Interview: Mojo Nixon Sets His Music Free

On His New Album Plus Advice For Musicians

For three weeks starting October 7th, Mojo Nixon is giving away not just his new album, but his entire catalog free on Amazon.  This shouldn't really come as a surprise from someone who once declared his support for file sharing because he's "not an asshole like Metallica."

With songs like "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" (the video which starred Winona Ryder was banned from MTV) and "Elvis Is Everywhere" (Mojo once declared that his personal holy trinity consisted of Elvis, Foghorn Leghorn and Mayberry town drunk Otis Campbell), as well as his outrageous live shows, Nixon carved out a place somewhere between cult status and rock icon before his 2004 retirement from music.

Now Mojo Nixon is releasing a new album of 17 unreleased songs; and it and all of his catalog will be available free only on Amazon. The new songs were recorded between 1985 and 2005 and include the theme song for the Olympic luge team,  another written for a documentary about Asparagus, lost tracks, outtakes and demos. Some are solo and others are with a band, but all came from a box of cassettes found in Mojo's house. 

More recently, Mojo has concentrated on his daily Outlaw Country and weekly political talk and NASCAR show on Sirius XM.  To mark the new release, he agreed to answer a few questions via email.

"I'm a cult artist.  Make the cult happy."

HYPEBOT: Why did you chose to go the free route?  Getting people to pay attention has never been your problem.

MOJO: the doomed the damned and the demented need a little help in these tough times

rather hear about wall st fat cats robbing us blind or hear some free mojo nixon ???

jumpstart the economy – spread the psychotic love and create a little chaos

HYPEBOT: Is this free forever or just free for a little while?

MOJO:  i'm crazy not stupid

3 weeks for the freaks

i bet in the long run this will be a greater financal pleasure than the status quo

Q: Should other bands go free too?

MOJO: up to them

i do wish shitty bands would stop bothering us

i'm a cult artist

make the cult happy

HYPEBOT: Do you have any other advice for struggling musicians given all the upheaval in the music industry?

MOJO: gotta have a gimmick

gotta stand out from the crowd

good singers-song writers -muscians-bands are a dime a dozen

people gotta remember you and have a reason to come back for more

in mojo nixon and the toad liquors i'm the gimmick

HYPEBOT:  A lot of your time these days is spent playing other people’s music and ranting on XM Sirius.  Other than a love of small spaces, how did all those years in a van prepare you to spend hours everyday day in a studio talking into a microphone as a DJ?

MOJO: i was born to spew

big time wrestling manager – late nite tv used car salesman – carnival barker  if not this

i'm a bullshit artist

i'm full of shit – and its got to come out

might as well get paid for it

plus i got a real good story on all the cats we play

some i can even tell on the air