In the annals of time, history has decreed that most bands do their best work at the beginning of their careers. Success, fame and drugs having diluted the individual talents and major label decisions having blunted the artiste's original edge. Elvis said that it was the big blandness and David Bowie said it was the thing that scared him the most. (Mind you, that was in '81. A few years before the mighty Tin Machine fiasco). This rule would seem to be true for the majority of bands and musicians. However, there are exceptions to the rule. Individuals who are not at any rate going to be remembered as one of the herd. Predictably enough Kristin Hersh is one of these figures: Having battled with much in the way of personal problems and come out the other end. Also she manages to be mother, songwriter, guitarist, singer, arranger and woman.. In 1994 she released "Hips and Makers", a highly acclaimed solo LP, that sold by the bucketful and was, in fact, brilliant. Then she toured it, did press for it, recorded the new LP with her band, Throwing Muses, did the Glasgow Sound City Festival, looked after her family and didn't go off the rails. Now as we sit at the beginning of February '95 and she's back in Scotland touring with 'ver Muses. Croaky and tired she takes time out to tell us about the new LP and how to work yourself into an early grave. More