- Fri, 2009-05-22 12:07
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Black Lips released their self titled debut album in 2003. Tours, festival dates and more albums followed, leading up to 2009, when their fifth studio album 200 Million Thousand was released.
With a reputation for hedonistic live shows which have seen vomiting, nudity and kissing band memebers, the onset of a new album means more than just new tunes, it means a tour is on its way. With an abundance of gigs and festival dates lined up for summer 2009, I Like Music caught up with bassist Jared to chat about 200 Million Thousand, working with Wu-Tang's GZA, partying in Dutch basements and listening to hip hop.
I Like Music because… it gives people an opportunity to express themselves in ways they couldn't normally do. Whether it be emotional or conceptual, or anything else that you have inside of you that can't get out in any other way. Music is a great way to release that and share it with other people.” JARED, BLACK LIPS
ILM: How would you describe the vibe of 200 Million Thousand?
Jared: There are much darker undertones present than our previous releases. We've always considered ourselves a little dark on the inside. A lot of people only focus on the positive side of things. If you can look at the negative things but have a sense of humour about them, then it makes you a stronger person. Also, the production on this record has a lower fidelity than our previous release. That may be to do with the new studio that we put together to record the album in. Also, some parts have become a little more psychedelic than one might expect, albeit subtle.
ILM: You set up a new studio space? Awesome. What's it like?
Jared: It used to be an old art gallery. It's like a half warehouse with a make-shift control room inside. Like a room inside of a room. Real high ceilings. We used movable walls, but there was always a little bleed over in the recording. But that's cool. We like that. Everytime we record we always do the music straight up live, all of us playing together. It seems to be the most natural way to do it. Most of the time other bands will record drums to a click track, then guitars, then bass. You get a very isolated sound when you do that. We prefer something a little more natural. We try to put inspirational phrases and funny pictures around the studio. There were a couple of porno pictures up, just for the hell of it! You know, keep the attitude positive and have a good time!
ILM: How would you describe the Black Lips process of making music?
Jared: Normally everyone writes songs on their own. Then we bring them into the studio and play through the song four or five times. Once we have the structure down we'll usually just wing it and record it. We figure that's the best way to keep it fresh. Some people play their songs over and over again, then, by the time it comes to the recording, all feeling and soul has been sucked out. We try to get it right the first time.
ILM: You recently worked with GZA, what was that like?
Jared: He's a very unique individual. He's very introspective in a lot of ways. He's the type of person who likes to think about something before he actually says it, you know? He did his verse on that song on his own in LA, not actually in our studio. But just to be able to work with him, perform with him live and then sit down and talk to him gave me great perspective.
ILM: Do you have plans for any future collaborations?
Jared: We'll explore different options as they come around. It's always fun to do things like that with people. Although we're not going out on a hunt or anything!
ILM: You have so many live dates coming up! What do you look forward to the most about playing live?
Jared: I always enjoy going to different places, meeting different types of people all over the world. It's quite a cultural experience, the food and the surroundings. Plus it's often an emotional and physical release when we play. I know that all of us put everything into our shows.
ILM: Do you have a favourite venue to play?
There's this venue in the Netherlands called The Vera Groningen. Anyone who is anyone has played there. It's been around for ages, it's like this government subsised collective. They are very professional about what they do, they are some of the nicest people anyone could ever work with. Best part is, they have a little hotel above the venue for the artists. It's always very clean and very nice! Plus you can party in the basement, in this dungeon that's been around since the 1700's or something, it's almost like a vault. Then, when you get tired you can go upstairs to sleep! Coffee shop just around the corner too, so you've got everything you need!
ILM: Perfect! Out of all the live shows you've played so far, which have been the most memorable?
To be honest, all the shows kinda blur into one sometimes! We do a lot of shows! Recently we played shows in India. They were interesting. It was something we had never done before and we didn't know what to expect. I still can't get my head around everything that was going on there. I suppose it will take time for it all to set in. We played Benicassim last year. That was fun. We played a huge stage at like 2am with a huge audience! To see that many people moving and dancing and having a great time was pretty inspiring. We must be doing something right! I hope!
ILM: You're known for your crazy antics on stage. Any plans for the next few shows?
Haha! Things just kind of happen how they happen. It all depends on the situation. If the audience are going nuts then their energy will encourage us to have more fun. Sometimes it's the complete opposite. If the audience are doing nothing then it encourages us to try and push them and get them to move. We don't plan ahead and we're not choreographed. That's just unacceptable.
ILM: What's your advice for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
I give them two roads to take. One, you can be incredibly determined. Regardless of what life throws at you, you will overcome it, no matter what. That's the path that we took. We had to eat out of homeless shelters, eat out of trash cans, sleep wherever we fell basically, but it's gotten us to where we are today. Or you can go the easy route. Which isn't so rewarding. Well, maybe it is in terms of money. And that's to hire a bunch of people and just blow yourself up on a huge amount of hype and hopefully you won't collapse when that bubble deflates.
ILM: What music are you listening to at the moment?
Right now I've been listening to more 60's garage punk groups, I haven't listened to that in a while. Plus I just picked up Project Pat who is part of Three Six Mafia's crew, one of their cousins, I think he's Juciy J's cousin. I picked up his second CD, Mr Don't Play. Classic. Really good. He has the type of delivery that I feel is lacking in most rap music today. He finds creative ways to deliver. People can get real sloppy when they're rapping, it sounds like they're not even trying to rap on beat and it sounds like they recorded the rap acapella and just threw it on top of the beat. Project Pat is very, very good at his delivery. It's always entertaining and he always has something interesting to say.
ILM: What about live gigs? Out of all the ones you have seen, which will you never forget?
I did get to see Iggy Pop, his solo performance before The Stooges got back together. I never got to see The Stooges before Ron Asheton died, which is a damn shame. I regret that. I saw him when I was 16 or 17. It was nice. I'd listened to him a lot growing up. When I see gigs these days it can be hard to view things in the audience and not be aware of what goes on backstage.
ILM: Ooo! What kind of things happen back stage?
Haha! Nothing that interestin! Just the normal day to day backstage things, all the work that goes along with that. It's easier when you're not exposed to what goes on behind the scenes because then you can have a suspension of disbelief and really get into it. Sometimes I can do that, but it usually takes the edition of alcohol!
