Fast Times

Photo courtesy of VICE Records

It’s a bleak perspective, but most bands these days differ from each other about as much as identical twins do: not very much. It’s like, when you know the twins really well, you notice their unique qualities, but for the first couple of months you really struggle to tell them apart. It makes sense when you think about it though. There are a sum total of eight notes in the musical spectrum, which, when combined, make up every song ever written. Couple this with the fact that most people who form bands are secretly petrified of being different and, voila, you have something of a homogenous, boring musical landscape. So, when you hear a band that, somehow, manages to make it all sound rowdy and fresh again, it’s actually really exciting. The Black Lips do just this with their blend of loose, country-tinged, good-time rock and roll and thanks to their ability to party and play music like people possessed they’re spreading the joy far and wide. Oh, except for Canada. Vice: You guys seem to be constantly touring and playing thousands of shows. How are you holding up? Jared: Well, it’s all good apart from the fact that we just got kicked out of Canada. For the third time. I was sneaking in because I’m not allowed there as a result of being convicted for drink driving seven years ago. In Canada it’s apparently on par with manslaughter. I imagine you’d do well there too. Yeah, we do great in Canada—we were even on MTV over there last week. But there are so many other cities and countries that let me in that I’m done with Canada. We’re going to boycott it for now. Will your criminal record ever be cleared? It should be. I totally paid my debt to society already. After I was caught, I had to do boot camp on a ranch in the Glacier National Park. For two months we worked on this guy’s cattle ranch unpaid, which wasn’t so bad because we got to eat really well and play ping pong a lot. Then for two months we had to do this thing called ‘primitive camping’ and I had to carry a sled and navigate through the snow by myself. Then for ten days I had to build a snow cave and write this dissertation about what I did wrong. I nearly got sent to one that’s way worse in Idaho. A kid just died at that one. The worst one is in Mexico where there are no human rights. Jesus. I guess it really doesn’t pay to drink and drive over there. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. You guys are all in side bands and have your own label right? Yeah, not that we’re really focussing on them at the moment but I’m in a doo-wop band that never plays, a few of us do some stuff with the guys from Deerhunter and Cole is in a rap band. Black Lips are on VICE Records now but we have a label called Die Slaughterhaus which we use to release music we like. Like the bands we play with who might not otherwise be released. What are you doing right now? We’re actually driving to L.A to play a few shows. It should be great. One of them is being put on by some sorority girls I think. They must be trust fund kids because they’re looking after us and flying us home after the show. And it’s moments like those that we remember why we love what we do. SKYLAR FORD
The Black Lips play various shows around Australia and New Zealand in December. Good Bad Not Evil is out now on VICE Records/Etch n Sketch.