Baron Von Luxxury and I go way back and by ‘way back’ I mean the middle of last October when his band – Luxxury – opened for Thunderbirds are Crap! at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill. Long story short: I liked Luxxury’s dirty, electro-euro sound more than the headliner’s – enough to buy a copy of Luxxury’s CD; I liked the CD as much as the live performance; Baron and I kept in touch; he and I got drunk at a St. Vincent show. The end. It’s all right here.
Luxxury are Sha Sabi (bass), Rico (drums), Devin Dirt (keys) and Baron Von Luxxury (pretty much everything). Today on Bands and Booze, Baron and I talk about Luxxury’s upcoming schedule, remixes, beating up homeless people, Scottish beer in Indian restaurants, and much, much, more. Before you read the interview however, I recommend checking out Luxxury’s hilarious new video for “Sweet and Vicious” directed by Roderick Fenske. It is awesome.
So, first question, to quote one of your songs, “Where will you be, where will you be tonight?”
Baron Von Luxxury: Thanks for asking, Chris. I'll be DJing at Arrow bar in SF on March 1, and then at Elbo room March 7.
Luxxury is playing at the Rickshaw Stop on March 31 and working on our next tour now. It looks like we might be opening for a very cool electro band on Astralwerks who I cannot name but if it happens it will be a great bill!
Excellent, I’ll actually be at the Luxxury show in March. So, you are Baron von Luxxury, mastermind of ‘afro-beat’ band Luxxury (I kid), and founding memeber of new DJ Crew: The Workout –
BVL: Yes, and we also have an MP3 blog, which is equally rad. And further, this same group is involved in many a remix/mashup. I think there needs to be a name for this new kind of entity: Blog-havin'/DJ posse/Production Crües, a la Acid Girls, Fluo Kids and Missing Toof. Any ideas?
Hmm, not at the moment. I’ll think about it. Aside from the MP3 blog what other ways will you musically dominate 2007?
BVL: I'm super busy working on remixes for Robots in Disguise, Glass Candy, Dirty Sanchez and a few others; plus getting the aforementioned DJ posse/blog The Workout off the ground.
I'm also wrapping up a new remix album which I'm really excited about, with 10 fantastic up-and-coming producers remixing half of the songs from the Luxxury album "Rock and Roll (is Evil)." It should be done in March and will be a digital only release on Beatport and Itunes through Nolita [Records]). We've gotten dozens and dozens of requests from DJs asking for vinyl so it'd be great to find a larger label to release it in that format.
AND we've just wrapped up two brand new videos ("Sweet and Vicious" and "Dirty Girls Need Love Too") which are looking amazing and I cannot wait to unleash on the world...
AND we have a gorgeous new web site launching any day now, complete with a new store (posters! panties!)...
AND I'm working on songs for the next Luxxury record...
Basically, I don't really sleep anymore!
Sounds like it. Onto the drinking questions: what is your favorite alcoholic drink?
BVL: I'm going to go with the Tom Collins at Rose Pistola on this one (albeit prematurely, as it is very much a Summer bev).
I've also become slightly addicted to this Scottish beer I recently discovered at an Indian restaurant called Dosa, which is incredibly dark and tastes of caramel and coriander. It's also $8 a fucking glass and totally worth it.
Is there any alcohol that has destroyed you in the past and you refuse to touch now?
BVL: I'm pretty self-regulatory on this front. When things start getting dangerous I always seem able to have enough of the self-preservation instinct left to focus on getting a nice glass of water, a cheesesteak, and a taxi.
San Francisco, your home, is like my home away from home and has very different scenes and various places to drink/hang out. Tell me, now, one of your most favorite drinking stories from the city.
BVL: One night, me and my droogs were sauntering among the bars of the upper Haight, high on some of the finest Korova this fair town has on offer (I shall not name the place for reasons that will soon become apparent). We were, as per usual, a sartorial splendor in our finest white jumpsuits, replete with bespoke bowlers and my sharpest, deadliest cane.
