self-titled - no. 1 - (Page 58)

“ FLOWER” PUNKS Due to constant touring and recording, the Black Lips remain relatively uninformed about current events, music-related or not. Their only consistent contact with the world at large comes from occasionally checking e-mails or the band’s subscription to Harper’s Weekly, though the latest copy lies on their dressing-room table practically untouched in the hours leading up to their show. St. Pe and Bradley claim they’ve been meaning to check out a great article in the issue about an Arctic expedition, but they simply don’t have much free time for reading. Funny thing is, fans and press alike can’t help but try to stitch the Black Lips neatly in the arc of current music trends, even though many of these trends whiz by the band mostly unnoticed. Nowadays with our “recommended if you like ” culture, people want their new bands tagged with the requisite two or three influences. So you can imagine eyes rolling when one tries to encapsulate the Lips’ broad retro sound with comparisons to the Stones, the Kinks and the Stooges. Ever since bands like the White Stripes, the Hives and the Strokes hit it big, the garage-rock revival has been viewed with increasing disdain as more and more copycats have tried riding these coattails. So it’s no surprise that the Lips have been wrongly pegged as another vanilla garage-rock band without giving more than a cursory listen. “We started calling ourselves ‘flower punk’ so people would stop giving us these titles,” says Bradley with a laugh. Joke or not, the made-up genre suits the band’s mix of the dirty psychedelia. “So many interviews are like, ‘You’re like a garage band, but you’re not.’ And we say, ‘Well, that’s ’cause we’re not,’” offers St. Pe. “To me, a garage band is a band that wears a costume. If they put themselves in a box, they’re going to stay in that box, and they’ll be doing stuff like washing dishes forever. A lot of these garage-rock nerds will be like, ‘You’re changing your sound,’ and I say, ‘Man, we’re not changing shit. We’re doing what we like.’ Those garage-rock nerds can kiss my ass.” The band members’ eclectic tastes are steering them in many unexpected directions. “I’m producing a rap group from Atlanta called Incoqnekro,” Bradley remarks as if the transition from rock drummer to dirty South rap producer is a typical occurrence. “There are some real dedicated guys behind it. I’ve never worked on something like this before, but it should be a good opportunity to free up my mind.” Bradley, Alexander and Swilley also have finished an album as a side-project called the Spooks with members of fellow Atlanta band Deerhunter. “The Spooks are a lot more experimental than our music,” says Alexander. “We use a lot of different instruments and sounds.” It’s been rumored as well that the band will make its motionpicture debut in a film tentatively titled Let It Be. The Lips will play a fictional upstart band trying to hit it big in the ’0s New York punk scene. “We have to spend the first two weeks of the eight-week shoot in acting school,” says St. Pe. “The executive producer of the film is the same guy who produced Fried Green Tomatoes and The Breakfast Club.” The Black Lips even have a vodka brand in the works. “My brother is a nuclear engineer, and he’s making us a vodka-based drink that gives you the focus of cocaine, but it also makes you feel like you’re on downers,” St. Pe deadpans. “So it’s basically alert and cool at the same time. It’s called Detune.” As showtime approaches at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, the band members exude a surprising sense of calmness. They’ve wowed New York crowds several times already, and conversation backstage touches on how many muscle relaxers Elvis took and their effect on his lower intestines. Once onstage, they appear equally at ease. In a bigger, more legitimate venue like the Music Hall, the group’s R-rated antics don’t go over as well, but there’s still plenty of inebriation and hammed-up rock posturing, as well as a few crazed fans dropping onto the stage from a precariously high balcony. As the exhaustive set rumbles to a close, the band ends its marathon day in standard Black Lips fashion—downing more than a few drinks at a local bar. “I just want to say, the southern cookin’, the southern way of living, just the South in general, the music that’s come out of the South, all that ,” sputters St. Pe, delivering a credo for what sounds like the thousandth time. “I was born in the South. Hopefully, I’ll die in the South. Amen.”

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of self-titled - no. 1

self-titled - no. 1 Contents Spiritualized No Age Les Savy Fav The Teenagers Booka Shade Michael Gira Ellen Allien Magik Markers Jens Lekman Yeasayer Daptone Records Tipping Point Boris Fiery Furnaces Black Dice Black Mountain The Black Lips

self-titled - no. 1

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