interview & live photos by Alissa Ordabai
LINKS:
Knowing that they operate within the same tradition they reject, MSI renounces some of its elements even more vigorously, with personal heroes and musical influences denied ruthlessly and completely. This desire to erase any continuity with the past leads them to shift their methods into a realm outside of rock vocabulary and into the world of sampling, synthesised sounds, and a practice of drawing ideas from all over the place. But rock heritage still proves hard to get rid of, as MSI’s rough-and-ready chord progressions, can’t-miss-hooks and strong melodies rush to betray their roots in '70s punk, '80s pop and '90s electronica.
Other supremely rock’n’roll traits such as obsession with excess, which drives MSI forward, their desire to experiment, and respect for the culture of the masses, are all leaving you to wonder if there’s any difference between their stance and what each new generation of rock heroes has been proclaiming at one time or another before them. But before you dismiss them as jumped-up wannabes crusading on flimsy premises, or, still worse, as another bunch of PR-savvy dodgers with an agenda to attract controversy, two things about them will step up as their saving grace – one being their extraordinary knack for memorable songwriting, and the other - a killer sense of humour, their main redeeming feature which alone explains and irons out their inconsistencies.
I got a chance to chat with the band on the day of their London show amidst their current world tour, which has now taken them back to the US. The entire band was relaxing in a little room backstage at Astoria located bang in the middle of London, where the atmosphere seemed surprisingly homey, but at the same time vibrant, band members chilled but alert, sharp but friendly, funny but on the ball, which made me realise that all the intricacies of their art and their attitude stem from nowhere else but their own characters, a proof of authenticity like no other.
JIMMY URINE: Yeah, we are just doing them, did Germany, did France, Belgium, Austria, it went very well, we were very pleased, some crazy kids who jumped on stage, very fun…
STEVE, RIGH?: France!
JU: France was insane!
AO: Any shows that stood out?
JU: France so far because there was literally… Stage was kind of small and the place was pa-a-a-cked, so the kids were everywhere, including the stage. Kids were everywhere, all over the place, so we spent most of the show just policing them. [Laughs]
SR: The first time we played in France which was in the fall, there were seventy people?
JU: Yeah, seventy. Now it was nine hundred, sold out.
AO: What’s the average age of your average fan?
JU: Uhhh… It varies. It varies a lot, but it starts at around ten maybe? [Laughs]
LYN-Z: And then there are their parents.
JU: Yeah, and their parents. And we get a couple of older people who just don’t get over it and move on with their lives.
AO: Is touring in Europe any different from touring in the States?
JU: Yeah.
SR: The shows aren’t all that different.
JU: Yeah… No matter where we go. The cultures are different, the people are different, you know, but I think our fans are the same wherever we go. We went to Australia and we went to Japan before we hit Europe and everybody was telling us that Japan was going to be ridiculously polite, “Don’t be freaked out, we played there and they would just clap and stop and then wait.” We went there and it was the usual jumping. Everywhere we go we attract a certain kind of people.
AO: How much of the new album are you showcasing on this tour?
LZ: About five songs?
JU: No! A lot, actually! Most of it!
KITTY [counting]: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…
LZ: Oh, really?
K: … nine…
JU: Nine tracks, thanks for the count!
AO: Is the new material any different from the old material or is it easy to confuse the old and the new?
JU: It’s totally different.
LZ: It’s a logical progression.
JU: Yes.
LZ: We obviously don’t want to be changing our entire sound…
JU: Because we’ve had a lot of fun creating our sound.
LZ: [Laughs] Yeah!
JU: But at the same time we don’t want to be stagnant. We are not going to make the same exa-a-act record every single time…
SR: But that’s the problem people have when they are writing a record right after a record, right after a record, when they don’t have time to slow down. But we had what, two or three years?
JU: Yeah, our last record bought us a lot of time. Two and a half or three years. We spent a lot of time compiling the songs, writing the lyrics, and it’s a very eclectic record because we had a lot of time to spend on it. A lot of bands jump in a studio, jump on the road, then get back in a studio, then jump on the road, and nothing really changes.
AO: Do you write on the road?
JU: We write everywhere, baby! Never let an idea slide, always put it in the pile, ‘cause it could be the moneymaker, you never know! [Smiles]
AO: How long did it take you to write the new album?
JU: Record it or write it? Write it – we’re always writing! I could have written something yesterday that could become a song, or someone could suggest a lyric that could end up becoming a part of a song. But the actual recording process was maybe two months, the actual straight-up… Two months prep time getting our stuff in order and two months of hardcore Kitty and me flat in the studio, she does the drums, and then Steve comes in with the guitar, and Lyn-Z comes in and we do bass, and then we get it mixed, and that’s it [claps his hands].
We’re always working, that’s the other thing. We rarely don’t… We don’t like other bands, “Oh, we’ll be off the road for whole three years to make our next record.” We’re on the road constantly and then we go flying to a mix date, and then come back, or we fly to a mastering date. It’s always a hustle. So it’s hustle-hustle-hustle. If you were Rolling Stones, you’d go out, and…
SR: And end up looking like that. [Points at a music magazine Lyn-Z is holding on her lap with Keith Richards on the cover.]