At the edge of the panhandle we came across a dreadfully smelly, awful burning-man-reject hippie grebo bum. Said hobo was singing – howling really – and asked us for some space cutter. So we, quite naturally, set upon him in a fit of mad, vitriolic rage. He cried and pleaded that we may as well kill him as he had nothing left to live for in this "stinking" world. "What's so stinking about it?" I asked, and when he replied me and my boys tolchocked him senseless.
We are very very dangerous people, we Luxxury-ites; and rather disdainful of malodorous cultural dropouts. Be warned.
...I really don’t even know how to respond to that story. What is one of your favorite drinking tales from the road, on tour with your band Luxxury?
BVL: Most of the UK tour is a bit of a blur, I suppose. We had a pretty good time in Doncaster – the show we played was on the mediocre side (sound problems) but the after party was a blast. Nothing scandalous or shocking to report, it was just really fun as all the kids were amazingly sweet, super fun to hang around with. We still stay in touch with them on MySpace, and I really do hope to go back and play again soon.
Sorry if that's a little tame, I think I shot my wad with the previous question.
BVL:France was a musical laughing stock for almost the entire 20th century. Aside from Erik Satie, Jean-Michel Jarre and Niagara (sorry, I don't really get Gainsbourg), nearly one hundred years went by without anything worth making much of a fuss over. And that at the last possible minute in the late 90's they gave us Daft Punk. And then came Air, and Cassius...and a new French hope was born. And NOW, we've got the whole damn Ed Banger/Kitsune phenomenon. Which, overexposure aside, is just undeniably good shit.
So I say: Nice work, Paris - way to rally!
Third: the current state of electronic music.
BVL: "All we need is a voluntary, free-spirited, open-ended program of procreative racial deconstruction. Everybody just gotta keep fuckin' everybody 'til they're all the same color." – Warren Beatty, Bulworth, 1998
So too this whole nu rave/electro/indie/disco/dancerock/synthpop/whatever crossbreeding thing. It's healthy and exciting and keeps things interesting.
If there was an alcoholic drink called “Luxxury” what would the ingredients be; how would you make one?
BVL: It's something Russian and Jewish, obviously. And it would have the appearance of being extravagant to the untrained eye, yet refined and impeccable to that of the connoisseur. So, perhaps a White Russian with Stoli and a coffee liqueur that comes in a neon pink bottle.
Interesting. Did you make any New Years Resolutions?
BVL: Yes.
Are you sticking to them?
BVL: Yes, except I'm only getting to yoga twice a month instead of daily. Oopsie!
Getting back into the music for a minute, are we going to see a follow-up to last years’ Rock and Roll (Is Evil) this year?
BVL: I'm planning on putting out a new EP this Fall. One song is going to be called "I'm Beginning To Repel People I'm Trying To Seduce," which is a Holly Hunter line from one of my favorite movies, "Broadcast News." I've got about 5 more new tracks but they're on the backburner while I work on the remixing right now.
Nice. I read on The Workout blog where you wrote rock and roll may not be evil anymore. I know your reasoning behind what it was but do you not feel that way anymore?
BVL: Well, I did say "maybe" I was wrong there. The jury's still out. But I guess I've come to understand the system a little better. And it's not so much that it's pure evil as that it is extremely codified and, frankly, depressingly obvious.
I never have been interested in wasting time pandering, and this is more true than ever after some of my recent "industry" experiences. Which means, more than likely, that there is a glass ceiling. But at least I know what I'm banging my head on now.
"New York, I love you but you're bringing me down."
Funny you mention that lyric, LCD Soundsystem actually made me take “North American Scum” off my site. Anyhow, I know you’re playing a lot of DJ sets lately, what are some of the staples of your set-list or what are you spinning a lot of now?
BVL: Pretty much everything we post and write about at our amazing MP3 blog "The Workout" – indie electro, tech house, booty, some mashups etc. Go there as soon as you've caught up on CWV!
And finally, the most important question of all, which are better: pirates, ninjas, or Vikings?
BVL: The Willie Stargell-era Pirates could kick that damn Ninja vloggers ass, even with a horde of raging Vikings backing him up.
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For more on Luxxury and The Workout, including show dates, MP3s, videos, artwork, and more follow the links below:
I was raised by bears. In a bear den. When I was old enough I went out on my own, peed on some rocks, and called that place my turf. I eat things and hibernate. Life's been swell.
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