If you are not yet aware The Ting Tings are Jules de Martino and Katie White. As self confessed fans of American iconic bands such as Talking Heads and Velvet Underground, the British Art Punk Pop duo briefly visited the West Coast for their Red Bull Soundclash vs Cee Lo Green in Las Vegas last week.

ChinaShop was able to grab a few precious minutes with the band to shoot some exclusive photos before their stunning performance in front of 6,000 plus expectant fans. So where else do you put an Art Punk duo from Britain, who have been recording in Berlin and are mixing the new album in Spain? Why in front of a giant black pyramid with lights shooting out of the top of course…

The Ting Tings new album is due to be released later this year.

Words and photos by Graham John Bell

Upon being whisked into the MGM Resort and Hotel on this past Saturday imagine being confronted with a large boxing ring in the center of the hotel lobby. “What has the world of music come to?” “This can’t be for a music event could it?”  With closer examination the ring was promotion for the upcoming Miguel Cotto vs Ricardo Mayorga WBA Junior Middleweight fight – so just a little sigh of relief on my part as I, as probably you, are a little new to this Soundclash idea.

6,000 plus spring breakers packed into the MGM Resorts International lot across from the Luxor to experience this Red Bull Soundclash. The event featured Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green and British based art punk duo The Ting Tings on opposing stages with an audience sandwiched in-between.

Imagine a live version of Rock Band but with real stars playing, with real instruments and you may get a little closer to the concept. Based on five rounds Warm Up, Cover, Takeover, Clash and Wildcard two artists go toe to toe with an MC positioned in the middle.

Now if I had not just spent four days in Miami on a roller coaster ride covering many clubs, events and the biggest crazies on this planet my mouth might have been even more on the floor when I arrived at the outdoor venue. With the Luxor Pyramid beaming it’s light in the background and two full festival sized stages opposite each other and the biggest DJ/MC level in the middle, a throng of young, older and hipster fans already arriving I couldn’t help but be impressed.

But what of the music? What of the artists? Could they really give it their all in this environment? Quite simply the answer to these questions is full on and yes. Cee Lo Green pulled no punches – excuse the pun – backed by his all female band dressed in hipster short red dresses he came out as strong as he could with “Lady Killer”, “Bright Lights” and the Gnarls Barkley (he is one half if you didn’t know) monster hit “Crazy”. I was already thinking this is so over, the majority of the crowd were totally at the event to see Cee Lo, he was the odds on favorite with the unofficial betting and word on the street was The Ting Tings were an easy opponent unlikely to last the first 3 minutes. Oh how wrong could so many people be?

The Ting Tings burst onto stage starting with “Keep Your Head”, Katie White dressed like a cheerleader from a Tim Burtonesque high school and Jules De Martino pounding the drums like his life depended on it. By the way the crowd surged towards The Tings Tings this clash could suddenly be an underdog’s dream and it’s only their first song. By the time they had finished “Hit Me Down Sonny” and “Shut Up and Let Me Go.” I looked across to the Cee Lo Green stage and seriously thought this Lady killer heavyweight could be in really big big trouble.

Cee Lo came back strong in the cover round with his performance of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Then The Tings Tings came back with drums and a bass heavy boombox and killed it and I mean came back with counter punch after counter punch after counter punch, they nailed it so hard Cee Lo’s corner had a towel ready to throw in.

This was turning simply into a classic, blow after blow musically was traded between the two until we reached round four “The Clash” where styles included reggae, acoustic and rock/metal. This was the only point in the evening where I felt some music purists may start to take offense as the flow of performance for each artist is being interrupted. The acoustic section probably needed to be a little earlier in proceedings, but that may just be this critics choice. However, considering this was also being filmed for a TV show compared to usual TV musical performances the bands were at least getting to perform several songs in a row and able to hit their stride.

The Wildcard round where the bands invite a special guest had myself and the people around me on the floor in fits of laughter when an Elvis impersonator came on with The Ting Tings and performed their hit single “That’s Not My Name”.  CeeLo invited Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp to reunite Goodie Mob for a performance of “Get Rich to This.” But in my mind it was all over, it was clear to me The Ting Tings were going to take this crown along with their fake Elvis and paint Vegas at least a multicolored red with a bit of Pollock thrown in.

But wait a technicality is announced by the umpire, well actually Cee Lo himself with a massive grin “This is not a competition but a collaboration!” as the two groups met on one stage performing the grand finale, a collaborative rendition of Cee Lo’s current hit “Fu*k You.”.

