Chicago,] I had hair down to my waist. What was I thinking?
Did other guys ever try to pick fights with you because of your looks?
I was in a bar in New Orleans with Trent once and this guy yelled something at me like, ‘‘Get a haircut!’’ After hearing that for the 2,700th time, I had had enough. I yelled something disparaging back about his girlfriend. The bartender lunged at me and I grabbed him and pulled him over the bar. Then about 20 guys jumped on top of me. What I didn’t know at the time was that this bar was basically a frat house and these guys were kicking my a–. My girlfriend at the time then jumped on top of the pile and started putting out a cigarette on people’s faces. It erupted into a ‘‘Fall Guy’’ style fight — people ripping shirts, breaking chairs and windows.
What’s up with you and Louise Post?
She’s my ex-girlfriend/girlfriend. We’re in the middle of who knows what. We’re really close, but we’ve been broken up for four months now. We work together all the time and she’s been doing a lot of stuff on my record, and I produced her [band Veruca Salt’s] album. We hang out in the studio for two days in a row without sleeping and write songs.
Does she pick out your clothes for you?
These are her clothes! This is her shirt. And I have one of her coats, too.
Describe yourself.
I’m very shy. There’s a dichotomy about not feeling worthy of attention, but also at the same time a feeling of demanding entitlement from the world. Other than that, I guess I’m a fairly content person. I’ve got my guitar on my lap and my PlayStation controller on the floor. I’ve been in hermit mode working on the record [which should be in stores this spring.]
In one of your new songs, you sing, ‘‘If I was too smart/I’d be dumb enough to think.’’ What’s that all about?
Writing music is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do. It’s really difficult putting something very personal out for other people to laugh and point at, but at the same time there is nothing more gratifying than having the luxury to make something that a lot of people do get.
