Dean & Britta

Photo: Michael Lavine

As the frontman for indie pioneers Galaxie 500 and Luna, and now with his wife in Dean & Britta, New Zealand–born Dean Wareham has chronicled the streets and characters of Manhattan with jangly guitar and dry witticisms. The songwriter turned author for his engrossing rock autobiography, Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance (Penguin, $25.95). This week, the married couple comes to the Museum of Contemporary Art to perform its 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s “Screen Tests,” set to a selection of the pop artist’s silent, slo-mo shots of about 470 figures from the ’60s NYC art scene.

Time Out Chicago: Did you know much about Warhol or the Factory?
Dean Wareham: I read his book POPism, and I had seen some movies. I definitely know a lot more now and have a new respect for what a monumental thing he achieved. The Factory in that period is one giant, giant collaborative work of art. The fact that he shot hundreds of these, he nearly documented the entire ’60s avant-garde.

TOC: How many films did you watch?
Dean Wareham: I probably studied 150, some of them just quickly. It took months to narrow it down to about 30, down to 20, then down to 13. I wanted to focus on people who were an important everyday presence in the Factory, people like Billy Name, who was sort of the manager of the place. He painted it silver and lived in back, near the bathroom. Much rather him than some famous person who happened to have a screen test done.

TOC: Like Dylan.
Dean Wareham: Yeah, or Salvador Dalí. Those two refused to sit and simply have their portraits done; they turned around and made it about them. The only famous actor we did is Dennis Hopper. He was the first to ever buy a soup-can painting.

TOC: What was the biggest hurdle?
Dean Wareham: Of the 13 faces we selected, five of them died under somewhat tragic circumstances. Edie Sedgwick, Paul America, Ingrid Superstar—she disappeared during the ’80s. She was a junkie living with her mother in New Jersey, said she was going out for cigarettes and never came back. And Freddie Herko, this dancer who was in some earlier Warhol films, I read that a month after his screen test he killed himself. He danced naked out the window of a fourth-floor walk-up. You can’t look at their faces without thinking about the back story.

TOC: People suggest that Warhol had a vampiric, exploitative side to him.
Dean Wareham: Lots of people make that accusation. Certain people turned on him. Edie Sedgwick came to him and said, “I’m not being taken seriously as an actress.” But, come on, she’s not to be taken seriously as an actress. She’s just a goof; that’s what Warhol said to her. All these people were taking speed all the time.

TOC: You’re mostly playing art galleries for this project.
Dean Wareham: It was scary at first—out of our comfort zone, playing songs we are not used to playing. And half the audience is there for us, half is there for Warhol. Yeah, we were a little apprehensive of the name Warhol and being involved in high art. We’re not nervous anymore. The films look so beautiful on their own.

Dean & Britta play 13 Most Beautiful… Saturday 7 at the MCA.

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