So as the Lady killer was saved by the bell and The Ting Tings were able to swear quite openly in public I started to chuckle to myself. Like all true champions you need a little luck on your side and you need to know how to take it. The Tings Tings were winners as they have made many new friends here in America after such a powerful performance. Then looking at the size of Cee Lo Green’s smile, limo and entourage as he was leaving, no one was crying.

I may just have to fly to  South Padre Island in Texas on March 17^th to witness Snoop Dog vs Ghostland Observatory in another crazy clash. I hear you say “What?” I reply “Do it”.

Words and photos by Graham John Bell.

The Shiny Toy Guns have always been a band hell-bent on trailblazing. STG pioneered the fusion of dance and rock music with their first two albums We Are Pilots (2006) and Season of Poison (2008). The band was also a trailblazer in the intense musical conversation know as Red Bull Soundclash. Well, the boys (and girl) are back at it with a new album and a second showing at Red Bull Soundclash. ChinaShop sat down with the band to discuss tales of pioneering past as well as to explore which envelopes they will be pushing in 2011 and beyond.

Since you’ve already participated in a Red Bull Soundclash before, what are you looking forward to out of the Atlanta experience?

The stages now are sort of rammed together with only 35 feet or so in between them, which brings both artists – both acts – the ability to sort of vibe out in the aspect of friendly eye contact and the spiritual collab that you get. A lot of time these stages are 100 to 200 feet away from each other and it’s like… one guy does one thing and one guy does the other and this time it’s going to be that back and forth “boom boom” thing in Atlanta.

How does an event like Red Bull Soundclash challenge your band as artists to create new outlooks on your existing music and work with a genre of sound you normally wouldn’t?

We are challenged artistically by Red Bull Soundclash mainly because Shiny Toy Guns is sort of a hybrid  type of band, part machine, part rock. We’re half electric, half organic and the way Soundclash work is completely hyper organic… we use a lot of drum machines and samplers and new technology instruments that aren’t the best things to use for immediate on-the-fly organic performing. So we’re really having to stay on our toes to create the texture, sounds capes, and rhythms and arpeggiations to own it with the sound of Shiny Toy Guns in real time, where as a band like The Roots can just go “1-2-3-4” and eight dudes with timbales,  guitars, basses, tubas, and keyboards start playing… We have to program our computers in addition to playing our synthesizers, guitars, basses, and vocals and you can’t really program a computer as quickly as you can play a timbale which is the biggest challenge for us.

How did you guys choose the cover and how do you plan to make it your own?

The way we went about choosing the cover for Red Bull Soundclash is we had been messing around in the studio previously on a track that actually Chad started in his studio and then the track eventually began to take the form of Jimmy Hendrix’s “Fire.” We went ahead and recorded it, actually his wife did the vocals on it which is funny with just dummy vocals right there on-the-fly. And we just put it down. Shiny Toy Guns has done a lot of covers in its career and we sat down this idea and when this formulated into a show and it was like, “Hey we could do … oh, wait a minute! Jimmy Hendrix’s ‘Fire.’” We already had sort of practiced it and had a head start on it and we checked it out with Quest and The Roots were down to do it. It’s a great song and you can’t go wrong with a Hendrix tune so I think that’s how that was born.

What have you learned from working with The Roots the last few days?

I think a lot of what we’ve learned from playing with The Roots, we’re entirely different bands technique wise, but the way we do things and the way they do things are both necessary in their own worlds but with The Roots it sort of motivates me to keep chops up.  I mean like, go to a bar with a hammond b 3 and play and for my drummer to go home and do rudimentary stuff and for Chad to practice guitar… It’s just, they play with the TV show that they’re involved with and all the various things that The Roots do that are so dynamically organic and live, these guys are just getting better and better as players. And with Shiny Toy Guns, we sort of have a block of tunes that we know and we don’t spend enough time just playing our horn or playing our guitar just for the sake of being an artist and a musician. And I think that’s something that motivated me by watching these guys – they’re very serious players.

Traveling on the road as much as you do, are there any band rituals you can share with us?

