It’s been a long time since a band like THE BLACK LIPS have stirred up so many people and places in such a short amount of time. Known for more than 10 years of childish tom-foolery, the group’s antics are shifting in
style, turning into somewhat of a political devil’s advocate. A few days before
I met up with Cole and Jared at OSHEAGA MUSIC FESTIVAL up in Montreal, they made out in a Chick-Fil-A and
freaked out a bunch of homophobes. They also told me that they’re going to
attempt to be the first band to tour in all seven continents, a feat in which Fall Out
Boy ceaselessly publicized and eventually failed. As their popularity grows, so
does their ambition, and the Lips don’t plan on stopping until they’ve
gotten wacky across the globe.
You’re about to take
off for a tour in the Middle East. What kind of stuff happens when you tour
over there?
C: Well we’ve never been to the Middle East before, but the
shows in Israel and Egypt were all excellent. People went crazy, we played onstage with
the military, we met police chiefs, a there were a lot of army people, we were
on national television… it was cool.
What kind of
influence do you think you can have on the youth of the Middle East?
J: I want to just put out a good vibe, tell people just to
chill out.
C: I think they’ll be a good inspiration to us too.
Have you run into any
problems touring these types of places in the past?
C: We don’t go into any situation with a negative outlook.
J: I like living my life like all hell is loose, like your
butt might blow up.
C: Like when the Russians had their finger on their nuclear
trigger.
J: Like when the entire stake of the country was put in the
hands of Charlie sheen and Patrick Swayze in Red Dawn, that kind of exhilaration.
Did you start out
with this intention of fucking up places with strict social constructs or is
this a recent development?
J: It’s not about places that have strict social constructs;
we want to be the first band to play all seven continents.
C: Antarctica is next. There’s a military base with 1500
people and a pub. We’re gonna be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Not
even the Rolling Stones have done it.
You made out in a
Chick-Fil-A. Please tell us about the experience.
J: Lemme just clear this up. No one got the subtlety of it.
We were lampooning the absurdity of the situation, because we love Chick-Fil-A
and we love gay people, and just the fact that that was an issue, we bought
sandwiches and all these Christians started berating us and writing on our Facebook
page. I’ve never been called a homophobe and a faggot more times in one day
What do you like to
do to get the crowd rowdy? What are your favorite tactics?
J: Urinate in their face.
Freakout is my
favorite 7-inch. What’s the song about? Is it figurative, or a literal song about
being a kid?
J: We wrote it, me and Cole skipped school and we took
Adderall and we sat on his back porch and wrote a few songs. Back then we could
get drunk splitting a 40.
What kind of haircut
did you have as a kid?
J: [Cole] had a spiral haircut.
C: We sometimes used to do this thing called the Holocaust
Haircut where one of us would just take a pair of clippers and slash spots into
the other’s head, all over the place.
C: Our old guitarist had a sidewinder haircut.
J: Yeah, his girlfriend would make him wear a hat when he
wanted to have sex.
[Side note: I could not find any pictures online referring to any of the haircuts mentioned; you'll have to use your imagination.]
I overheard you
talking about Pussy Riot. How do you feel about them and what they’re doing?
J: Before I start about this, I just want to say, judging
from your face, I can tell you’re an '80s kid.
I was born in 1990 actually.
J: Well we grew up in the '80s, and Russians were scary. All
my video games were against them. You didn’t fuck with them. So when I see a punk
band stuck in an oppressive regime, the only thing you can do is try to help
them.
C: We played in Russia once. We had about 30 soldiers on
stage with us, holding machine guns.
J: I love Russians, I love Russia, I just don’t think they
have the freest system and I applaud Pussy Riot for fighting that. They’re
brave. Braver than most people.
Any last coments?
J: Dry livin’ and clean peckin’.
The Black Lips embark on their Middle East tour in September.
Antarctica dates are TBA.
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