Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Sparkle



Starfucker is an American indie electronica band that emerged from Portland, Oregon in 2007. Their self-titled debut came out in September 2008 via the Badman Recording Company. Drummer Keli Mitchell has also joined the line up of Josh Hodges, Ryan Biornstad and Shawn Glassford.


After hearing their music in January I was hooked on the fun and slightly tongue in cheek vibe. It's an upbeat and addictive mix of sparkling beats, hypnotic loops and samples that fuse together to create some damn catchy music. The new mini album 'Jupiter' consists of eight infectious songs pasted side by side. It also includes a magical cover of Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'.

Jupiter Track list:
1 Medicine
2 Boy Toy
3 Dance Face 2000
4 Bed-Stuy (Super Cop)
5 Biggie Smalls
6 Girls Just Want to Have Fun
7 Jupiter
8 Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second (Strategy Remix)
9 Boy Toy (Fake Drugs Remix)*
10 Medicine (Copy Remix)*

*Only on the vinyl edition of the album



Shawn Glassford took some time out of a hectic tour schedule to answer questions via email recently:

Green Of Eye: You played SXSW 09 in late march. Can you tell me a bit about that experience?

Shawn Glassford: It was really fun! we saw 69 bands and stayed at a house with really nice people with an amazing dog named Paddington. I bought new shoes and got blisters walking around all day, then lost one somewhere in Austin. It was really overwhelming and tiring, we played a lot but it was worth it. The girls also had a wizard bong and a crystal wolf statue that talked in the night.


GOE: I guess you've been asked this loads but I’m curious as to where the name of the band came from? It's the sort of name that can conjures different images; and each person may have a different take on what it means.

SG: It’s not from the Nine Inch Nails song or the Rolling Stones song. To us it’s just a hilarious concept, sleeping with famous people to gain power or credit.


GOE:
The Portland music scene is thriving at the moment and producing some great music. Some of you were in other bands prior to Starfucker, how did you all meet?

SG: We met applying for food stamps.

GOE: What inspired you to make music together and has your music evolved since you first began playing music together? What’s your song writing process as the group?

SG: It started off as a solo project. Now there are four of us and the live show has evolved with that. The sound is the same. Wizard bong - we burn sage and channel the wizard.

GOE: Starfucker are building a strong reputation when it comes to live shows and your music really seems to engage the audience.

SG: We like to have as much fun as possible, even if people don't like the music they can still dance and get down.




GOE: You seem to have a fairly busy/complex set up when playing live, is it a loop station that you use?

Shawn: A loop station, lots of keyboards, pedals, turntable, and the standard set up with drums and guitars.


GOE: Do you find having Keil on drums brings a different energy to the songs?

SG: Keil is a robot and forces us to drink energy drinks! It’s much more hyped and we get to play more instruments to fill it all out.

GOE: I really like the imagery and cover for the new album ‘Jupiter’. Who created it?

SG: Sohale Kevin Darouian of 333 empire. He's rad and our favorite artist in Portland. He did both of our album covers.

GOE: What do you think about downloading music online?

SG: It’s fantastic, we do it all the time.

GOE: Do you find you’re asked the same questions repeatedly in interviews? What would you really like to talk about?

SG: Yes, it would be awesome to talk about basketball, wizards, recess time and Longmont potion castle.



GOE: Who did you listen to when you were young ?

SG: The Muppets take Manhattan album, trashy hardcore, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna.

GOE: What do you do in your spare time?

SG: Basketball, skateboard, relax, Xbox 360, longmont potion castle, sleep and squat thrusts.

GOE: Who would you like to collaborate/work with musically?

SG: Three 6 Mafia, Recess Time, Guidance Counselor, Dykeritz, Lil Wayne.

GOE: Influences outside of music?

SG: Death, sex, technology

GOE: What does the next 12 months hold for Starfucker?

SG: Hopefully Europe, Japan and new songs.



The new mini album 'Jupiter' is due for release on May 5th. Currently touring with Guidance Counselor, Starfucker will be bringing the The Media Club, Vancouver on April 9th. For full details on the North American tour check out the following links.These guys deserve to be



Artwork: Sohale Kevin Darouian
Band Photo: Sarah Cass


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