We have a lot of different tiny rituals because we’re definitely road dogs. We play 300 shows a year when we’re active during the record cycle. I would say the most prominent thing we do is an activity called “prep time.” And it’s exactly to the dot, iPhones go off, one-hour and thirty minutes before show starts. The band marches into the green room or bus and we create an area and this area is going to have a certain array of drinks and eats.  And It’s simple stuff like pastrami or something dumb like a tooth brush and tooth paste for Mikey our drummer… Everyone has their own certain tick that must be there. And If it’s not there, it throws the whole psyche of the band off.  When you’re in a different zip code, continent, time zone everyday and you have one normal thing that’s always the same like there’s always kettle chips and there’s always sea salt. It’s like, “Oh, there’s my kettle chips! I see it, it’s mine, I’m in Prague and I don’t care.” Just for that hour and a half, please give us the peace to goof off, listen to music, and eat chips.

The Shiny Toy Guns will go head to head with The Roots at the Atlanta Red Bull Soundclash November 14, 2010.  Click here for more information and be sure to check out the STG’s new album Girls Le Disko out now.

Related posts:

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids vs. Shiny Toy Guns

“We played a show just so we could steal Uli,” spat Ozomatli’s Wil-Dog Abers out back this night at some shady sound studio somewhere in North Dallas, TX.  “Ozomatli’s always been… kind of a competitive band. Our roots go back to where Uli was in two bands.” Wil-Dog continues speaking now of the “solo Ozo” Ulises Bella. “He was in our band and the band that we were opening up for at Viper Room.  And our whole purpose was to steal Uli from this band he had this allegiance with… and we did.” And I believe it.

For I had just spent the last 15 minutes in an alley shooting this Grammy Award winning mash-up of all things Latin, Reggae, and Rock, as they bust ass to put the finishing touches to an only gently off time version of “Thriller”.  No, this Los Angeles based cornucopia of world music was not trying out for a new, “Group Dancing with the Stars”. They were prepping a secret weapon for battle against one Talib Kweli, who they would soon face-off against and ultimately fall to in Red Bull’s Sound Clash.

This year Ozomatli turns 15 and is planning a HUGE celebration on Saturday December 18th. Stay tuned for all the madness.

Words and images by Dustin Downing

A few years ago, Brooklyn native and Kanye West collaborator, Talib Kweli did a brief stint on tour in China. Accompanying him were an eclectic band of heathens who’s engraving on the plate of their 2 Grammys reads, “Ozomatli.”  As close quarters living oft goes, that mangle of musical madness sparked a friendship which has culminated into the battle of beats before me, better know as Red Bull’s Sound Clash.

“The event…,” as the official Red Bull Sound Clash PR statement reads, “…is an unparalleled live music conversation and performance between two musical acts with diverse sounds, styles and creativity.” Fitting sure, but for me this event was much more battle ala Thunder Dome -Two bands enter, one band leaves.

The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas was type cast as Barter Town for this revision of musical madness. The set consisted of two stages separated by 1,000+ lovers of all things Latin, Reggae, Hip-Hop, and World.  Also, it’s these minions who weld the power of the crowd vote to decide the winner.  Here’s what went down:

Step 1- The Cover

Each band is to do its own previously rehearsed version of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”. Ozo dons some killer 80’s hair band wigs. Sold!

Step 2- The Takeover

Begin with each band starting one of its own respective songs and then stopping mid track and letting the other band finish said song.

Song 1- Ozo starts, “Saturday Night” and mid-track stops and has Talib carry his weight on the rest.

Song 2- Talib starts, “Listen” and Ozo finishes.

Song 3- Ozo starts, “Cumbia de Los Muertos” and Talib finishes.

Song 4- Talib starts, “Brown Skin Lady” and Ozo finishes.

The crowd as well as I was straight trippin’ on how Talib’s flow was further enhanced by the Latin influences injected by Ozomatli.

Step 3- The Clash

Each band is to take one of their own tunes and transform it into a different genre (i.e heavy metal, reggae, and little something spicy for that ass, Samba). One would figure Ozo would have had the edge here, but no.

Round 4- The Wildcard

This final round allows each band to bring a “surprise” guest on stage. Talib surprisingly one ups Ozomatli here. Ozo seemed to awaken the dead with their introduction of an MJ impersonator during their stunningly self-choreographed version of “Thriller.” But Talib knows his crowds and the name on the chain around his guest’s neck read: Bun-B.

The bands ended the night by having all participants join together on a single stage and jam the night away for an extended period of musical improv. I can’t exactly say what went down over the course of those 3 hours inside of the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, TX for the rest of the screaming crowd. But for a camera jockey like me, it was welcomed.

