I-95 Exclusive: Soul Asylum Singer on Taking to the High Seas With Kevin Smith

Soul Asylum has released a new album titled Slowly But Shirley, which is receiving rave reviews in the rock community. Remarkably, they are still touring over 30 years after the release of their Grammy Award-winning single "Runaway Train."

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This weekend, Soul Asylum will perform at Norwalk's District Music Hall in Connecticut on October 26th. Before this exciting show, we had the opportunity to speak with lead vocalist Dave Pirner. The full interview can be found at the end of this article, but here are a few of our favorite highlights.

Large Dave (I-95): I have to ask you about your relationship with one of my personal heroes, Kevin Smith. Your music is featured prominently in his movies, how did that come about?

Dave Pirner: "They were looking for music for Clerks, and we had a song that didn't end up on our record, which seemed like a perfect fit. We submitted it, they liked it, and then we shot a video on the roof of the Quik-E Mart, rollerblades and all, with the cast from Clerks. It was hilarious! That’s how I got to know Kevin. He later called me to do music for Chasing Amy, which was my first real soundtrack, and I had a blast with that. I really enjoyed that kind of work. He also used some of my music in Clerks II, and then we did an event called the "Cruise Askew," where Kevin Smith was on a boat full of fans, and we played for them."

Large Dave (I-95): I just saw the pictures that Smith put up, you were just on that cruise? Oh God! You must have had so much weed thrown at you the whole week. 

Dave Pirner: "It's kind of funny; they have a sort of don't-ask-don't-tell policy. They actually advise you not to mention it. I don’t know—there's a very loose restriction against smoking weed on that thing. So, yeah, it’s definitely a don't-ask-don't-tell kind of policy."

Lou: That is my favorite kind of policy. I don't like asking, I don't like telling and I don't like being told on.

You can listen to our entire, two-part interview with Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner below.

Part 1 - Dave talked about Soul Asylum's new album "Slowley But Shirley" and the inspiration for the name. 

Part 2 - Dave spoke about the impact that "Runaway Train" had in 1993 and how relevant the song is today. Dave also shares the list of bands that he had ultimate respect for back in the 90s. 

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify