Roadkill

Mark Eitzel. To those familiar with the man and his music, the name alone is enough to send them scrambling for the medicine cabinets in search of Prozac. To the unfamiliar, entering the singer-songwriter's dismal world via his past work with the American Music Club or through either of his solo records -- 60 Watt Silver Lining and the recent Peter Buck-produced West --will have them thinking, "This poor bastard must be miserable."

"It's not true," counters the Bay Area musician. "Sometimes I'd rather make the audience laugh than sing a song. It's a weird thing."

It's true. Catch Eitzel in the act (performing on stage that is) and between the somber dirges there are a few good chuckles to be had. "I'm usually a cut-up, because I think it's fun. I think it's good to laugh between songs. One thing I hate about songwriters is when it's really a very intimate thing. That's a drag. I like it when it's funny."

Eitzel pauses. "People see my songs a certain way and they don't think that it might be a well-rounded person who writes this kind of music; so when they actually meet me and I'm not down-beat, I'm not depressing, then they don't know what to do."

In fact, Eitzel figures the Dr. Chuckle & Mr. Snide routine is actually fairly common among his brethren. "I've met a lot of depressing songwriters and they are all very nice people. I guess I'm the same," he surmises.

So what makes this deceptively nice guy laugh? "The Spice Girls, they make me laugh," confesses Eitzel. "I don't know their names individually, I'm not that much of a Spice Girls fan, but I love them. They know they're cartoon characters. They're like, `Give me your fucking money.' I love that."

So recap: Money grubbing cartoon characters are fun, songwriters usually aren't. "Songwriters, you see them play and it's this really precious thing in which everybody has to stand in abject love for, and I'm like, `Oh, come on. Lighten up.' It drives me nuts." -- Michael Bertin