Words and Photos by Dustin Downing

More Soundclash Coverage:

L.A. Red Bull Soundclash: Kid Sister vs. Moving Units

Red Bull Soundclash Latino Flavor

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids vs. Shiny Toy Guns

It’s probably been a while since Los Angelenos witnessed a good old-fashioned battle of the bands, arena-style and between two worthwhile opponents who’ve had years to hone their craft. But on December 16th, Red Bull Soundclash moved Kid Sister and Moving Units into their own Colosseum (read: hotel) to entertain the bloodthirsty crowd with a two-hour duel, filled with a variety of exchanged musical parries and thrusts. The weapons: guitar, bass, synth, turntables, and lots — and LOTS– of loud drums. And here’s two groups that, at first, couldn’t sound more unlike, yet still had two very common aspirations: a) get yer booty shakin’, and b) wipe the floor with the other.

If you haven’t attended a Red Bull Soundclash before, it’s a bit far from your usual high school gymnasium BOTB antics–two big-name bands are moved into a club or soundstage, and take audial swipes at one another, at increasing degrees of peril. After a brief warm-up, in which each band plays their own respective songs, the battle is divided into four rounds:

First is The Cover — a chance for both bands to be unique in their own ways through their own unique interpretation of a song, in this case The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.” An interesting variation this time was the duet between Kid Sister and Moving Units on the song, a rare display of sportsmanship considering the battle had only just begun. Moving Units won with 136 decibels of applause, with Kid Sister at 135. A close one — worth only 1 point — with plenty of show to go.

Pay attention: Round 2 was “The Takeover,” in which both bands would play one of their own songs, then stop halfway through to let the opposing band finish the song for them. This time Kid Sister owned, with her own 136 decibels to Moving Units’ 135 for 2 points.

The gloves come off: Round 3 is the official “clash”, and arguably the hardest part of the face-off — each band is is given a different genre of music to play, and the bands must do their best to copy the respective styles. Tonight it was dance, funk, and punk. Moving Units won again, 135 to 134. Value: 3 points.

Round 4, The Wildcard/The Joker: each band brought out their respective musical pals to help them sqaure off against one another. Moving Units was backed up with Drake from Nickelodeon’s Josh and Drake, and Kid Sister, with DJ Steve Aoki. Kid Sister took it back, winning this round 137-136. Value : 1 point.

And so The Moving Units left the battle blood-stained and victorious, before asking Kid Sister to join them in an anarchic jam on the stage, which really gave a cool ending to a unique confrontation between different musical acts.

Words by Jeff Nau

Sometimes opposites attract and actually work out. In the case of Mexico’s own Plastilina Mosh, a long haired thrash-metal lover met one avant-garde pop inebriate, and now bears the fruit of something like pop meet’s 70’s funk-disco-metal with a lil’reverb music.  Since the release of “Nino Bomba” in 1997, these Monterrey natives have caught the attention of producers such as Money Mark(Beastie Boys), Jason Roberts, and often extravagant Butthole Surfers. Such encounters have lead to the band earning a “Record of the Year” in Mexico and their video for “Mr. P Mosh” peaking at #1 on Latin MTV. As well as a slew of their other worldly sounds gracing soundtracks for the silver screen and now popping up as title tracks for games on the Sony Play Station 3.

I had a sit down with “Plastilina Mosh” founders, Jonás Gonzalez and Alejandro Rosso, just minutes before they were to take the stage opposite “Los Amigo’s Invisibles”, for a unique take on a battle of the bands called, Red Bull Soundclash in Houston, TX.

There are scandalous rumors circulating the web that Plastilina Mosh met playing Super Nintendo at a Wal-Mart in Monterrey, Mexico. Are these words true?

Plastilina Mosh- No, no, no. That is all made up internet rumors and a myth. It was a Nintendo 64 and we were drinking beers at a friend’s house. We used to hang out and play the games all the time. We knew each other for awhile in other bands before we thought of the idea to play together.

Well, I’m glad we can put that to rest.

PM- Unbelievable that people would spread such lies. (crazy laughter)

How exactly should one go about describing your sound? It seems to be completely different every time I hear it, but the same.

PM- Well, we really just like to mash up things we hear from all over and work with great producers to try and turn it around again after that.  Sometimes compositions, maybe sometimes a lil’ rap, dance, or rock. Whatever is fun. We like fun.

