THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

Have you got it yet?

If not, the joke's on you. Andy Kaufman, the lunatic genius who was far more interested in baffling people than making them laugh, knew the power of the put-on. Kaufman's was the deep practical joke; the art of the bluff. Of course in Andy's case he didn't much care if you understood that or not. He was having too much fun. So was Roger Keith Barrett.

There are other comparisons to 'Syd' Barrett. Brian Wilson comes to mind, but though also an innovative composer who shone bright in the 1960s and fell ~ possibly due to psychological imbalances and/or pharmaceutical substances ~ Wilson kept doing music and eventually returned with a run of very nice releases. And he's still alive. There's Lenny Bruce, mad comic scientist seemingly too outrageous for his own time whose politically incorrect material was so startling and corrosive that it killed him, forging a style of spontaneous story-telling that is still the foundation for most modern standup comedy.

Each came from middle class families, all gravitated toward the performing arts. But it is Andy Kaufman and his commitment to the joke's-on-you who reminds me most of Syd Barrett. Kaufman understood the price of unusual talent, was willing to pay it, and that brilliance is often accompanied by a kind of delirium. Or in literary terms, "Originality demands a degree of lunacy". In Syd Barrett's case, that's putting it mildly. Sadly we don't know with much clarity what Barrett's state of mind was when he died even though he was one of the most looked into and sought-after rock artists. After his midwifery of psychedelic pioneers Pink Floyd he recorded a couple solo records, withdrew from music, lived on royalties in hotels, and eventually moved to his mom's place in Cambridge. He became an avid gardener, painted abstracts, lived as quietly as he could, and died in 2006 of pancreatic cancer. And when we hear of his seclusion; Friends who'd given up or were long gone; His father's death when he was 15 (who had gotten him into music); Deep fear of injury or illness that could bring an important creative project crashing to a halt, our collective heart breaks and we want to give him a big hug.

Yet to my surprise, instead of the evasive, erratic, difficult artiste I'd surely expected, Mr. Barrett was open, interested and relaxed during our conversation in a modest motel room of gray drapes, imitation wood furniture, a mattress that'd seen better days and a funk that hung in the air like old cigarette smoke & coffee. Barrett's long jawline, thick brows, piercing brown eyes, stubble, and vintage paisley blouse did not betray his sixty years. "Have you got it yet?" he asked as I was fumbling with notes. "Yes, thanks for waiting" I finally said taking a deep breath and hunching on a lime-green Ottoman.

A - It's my understanding a person is very much the same after death, but you seem not at all the disconnected or sporadic person your legend suggests -

Syd - Yes well that's probably true, but it's been ten years and time has its influence. I was more dead when I was alive (smiles thinly).

A - Can you elaborate on that?

Syd - I don't think so, no, sorry. I'm not trying to be rude, you understand, that's just the best way to say it.

A - Sure. The innovations you brought to electric guitar, modern rock composing and presentation ended up being enormous. But the childlike qualities that you drew on from your love of fairytales, books like The Wind in the Willows, Cautionary Tales for Children, and The Little Grey Men are also quite clear.

Syd - Yes that's quite right. It was childlike and that was the point; that's what was interesting. The timing was right and I suppose a bunch of others dug it too. I couldn't play like Jeff Beck and had no interest in trying. It was about finding something so unexpected, so original and hard for another band to recreate, that it would stand out like a sore thumb. I mean in a good way (laughs).

A - The value of truly original work.

Syd - Well yes but it had to be in context-- I mean you can't just go out there and rub a vase across a guitar neck through an effect and expect people to come back. There has to be a measure of melodic content.

A - Talk about "melodic content" in reference to The Pink Floyd's early music.

Syd - People aren't sheep. They know what they like and respond to it, so if a lot of people get excited when you play a Blues or Surf number that goes screwy halfway through but don't get so excited when it's just all screwy, you have to pay attention to that. Or not be asked back by the club. On the other hand there were no rules to what we were doing, or at least we thought so, and we were trying to walk that line.

A - You consider yourself a songwriter?

Syd - Not a very good one.

A - Why is that?

Syd - (long pause) When you become dissatisfied with your own work it becomes an impossibility. I couldn't force myself to be excited by things I'd already exhausted. That's why the band's music changed so much between the first and second albums. No one could just stand still, not in that band, not me or Roger or Dave or anyone. Music was allowed to be fluid then, and there was great hunger to liquidate and expand. To grow.

A - That almost sounds like a CEO describing a corporation.

Syd - Yeah. That's what it became. But I don't blame those guys for taking it there. Sometimes you either move forward or die.

A - I wanted to discuss The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Let's just jump in to 'Astronomy Domine', one of the most startling intros in rock history. The radioed voice, Morse signal, strange vocals, but still with some beat and, as you say, melody. The LP charted for fourteen weeks in Britain and peaked at #6. Pretty good for such an unique piece of work. How do you explain the immediate appeal 'Astronomy Domine' had?

Syd - I don't, except to say enough people, young people, were ready for something different. As different as Jackson Pollock was to modern art.

A - And 'Lucifer Sam' you must admit is pretty raw.

Syd - Yeah but in '67 that riff cooked. It cooked-up well. And then Matilda was the clincher, I think.

A - The "clincher"? How so?

Syd - It was a real tune. We could stack-up against the bigger bands with this one. Good to have in the pocket. Showed we could sing, sort of, and put together a decent bit. * Have you got it yet? *

A - The interview? Not quite, I'd like to get through as many of the cuts as possible, if that's alright?

Syd - Right.

A - How would you describe 'Flaming'.

Syd - A party tune.

A - Okay, and 'Pow R. Toc H.' ?

Syd - We were trying to break through, to break out, you know? This shows the jazz influence, but really our improvisational side. Unfortunately 'Stethoscope' was a cock-up.

A - 'Interstellar Overdrive' was a group composition, how did that manifest itself?; The process.

[* At this point Barrett began staring off into space. I indulged him, and waited.]

Syd - The process? Was there a process? I don't know . . .

A - 'The Gnome'; a Beatles influence?

Syd - Not really, more a generally British one. I preferred the Stones.

A - And a dose or two?

Syd - Marginally, but you must know I didn't often drop in the studio, too much to do. Have you ever tried to play a guitar while flying on acid? Can't be done with any degree of intention. 'Chapter 24' was more in a hallucinogenic vein. You can hear the impact this song had on everyone back then. Even the Monkees (laughter). 'Scarecrow' less so, more of a textural departure. One of my favorites on the LP.

A - Which leads us to one of my favorites, closing cut 'Bike'. The bizarre lyric, and the de-tuned bar room piano. Gingerbread men, lusty ambitions, the metalworks & duck calls at the end, all of it. Neat track.

Syd - Thank you. Now, have you got it yet?

A - Yes I think so.

Syd - Lovely seeing and talking with you.

A - Many thanks, Mr. Barrett.

My subject walked outside to a car that was idled at the curb. The man driving looked familiar, doughy with a shaved head, blank expression, and an army field jacket. As my interviewee got inside the car, he and the man behind the wheel glanced at each other and grinned. Then I realized who the driver was. No mistaking him. It was Syd Barrett.

Yes, Syd, I got it. Finally.

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