Seattlest Interview: Kevin Wood of Malfunkshun, From the North

Kevin Wood and his brother Andrew formed Malfunkshun, one of grunge's true ancestors, in 1980. The band (Kevin’s on the left in this 1983 photo) contributed two tracks to the legendary Deep Six album in 1986, then fizzled soon after. Andy moved on to the almost-famous Mother Love Bone, but became a statistic in 1990. For years, Kevin played in various bands with other guys who'd nearly become well known.

Then in 2006, Kevin got together with Malfunkshun drummer Regan Hagar and smooth crooner Shawn Smith to re-synch the band’s old tunes with Andy’s old lyrics. They call themselves From the North (most of the time). They kick ass. (We caught their first show.) And lately, they’ve been playing all over town.

We contacted Kevin with our fingers crossed. He graciously responded.

You and Shawn Smith seem to have a musical thing for each other lately. How’d you hook up with Shawn?
I have always liked Shawn. He’s a great guy and a great performer and musician. When I was working on the recordings for FTN, I called him and asked him if he could come in and sing. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. He came in the very next day and pretty much saved the session. I was singing at the time and it really wasn't as cool as when Shawn came in. I’ve been really enjoying playing and hanging out with the guy. He's pretty cool.

Any news on Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story? Will this great film ever get a theatrical or DVD release?
I really don't know. It’s been in some festivals recently, but I'm kind of tired of wondering about it. If it comes out, great... I’m not privy to any info as to when or how, but it probably will come out some day. The film is pretty amazing.

What’s your personal definition of "Loverock"?
Love rock is a big, powerful, beautiful thing. Positive energy, you know.

2005’s Loverock Celebrayshun was the best music experience I’ve had in Seattle. Everyone involved appeared to have a great night, too. Think all you guys might get together for another someday?
Well, except for Stone [Gossard], we’re doing it right now. I had a great time that night. It was a lot of fun. It was actually what got me really wanting to play with Shawn and do some of the old songs again.

Had Andy kicked his habit, what do you think he’d be doing today?
He might be a talk show host or a reality series panel judge. I think he would have continued to make music and his stuff would have grown up with him. His unique style would have made even more of an impact. More people would know about him.

Von Nord. From the North. Power of Wings. They’re all the same band, right? What’s with all the name changes?
Well, "vonnord" is the myspace url. It means "From the North" in German. It’s easy to remember. We were trying to think of names and The North was taken. So we started using From the North. Shawn and I were thinking about Power of Wings, but it didn't seem as cool as FTN.

Can fans expect more new songs and lyrics written by yourself or Shawn, or do you still have a lot of Andy-penned stuff?
I still have a lot of Andy's stuff. We can always use it, but Shawn is an awesome lyric writer as well. We have recorded a little here and there in the past few weeks, and yes there will be new stuff coming.

FTN's been playing Seattle a lot lately—are you shopping for a label or do you want to continue selling records yourself?
As far as shopping, I really don't know. If a label wants to pick us up that might be fine. I’m working in the mean time to put out the full CD on my label, Wammybox. I’m getting the cover art together and have it mastered. It’s going to be a total package. I'll see if I can get it out to some stores as well as have it available online.

As far as the band goes, expect to see us around town for a while. We want to play as much as possible. It’s a blast.

Go see From the North (aka Power of Wings) this Sunday, 8/26, at the Croc for Geezerfest. Then at the High Dive on 9/7.