Is that how you explain playing with HIllary Duff?

PM- Ohh, she is so nice. Very small. It was a fun experience for us, new audience.

When will you feel like you’ve “made it” in this business? A Grammy?

PM- Well, of course that would be nice. My mother though, when she shows pictures of us in the magazines to her friends and says she is proud. I’m good.

Plastilina Mosh didn’t fare so well and took a loss to their good friends Los Amigos Invisibles after all 4 rounds were done. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem to faze them from joining together on stage and performing as a super group with a raucous 20min encore for the 1,500 jam packed fans.

Interview and Photos by Dustin Downing

]]> http://www.chinashopmag.com/2009/11/plastilina-mosh/feed/ 0 http://www.chinashopmag.com/2009/11/soundclash-houston/ http://www.chinashopmag.com/2009/11/soundclash-houston/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:15:48 +0000 Dustin Downing http://chinashop.designenginela.com/?p=16672 Continue reading →]]>

Just days before El Día de los Muertos, and amidst a pounding monsoon rain, Houston played host to a unique challenge unlike any spelled out or put on before: Red Bull Soundclash. Red Bull Soundclash is an unparalleled, live music conversation and performance between two bands with diverse sounds, styles and creativity. This musical battle unfolds as each band fights for the grace and cheers of the audience. Which band will better anticipate the other? Which band will have the strength to keep playing? Well I found out and the energized Houston, TX audience decided so. We, 1,500 strong, witnessed two of Latin America’s most ambitious talents vying not only with their music, but revamping their competitor’s material as well! Style points counted and originality was king. I was witness to the glory that is Latin rock!

In this corner was Plastilina Mosh, the czars of Latin rock hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, who brought to the stage their own version of a funky, groovy,  dance/pop which they have called their own since the release of “Nino Bomba” in 1997. Since their first video hit American MTV as one of the first “rock en espanol” crossovers, former gaming buddies Jonás Gonzalez and Alejandro Rosso, knew they had something right.

And in this corner, a disco, acid-jazz funk reverberated throughout the venue with just a lil’ South American twist from Los Amigos Invisibles, a Caracas jam band discovered by none other than David Byrne. Since signing with the Luaka Bop label in 1997, these tropical transplants have seen no less than 5 Grammy (2 U.S. /3 Latin) nominations posted to their door.

The battle took place inside one of Houston’s premier venues, Escapade 2001, and consisted of 4 rounds of crowd decided fate:
Round 1- The Cover
Each band is to do its own pre-rehearsed version of-“Ride the White Horse” by Laid Back
Round 2- The Takeover
Begin with each band starting one of its own respective songs and then stopping mid track and letting the other band finish said song.
Round 3 – The Clash
Each band is to take one of its own tunes and transform it into the style of an oriental,
reggae, and a Heavy Metal ballad.
Round 4-The Wildcard

This final round requires each band to bring a “surprise’ guest on stage. “Afroman” left Plastilina hanging, but —— set the crowd on fire for Los Amigos.

In the end though, it was “Chulius”, “DJ Afro”, Maurimix”, “Catire”, and “Mamel” as the Los Amigos Invisibles, who left the stage a unanimous victor proudly waving their own tri-color battle flag high.

Words and Photos by Dustin Downing

Now hear this kiddos… I got a taste of its yummy goodness this weekend, and it makes me want to strip down to my knee socks and have sexual congress with the Kool-Aid Man.

INGREDIENTS

1 Unparalleled musical conversation performance.

4 rounds of audience-participated back-and-forth battle with the winner decided by audible vote.

10 parts Erykah Badu’s long-time secretive side project, The Cannabinoids.

4 parts Shiny Toy Guns, Grammy-nominated electronica/indie/rock band from Los Angeles.

1,000-ish screaming University of Texas fans.

1,000-ish University of Oklahoma rival fans.

100 cases of assorted Red Bull flavorings.

50 cases of assorted Boozery.

20 tons of lighting, cameras, and general concert accoutrement.

2 stages

Directions

Warm up the crowd numbering 2,000-ish of arguably the greatest collegiate rivals in town for one of the biggest games of the year, with a mini pep rally.

Now have each band come out onto their respective stages and perform 3 of their own songs.

Erykah Badu’s hip-hop, pop, funk, R&B and soul Cannabinoids, followed by Shiny Toy Guns’ rock, pop, synth, and vocal duo.