JU: Yeah, you end up looking like that.
AO: He looks good for what he’s been doing to himself all those years.
LZ: I think so.
JU: Yeah, haha!
AO: When you were growing up, did you have any idols at all?
JU: I was really into John Williams, all those soundtracks to Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Empire Strikes Back, his stuff is probably why I arrange things the way I do.
AO: But in terms of going to see a show?
JU: I didn’t go to the shows until real late, and by the time I started to go, most of the time I got sidetracked on the way. [Laughs]
SR: Yeah, "Where am I? Where did the show go?" [Laughs]
AO: What about you, Steve?
SR: A lot of time your girlfriend forces you to go to shows, so I won’t mention them. I’ve seen a lot of bad shows.
K: We all like a variety of… We all have a variety of interests, and that’s what sort of makes it work for us. They overlap in areas, but then someone may have expertise or interest in one area that the rest don’t know much about. So there’s always a variety of ideas coming in.
JU: A lot of bands, if you ask them, they start, “Oh, this and that band, and that’s why we do music,” where with us, we are such a bunch of art freaks and like… so that we always find stuff other than music, or we could look at a record and then put that in a song or something…
SR: You catch an old comedy routine and also get something out of there.
JU: Yeah, exactly! It’s all fair game!
SR: Sticky Fingers.
AO: That’s a good album.
SR: If you want to interview Keith Richards, go right ahead.
AO: I’m not a fan of Keith Richards. I’ve got the next question – who makes your stage clothes?
JU: We buy them. I shop at the ladies’ section of H & M [Laughs]
AO: Is that true?
LZ: He’s not lying.
AO: So, it’s true!
JU: [Tugs at his shirt] H & M. Ladies.
LZ: Ladies H & M.
K: We take things from unlikely places and piece them together.
SR: The hardest thing to find is the simplest item. Usually. If I want just straight-up something plain, whatever that item is, I can’t find it, or in the colour you want it.
JU: You gotta make it yourself.
SR: And like, in six months from now it’s all over the place.
JU: Yeah, exactly. Purple is going to be out by the time we’re done with this tour.
SR: I’m trying to make day-glo last on my boots. [Points to a pair of blue Doc Martens on the floor]. I’m in my blue phase right now.
JU: On the Revolution Tour we were like, “Day-glo! Woa!”
SR: We went day-glo-crazy. And then we came here and they were day-glo-crazy here, so we hit it perfect!
JU: We hit the spot, I love that, it’s my favourite! I hate it when you’re so far ahead, and you’re like, “Look what I’m doing,” and everyone’s like, “What’re you doing?” and then the next year you come back and they are, “Look what we’re all doing!” And I just, “Dowsh!”
SR: Stamp it out!
AO: Do you go shopping in different cities when you’re on tour? Do you get any time to do that?
LZ: Yeah, we all do. I actually don’t like shopping. I wear the same clothes every day. If you get closer, you can…
JU: Yeah, smell! [Laughs]
LZ: I’m just one of those girls who just doesn’t get jazzed about shopping. If I go shopping and I really enjoy it, I’d then be out there every day.
SR: That’s true. It’s just the act of doing it.
JU: When we started out and were playing in the United States, we’d do a little shopping, but we won’t get super-jazzed, especially coming from New York where everything is ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, it’s a big city. But once we started doing world tours, forget it! We’d go to Paris, Japan…
K: There are certain experiences that you can only have in certain places.
JU: Yeah!
K: You know, if I go buy a croissant in Paris, and like an espresso or something, that’s like nowhere else.
JU: If you go to Paris, you gotta have that.
K: Yeah, have it at the place where they do it the best.
JU: And certain shopping experiences are unique.
K: Like Top Shop [Laughs]
JU: In London you gotta go to Camden.
AO: Did you get time to check it out this time?
JU: No. Last time we did. Last time we played here the club was right there. But it’s expensive!
K: Yeah, we need to get discounts.
JU: We need to do endorsements [laughs] to get free stuff! [To Lyn-Z:] They give you free stuff because you are Kate Moss, bitch!
LZ: Those are gifts!
JU: Oh, from kids?
LZ: Yeah!
SR: That’s where we get most of our gear, from kids.
LZ: I haven’t gotten a present in a long time now…
AO: We’ll print that.
LZ: I really like gifts.
AO: What are the usual gifts that you get from fans?
JU: That would be the letters and the flowers. But I want some DVDs, video games, guitars are going to be good… [Laughs] Come on, don’t go to fucking Walmart and get me a card for five bucks! Come on, help me out, bitch, how hard is it? [The whole band laughs]
AO: What’s the nicest gift you’ve ever received from a fan?
LZ: Let me think. I had one kid bring a bass to a show for me to smash on stage and for him to take the broken pieces, which I thought was pretty awesome.
SR: That’s really good. That was really good. We had a person buried with our CD. We had this happen to us. Someone died and his friend put our CD in his coffin.
AO: How old was the person?
SR: We don’t know. That was a long time ago. It
was The Frankenstein Girls.
JU: A good album to be buried with.