Step 1- The Cover

Each band is to do its own previously rehearsed version of the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye’. Badu dons sparkly glove and grabs crotch. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Step 2- The Takeover

Begin with each band starting one of its own respective songs and then stopping mid track and letting the other band finish said song.

Badu slides in to “Tyrone’ and mid-track stops and has STG power its way through the rest.

STG launch’s into “Ghost Town’ and Badu’s Cannabinoids soothe their way on down the street.

A wee bit confusing at first, but the aural mix was enveloping. I got lost and think there might have been another song in there (or two– alas, I forgot to take my meds this day). Badu takes the point?

Step 3 – The Clash

Each band is to take one of their hardest driven/upbeat tunes and transform it into different genres– a mellow ballad, a dub, and my personal favorite, country. This last genre proved to be the most interesting: Badu stepped out held her own Texas roots with a yeehaw-laden “Soldier” followed by Petree donning a black cowboy hat and an old school country drawl for his acoustic duo rendition of “Chemistry of a Car Crash.”

The Okies have it. (By the way: Half of STG is from Shawnee, OK)

Step 4-The Wild Card

This final round requires each band to bring a “surprise” guest on stage.  STG went with spinner warrior DJ Billy Sexcrime wearing Fall’s loveliest line of old school football regalia.  Badu on the other hand brought out ex-Tripping Daisies and current Polyphonic Spree front man Tim Delaughter, who melted our faces off with what appeared to be an Etch-a-Sketch on acid.

All hands praise the Queen of R&B.

Step 5 – Serve and Enjoy While HOT!

The bands ended the night by having all 16+ members join together on a single stage and “Phish-ing” the night away for an extended period of musical improv. I can’t exactly say what went down over the course of those 3 hours in front of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX for the rest of the screaming crowd. But for a concert-purging person such as I, it’s nice to know that I left intoxicated by more than mere booze.

Words and Photos by Dustin Downing

It was deep in the heart of Oklahoma where I obtained evidence that the Japanese electronics company TDK secretly carried out mind control experiments on children– to rewire their brains from just a “lil’ bit country” into a “lil’ bit rock n’ roll”.

What’s the evidence? What’s the conspiracy theory? I will testify that two magic bullets (bassist and keyboardist Jeremy Dawson and vocalist and guitarist Chad Petree) were fired directly from these Shiny Toy Guns.

Ok, that intro might have sounded a bit contrived, but it’s perhaps the best way to relate to the 2008 Grammy-nominated Indie rock/Electro pop group now based in L.A. Aided by drummer Mikey Martin and smoking hotpants Sisely Treasure on vocals, this now sans-country duo have fixed up quite the low-calorie, Killers-meets-New Order main dish (with a side order of The Sounds). Their new remix album, Girls le Disko, is going to drop this holiday shopping season, complete with hard-to-find mash ups by The Teenagers, Ferry Corsten, Classixx, High Def, and Boyz Noise to name drop a few.

I had the opportunity this weekend to have a lengthy sit down interview with Jeremy for a quick shot 240 seconds while they were rehearsing for a performance with Erykah Badu at Red Bull’s Soundclash, in  Dallas, TX.

So, how’d the transfer from OK to LA get down?

Jeremy Dawson: In a Uhaul. 10 years ago I was a DJ writing dance music and we (Chad Petree) were like, what the hell are we going to do in Oklahoma? Nothing wrong with OK, but there was no Internet at the time and LA is where you went if you wanted to do something big. So we pawned a car and slept in a closet out there. Knew literally one person.

So from a closet to playing with Badu?

Jeremy Dawson: Well, we’ll be gold by Christmas and we’ve had a Grammy nomination.

Oh, I got that. That’s Wikipedia fodder. Let’s have a real interview.

Jeremy Dawson: (cell phone rings) Oh hey man, I’m in an interview. What’s up? Yeah, yeah, out past the porta-potties.

(Fucking Rock stars). What’s the future hold? What do you want to do when you grow up?

Jeremy Dawson: Chase storms. Half of us are 15yr veterans in it. We’ll park our armored up chase van at the airport and fly to Berlin to play a show. Ready to go when we get back.

Well, you know the old saying– ‘You can take the boys out of the country, but you can only take the country out of the boys with the aid of a giant Japanese electronics manufacturing plant down the street from where they grew up doing mind control experiments.’

Interview and Photos by Dustin Downing