SR: Yeah, it’s long. [The whole band laughs]
AO: People sometimes say that when creative people learn their craft too well, they end up with producing sleek art. But when you don’t know any craft at all, you can’t communicate. What would you say is the ideal level of musicianship for this band to be able to get through its message?
JU: I get what you’re saying, but man, it took me a while! [The whole band laughs]
SR: That was a great question!
K: I think that applies to the spirit of this band very well.
JU: Very!
K: We are less concerned with showing all of our music prowess and more concerned with making a song that’s really, truly enjoyable.
JU: Or the whole package.
K: Yeah.
JU: We’re a live act, and with a good song, with a good presentation, great artwork, we like the whole package. It’s not about widdly-widdly-lee-weeee [imitates a fast guitar phrase], “Check out my hot licks,” you know. That’s not to say that we’re not good musicians, but just to say that that’s not the process.
LZ: We are serious about the music. We are serious about our image, artwork, we are very involved in all that stuff.
SR: There’s a certain amount of ego that needs to be put aside while you’re making CDs like we do because we have to sort of like surrender to that moment in that piece of music which could be different from the even next moment of that same song. One moment it could be like BANG! and then it all goes out. I’d rather not play on a part, if that’s the idea, and we’re all like that, and I think that helps because I know a lot of bands who are all about, “Where is my part?”, and all that shit. Actually, I don’t know any bands like that, but I know of them, because I don’t hang out with people like that. [The whole band laughs] It’s true!
JU: The project is the main thing. We all have strong opinions, but we are all willing to be like, “This part looks better on a record cover,” or, “We don’t need to have guitar here, let’s just break it down to just the synthesiser,” or, “Yeah, let’s put guitars on it, let’s make it really good.” Whatever makes it louder and look better, feel better, act better, you know…
SR: We’re well in it. If it’s gonna demolish something and do it in a really unconventional way, then it’s gonna sta-a-ay!.. That’s the most obvious thing I’ve ever said except that Jimmy’s cute in purple.
JU: That was a good question.
AO: Do you rehearse your live shows in terms of writing out what’s going to happen on stage?
JU: No-no-no! We rehearse the music. We get the tracks done, and then we change a few things here and there to make the work live, but we don’t go, “I’m gonna jump off this, and you’re gonna jump off that!”
SR: We have all these cuts and…
JU: The only thing I can say is that when I’m writing a song, I’m always writing standing up. To kind of give me a feel how I’m going to jump around a do some shit. But otherwise, the most we do is to go to a place to do a soundcheck, so you kind of check the place out, suss it out, and I’d think, “I’ll be able to make it up to the balcony.” But that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna remember to go up the balcony or even make it when I jump for it, man!
K: There’s a certain amount of spontaneity that you need to keep things exciting. That’s what’s fun about playing different rooms, different sizes, different set-ups. I sit back and watch everything, but it’s fun for me to see, “Oh, I bet someone’s gonna go up there,” or, “Someone’s gonna jump off that box.”
JU: We try to entertain each other and surprise ourselves. [To Lyn-Z:] I love it when you crawl back on the floor across the whole floor, but I don’t know it, I’m like, “Ta-ta-ta!”, and then I look, and everyone’s like, “Look down!” And that’s just one part of a part of a part of a song. So for us it’s entertaining, but I can’t imagine what it must be like for some 13 year-old kid who’s never seen it, he must be like, “What the fuck’s going on?” It comes off as some crazy performance art piece.
AO: I won’t bore you anymore, so here is my last question. If I could go round the room with it. If you could be somebody else for 24 hours, who would you like to be?
JU: Just for 24 hours?
AO: 24 hours.
JU: If I wanted to change my life right now, if I wanted to retire tomorrow and be someone else, I’d probably pick somebody like Troll Adams from the Adams family, to sit around my house somewhere in Europe and smoke a pipe.
LZ: The first that comes into my head is Madonna. She’s really loaded, right?
JU: Yeah, right! And while you’re at it, stuff some money in your pockets! [Laughs]
K: You’ll get to ride some horses, do some yoga!
LZ: Yeah!
JU: Practice Kabbalah!
LZ: Yeah!
AO: Would you do a live show?
LZ: Yeah!
AO: Would you crawl across the floor?
LZ: I’d do it all!
AO: What about Steve?
SR: I’d really just like to be someone who lives with me or near me, ‘cause I’d love just to hang out with myself. [The whole band laughs] I’m serious, if I just could bend myself down [the whole band laughs] and see if I don’t throw up, aces baby! No, I’d really be interested to see how I come off because they always tell you this or that about yourself, and I’d just kind of like to see it, plus I’d like to see if my ass is big.
K: I’m gonna go for a really gross answer, but I think that being Lyn-Z would be pretty fucking awesome!
LZ: Why would anyone want to be me?
JU: Yeah, take a day off as you? [Laughs]
K: No, but if I could have an awesome day off, with a London expense account, fly somewhere, just be myself. It sounds kind of gross, but…
SR: While you are being her, I could be you, so I could hang out with me.
K: And then I’d tell you, “Yes, your ass does look fat.”
SR: But that’s mean! I’d never say that to you!
K: That was a joke!
JU: Good last question!
